[Rhett_Butler]

Thought this was cool.... Best education bang for the buck and more available grant money, etc... are among the criteria. This list is for Public Universities. There's also a list for private universities in the article.

On a tight budget? Apply to Harvard - Parenting & Family - TODAYshow.com

The top 10 are:

1. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va.
2. New College of Florida, Sarasota, Fla.
3. College of William & Mary, Williamsburg, Va.
4. State University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, N.Y.
5. Florida State University, Tallahassee, Fla.
6. North Carolina State University, Raleigh, N.C.
7. University of California – San Diego
8. City University of New York – Hunter College, New York City
9. University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
10. The College of New Jersey, Ewing, N.J

The article is pretty insightful regarding the availability of grant money as well.... Good read.

[SoFLGal]

That's great news! Grr...I wish my daughter would attend New College. I think she's going to end up at RISD. She was born here and wants to get out and explore the world

[blank check]

FIU used to be on that list as a good deal. How come it isn't anymore? It's either the cost of living or the fact that the school has gone downhill, or both.

[BlueWillowPlate]

Proud mother of an FSU Seminole here.
It's that much better if you are a Florida resident and straight A student, then you get the Bright Futures Scholarship.

[ready2move]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Proud mother of an FSU Seminole here.
It's that much better if you are a Florida resident and straight A student, then you get the Bright Futures Scholarship.

Another Nole mom...except mine gets 75% of tution which is still a great deal

[SoFLGal]

Originally Posted by BlueWillowPlate

Proud mother of an FSU Seminole here.
It's that much better if you are a Florida resident and straight A student, then you get the Bright Futures Scholarship.

Yeah, I know that's what's killing me here! She could easily get a Bright Futures Scholarship. She has straight A's and already has all of her community service done. I think I'm going to suggest she apply for it any in case she changes her mind.

I like your user name BlueWillow. I have a daughter named Willow. I'm assuming your name refers to the china though.

Congrats on the Nole student

[Gatornation]

UF is always in Kiplinger's top 5 best values for public.

[TriMT7]

If you want good value/good education without the weird hippie "no grades" aspect of New College (if it's still that way), I suggest the Honors College of Florida Atlantic University in Jupiter. It's a small liberal arts college within a college, only about 200 students or less, and many many of the professors are transplants from schools like Harvard, Berekely, UNC, Stanford, etc. Plus, it's public and they offer generous scholarships.

[Big House]

My oldest daughter is studying sports management in college 15 minutes from home. We tried to get her to go away to school to explore the world, and couldn't get her to go! We even filled out college applications for her at some great out of state schools ourselves. We couldn't blow here outta here with dynamite.

Now she is doing study abroad right in New Zealand, and will be traveling to Australia next. So far she has been on and swam off an Americas cup yacht, went to a rugby game and hung out with the team afterward, went to a basketball game, and went to the place where bungee jumping was started, and actually did bungee jump. Yesterday she repelled down a waterfall, went rock climbing through some crevices and caves, and now she has a weekend off to go to the beach and go snorkeling again.

We didn't think my other daughter would leave the house. Well, off she goes, and loves being away. I think that both will be well rounded because of the opportunity to see other parts of the country / world and be exposed to different things.

The key still rests with your children and their parents. Both need to feel that education is important and both need to work toward that in order to maximize the benefits which will serve them well for a life time. Young men and women will not do well in school unless they value the opportunity, they will just let the time go by and achieve less. Parents can do a lot to help them understand the value, appreciate the accomplishments, and control the peer groups their kids hang with to ensure they all have common goals. It is that lack of guidance that lowers the standards for our kids, and society. It's not always easy, sometimes it is really tough, but starts at home, and it can be accomplished no matter the circumstances.

I think the people here are very conscientious, more so than in the general population.

[EscAlaMike]

Where is the "Harvard of the South" on that list? I thought you could get an Ivy League education for public school price at UF?