<p>^^^</p>
<p>Formerly from Illinois. UIUC is a great school BUT it’s the only public in Illinois that can compare to the UCs. If you can’t get into UIUC you’re out of luck (for that kind of quality).</p>
<p>Now in PA - and I’d probably trade (we have 2 very good ones here - Penn State and Pitt - that are probably equivalent to UC Davis and Irvine in quality.)</p>
<p>coureur, Virginia is not California and our public university “system” is set up differently. California also has 3 times the population of Virginia.</p>
<p>Vladenschlutte, Berkeley and UCLA are supposed to be the top UC’s. UCSD is maybe 3rd.
The other UCs are staggered with UC Riverside and Merced near the bottom.</p>
<p>Of course not. This is Texas and we’re the best at everything!</p>
<p>Here is a link from Virginia Higher Education that lists the 15 four year public colleges in Virginia(our public university system). The 3 highest ranked national universities by US News are UVa (25th), William and Mary (33rd) and Virginia Tech (71st). The others are either lower ranked national universities or are more regional in nature. A couple are historically black colleges(Norfolk State and Virginia State). [Public</a> Colleges & Universities Authorized to Operate in Virginia](<a href=“http://www.schev.edu/Students/PublicCollegeList.asp]Public”>http://www.schev.edu/Students/PublicCollegeList.asp)
There are lots of states beyond California that have great public schools.</p>
<p>I’d trade the University of Maine system for UC in a heartbeat. (Of course, we also have a population of about 1.2 million…)</p>
<p>I would love to have that kind of education, and weather but I could never afford it even at the in state price. </p>
<p>If it was traded with WI than would the price be what I’m paying now? I’m iffy with what I’m paying now and I’m not at UW-Madison. So I guess if the cost was about the same than yes I would love that, but I’m satisfied with the education I’m getting, and I know what I want to aim for. CC has made me open my eyes to such issues as financial aid, and I think this website is the probably the main reason why I learned very quickly that you need to minimize your debt if your going to be continuing your education.</p>
<p>I do hope that the UC system is able maintain their level of education, and no fall to the budget cuts. If you can afford the UC system than great, but as an out of stater I would never pay that price.</p>
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<p>That I agree with. </p>
<p>The OP asked about and discussed specifically the UCs, not the entire range of CA public colleges and universities. To compare just the UC system to another state’s entire offering of public colleges is an apples/oranges comparison. If we are going to discuss all the state schools instead of just a single university system then CA also has 23 four-year Cal State universities to throw into the mix. But like I said, that is a different comparison.</p>
<p>I would say that per capita, Illinois approaches California. Illinois has one large world class university and California has (arguably) three, but Illinois has about a third the population of California. Illinois has two excellent alternatives (UIC and ISU) and California has what - maybe half a dozen? Illinois’s directional system is the equivalent of the CSUs. You can argue the fine points all day, but the two states are at least roughly equivalent. </p>
<p>I’d use the same general logic to put Wisconsin and Michigan in the game. </p>
<p>Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I897 using CC App</p>
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<p>However, the thread title “Would you trade your state’s colleges for the UC?” does generate a false comparison; to make a true comparison, it would have to be your state’s flagship (or flagship system) versus UC, or your state’s colleges for UC + CSU + community colleges. UC has only about half the enrollment of CSU, and both are dwarfed by the community colleges in enrollment (although many of the community college students are not full time or degree seeking).</p>
<p>Aren’t California’s public offerings the UC’s, the CSU’s and whatever community college system you have? That’s alot of schools. Are any of the CSU’s nationally ranked in the top 100? Each state has their own way of handling their public schools.</p>
<p>In New Hampshire, we have a flagship in the northern part of the state and one campus in the southern part of the state that is a two-year college though it does teach evening graduate courses.</p>
<p>Yes, I’d trade.</p>
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<p>No other state is structured like CA, really. What other state has numerous schools under the same umbrella structure like the UC system? I suppose TX has UTSA, UTA, and UTEP, but these function more like regional satellites/separate schools in and of themselves. To claim the UC system is so much better than all other states is ridiculous because again, other states a) aren’t structured the same, and b) don’t have the population to warrant as many publics. </p>
<p>To return to the original question…no way on earth I’d trade. I’d choose VA (UVA/W&M), UNC, UMich, or TX (UT/A&M) any time over the UCs. I find the traditional, smaller setting of some of these to be preferable to the vibe/atmosphere of the UCs. Plus, I agree with lakermom:</p>
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<p>Are these all in your state?</p>
<p>There are 64 SUNY facilities, 2 and 4 year. </p>
<p>My cousins attended Cal schools as they all live there and my aunt worked for the system. </p>
<p>I wouldn’t trade the SUNY system but I sure would trade the weather and the climate.</p>
<p>@BCEagle…One of the four is my primary residence and we have property in a second; my point was that if I lived in any of these four states (probably others too), I’d trade. The UC system is great for some, but it’s certainly not for everyone.</p>
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<p>Yes, California’s public post-secondary schools include UC, CSU, and the community colleges.</p>
<p>The CSUs include California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, regionally recognized as a good school for engineering, architecture, and business. The CSUs generally emphasize bachelor’s degrees with some master’s degrees and almost no doctoral degrees.</p>
<p>The California master plan for higher education has UC for the top 1/8 of the high school graduates and CSU for the top 1/3 of the high school graduates. Community colleges are open to all and provide a second chance to go to UC or CSU via the transfer route, as well as education for vocational subjects that do not require a bachelor’s degree.</p>
<p>One of the reasons the UCs are such good schools, particularly the top tier is that only the top students in the state get in. If you don’t have a very high, 3.8 to 4.0 GPA and very high SATs, you won’t be admitted. For most states, the state flagship has a much higher acceptance rate than UCB, UCLA, UCSD, UCD, etc.</p>
<p>Thanks,ucbalumnus for the very specific info about California. Virginia also provides a way for kids who start out at community colleges to transfer in later to a 4 year school via specific articulation agreements that I believe spell out the requirements for transfer to the particular school the student is interested in.
TatinG, The top students getting into the top instate schools is typical in most states. The average UVa GPa is over 4.00. Virginia Tech is at around 3.8 or 3.9 average now and it is not even the flagship(but is highly ranked in engineering). California’s population is quite larege which I would guess has an effect on acceptance rates.</p>
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<p>So what you’re saying is that those colleges don’t really provide opportunities for many people in the state and thus aren’t really fulfilling the purpose of colleges? Right?</p>