Is this a good college/university? (reputation, cost, state school, graduates)

[golfgal]

This is a tread for those looking at colleges/universities to ask about various schools around the nation. Our kids are getting piles of information from colleges all over and we have no idea if they are good schools or not, many we have never heard of. Since there are people here from all over the country (world) this will be a good place to get feedback on schools.

Some of the recent mailings our kids have gotten have been from the University of Missouri and Champlain College in VT. Any feedback on those schools? What programs are they known for. What is admissions like-highly selective, selective, everyone gets in, etc.?

This is NOT a thread to bash those going to college. It is not a thread to complain about how much colleges cost. It is not a thread to come on here and say "not everyone should go to college". Anyone feeling they need to do any of these will have their posts deleted . Keep it civil please.

Note from toobusytoday
It may be helpful if posters would list some of their priorities in what they, or their child, is looking for in a college. For instance, if you want a college with a preppy feel and a football program, you would mention that. If you know the intended major, you would ask how strong that program is. If you need financial and/or merit aid, you would mention that.

I feel that there is a good college for everyone out there, but not every college is right for everyone. Here are some things to consider:

Location - part of the country - rural, urban, semi-rural
Size of student body - 1,000, 40,000 or somewhere in between
Cost -
Financial aid
Merit aid
Major
Campus atmosphere - preppy, laid back, all-work, etc.
Transportation - how close to public transportation
Co-op's required?
Graduation Rate
Avg. GPA of accepted students
% of students accepted
% of in-state students

All of these things may be on your radar when looking at colleges, if they are important to you, please put them in your post.

[golfgal]

Example of the types of replies that are helpful:

University of Minnesota-Morris---it's a great smaller school, in a small town. It is fairly selective for a state school. It is known as the "private" state school as it offers a similar quality education. It's more of a suitcase college but not totally. It's a great starting point for pre-professional program (medicine, dental, etc.) with a pretty high acceptance rate into the main U of M campus programs.

[RedRage]

To the OP, if you're referring to the University of Missouri, Columbia than I would like to chime in.

UM has one of the top journalism programs in the nation and the Missouri School of Journalism is definitely the way to go if your son/daughter wants to pursue that major. It also has a top 50 business school and is one of only five colleges in the state of Missouri to offer AACSB accredited accounting programs.

Basically, like any other state school, IMO, UM Columbia is THE one. Just as UT Austin is to Texas, UM Columbia is to Missouri.

[Gatornation]

UM Columbia is an AAU school and you can't go wrong with any of the ones on that list. It's really the best list to use for the top schools.

Association of American Universities

[jobaba]

Originally Posted by golfgal

This is a tread for those looking at colleges/universities to ask about various schools around the nation. Our kids are getting piles of information from colleges all over and we have no idea if they are good schools or not, many we have never heard of. Since there are people here from all over the country (world) this will be a good place to get feedback on schools.

Some of the recent mailings our kids have gotten have been from the University of Missouri and Champlain College in VT. Any feedback on those schools? What programs are they known for. What is admissions like-highly selective, selective, everyone gets in, etc.?

This is NOT a thread to bash those going to college. It is not a thread to complain about how much colleges cost. It is not a thread to come on here and say "not everyone should go to college". Anyone feeling they need to do any of these will have their posts deleted . Keep it civil please.

Best Colleges | Find the Best College for You | US News Education

Plug the college name in, and it will give you a relative rating. How selective, etc...

When my parents and I were discussing colleges (ages ago), it was pretty much assumed that if I could not get into a school with a significantly better reputation than the top ranked state school, then I would be attending the top ranked state school. Since the state school here (Rutgers) is pretty good, that shortened the list a lot.

I think this is a pretty good rule of thumb.

However, if you have the money to send your kids anywhere, the list of schools they could potentially attend is endless.

[golfgal]

This is really a place for real life experiences with various universities. It isn't just for us but just a place for anyone to ask questions and answer questions. Parents of sophomore/juniors in high school will understand after getting inundated with college information.

[JohKnip]

My top 4 choices.

Kansas State University
Oklahoma State University
University of Wyoming
Utah State University

How good are these Universities when looking at their Geology programs and just the schools in general?

[golfgal]

Originally Posted by JohKnip

My top 4 choices.

Kansas State University
Oklahoma State University
University of Wyoming
Utah State University

How good are these Universities when looking at their Geology programs and just the schools in general?

I'm not familiar with these schools but have you checked out the South Dakota School of Mines? It's a pretty underrated school with a very high placement rate for grads.

[Jazzii]

Hey anyone have anything to say about these?

Penn state
CUNY City College
SUNY cortland
Pace university
The college of Saint Rose

[jlawrence01]

Originally Posted by golfgal

Some of the recent mailings our kids have gotten have been from the University of Missouri and Champlain College in VT. Any feedback on those schools? What programs are they known for. What is admissions like-highly selective, selective, everyone gets in, etc.?

I attended the University of Missouri-Columbia as a graduate student. As a graduate student in the business school, it was a pretty good school.

However, I would be hesitant to send my child there. The undergraduate classes are generally HUGE - classes of 200+ are NOT uncommon. A significant portion of the undergraduate classes are taught by graduate assistants. The professors can be pretty good but many of them are allergic to undergraduates. Some of the graduate students are really good teachers; however, their fundamental reason is their OWN education.

The school itself has a pretty good reputation within the state and regionally. Its journalism school is one of their strengths.

There are three other UM campuses. I know little about UMKC except that I have a friend who teaches there. The campus in Rolla has been renamed and has a strong engineering program. The campus in St. Louis - which was close to my home - was the WORST campus I have ever visited. I was treated poorly at the admissions office and it went down from there. (If they treated me like that BEFORE I enrolled, how would I be treated as a student?)

If you are a Missouri resident, I would recommend that you also check out Missouri State in Springfield or Truman State in Kirksville. I have heard a lot of positive things from students that attended these institutions.