How do you know the college considers the arts and humanities a “waste of time”? Is this a STEM focused school?
How can most students at a large city campus have the same majors? If it’s a tech school it might be possible to have similar types of degrees, but otherwise majors that don’t get many takers would have a difficult time justifying their budgets and wouldn’t exist for very long.
From the posts we get on CC I think that can be said of many state schools. The kids from Jersey want to to go west. The kids on the west coast want to head east. Local colleges are often considered “an extension of high school.” Generally, this attitude doesn’t have to do with any feature of the college except proximity to home.
Where in the Common Data Set does it say why parents send their children to school there? College choice is often driven by finances and residential college is a luxury most families can’t afford. In my opinion, you can’t have a meaningful conversation about why people are behaving a certain way if you ignore one of the major reasons that may drive their choices.
Without knowing the name of the college it’s difficult to judge the quality of the education it offers. Certainly things like clubs, networking opportunities, research, a rich program in the arts and humanities, etc. enrich students lives. But, like fit, these are luxuries lower income families don’t often get to choose. They need the credit that will lead to the degree.
There are public schools (secondary as well as college) that could stand an upgrade. The students would benefit from a broader, deeper curriculum, better equipment, updated books, and an opportunity to participate in the arts. These things take money. If you truly believe your local university is lacking I hope you’re advocating for them at the state level. But it’s a disservice to students and faculty at both types of schools to compare it to a community college. Our state community colleges are solid schools with dedicated faculty who offer an excellent education. I think most states have similar systems.