<p>Believe me, I don’t care about elite or prestige. And I don’t want her in a school she couldn’t handle. I just want to be sure she gets a decent education and career tools. Sounds like she can do it- if she’s motivated. Always the potential deal-breaker, isn’t it? lol</p>
<p>Some of the best majors in directional schools can be found in the humanities and social sciences. PhD production from top schools has exceeded demand for new faculty at top schools. My FIL’s department at an IL directional has mostly Ivy and Big Ten minted PhDs. </p>
<p>I’m not familiar with the PA directionals, but a person can get a fine education at the Michigan, Illiois, and WI directionals.</p>
<p>As a parent of a current college student and recent college grads and a PA resident, my experience has been that the young adults that are now working are the ones that worked hard in college and worked hard at getting a job. Where they went to college was secondary. Their major was also important. Across the board, English majors have had a harder time finding jobs. Everyone I know that got an education degree from any of our PA state U’s - IUP, Kutztown, Millersville, PSU, Pitt are working in schools. I’ve visited many of our state schools and think very highly of most of them. </p>
<p>BTW, My own husband is a graduate of WVU and had multiple offers upon graduation.</p>
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<p>As to not having enough great schools to choose from, you need to think out of the box. Two of my three kids attended private colleges out of state for the same cost as PSU in state. Yes, many schools will give merit aid to B students. My daughter went to a teeny tiny private college and then went to Vanderbilt for her masters. She’s now working in her field in Washington, DC.</p>
<p>College is usually what you make it to be, even at the best schools. </p>
<p>Given that she has struggled in some of her classes in HS, she’ll probably be challenged by her college courses regardless of where she goes. And going to an “easier” college may actually be benificial as she will still be challenged yet have some wiggle room. </p>
<p>And personally I think that getting >3.0 at a less competitive state school is better for recruiting than getting <3.0 at a more competitive school.</p>
<p>Also look at the small religiously-affiliated colleges in PA and WV. The current president of one is a woman who was a classmate from grade school through the end of high school. When I knew her, she was very smart and very kind. I think she’d run a student-focused school with individual attention and a commitment to growth. And I think her peers would have similar perspectives.</p>
<p>I don’t know about those schools but a cousin of mine went to Western Michigan, probably a similar school to the ones you’re talking about, majored in MechE, and is working an engineering job now. I don’t really know any details about his job, but I think it’s pretty good with a good salary. Without a college degree, he wouldn’t have that job.</p>
<p>SansSerif=I think the real issues is the perception that it takes a 4.0 and 2400 SAT to get into colleges these days. What makes a lot of schools “selective” isn’t always that they have top students applying to those schools, but just that they have A LOT of students that apply. Syracuse, for example, has average ACT scores in the 23-28 range, which is really a “B” student range for test scores. The school is considered “very selective” because they had 25,000 applicants for 12,000 spots. Compare that with Harvard with the ACT Range of 31-35 and 35,000 applicants for 2100 spots.</p>
<p>Without knowing your DD’s stats, there are 100’s of really, really good schools out there that don’t get talked about here that are fairly easy to get into but produce top notch students that are FULLY qualified for their chosen fields. </p>
<p>Since PA has been brought up, what about schools like Seton Hill. That is a little gem of a school, beautiful campus, fantastic programs, especially sciences. Merit aid is generous too.</p>
<p>I think what it really comes down to for many kids is that the state directionals end up being the lowest cost options–OR people assume that private schools cost too much without really researching them so they don’t even apply. I agree with Haystack, most directionals are very good schools, especially if you are attending one that is very strong in your chosen major. Since he brought up WI, Eau Claire has VERY, VERY strong math programs as well as being VERY strong in music (up there with St. Olaf and Luther). No employer that knows these schools would ever think you got a “bad” education at these schools. Our DS is considering Eau Claire. When we visited last November, there were 12 seniors in his major, all 12 of them had jobs lined up for when they graduated in May.</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>Well, it will depend on her major. if she majors in Basket Weaving, even at a super school, then guess what? She’ll graduate with a piece of paper and not much more.</p>
<p>However, if she majors in Elem Ed at a decent school, and she gets good grades and credentialed, then she’d have a very good chance of being hired. The same for many other career paths and degrees. </p>
<p>Much depends on the major…those who major in Film Studies, Art, Theater, Music, Anthropology, etc, will often graduate and find it hard to get a great paying job. However, those who major in Eng’g, Math, Business, Econ, and other more marketable majors, often find excellent jobs before they even graduate…even when they’ve only attended their local good public!</p>
<p>Throughout your life you have likely encountered doctors, lawyers, CPAs, successful business people, etc who went to undergrad at their “good public” or “good private” that USNews doesn’t bow down to. </p>
<p>And, yes, some regional schools are “known” for certain majors, so employers go fishing for “new hires” on those campuses. I live near UA-Huntsville…a school ranked somewhere around 175ish…so not high. However, since it is located in Cummings Research Park (2nd largest research park in the nation), the school is known for its STEM majors, nursing, business, etc. Its Art and Theater depts may not be so great, and maybe not their French dept, but they’re known for being strong in STEM/science/health…so going there for one of those majors can result in a good paying job. </p>
<p>BTW…Just my opinion, but schools like UAH mostly only have lower rankings because they aren’t strong in 100 different majors, and they don’t have massive endowments. But, the quality of their strong programs will rival many of the best schools. </p>
<p>Few careers require a pricey tippy top education…usually only those Wall Street -Goldman Sachs kind of jobs. </p>
<p>That said…if you have the funds, there are many nice privates (some Catholics and others) who will gladly accept a dedicated student with modest stats.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies. I guess my issue is that I don’t have the money for the OOS publics or the privates. And unless my daughter surprises me with her SATs (you never know) she won’t have the grades/numbers for merit. I have looked at a few OOS publics such as WVU and Ohio University, since their oos tuition is about the same as PSU instate.</p>
<p>I know there are plenty of schools that aren’t “elite” yet offer a very good education. And there are others full of kids who really aren’t ready for college and aren’t too motivated. My daughter is motivated but not academically strong. I know this post is premature. But thank you for giving me food for thought!</p>
<p>Anidotally, I work with someone who has a daughter at west Chester and is happy with her education. An intern at my office was a student at e stroudsburg and she was a real sweetheart who was a great asset to us. Both these schools seem to be working well for these oos students.</p>
<p>The PA state directionals are traditionally and historically teachers colleges. For example, West Chester U used to be called West Chester State Teachers College. So if a student is interested in becoming a teacher, they are very good choices. Others have some special programs that are notable - art at Kutztown, for example. </p>
<p>And again, if you want to get a job in a certain location, you are bound to fine employers who are grads of that institution and that is not necessarily a bad thing. </p>
<p>There are other private schools that are less costly than the top tier schools - York College, Immaculata, etc Plus schools like Drexel give out a lot of aid, making the net cost more affordable than the sticker price.</p>
<p>As others have said, above all, the motivation and work of the student is what is important.</p>
<p>What do you want to hear? No. The only schools that are “worth it” are a small number of very selective institutions, and if you can’t get in there, well, you may as well save your money.</p>
<p>Because, the world would run just fine with only the number of accountants, programmers, nurses, teachers, ministers, and any number of other professionals who attended highly selective schools.</p>
<p>If you can afford them, some small lacs have a very high acceptance rate, but provide an excellent education. For example, Wheaton College (Massachusetts) accepts 60 percent of applicants. But it gives you the small college, low faculty:student ratio. It is old, and has a very good and established alumni vocationalnetwork, with notable graduates, and an impressive number of Fullbrights and Rhodes scholars. Just an example I came across in my daughter’s college search. There are others just like it scattered around.</p>
<p>Ordinarylives, you’re totally misreading me. I’ve said repeatedly that I’m not interested in elite schools. And that I know there are many, many schools that offer a good education. I’m just trying to figure out how to tell the difference between good and not-so-good choices. Everyone else is giving me good advice and info. </p>
<p>Never once did I say I only thought highly selective schools are worth it. I know there are are a lot of posters like that on CC but I’m not one of them. So save your high horse for the next 4.0 2400 student who thinks his life is over when he gets rejected from Harvard.</p>
<p>And to everyone else - you’ve brought up a good point about lesser known schools having regional contacts for jobs. We live near Phila but have a lot of family in CT. She really likes it up there and talks about wanting to live there someday. So that’s something else to consider.</p>
<p>IME, that “piece of paper” is becoming more and more important in life as jobs are requiring it even if they don’t really need it for the educational aspect. It never hurts to have it.</p>
<p>We have several students at our school who go to all of the state Us (also in PA) or who choose schools like York College. (York give merit aid for generally mediocre scores by cc standards, so don’t be put off by sticker shock - it’s great for lower level students.) These kids do just fine in life - usually locally vs globally - but they usually just want local. Yes, some drop out, but that happens anywhere.</p>
<p>You could also consider the first two years at a community college, then transfer elsewhere, but if part of what you are looking for is the “college experience” then definitely consider the state schools. We have happy students at Shippensburg, Mansfield, Bloomsburg, Millersville, Clarion, Kutztown, West Chester, IUP, & more. Ship and Millersville get the most from our school, but that’s partially due to our location.</p>
<p>Well yes and outside the rarified world of CC thousands of kids go off proudly to directional colleges and less known LACs, have great experiences, do well and receive diplomas.</p>
<p>If she might want to teach, she should go to school in the state where she wants to work. Certification is handled at the state level and often doesn’t travel well.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies.* I guess my issue is that I don’t have the money for the OOS publics or the privates. And unless my daughter surprises me with her SATs (you never know) she won’t have the grades/numbers for merit**. I have looked at a few OOS publics such as WVU and Ohio University, since their oos tuition is about the same as PSU instate.</p>
<p>I know there are plenty of schools that aren’t “elite” yet offer a very good education. And there are others full of kids who really aren’t ready for college and aren’t too motivated. My daughter is motivated but not academically strong. I know this post is premature. But thank you for giving me food for thought!*</p>
<p>Well, you have to deal with the cards that you’re dealt instead of spending too much time worrying about things that won’t likely happen (such as funding for a top school). </p>
<p>First, figure out how much you CAN pay each year. Run a few NPCs to find out what aid is out there…or to find out if you have an unaffordable EFC. :(</p>
<p>Then, identify some good safety schools for your D…those may be the PA directionals. Hopefully, one that your D could commute to could be a safety, too.</p>
<p>Sometimes, a student’s most affordable “going away” option is only affordable by combining a Parent contribution, a modest merit award, a $5500 student loan, and student summer earnings and part-time school year earnings.</p>
<p>Then, identify some schools that, with assured merit, will be affordable for certain possible stats. </p>
<p>I know that Annasdad’s D had nice, but not top, stats and she got a good merit pkg from Truman State…and OOS liberal arts public.</p>
<p>there are a few (not many) publics in the South that have low OOS costs. Look at Miss State, Ole Miss, and a few others.</p>
<p>SansSerif–if she doesn’t have the stats to get merit, be realistic about you expectations in college too. Some of the state directionals are very challenging schools and not a good fit for the average student, like Truman in MO. You certainly don’t want her in over her head either. We are in PA now, as you know, looking at some very wonderful schools that would be worth considering and she may qualify for merit. Many schools DO offer merit for 3.0’s and above. Hopefully you read my trip reports on the '13 thread. One school I would HIGHLY recommend for the “B” student is Mount Mercy in Cedar Rapids, IA. If she is in the top 30% of her class, there is merit aid available. Also, do the net price calculators if you haven’t already. You may be surprised at what you can get at some of these private schools.</p>
<p>Also, having a college degree from a state directional sure beats having a high school diploma in the job search!</p>