St. Cloud State compared to U of M (Mankato, Wells: sales, 2009)

[mintygreen]

How is the Mass Communications porgram at SCSU compared to the U of M and other MN state colleges?

Can you get the same quality of education at SCSU compared to the U of M?

[uptown_urbanist]

Are you talking strictly quality of the education itself, or the world's (or potential employer's) perspective of that education?

Probably unfair of me, I admit, but I'd put the U of M in a higher category of school than SCSU. It certainly has a larger national reputation. Maybe it's just that I knew too many slackers from high school who went there because they thought of it as an affordable party school. (I think they're all doing fine now, by the way - all that partying didn't hurt their longterm job prospects) But I don't work in the communications industry and wouldn't be in the position of hiring you, anyway. And realistically cost will also be a factor for most people, so you'll need to decide what the end value (whether that's the education itself, the line on your resume, or some other combination) is worth to you. That's a pretty subjective thing.

As far as the education quality itself goes, I think that to a large extent (assuming a basic quality of teachers and class offerings, etc.) that what you get out of college depends primarily on what you put into it. You don't need a name brand school to get a good education.

[bhdavis1978]

I agree with uptown_urbanist- unless you're going to one of the worst schools or one of the best schools, what matters more is what you put into it than where you are. Big schools like U of M probably have more opportunities than smaller schools, but it'll be a lot easier to get individual attention at a small school. Even when it comes to graduate school, what probably matters the most is your grades rather than what school you went to.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by mintygreen

How is the Mass Communications porgram at SCSU compared to the U of M and other MN state colleges?

Can you get the same quality of education at SCSU compared to the U of M?

We are going through a similar situation like my daughter. Living on campus full time at the state colleges costs $12K-$13K while it is $17K - $18K at the U of MN. That is a $5K x 4 difference or $20K. That is real money.

I have talked with a lot of HR types to get the best read I can on this topic. YMMV.

I think it is fair to assume that college rates will have a lot of upward pressure put on them so budgets will become even more important.

One more thing to consider is scholarship opportunities. The Carlson School of Management has an average ACT score of 26 (top 15%) while the state colleges have an average of 22 ("top" 50%). There won't be a lot of opportunities for scholastic scholarships if you have an ACT score of 27 at the U of MN but you will at the state schools. In fact, at Mankato (MN State University), you get a "Presidential" interview if you have an ACT better than 26 and in the top 10% ranking. In fact, only a total of 80 fit that criteria and I bet 3/4 would at CSOM. That happened three weeks ago so it is too late to apply but not for next year. That means a guaranteed interview and at least $2K for the 1st year. So for my daughter, the differences is even greater and makes the decision harder.

If your question was related specifically to the CSOM (Carlson School of Management) and it is not, then I think the $20K difference IS worth it. That is because it is rated in the top 20 colleges for business (private and non private). But that is not the case with Mass Comm.

As a small twist. I am a BIG believer of "name brand" schools (when and if) you leave the state. Meaning U of WI (it could be Madison or River Falls) is still UofWI. Who the heck has heard of St. Olaf or St. Thomas in Florida??? I don't care if you spent $35K per year and got a "better" education. Look at it this way. You are a manager in MN and some person has Stetson University on their resume. Supposedly this is a great FL business school. Never heard of them.... Now another guy got a degree at U of FL (a supposely "inferior" program). In the eyes of an outside, the U of FL is more "name brand". In fairness, St. Thomas is definitely "name brand" in MN and has it's loyal following. It would be especially valuable if you planned on being an insurance agent or in Sales and networking was key.

If you believe this logic, you know understand why Mankato State changed it's name to Minnesota State University, Mankato Minnesota State. MN State means a lot more to that HR rep in FL.That was the specific and only reason for the name change. I completely buy into this logic. We therefore removed SCSU off of the list.

That all being said. GPA and involvement will say it all. Then, take that $20K savings and apply it for a UofMN graduate degree. Now that Resume still has U of MN and you are in as good of shape as someone with a U of MN under grad + grad degree. In the end, the graduate degree name trumps the undergrad name. In 2009, an undgrad degree alone isn't a big enough differentiator. You might need those extra savings at SCSU to keep out of debt which is even more important than the college name.

I hope this helps.

[uptown_urbanist]

Another option, should you decide you want the U of MN name but not the potential price tag, would be to try to transfer in later. I don't know how easy or hard it is at the U of M, but in some states - I'm thinking of California in particular - there are a lot of people who go to either community colleges or to the state college system to get their basic intro courses out of the way and then apply to transfer into the UC system.

[MN-Born-n-Raised]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

Another option, should you decide you want the U of MN name but not the potential price tag, would be to try to transfer in later. I don't know how easy or hard it is at the U of M, but in some states - I'm thinking of California in particular - there are a lot of people who go to either community colleges or to the state college system to get their basic intro courses out of the way and then apply to transfer into the UC system.

+1

According to the U of MN counselor, it is all but impossible to get into the CSOM through transfer but it's easier in most of the other departments.

[KevinForEleven]

I went to St. Cloud State University

Not the best school ever, but a place that I am very proud to have graduated from.

Forget all the "party school" non-sense. Seriously. I graduated in May 2008, and during the 4 years I was there I did not ever get the sense that it was obnoxiously over-partied. I have friends in colleges both large and small, both public and state from around the USA, and parties were the same - beer pong and kegs in crummy basements.

With that said, education is my next point. With education, you get what you pay for. Its a state university, so its subsidized, but the education is impressive. The H.R. College of Business is a well known business school, and the Education Department is the best in the state.

Campus life is sad. But SCSU is a suitcase college. Its proximity to central MN and the Twin Cities, as well as I 94, highway 10, Highway 15, make it extremeely easy to travel home for breaks and weekends.

John Stumpf, CEO of Wells Fargo, the USA's biggest bank, is an SCSU grad. along with McGyver!