Can you get a good education at a non-flagship state school?

Olymom
Mon, 12 Jul 2010 14:03:40 +0000

Hi CIA!
Absolutely, the answer is YES!
Here in Washington, the “flagship” school is University of Washington. It is enormous (50,000 students). Expect to have to have a 3.5+ GPA to enter. Expect to be a small fish in an enormous pond. No red carpet for . . . anyone except athletes. Lots of departments, with some real strengths in things like political science and geology.

Our “land grant” college is Washington State University. Land grant colleges tend to be pragmatic – not as competitive as UW, but with real strengths in agriculture and engineering.

Our “other” public colleges are Western WA, Eastern WA and Central WA. Each has some strong specialties. If you were interested in primate behavior, one of the best places IN THE COUNTRY would be Central WA University because they have a primate colony and an excellent history of compassionate research (Jane Goodall stops in regularly). So, in this small, non Ivy school, there is a department that does something amazing and does it amazingly well. And the tuition and required entrance GPA are significantly lower than our “flagship” school.

My own younger S is headed to Western Washington University. It is 13,000 students (mid sized) and was originally a “teacher’s” college that has expanded into other fields. It has one of the finest outdoor sculpture collections in the US (weird specialty, but there it is). It is a beautiful, happy campus.

I think it is an excellent fit for a male student who is very bright but still a bit unfocused. (I think he could easily be lost at our flagship school). We have met many graduates from this school and have yet to meet one who was sour about their college years.

I don’t know the counterpart schools to the above list for Virginia – but I am sure they exist.

This is all a mini camp for the larger world. You will have the choice of going into huge corporations with a recognizable “name” – and fighting/navigating that world — or you will have the choice to swim in smaller ponds that have other things to offer (smaller, cozier community, less stress, personal satisfaction, . . .). There is no “right” path – anyone who tells you that you have to go to Georgetown, then to Harvard Law and then to Lobbyists R Us to be a worthwhile human being . . . is full of it.

Onward!