<p>Ok, so I’m a sophomore (class of 2013) and I’ve been looking at colleges not too seriously, but compiling a huge list of schools from around the country. So I decided that going into my Junior year, I want a more concise list that I can manage to do more in depth research on, visit (hopefully all of them), and then apply to. I did some more research, and listed the 25+ schools into categories based on how much I liked them (based on academics, atmosphere, and many other factors). Then I decided that I would just eliminate all but the top three categories, which left about 15. Then I did even more research and made sure that all of them were in the right categories, and then eliminated the third one (or better yet “archived” it for future reference if the ones left don’t work out). So now I’m down to 9 schools (pretty much in order of preference): MIT, Stanford, USC, UC Berkeley, McGill, NYU, UPenn, Cal Poly, and U of Washington. I want to major in urban planning or urban studies, and because those are interdisciplinary degrees I’ve had to research exactly what each program is really about. So I started looking at this list of 9, feeling pretty good about it, and then I realized that all of them are really far away from home (I’m near Atlanta, Georgia), and all of them are in liberal places. I tried not to pick based on location/locale alone, but it looks like it turned out like that. I mean I don’t absolutely hate Georgia, but I’m definitely ready to get out of here, sooner than later, and I don’t really fit in as a liberal in one of the most conservative states in the nation. So I want to know if you think that I might have selected my college list with a subconscious prejudice against the South and/or red states??? Is this normal??</p>
<p>You probably picked schools that you thought were in areas that were more inline with your politics.</p>
<p>*We make enough income that I probably won’t qualify for much need-based financial aid (if any), but there’s not enough money for me to just go anywhere for anything, and I don’t want to start off my adult life with tons of loans. *</p>
<p>You need to ask your parents how much they’ll spend. Berkeley is $50k per year for OOS students…NYU costs more…and neither gives good aid…</p>
<p>One thing to consider is that there are definitely very liberal schools in southern states. UNC-CH is one example, UT Austin is another. I think your list looks pretty good, except for NYU which I would definitely hesitate to apply to unless you fully understand that it has no campus and isn’t for everyone. You might also want to check out Northwestern, Rice, Tufts, and a few other schools with good financial aid.</p>
<p>I don’t know where all this hating on NYU is coming from, but it kind of makes sense if the OP wants to do Urban Planning as it is in the middle of one of the largest if not the largest urban areas in the nation (LA for physical size?). </p>
<p>Anyways, I don’t think it’s a problem that you might have subconsciously picked away from your home state. If you are more comfortable somewhere else than it’s better to go with that than with your home state if you aren’t going to be happy there.</p>
<p>Just a note, the overwhelming majority of schools are liberal, due to the nature of higher education. Also, urban areas tend to be more liberal than rural areas which would stand to reason that universities of a more liberal persuasion have urban studies programs. That sounded awfully like a gross generalization but I doubt I’m entirely wrong about that.</p>
<p>It sounds to me like you have a subconscious desire to be in the Pac-10.</p>
<p>PROFILE OF 2008-09 FINANCIAL AID Freshmen: NEW YORK UNIVERSITY</p>
<p>Financial Aid Applicants 3,004 (67.2%) of freshmen
Found to Have Financial Need 2,390 (79.6%) of applicants
Received Financial Aid 2,342 (98.0%) of applicants with financial need
Need Fully Met Not reported
Average Percent of Need Met 71%
Average Award $26,287
Need-Based Gift Received by 2,298 (98.1%) of aid recipients, average amount $19,120
Need-Based Self-Help Received by 2,207 (94.2%) of aid recipients, average amount $7,987
Merit-Based Gift Not reported
Merit-Based Gift Received by 244 (5.5%) of freshmen without need, average amount $6,683 </p>
<p>“Need Fully Met - Not Reported” That is a big clue right there! </p>
<p>The Cost of Attendance is listed as around $56,000/annually, probably more. </p>
<p>NYU is expensive & gives very little aid, I don’t think it is necessarily hatred for NYU, but these days all applicants are cost conscious.</p>
<p>I also think NYU is an ‘extremely’ urban campus, it makes GW or BU feel positively suburban. I know many students who went to NYU enamored by the idea of NYC only to regret it later. There is a big sacrifice in having no definable campus, coming from Atlanta I just think the OP should be aware of that.</p>
<p>I hope your parents are loaded. A bunch of $50K/yr colleges for urban planning/studies which has negative job growth right now? And does not pay that well when there are jobs.</p>
<p>I agree slipper - I know 3 NYU kids who transfered because NYU was too urban, too hands-off, and too expensive both in terms of tuition but especially in the the cost of living in Manhattan.</p>
<p>To the NYU discussion this has turned into: I know about NYU’s lack of a defined campus. My mother used to live in New York City for almost 15 years, and she still has some good friends up there. And yes, part of why I like their urban studies (or as they call it, Metropolitan Studies) program is because they say they get out and use the city.</p>
<p>To yoyomama999: I agree, I think that urban planning is a more liberal career in general. A great example is Atlanta, home of hour plus commutes and 18 lane interstates (in each direction), where when we are about to vote on a comprehensive transportation program for the region there are incredible amounts of opposition. Our state also has republicans in every state-wide elected office and they control the legislature and all but a handful of county governments. According to a local talk radio host: (I’m paraphrasing here) “Urban planning is something they did in the USSR, not the USA. Those people want to force you to live in tiny apartment and not own a car and take unsafe hobo-filled mass transit to work. And all of it will be funded by your hard earned tax dollars. Urban planning is anti-American.”</p>
<p>To barrons: Where did you find that urban planning has negative job growth? I’ve seen that it will grow tremendously as more people worldwide move to cities. It was also ranked as one of the 50 best careers by US News and World Report. Just because we’re coming out of a recession now doesn’t mean that in 6-10 years when I actually enter the workforce I won’t be able to find a job anywhere in the world.</p>
<p>Most are hired by cities. Cities are mostly broke. City planning is not a core dept. in most cities and subject to cuts first. I worked in city planning. Usually the income to pay planners is based on new development fees. New development is WAY down. I was not considering cities out of the USA.</p>