question about colleges~ (schools, to live, vs.)

[bnsilly]

Thanks..yes, she is honor roll and class officer, etc...thanks again..we will look at several around Nashville..

[septimus]

I would encourage her to go to the best college she can without going substantially in debt. It is amazing how many doors where I went to college has opened even though I don't work in a field related to my undergraduate major.

If Vandy is going to cost her $40k/yr and MTSU is free and she wants to major in education it probably isn't worth $160k if she plans on working in a field that pays $35k/yr. But if she gets financial aid from scholarships and such and Vandy suddenly becomes 12k/yr, it might be worth it in the long run. Especially if she is like my high school students and will end up changing majors in college. FWIW, my sis went to Vandy. She started out as an education major. She switched to Math. When she graduated she went to work for a major consulting firm that doesn't interview at schools like MTSU, Belmont, Lipscomb and 10+ years later she is an executive at a fortune 100.

A little further from home but still close as Sewanee, Rhodes and Centre. All of which are very good schools. I would also look at UTK over MTSU.

Where you go to undergrad can affect where you go to grad school. My grad school was all people from their state's flagship university, the Ivys and other colleges listed in US News as being top 25 colleges/universities.

[DonCorleone]

Don't overlook Lipscomb University, either. They have a great education department there as well.

[bnsilly]

Thanks so much guys...really appreciate it!!

[Coney]

Originally Posted by DonCorleone

Don't overlook Lipscomb University, either. They have a great education department there as well.

Beat you to it Don Someone also told me they had a good ed department.

If she is serious about teaching, there is something else to consider. Where does she want to teach? Through her ed program, she will be sent to schools for observation and student teaching. This leads to contacts, networks, and sometimes a job.

[bnsilly]

1st choice would be to teach in Williamson Co...Franklin/Brentwood..

[septimus]

bnsilly-I would have a serious conversation with her about future prospects, life style expectations, etc. Williamson Co. is desireable for teaching candidates, but that means it is that much harder to get a job and pay can be lower than if you go a less desirable school district (i.e. Metro pays better than Williamson). Also where you start teaching may not be where you spend your whole career (i.e. easier to get 1st job in urban district, than highly regarded suburban district). Also subject matter expertise matters... Sp. Ed., foreign language, math and science teachers are usually more in demand than 1st grade teachers.

If you have any friends that are educators I would recommend she talk to them to see what their day is like (most teachers I know work a lot more than 7:30-3:30 10 mos a year), how hard was it to get a job, etc. I know I wish I had before I picked my vocation.

[oftimeandspace]

I went to MTSU for undergrad (English Lit.) and am now in my first semester of grad school there for a M.Ed. in Special Education.

Cons:
1. Size: It's definitely a large school---regular freshman gen ed classes can have up to 200 students. Especially in larger departments you can get lost and become just a face in the crowd if you don't actively seek out advisors/professors/etc.
2. Campus life: The campus is not the most beautiful of college campuses--there obviously wasn't any thought given to cohesion when the various buildings were designed. Parking around the area is horrible, especially around the beginning of the fall semester when all the new students think they should drive everywhere and just leave their cars wherever they want. There are dormitories for something around 3,000 students, so a lot of students live off campus.
3. Social life: I've grown up in Murfreesboro, and honestly, it can be pretty boring, especially if you're not into drinking at one of the many bars near campus.

Pros:
1. Size: There is an effort to break down the college into smaller sub-groups. For example, I was admitted as an Honors College student so I always had small (less than 20 students) classes, and access to different kinds of enrichment programs. Various dorms also have Living-Learning Communities centered around various themes (First Year students, Women in Science and Engineering, etc).
2. Campus Life: The campus is large but pretty quick and easy to get around. It's near downtown, which is nice to visit on the weekend, and the older historic neighborhood of Murfreesboro. A lot of the dorms have been renovated in recent years and there's a massive amount of apartments of all kinds around campus. There are a lot of student clubs, relatively active Greek community, and various events around campus (for example, the student union has a $2 movie every week, which is awesome and cheap).
3. Social Life: Nashville is around 40 minutes away, so you can get to save on cost of living but still find things to do there.
4. Cost: It's CHEAP. I paid less for my entire undergrad career there than I would have paid for one year at a private liberal arts college I was accepted to. If you're a Tennessee resident and meet the academic requirements you can qualify for the Hope Scholarship, which last time I checked was $4,000 a year. The Elem. Ed. department will probably have other sources of aid.

Special Ed and Elem. Ed are located in the same department. So far I've enjoyed my classes and have felt like I'm getting alot out of them. Advisors are easy to get ahold of. English is the biggest department on campus, so there should be ample resources for your daughter to pursue a writing minor. The photography department, however, is housed in a tiny building and from what I've heard from art majors, is lacking in resources.

As for other schools:
Belmont: great area (in Hillsboro Village near Vandy), good academic reputation, but it is pricey.
Vandy: Peabody is an amazing education program.
There's also various religiously affiliated private schools--Aquinas, Trevecca-Nazarene, and Lipscomb University. All pricey.

Since she wants to go into teaching I think the best bet would be to find the cheapest school possible for undergrad as teacher salaries aren't the highest. Would she be interested in pursuing a graduate degree at some point?

And, just throwing this out there, if she matriculated into an elem. ed. special ed. program she could get school paid for through BASE-TN.

[bnsilly]

Thanks oftimeandspace..tons of info.. Appreciate you taking the time to reply..will look into several places and see what the best fit is..

[Good Dentist For You]

They have great programs in all the areas your daughter is interested in doing. Also, their campus is very nice with alot of newer buildings. If you go to their websites I'm sure they all have tours of the schools.