<p>Schools such as WVU or some of the PA state schools such as Bloomsburg or Kutztown … Everyone knows you don’t need really good grades or SATs to be admitted. They aren’t bad schools, but they don’t have the best rep, either. So are these type of achools worth the tuition? Is it hard for students to get internships? Do they have a crappy reputation among recruiters and hr depts? If your kid is an average hs student who takes mostly college prep and maybe just a few honors classes because that’s what they can handle, and they end up with a 3.0-3.2 gpa, then these are probably the kind of schools they could get into and do ok at. </p>
<p>Frankly, there are hundreds of private colleges in the US that IMHO are not worth paying for, over a much cheaper public school–unless one has virtually unlimited funds
. But we all have our individuals lines of demarkation. If my S had only been able to get into one of those schools (at full price), I would have sent him to the honors college at our decidedly mediocre state U instead. Same thing is true of OOS schools at OOS prices.</p>
<p>The clock resets when you walk onto campus. No one in the freshman class has a GPA. The clock resets again when you walk through graduation and hit the pavement looking for a job. Sure it’s “worth it” to many kids at every college. They alone will make or break their experience. 50% of kids that start college won’t graduate so the question is not did you go to a better college or not. The question is what are you going to do when you are there and are you going to be part of the 50% of kids that finish.</p>
<p>“Worth it” as in will she get a good education? Will she be adequately prepared for a job in her major (whatever that turns out to be)? Or will it be a 4 year sleepaway camp where she graduates with a piece of paper and not much more?</p>
<p>Sure, some of this is determined by the individual student. But you at least want a reasonable quality of education, professors, support, career services, etc. You don’t want prospective employers rolling their eyes at the name of a college and thinking the person who went there couldn’t possibly be a good candidate. So … Are those “easy admission” schools like that? Anyone know?</p>
<p>Students at less than elite schools are there for a lot of reasons:</p>
<p>They need to commute, for family or other reasons.</p>
<p>They got great merit aid.</p>
<p>or , without merit aid, the school is still affordable.</p>
<p>They didn’t have good gcs, or knowledgeable/involved parents, and didn’t have an involved application process.</p>
<p>They fooled around in high school, and didn’t have great grades or scores…but a lot of these students will now grow up quickly and take things seriously…so don’t write them off.</p>
<p>Also, remember that at the end of 4 years/graduation, a student from Northern Illinois University or Illinois State is not necessarily looking at i-banking jobs in Manhattan…but will likely get hired by a bank in Chicago, and a few years in the future will be judged on their performance in the workplace.</p>
<p>It also depends greatly if you have an idea of what you want to major in - most but not all schools have certain areas they are better in than others, so it’s not really apples to apples in terms of general comparisons.</p>
<p>I do know some people who went to the easy-entry Pennsylvania state directional schools, and one from a similar SUNY, who are gainfully employed in their chosen fields, and living happy, productive lives. One was probably a standout at her college, the others were probably not. One of the “nots” had a good internship with a national employer in his field (broadcasting) that he arranged with help from the school. It led to a full-time position after graduation. I had some people from not-overly-impressive state directionals in law school with me, and they did fine. Some were a bit too accustomed to multiple-choice tests, or memorize-and-regurgitate essays, and you could see that they may not have had their writing honed by professors to the same degree as people from other schools, but that was the only difference in their preparation that I noticed.</p>
<p>You go where you can, in terms of admissions standards and finances, and you make the best of it. Are these people who should simply not have bothered with college? Absolutely not; they were well-served by what they did. If they had had the academic chops and/or the money for more prestigious options, I suppose they would have pursued them, but they did what they could, and it paid off.</p>
<p>What I’m talking about is a kid who does study, who isn’t fooling around, but the best they can do is a B average in college prep classes. Many of us can remember the time when that was a perfectly fine hs record that would get you into … Oh say the schools I was admitted into, PSU, Syracuse, and GW. </p>
<p>Of course, it’s not like that anymore. So my less-than-stellar student still will need to support herself someday, and I think could also benefit from being independent, the dorm experience, etc. She won’t be an investment banker, she got a c+ in Algebra I … And that was a struggle. And that’s fine with me, I just want her to be a happy, productive, independent adult someday. I just don’t want to waste my limited money and her time on a crappy school.</p>
<p>You go where you could get admitted to. Does everyone need to get a college degree? the answer is probably no. On the other hand, a lot of those colleges are teaching what kids didn’t learn in high school.</p>
<p>Thanks fieldsports, I posted before I saw your answer. I just wish Pa had other state choices inbetween the ones very hard to get into (main campus PSU and Pitt) and the “easy” state schools.</p>
<p>Oldfort - no, not everyone needs to go to college. And if she wanted to be, say, an ultrasound tech, and went to a school for that, that would be fine with me. The only problem is, I really do think she needs the expereince of growing up and figuring things out on your own and making friends that a traditional college would offer. Of course, a lot of this will depend on what she ends up interested in doing.</p>
<p>when your student picks her schools to apply to, visit the career offices. Also examine the relationship of the school in its area…it would be better to choose a school in the geographic area where your daughter will want to work after graduation…a lot of schools may not be national “names” but they have local respect and recognition, and healthy local employment networks.</p>
<p>And the vast majority of hs seniors in this country have no interest or desire to work at i-banking jobs in Manhattan either (not that there’s anything wrong with working at an i-bank in Manhattan), so their school’s lack of placement into a job they aren’t interested in anyway is hardly a source of concern.</p>
<p>But their school’s lack of placement into a job they are interested in should be a source of concern.</p>
<p>If my kid was going to a lower tier school I would make sure the school has a strong major my kid is interested in, and it is a major which my kid could easily get a job in, which would not be English, history, psychology, East Asian studies, gender studies…</p>
<p>All schools are “worth it” to certain students. For example, Western Illinois, a school nobody on this board cares about, is a school so highly regarded in terms of criminal justice that the FBI will recruit right out of the program. All schools, depending on the student, can offer unlimited futures. For example, a kid at a directional university with straight A’s and high MCAT’s will go to medical school.</p>
<p>Just as there are kids who come out of less than stellar high schools and go on to have excellent ACADEMIC careers, there are adults who come out of almost any university or college in this country and go on to lead successful, productive and happy lives. Given the glut of PhD’s in this country, there are very few universities in this country where classes are not being taught by very well educated individuals. Sad but true.</p>
<p>So, yes, it is all worth it, depending on what the student does with the opportunity.</p>
<p>The converse can also be said. In every school you might consider to be intrinsically worthy, there are plenty of students who are not doing well, who are falling apart and who hit a wall and will not find their way out of that. Somebody in every college will finish in the bottom quarter of the class. In every school someone is getting a great education and making great contacts and building great relationships. Just depends on the kid.</p>
<p>Right now, one possibility is elementary ed, simply because she is very good with and enjoys young children. But it’s not something she feels strongly about. She’s mentioned that she’d love to join the Peace Corps after college and somehow help children in another country. All very vague and subject to change. I should mention that she’s just a sophomore. I’m just trying to do some pre-thinking, so when it is time to get serious, I’ll be informed enough to give her good advice.</p>
<p>The vast majority of college grads will have gone to non top/elite schools. Is it worth it? The alternative is no college. It is better to be at a place where the pace and quantity of material can be mastered than to be at a school so rigorous not as much is learned. Reality check. You have to remember that most colleges will do a good job of giving the skills needed to succeed. Success is so much more than prestige. As said above, most do not care to work at jobs requiring certain colleges. Your child will find his/her level and hopefully be happy. You do not want your child to be a miserable misfit at any school just so you can say “my S/D is at X”. The country is filled with professionals who went to their non flagship level colleges.</p>
<p>Probably the most successful way to decide intrinsic worth, at least from what I have heard on this board from other parents, is to decide on a price you will be willing to pay, to let her know up front that this is what you will pay, and then to put the decision in her hands.</p>
<p>You can, of course, help with some of the choices of schools she applies to, and if there are schools you won’t pay for, you should ex those off the list BEFORE apps go out. Any school you allow her to apply to has to be a school you are willing to allow her to attend.</p>
<p>This, from what I have heard on here from parents who have questioned the value of certain educations, seems to be the best course of action, practically speaking.</p>
<p>Very well put. Education and hard work always open doors. They may be different doors from the doors that are opened at elite schools, but so what? Doesn’t make them less worthwhile. Just different, that’s all.</p>