@curiositycat333 …schools with a “direction” in the title:
University of NORTH Texas
WEST Texas State
etc. etc…here they are usually branches of the two main flagships.
@IABooks - DS13 applied and was accepted at UA & Auburn. He really liked Auburn and a number of kids from his school and a couple of his engineering friends go there. I would have DS17 apply there but the cost is higher for us. DS17 only has a 32 and you need a 33 for the highest scholarship. we have decided to not have him apply for that reason and the fact that there is no probation for scholarships at Auburn. If you go below a 3.0 you lose it for good. At UA you at least have another semester to fix it.
@mamaedefamilia Make sure those suggestion apply towards the new essay sections on both the ACT and SAT. The SAT on the new SAT (from March) is VERY VERY different from the old test. And recommendations from the earlier test really don’t apply to the second.
OK I get directional. University of Washington has these as well, (I forget what they are called) where UW has other branches.
Thanks @MichiganGeorgia! I’ve read a bit on the Auburn thread here about the potential of losing scholarships. It’s definitely a factor with any engineering program. I’ll keep it on the mental list for now. Maybe if we can get S down to that neck of the woods to see UA we can fly home out of Atlanta and just kind of happen upon Auburn. He won’t have looked at a map to realize it’s a bit out of the way, although he might get suspicious if they seem to expect us at the admissions office. :))
I’ve heard the word directional befire and never knew that was the reference. California is different. It’s arguable that at least 4 of the UC’s are flagship caliber, and no UC or Cal State has a direction in their name.
@stem2017 - If it were my kid I would focus mostly on the reading. DS said that the Science and English are basically just reading. So if he can do well on that section he should do well on the others. I know he is right about the science section because DS is definitely not a STEM student.
@curiositycat333 no. Actually directionals are named after the city/town or the part of the state and aren’t obviously, the flagship. Branch colleges are different.
In WA we have Central, Eastern and Western. Those are our directionals. The UW and WSU branch campuses, are just that, a branch of the larger institution.
Humboldt, by way of example, is basically a directional. Or regional. Part of it also has to do with how much or little is offered in the way of graduate research and enrollment I believe.
@VickiSoCal right, so in Cal I don’t think any of the UC’s are considered “directional” equivalents but many of the Cal States are. One way to look at it is to look here and see what shows up. Cal Poly, for this purpose, is considered regional. This list combines public and private so isn’t quite apples to apples but you get the idea.
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/regional-universities-west/data
@MichiganGeorgia I think you are right. He’s knee deep in Calc BC and AP Physics right now so he’s staying fresh in math and science (kind of). He just needs to get the Reading timing down and I think @Mom2aphysicsgeek method could work, as long as he is willing - that’s the tough part.
@IABooks - I think you need to know your kid and what their major is.Some majors are easier to keep a 3.0 than others. Plus I know that DS17 is good in certain subjects but it’s the other General Ed ones like math & science that I believe he could have problems with. I’d rather not have him be one of the ones that end up back at home because he lost his scholarship. It has a really nice campus though and DH works with a number Auburn Parents. DS13’s friends have had good engineering co-ops & internships. One of his friends is also in the Marching Band and loves it. We really haven’t heard any negatives about it except the scholarship retention and cost.
ACT Science is not a science test, but a reading comprehension of scientific articles according to my DS. He reads lot of science articles and that’s why he didn’t even practice for science section. However he is a hardcore STEM student 
@stem2017 - DS is on the regular track for math and he is so not a math kid. For him it’s good that math is only 1/4 of the score. Maybe your son should take the SAT? Math is a much larger part of that score.
@srk2017 - yes. you are right about science. DS is a B science student. The answers are all in the text.
Another Bama family here! DS17 has been accepted to Texas A&M and Bama and has lost all interest in doing any more apps. He is still waiting to hear from University of Texas but that app is in and all he can do now is wait.
DS hasn’t filled out the roommate profile text box but we did look at the next page that matches you to students who pick the same “messy” factor, etc. For DS, he is messy and I wouldn’t want him to even put that he is remotely neat and have some poor kid have to deal with his mess. He didn’t have very high matches because his music tastes are eclectic and the “messy” factor. I’ll have him fill out that profile text box today and see what happens. I am sure he will put in some snarky comments. @MichiganGeorgia the few matches he did show did not put race in the text box but one of the music choices is “Christian” which I thought was odd.
What about CSU East Bay and CSU Northridge? Can those count?
@curiositycat333 & @eandesmom, you’re actually both right, depending on the state. Directionals in some states have compass directions (or central) in the name (e.g., the University of South Florida), in other states have the names of cities in the name (e.g., the University of Nebraska Omaha), and other states do both (e.g., the University of Washington Bothell and Western Washington University).
Confusingly enough, some state flagships have cities in their names and some state flagships have, effectively by necessity due to their state, a compass direction in their name, so it’s possible to have both, as with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, but there are less obvious ones, like the University of Nebraska—Lincoln. (Opinions will differ as to whether colleges such as Cleveland State University count as a directional; I’m on the yes side, myself.)
“Directional” is often used as an aspersional term, but some are quite nice, and some rival their flagships in terms of student inputs and achievement, though it’s rarer that they compete with the flagships in terms of facilities (but there are some notable exceptions).
ETA: Basically, “directional” is a term of status, and thus socially defined—there is no actual, precise, technical definition for it.
@jedwards70 - The thing about the messy question in my opinion is sort of a non factor unless you are really neat at least for those in the suites. As long as they close the bedroom door. who cares?
@jedwards70 …another Bama family here. We filled out the housing last night. Right now it is Bama and OU. There will be a reach school however I think it will be a REACH school. Anyone from here going from Texas to Alabama?
@jedwards70 - I’m also wondering why UA has so many questions about music. Especially if the kids use headphones.
@MichiganGeorgia and @Tgirlfriend Yep, we are from Texas. The few people that we have told about Bama are like “What? Bama? Why would he go there when he can stay here?” He really wants to go out of state and likes Bama. People give me weird looks and some of his friends think he is “undermatching”. Love that term, by the way. He liked it so that is all that counts in my book.
He is thinking about applying to the Blount Scholars Program which would kind of nullify the whole housing decision but he doesn’t know if he will get in so I wanted to get that housing app in early. He loved those suite dorms so he could keep his mess in his room. He is not a messy bathroom kid but I know his clothes will be all over the floor of his room. He has done several summers away and his half of the room always looked like a bomb hit it. I felt sorry for his super-neat roommates. I would post before and after pics on those roommate matching sites if I could.
If any of them end up at Bama, we need to have a CC 2017 reunion.
@jedwards70 - The Blount Program seems really nice. DS17 will be applying although I’m not sure if he will get in.
@MichiganGeorgia I think the answers to the UA music questions can be used for matching, without regard to whether you ‘hear’ each other’s music. Kids who listen ONLY to Country are probably poor-ish matches for kids who NEVER listen to Country. At least, that was my assumption.
Good explanation, @dfbdfb. I think California is not alone in states that have more than one ‘flagship’ as well. FL, MI, NC, MA, lots of others jump to mind…