The College Search

[DK]

Seeing as I will be a senior in August, I feel I need to start narrowing down my list of colleges to around five or so. I've done some research but have yet to pick out a top 5.

Any other people picking their colleges? If you've already gotten a list, feel free to post if you desire. Maybe some of us could end up in the same school, heh.

Current college students and beyond, any advice?

[Platinum]

well i am in the same boat as you DK.
I am looking at Ohio State and WVU mostly but I have looked at Texas (Longhorns) and U. of Miami. Also pretty much every college in West Virginia.

[CaptHayfever]

Most important thing: Make sure they have the program you want.
After that, factor in reputation, distance preference, and cost (in that order), and you should have a manageable list.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[ShyGuy727]

Miami U and Xavier, wherever I decide to go after a year or two commuting to the Miami-Middletown branch and getting the core curriculum out of the way.

[DK]

Right now I'm looking mostly into Journalism or Broadcasting.

[Perrin Aybara]

Come to the University of Maryland. Heh.

Anyway, the best advice I can give any prospective college student is that it really doesn't matter where you go. College is all about how much you personally put into it.

The two most important things to look for in a college is 1) Location and 2) Does it have the program/major you're interested in. Well, ok, 3, the third being cost.

Besides that, I would say just go to any school that offers you $$$. Or go to the cheapest school. Because all schools are just as good as any other school. And it makes no sense to put yourself into debt just to put yourself through college. So yeah, look for schools that can offer you scholarships or something. And don't poo-poo your state school. You can get a damn fine education from your state school, and anyone to tell you otherwise is simply an elitist private school baby.-jay

[Joker]

I am a proud Alumni of Cal State Long Beach right near the beach , with plenty of LA women that frolick about scantly dressed and making things all the bit easier to cope with once you are consumed by college life.

Plus we have a killer water ballon fight between seniors and freshmen every year that really gets crazy !! WWWHOOOOT

[Lurch1982]

Originally Posted by Perrin Aybara

Come to the University of Maryland. Heh.

Anyway, the best advice I can give any prospective college student is that it really doesn't matter where you go. College is all about how much you personally put into it.

The two most important things to look for in a college is 1) Location and 2) Does it have the program/major you're interested in. Well, ok, 3, the third being cost.

Besides that, I would say just go to any school that offers you $$$. Or go to the cheapest school. Because all schools are just as good as any other school. And it makes no sense to put yourself into debt just to put yourself through college. So yeah, look for schools that can offer you scholarships or something. And don't poo-poo your state school. You can get a damn fine education from your state school, and anyone to tell you otherwise is simply an elitist private school baby.-jay

Jay, I'm going to disagree with you on that note. There is a clear line between schools, and it really effects how far you can go into the world. Lets face it, a 2.5 from Harvard still looks better than a 3.3 from a second tier state school. You went to the U of Maryland, and while you turtles may get owned by Duke in basketball, you guys do have excellent curriculums. I went to a second tier state school in Louisiana (UL-Lafayette) and constantly saw the short end of the stick in every aspect of the school. LSU would get better grants, more money for programs, etc etc etc while we would get budget cuts. Even after getting out, its harder to sell a UL-Lafayette degree than it is to sell an LSU or Tulane degree. However, certain programs were better than others.

Really though, I will concede that undergraduate schools don't matter nearly as much as, say, graduate and professional schools. What looks better in the marketplace, a top 25% graduate from a school with a entering class GPA profile of 2.5 (25%) to 3.0 (75%) or a top 50% graduate from a school with an entering class GPA of 3.3 (25%) to 3.75(75%)?

My best advice is to look at either a school in a major urban area or to a flagship state school. The urban area schools are great because they can provide contacts into a real city's job market, while the flagship schools have practically national name recognition. If I had to do it again, I would have gone to undergrad in a major city (Chicago, east coast, Los Angeles) --OR-- went to a flagship state school.

Programs are important to look at. If you're looking at journalism, go to a school with a full-fledged journalism major. If they pigeonhole you into Mass-Communications, the journalism program and degree isn't worth a damn. Basically, if a school offers a specialized program in your desired field, its a good choice.

Cost is an overrated factor. There are always ways to get money for school, although you may go into debt for it. I'm currently looking at about 20K in undergraduate debts before any professional school debts. By the time everything is said and done, I could be facing 100K+ in terms of student debts. Thing is, if your entrance grades are over a 3.0, you'll have a good chance at scholarships. This is even before work-study, student loans, and grants. You can always find people to give you money for school, its just a matter of looking. Granted, if you aren't serious about college, there's really no point in spending a ton to fail out in 3 semesters.

The biggest thing is to try to figure out what you want to major in and do with your life. If you even have a fleeting thought of going to graduate/medical/law/whatever school, never let your grades drop below a 3.0.

[Sampson1986]

I have to agree with Jay.

I'm not interested in going to an Ivy League school to get an engineering degree when I can stay in state and get the same degree for a hell of a lot cheaper.

[Perrin Aybara]

No, I agree with you, Lurch. I think we would agree on most of what you said. I just didn't say what I wanted to say in the most tactful manner. Heh.

But you're right... Of course the most important thing is to do what you want to do. And of course your own grades are important.

And yeah, of course name is a big deal when it comes to your undergraduate degree. It's not as big a deal for graduate school.

The main thing that bothers me is when I hear of these cases when people choose to go to expensive, out of state, and small liberal arts colleges instead of going to a good, local, state school. I mean, Maryland costs practically nothing in-state compared to some of the out-of-state costs for some of these small, liberal arts schools. Sure, if you get a scholarship, that's great. But why go to a small, out-of-state college and go into debt when you can probably get just as good (or better) education at your state school.

But you're right, it is a big deal if you go to the flagship state school or one of the smaller ones. It really is sad how the flagship schools get all of the money. It's the same thing here in Maryland.

So yeah, I think I'd pretty much agree with everything you said, Lurch. I've just been out of the undergraduate college decision process for a while, heh.

My main thing is that I just don't see any reason to put yourself into huge debt to get your degree, unless you have no other choice.

Oh, and I'm almost finished here at Maryland, finishing up a Master's degree. I'll be starting at a new school in the fall for my PhD.-jay

[Joker]

What ?!? scantly clad women no longer factor in to college life ??

[CaptHayfever]

^They're still a factor in college life, just not in college selection.

And remember, "I'm-a Luigi, number one!"

[Lurch1982]

Originally Posted by Sampson1986

I have to agree with Jay.

I'm not interested in going to an Ivy League school to get an engineering degree when I can stay in state and get the same degree for a hell of a lot cheaper.

Engineering isn't exactly an Ivy League thing. MIT, however, is worth getting simply to have the name. Same with Cal Polytech or whatever it is...ya know, the dudes who had their 2-ton cannon stolen by MIT.

Take business degrees for example. A small school is better than a correspondance course, a flagship state school is better than a small state school, and Ivy/top tier wannabe ivys are better than everything else.

Jay gives good advice though. Unless you're going to a top tier, five star program or don't really plan on moving across the country, you may be better off going to a flagship state school or otherwise strong in-state school. Granted, if you plan on relocating across the country, by all means go to school across the country just so the degree translates better into the job market.

Honestly though, I don't think I could recommend a really small school though. You lose the whole college atmosphere.

[Vinny]

I'm looking at Juilliard right now, but I'm going to have to work my ass off and practice about 6 hours a day if I want to have any chance of going there.

[GURU ANT]

Yes DK, CLASS OF 2007!

UAB, UGa, SE Missouri
are my top 3

[ShyGuy727]

Anyone know anything about the University of Louisville? I went to Ohio State the other weekend, and discovered the super big campus feel is kinda cool, and U of L has my major (Sports Management/Administration). It's also 10,000 less than Xavier is despite being out of state 0.o

[Katyrna]

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (my current first choice and one of the biggest--if not THE biggest--college in-state) has a good engineering program--and a whole heck of a lot of other opportunities. Of course, if you're from out of state, tuition definitely escalates. It's gone up in-state too in the last few years--now it's over 8000 dollars. Used to be between 5000 and 6000. Still, it's not terrible.

[Codiekitty]

DO NOT COME TO NEW MEXICO TECH.


Where are these lemmings going? The Super Nintendo Super Shire! Hop in line and follow them there!

[GURU ANT]

don't worry CK, I wasn't intent on leaving the southern states anyway....

Yeah, looks like UAB has broken stride in my college search, they want me, I want them....yeah.

UGA, Clark Atlanta University, North Carolina, SCSU, and a long shot, but still possible, Grambling.

Xavier is a nice school SG, been there on a college trip a year before Katrina hit New Orleans. Nice school, really nice.

[ZeldaGirl]

Well, I want to double major in Law and Theatre... I have a list of schools that offer the double major for both, but if anyone else can provide a good list of schools, please be my guest!