<p>^ wish I could “like” that</p>
<p>@DEfour, I thought F&M doesn’t have merit money…other wise we would have looked at it closer.</p>
<p>Hey! the Like and Helpful are back! (still not clicking on the Facebook button)</p>
<p>@bopper That’s my understanding. That’s why I’m so worried about how much they are hiking tuition every year. That alone may take it off the list.</p>
<p>sbjdorlo–I was just responding to your statement about your son not wanting to be in a “liberal” environment. I hadn’t read too far back in the thread so if you were talking about something else (such as school size) I missed it–my apologies.</p>
<p>Hs2015mom- I do not seem to have any technical difficulties but you can’t go by me because I am not technical!! </p>
<p>Congrats on the college app! D is finished with the UPitt app but I want to read her essays once more to check for possible typos. The application won’t be totally complete until the fall when school begins again. </p>
<p>So the grades are up on the portal and all final exams and Regents exams are posted… And there were no errors noted on the report card which means that junior year is officially done! 
</p>
<p>@twogirls Hooray on junior year being finally, finally done! And I’m so impressed that your D has completed her app, essays and all. </p>
<p>Whatever was going on with the site has been resolved - the ‘like’ and ‘helpful’ buttons are back.</p>
<p>D got an email from OSU (Oklahoma) saying beat senioritis and apply now with a link. We haven’t looked, but I’m assuming that app is available today also.</p>
<p>Hs2015mom the Pitt app had one main essay and a few very short ones ( maybe 2 sentences). I am a little nervous to hit " submit" because once it’s in, it’s official- they have started applying. </p>
<p>Jennie11 did they waive the fee? </p>
<p>The email didn’t say the fee was waived so I assume it’s not.</p>
<p>The UCs insist that they do have higher requirements for OOS students. On Cal’s website they say the average GPA of admitted in-state students is 3.89, while for OOS it’s 3.92. See here: <a href=“Student Profile - Office of Undergraduate Admissions”>http://admissions.berkeley.edu/studentprofile</a></p>
<p>I agree that it’s the moving target that causes the stress. I think this is a combination of the reputation of the UC system as a whole (not just individual schools) having skyrocketed in recent years, and also college tuitions having skyrocketed. A student who is accepted at both a UC and a slightly higher-ranked private school, is much more likely to choose the UC nowadays than before private-school tuition got so steep. This drives the average admitted student stats up, which in turn makes the UCs look more competitive, which makes students more likely to apply and to attend once accepted, etc.</p>
<p>One thing that I wonder if students realize when they apply is, I don’t think the UCs superscore the SAT. I know UCDavis doesn’t because the question was asked during an info session I attended. So you can look like a less attractive candidate to a UC than you do to a private school that superscores.</p>
<p>The other thing is that California now has more than 35 million residents but the campus populations at UCB and UCLA haven’t grown that much since the Sixties. It’s probably fair to think of the top five or six UCs as ALL being de facto “flagships.”</p>
<p>The discussion about state schools above is effecting many states. Many of the state’s population at large do not realize what is happening in their own back yard but our state is starting to have the conversation on this matter.</p>
<p>One of our state university has a tendency to BRAG about how large of international population is enrolled. I know it it’s not PC to talk about but our state kids are getting left out. We keep hearing that we need to compete globally…so why don’t we invest in our own…if they are coming here for our education…then we need to step up to educate ours?</p>
<p>Sorry about the rant. Our state wonders why they have brain drain…just maybe if they value the taxpayer and their kids they wouldn’t.</p>
<p>One of the things that’s happened over the past decade and more is that the taxpayers haven’t valued the state universities, which means that state universities are relying more on tuition than they ever have before, as state support shrinks. OOS and international students are much more valuable. For state universities with large numbers of low income students there’s the double whammy – fewer state dollars (mostly in absolute dollars, not even relative dollars) and less state support for low income students. Where do you all think the money comes from? Now, states like Michigan, where the state hasn’t significantly supported state universities for decades, have already adjusted to be almost completely reliant on tuition.</p>
<p>Forgot to add that the state flagship has just 57% in- state residents (under and graduate) students. I just feel that 43% of a campus that is funded by our legislature should not exist. Maybe it’s just me…</p>
<p>@Hoosier – Then you better be prepared to pay a lot more in state taxes. State support of public universities varies wildly from state to state, but most people who actually dig into the finances are surprised at how badly the 50 states have been supporting public education. And then you have to start asking questions about deferred maintenance following the 2008 economic downturn. (I wouldn’t be counting most of the grad students in any event. They typically aren’t state-funded.)</p>
<p>If you look at the budget of most states the biggest line item is Medicaid. The funding that is placed on the state mandate by the federal government for such program would open a lot of citizens eyes.
I won’t get into this on line. I deal everyday with federal mandates that would have most heads spinning.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Well, there is this guy, who thinks California is so big now that it should be [split</a> into 6 states!](<a href=“http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2014/02/21/california-six-states-plan-tim-draper/5673283/]split”>Plan to split California into six states closer to vote) One “flagship” per new state! </p>
<p>(Actually since the campuses are not that spread out it wouldn’t work out that way. Darn it, I was all set to sign on. /not really)</p>
<p>Our state flagship still pulls a large contingent of residents - more than 3-1 which is great, but almost unbelievable given how expensive the place is. But it is shoulders above the rest of the state schools so I get the feeling people choose b/w it and OOS schools so they don’t have to go to the other IS schools.</p>
<p>Since D is applying to mostly rolling admission schools, we are going to spread them out a bit, but still try and have most done by Nov 1 in order to maximize scholarship options. Still working on final list which will be complete after our last college road trip in 2 weeks. She has some school work to do throughout the summer and then we get at it starting in August.</p>
<p>I commend those that have already done apps!</p>