Post your own state's college reputations'

eddyx77 · September 2, 2007, 3:16am

I know there have been quite a few California posts already, but none of them really covered all of the bases so I think I’ll add my two cents:

First the UC’s

Top Tier:
Berkeley: As has been mentioned, it is the most prestigious UC and by all accounts, the best public school in the country. Its very intense academically and has a very strong reputation in just about every department, from engineering to the humanities. The surrounding area is definitely NOT ghetto, however the bay area does have a serious homelessness problem. There is also a certain “hippie” element but not to the degree that some previous posters have described. Yes, it is politically left-leaning and yes, there is a large percentage of Asians. Keep in mind that you could say the same thing about most of the bay area. Cal is one of the few schools I know of that offers organic and vegetarian meals to its students. The downside to Cal is that it is a very large school (second largest UC) with over 22,000 undergrads. As a result, some classes are very large and the bureaucracy is legendary. Some would say that most of Cal’s reputation is based on the strength of its graduate programs, which seem to consistently rank in the top ten across the board. Undergrads have to make more of an effort to take advantage of all that Cal has to offer, and the competition can supposedly be fierce.

I should also mention that the town of Berkeley has excellent public transit, but owning a car can be a serious source of stress. On a very shallow note, Berkeley also has a reputation as having a dearth of attractive females, hence the term “Berkeley goggles”.

That being said, I personally knew an extremely beautiful girl who attended UC Berkeley, and afterwards moved to LA to become a model. NOT that it should matter, I just want to illustrate the idiocy of those sort of stereotypes.

UCLA: A very well rounded school with a very solid reputation. It is said to be the “most applied to school in the country”. Known for arts, sciences and humanities, it outranks UC Berkeley in a few departments (Psychology, I think) but if it is chosen over Berkeley it seems it would mainly be because of its location. UCLA is in a very nice, upscale kind of town called Westwood which is very close to Santa Monica, Hollywood, and downtown LA. UCLA also has an AMAZINGLY beautiful campus. The film department is strong and on its website it states that UCLA has “the largest English department in the country”. Sports is a big deal here, especially with regards to the rivalry with USC. The biggest drawback to UCLA is that it is the largest of all of the UC schools and as a result, some criticize it as being too impersonal and riding on the reputation of its graduate programs. If you like large schools though, it would have a lot to offer.

Other points: If you don’t have a car or know someone who does, you aren’t going to be able to get anywhere beyond Westwood. And even if you do have a car, the traffic can be an absolute nightmare. UCLA is so big that you don’t need to leave if you don’t really want to.

UCSD: You could make a strong argument that UCSD has better science programs and facilities than any other school in the state, and you might be right, but it is not regarded quite as highly as UCB and UCLA because it is not as well rounded. Traditional language degrees are not offered at UCSD, and that includes a traditional English degree. Instead, a literature degree is offered which allows students to choose a language of interest. Most of the language courses are taught by linguistics professors, which contributes to the schools reputation as a very science and math oriented place. The campus is pretty but the surrounding town, La Jolla, is a little bit to snooty to be a good place for college students. Some might say that it is socially dead, but there are some options. Downtown San Diego is not REALLY close but depending on traffic, can be reached in less than twenty minutes by car. Just like UCLA, you NEED a car to be able to get around. I have a friend who went to UCSD as a mathematics major/music minor and he spoke very highly of both departments

Middle Tier:

UC Irvine: I know that Irvine has a good writing program, and a very highly regarded graduate program. They also offer a journalism major for undergrads which is uncommon at the UCs. Other than that, I know very little about UCI except that the town of Irvine is, in my opinion, a pretty undesirable place to be. UCI has a reputation as being a big commuter school with a lack of community among its students.

UC Davis: Known to be very strong in Earth Sciences and Animal Husbandry, among other things. The town of Davis is supposedly a very “organic, hippie” kind of place and it is more of a college town than the other UC locations, whatever that means (A lot of people ride bikes?).

UC Santa Barbara: The party reputation seems to overshadow everything else about the school. It is not very difficult to get into and the Isla Vista area is hyped up to be a 24 hour drunken party zone. The stereotype is that most of the people who go there are white, come from wealth and don’t care much about learning. I must admit that the few people I knew from high school who attended UCSB seemed to fit that description. However, UCSB also has the college of creative studies, touted as a “graduate school for undergraduates”, which offers highly personalized programs in the arts for a select group of applicants. The music department at UCSB is also highly regarded, and the surrounding area is beautiful.

Bottom Tier:

UC Santa Cruz: UCSC’s weak reputation stems largely from the fact that until recently, the school did not offer a traditional grading system for its students. It is known to be a very left-leaning school with a lot of political activism and an amazingly unique campus. The school itself is located on a hillside overlooking the town of Santa Cruz, and is nestled in a large area of redwoods, complete with wooden bridges between departments. It is strong in the linguistics department, as well as the other sciences. Like UCSD it does not offer traditional language degrees. It is fairly easy to get accepted to UCSC and the student body has a slacker/stoner reputation that is the antithesis of the highly competitive reputation of UC Berkeley.

**NOTE: It has been said that both UCSB and UCSC attract a large amount of excellent professors despite the relatively lower amount of prestige associated with the schools because of their locations.

UCRiverside: I know very little about UC Riverside except that it is really not regarded highly by anyone I know. The town of Riverside is not the greatest place in California, although there are worse. Definitely the worst location of any UC. Anecdotally, I know of one student who dropped out of UCR because of the drug scene.

UC Merced: I know absolutely NOTHING about this school. Too young to be judged.

***It should also be noted that all of the UCs have a very highly regarded exchange program call the EAP

UC San Francisco: UCSF is not a traditional UC, as it is a graduate/medical school. It is regarded as one of the best medical schools in the country.

Moving on the the privates-

Stanford: The only thing I know about Stanford is that it is the most prestigious school in the state, and one of the most prestigious in the country. Its located in Palo Alto, has Spanish style architecture, and there is no way in hell that I could ever get in there (nor do I want to). I don’t doubt that its an amazing school.

University of Southern California: A very highly regarded private school, USC is comparable to UCLA in many ways. Both schools are very well rounded, both have excellent film programs and both are big sports schools. USC offers a journalism major, which is not offered at UCLA and USC also seems to have a better reputation for business and engineering than UCLA. That being said, there are some who complain about the grading system at the USC engineering school. Also, USC is in a somewhat dicey part of Los Angeles (some would call it downright ghetto) and its also most likely going to cost a lot more than the UCs if you are a CA resident. At USC, double majors seem to be more encouraged that at other schools (not sure why exactly).

California Institute of Technology: Arguably the best tech school in the country, CIT is highly selective and really small. Thats about all I know about it.

Pomona College: The most prestigious of the Claremont Consortium and one of the best LACs in the country (#7 on the USNWR list), Pomona is a very well rounded school with a very small acceptance rate. Strong departments include International Relations (Pomona claims to be one of the largest diplomat-producing schools in the US), economics, music, and so much more. Pomona has a very high percentage of students who would return to Pomona (I think its almost 90%) Pomona also has a reputation for having a very generous financial aid office. The campus is really beautiful and it is adjacent to the other schools in the Claremont Consortium, giving students full access to all campuses. There is some disagreement as to how much students of the five different schools interact, and there is some kind of rivalry between Pomona and Claremont McKenna, the neighboring school. Pomona is NOT a sports school at all. The location is also somewhat isolated, with Claremont being a pretty small town thats too far from LA to have it be easily accessible. Pomona has a partnership with Middlebury for its study abroad programs.

I don’t know much about the rest of the Claremont Consortium except that Harvey Mudd is a serious Math/Science School, Claremont McKenna is big on politics (with a large conservative student body) and Scripps is an all girls school.

Occidental: Occidental is the “lost LAC”, somehow almost completely unknown by most of the college bound world. Its ranked as the #36 best LAC in the country by USNWR, and is very selective in its admissions. Known to be very strong in the humanities but not as highly regarded in the sciences. Occidental is one of the few schools its size to offer a major in “diplomacy and world affairs” which includes a United Nations internship. Also has a joint degree program with Columbia and Cal Tech for specific majors. Very liberal/politically active campus, with very high marks for diversity. Seems to be well regarded by those who attended. One of the few LACs in the country to be situated in very close proximity to a big city, Occidental is in the suburb of Eagle Rock, about 15 minutes from downtown LA. I have heard mixed things about the campus and town (some say they are beautiful, others say the town is a dump) but have yet to see it for myself. The pictures I have seen of the campus look nice and it has been used in several major motion pictures, including “Clueless”, so it can’t be that bad!

Chapman: A lesser known LAC in Orange County, it has a reputation as being a safety school for under-achieving rich kids. I know very little about Chapman, except that it has a film department with some reputation. If the surrounding area is any indication, I would guess that Chapman is more conservative than most colleges in CA.

Pepperdine: Located in Malibu, Pepperdine is a religious, highly conservative school with a good academic reputation. It is also known to have a very image conscious student body, whatever that means (I guess they spend $300 on jeans?).

University of San Diego: Don’t know a whole lot about this school except that it is a religious institution.

University of San Francisco: Another religious school with a slightly better reputation than USD, USF is located in the Panhandle area of San Francisco, north of Golden Gate park. I personally know two people who attending this school and felt that the atmosphere was not challenging enough. Both were arts majors. Take that for what you will.

California State Universities:

There are so many of these and they really run the gamut, from a great education (depending on the major) to downright awful. None of them could really be qualified as well rounded schools, so it really depends on what you want and how much you are willing to put in. The plus side is that a department at a certain state school could be just as good as just about anything else and it will cost you a whole lot less.

Here’s the little that I know:

San Diego State University: The engineering department recently won some high honors. The school has a serious party reputation.

Cal State NorthRidge: The music department is very highly regarded. The location is not great.

San Francisco State: The film department is very highly regarded, however, it has grown increasingly impacted to the point of insanity. This is a common problem with the California State Schools, they are overcrowded! SF state is located south of the sunset district which is actually quite a distance from downtown San Francisco. It could easily take 45 minutes to an hour on MUNI to get downtown.

Wow…

Well I could probably go on forever but I think I’ll end it here. Don’t know if that helped anyone but I really felt that I needed to expand what was previously listed.

gunnsenior08 · September 2, 2007, 3:26am

California:

Stanford: Very intelligent. good sports. sligly geeky. bit laid back. founds of yahoo and google went here. great campus, easy to get lost in tho, and good shopping.

UCSC: Hippies and environmentalists. Very left winged passionate people. VERY laided back. sweet water polo team. great campus (mountains to the east, ocean to the west)

UC Berkley: Also environmental. Super smart. Protesters and rebels

Chico State: Total party school. Drunk/High 24/7

USC: University of Southern California: Nickname=University of Spoiled Children. if that doesn’t clear things up let me help you out. basically made of rich socal kids that pay their way in. party school too. although it is hard to get into. total preps, flakes, and stuck up white kids

Clarmont Colleges: Made up of 5 different colleges. Very good liberal arts colleges. High quality education. Great location in socal.

yea theres also the UCs and CSUs, and some privates, but those are the ones i know most about

jjsoa1 · September 2, 2007, 4:41pm

What eddyx77 said is pretty accurate. I will ad these schools though.

San Diego State: One of the better business schools in the state. US News supposedly ranks them as one of the top ten in a certain business major, although i forgot what it is.

Cal Poly: I’ve heard that the engineering here is comparable to the mid tier UC’s. Psychology and business are relatively difficult to get into, but I’m not sure of the reputation of those two departments.

CSU Long Beach: Don’t know which programs are strongest, but I do know its ridiculously cheap to attend. Tuition is around 2 thousand I believe. It is generally regarded as the third best CSU behind Poly and SDSU.

UC Riverside: I really don’t know why this school is generally disliked on this forum. Compared to the other UC’s for undergrad, the classes are smaller and professors give more attention to their students. That being said, it isn’t as highly regarded as the other UC’s in industry and grad school. Though there is a good program that UCR has with UCLA’s medical school.

UCDAlum82 · September 2, 2007, 8:41pm

There are 23 of Cal State schools in California, some are more of a commuter school (Fullerton, Northridge, East Bay, LA) some are college town schools (Chico, Humbolt) some have the whole town behind them (Saturday football games in Fresno…Bakersfield) some are tiny (Maritime, at less than 800 students.) Some are large (Fullerton, Long Beach, San Diego and Northridge all have over 30,000 students.)

Some are new (Channel Islands and Monterey Bay) some are very old (Maritime). Most are relatively easy to get into. (Exceptions are Cal Poly SLO and San Diego State.)

I know San Jose State has more engineering grads working in Silicon Valley than any other school. (Extremely cheap to recruit at…)

UCDAlum82 · September 2, 2007, 8:51pm

As for California private schools, others have talked about the obvious ones. (Stanford, USC, Cal Tech, Loyola Marymount, Pepperdine, Clarmont consortium, Occidental, Chapman.) There are also a string of lesser know Catholic Universities: University of Santa Clara, University of San Francisco, Saint Mary’s in Moraga and University of San Diego. Santa Clara has a really pretty campus, and is know for their women’s athletics. (Especially soccer…) Saint Mary’s is also a lovely campus in the tonier east bay hills. One of their graduations speakers this year was our own governator. There are quite a few first class CS grads from USF floating around the valley as VPs. These schools are big amongst the Catholic high school grads.

University of the Pacific is not anywhere near the ocean, but sits in Stockton. It tends to attrack a ton of bright central valley students, looking for a private education.

herodotus53 · September 2, 2007, 10:31pm

Arkansas (and stop that snickering):

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville— the flagship state university. Medium sized state school (approx. 17,000 students total). For better or worse, this will be my alma mater. It’s the place to go in-state if you’re interested in business, engineering, architecture, law, nursing, or food science. Parts of Fayetteville are really nice, and the campus is very pretty in the Fall when the leaves have changed colors. Feels very Southern but has a vocal liberal minority on and around campus. Social scene revolves around Greek life, SEC sports, and booze. If you’re not into any of those, you had better find a niche of equally disaffected losers to hang around with or you’ll be very lonely for four years. In my experience, the humanities professors are very accessible. Fairly generous with scholarships, tries desperately to keep the smartest students from going out of state by throwing money (practically full tuition) at anyone who scores at least a 32 on the ACT. Gets a lot of money from Wal-Mart, Tyson (yes, the chicken people), and J.B. Hunt (a trucking company) but the lion’s share goes to the business college and agricultural research. Not the best place to go for traditional liberal arts majors (English, history, Philosophy, etc.) but they are trying to beef things up with the recent (2002) establishment of an Honors College under the auspices of the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. The more overtly intellectual students who would have otherwise gone out of state end up in the Honors College, majoring in such impractical subjects as Anthropology, English, Philosophy, etc. I recently heard an unofficial statistic stating that more than 60% of our arts and sciences graduates end up going to grad school. Take that for what it’s worth…

The UofA Fayetteville tends to do fairly well when it comes to producing Fulbright Scholars and especially Goldwater Scholars. We also just had our first student win a Truman Scholarship this past Spring.

The university just built a new dorm complex that’s very nice, but some older dorms are pretty disgusting. Overall, UofA Fayetteville is a weird combination of evangelical Christians, agnostic hippies, preppy Greeks, and a ton of Indian and Chinese engineering students. Could be worse, I suppose…

Other UA branches at Fort Smith, Pine Bluff, etc. I don’t know anything about. The Little Rock campus is home to the newly-established Clinton School of Public Service, which prides itself on being the only school in the country that offers a Master’s Degree in Public Service. UALR is also home to the only other law school in the state of Arkansas.

Seriously, though. If you have to go to a state university in Arkansas, just go to Fayetteville. It’s in one of the nicer parts of the state, they offer a wide variety of degrees and majors, and it has an above-average social scene. And the girls are good-looking, too. While you’ll find your fair share of cloned, North Face-wearing bleached blonde hair girls around campus, I’d say the majority of Arkansas girls are very attractive. I think it’s a Southern thing. There’s just something about Southern girls…

University of Central Arkansas (UCA)-- located in Conway, a suburb of Little Rock. Seems to be the second choice to UA-Fayetteville. Don’t know much else about it other than they don’t have an engineering program. Conway is located in a dry county, so the social scene suffers accordingly.

Hendrix College— small liberal-arts college, also located in Conway. A bastion of unabashed liberalism in the midst of bible-thumping territory. Attracts a lot of the grungy smokers- of- dubious- substances that seem to major in either Art or Philosophy at UA Fayetteville. I visited the campus and thought about applying there, but it was too small for my taste (only about 1,100 students). Strong in biology, history, and poli. sci. but limited offerings in other areas (engineering, foreign languages). Weak social scene due to it’s being located in a dry county and lack of major sports scene or Greek life. An acquired taste.

Harding University— very conservative religious school with a Seminary. Affiliated with the Church of Christ, mandatory chapel attendance, etc. Definitely a self-selecting institution. The only person I know who goes there is the son of a Church of Christ minister. From what I hear, they’re trying to turn the clock back to 1954. It’s also reputed to be a marriage factory, i.e. if you matriculate, you will somehow come out engaged/married/Ward Cleaver. Seems like the CoC, at least in this part of the country, encourages early marriage. Don’t know why, exactly. I perused Harding’s website, and they seem to have limited course offerings which are constrained by their own political persuasions. It goes without saying that they don’t offer majors in Anthropology or Gender studies. Probably not a very good place for non-CofC folks or Democrats.

That’s all I’m prepared to say about higher education in the state of Arkansas. If nothing else, I hope at least some of you CC posters attending ‘top 25’ schools give up that ignorant stereotype about Arkansans being inbred hicks. I’m not even from the state, but I take great umbrage (that’s a $5.00 word if I ever saw one) at such a characterization.

Thanks for reading!

whirlybird · September 3, 2007, 12:11am

More Washington!

PUBLIC SCHOOLS:

-University of Washington: The flagship, the super-well-known school. It’s enormous, it’s got great academics, it’s in a very pretty area of Seattle with an upscale mall down the street. The Huskies and the Cougars are a constant source of WA strife. Great pre-med/pre-law, great for sciences and computer stuff. Pretty difficult to get into, for an in-state.

-Washington State University: In the middle of nowhere, a reputation for partying (I’m not sure how true it is, but that’s the rep), a step below UW for academics, but great communications/broadcasting and pre-vet stuff. Cougars… well, I’m a Huskies fan. WSU and UW are the main two choices for people I know.

-Western Washington University: Growing in popularity, Bellingham is nice but not huge like Seattle. Kind of a rep for drugs/hippies, but I know a lot of really normal people who go there. Good humanities. Easier to get into than UW, a little bit easier than WSU.

-Eastern Washington University: Total safety, nobody at my school talks about Eastern. Also in the middle of nowhere.

-Central Washington University: Ditto with Eastern, although not quite as rural. Safety school, not a first choice for anyone I know.

-Evergreen State: Huge reputation for drugs and being alternative. Good environmental sciences. Not much interest with people I know.

PRIVATE SCHOOLS:
-Gonzaga University: Very good school, but in Spokane, which is almost as remote and un-fun as WSU’s location in Pullman. Good athletics, too. Not many people talk about it much, but everyone respects it.

-Whitman College: It’s always talked about as being “really good” and academically excellent, and quite a few people consider applying here, but I don’t know many who actually attend.

-Seattle University: Catholic school with a good rep, located on Capitol Hill and fronting on the notorious Broadway, which is an interesting place to have your Catholic school, I have to say. Good journalism rep, but it seems like it would be better to just go to UW a few miles away and save a ton of money, unless large schools are anathema to you.

-Seattle Pacific University: Located on Queen Anne Hill (a nice neighborhood), very small, unknown Methodist school. Nobody talks about it much, but there are a few attending from my high school.

-Pacific Lutheran University: Pretty campus, Lutheran private school more south than most of the other small private schools. Good local reputation, but not a “dream” school for anyone I know.

-University of Puget Sound: In Tacoma, which I find a lot less appealing than Seattle or Bellingham. Not difficult to get into, but a good reputation. Not too much interest that I know of. Plus-- fun initials of UPS!

-Whitworth: I really don’t know much of anything about Whitworth, except that it’s rural and pretty easy to get in to.

COMMUNITY COLLEGES:

-Bellevue Community College: Okay, I’m only listing this one because, even though there are many, BCC has a fantastic reputation for a CC. Tons of people go to BCC and then transfer to UW. They have a huge student population and a respected program.

ChaseD13 · September 3, 2007, 12:52am

New Jersey (ill skip princeton)

Rutgers- NOT AS EASY TO GET INTO AS EVERYONE SAYS. I mean sure, for a cc’er its a safety, but at my hs (which is decent) only the top 40% get in. If you get C’s (or even B’s in reg. classes) you wont get in anymore. Definitely on the rise. Good football this year! Also, it has an overwhelmingly average reputation. “where’d you go to school?” “I went to rutgers” “oh so did i”.

TCNJ- getting hot lately- again, acedemic reputation is worse than it should be.

Stevens- above average tech school, neat location

thats really it, which is why you see so many NJ’ers looking for oos schools. All we have is Princeton (which is a reach, for anyone) and the overwhelmingly average rutgers. No other big name schools, especially for a pretty large (pop. wise) state.

interesting fact: rutgers was offered admittance to the ivy league way back in the day. they said no…lol big mistake.

WestCoast101 · September 5, 2007, 4:20am

Schools with good reps in California…UC’S and Privates (non LAC’s):

Berkeley
UCLA
UCSD
UCSB
UCD
UCI

Stanford
USC
Pepperdine
USD
Santa Clara

norcal_or_bust · September 7, 2007, 9:16pm

My Bad and misunderstanding about Cal Berkeley. Sorry if I insulted. : (

Riot · September 7, 2007, 9:36pm

WVU: Nation’s number one party school. I guess it’s kind of cool to take advantage of that in high school, but I’m not sure I want four years of beer pong.

eddyx77 · September 7, 2007, 10:01pm

No worries, Norcal or bust. Sorry if I came off as a bit of a jerk with my response.

Bentley89 · September 7, 2007, 10:07pm

Lets see what we have in the Old Dominion…

Virginia: Somewhat elitist and snobby, due to their prestige. Not as prestigious in state as it probably is oos. Sort of a party school, with lots of Old Network connections. Obsessed with being founded by Mr. Jefferson.

William and Mary: School for those who can’t get into UVa. Almost a paradise for historians, its the 2nd oldest college in the US and right next to Colonial Williamsburg. Obsessed with educating Mr. Jefferson.

Virginia Tech: Great engineering, but its in the middle of nowhere. Less snobbish than UVa, but also less prestigious. Pretty big party school, and great football.

Virginia Commonwealth: Not too bright artists, and people with multiple tattoos and/or piercings. Good med school, but in a bad part of town.

Christopher Newport: Want to go to a college, but without the stigma of a Community College name? That’s why we’re here!

U of Richmond: Rich white kids (~10% minority) from the northeast. Drive Daddy’s BMW and Lexuses. Barely in Richmond, and wants to be a couple hundred miles north.

Khipper · September 8, 2007, 12:15am

This is sort of a hodgepodge of impressions of the schools in the Pennsylvania System of Higher Education (aka the state teachers’ colleges). All these college have programs in elementary education, English, business, sociology, etc., but they do attract different types of students.

Edinboro – Once ranked the top party school in the nation, Edinboro is one of the most accessible campuses for disabled students. It is also noted for its art and art education programs. Probably one of the more diverse campuses in the system – if diversity means Steelers fans rooming with Cleveland Browns fans and/or Buffalo Bills fans. Three addition words that one needs to know about Edinboro – Lake Effect Snow.

Slippery Rock – Yes Virginia there is a Slippery Rock. SRU is where gym teachers come from. (If you can’t teach, teach gym). Interestingly, as the Pittsburgh suburbs extend northward, Slippery Rock will be a part of the educational axis that much of the Pittsburgh economy revolves around.

Clarion – Best known for its library program, one of the few that focus on rural and small librarianship.

California – CUP not to be confused with Berkeley or Davis or Santa Cruz or Riverside. Techically, a part of metropolitan Pittsburgh, the school is located between the coalfields and old steel towns of western Pennsylvania. More racially diverse that most of the schools in the state system. CUP is where industrial arts teachers come from. Also a pretty good environmental sciences program, especially for students who didn’t want or couldn’t get into Penn State.

IUP – Once the largest school in the system and once the only one to award doctoral degrees, IUP is facing competition from Penn State’s commonwealth (aka branch) campuses.

Lock Haven – A rural school for small town students too intimidated by Penn State and who couldn’t afford Juniata. Good biology programs.

Shippensburg – Like Lock Haven, technically in the eastern half of the state but plays in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference’s western division. Good English and journalism programs.

Mansfield – Good music program, but located in the northeast corner of the state.

Kutztown – Had one of the few celebrities in the State System of Higher Education with Terry Madonna, the media’s favorite expert on Pennsylvania politics, until he decamped for Franklin & Marshall. Kutztown has a library program.

East Stroudsburg – The Slippery Rock of the East (for gym teachers).

Cheney – A historically Black college in a northern state.

Sorry most of information is for western Pennsylvania schools, but I know more about them.

I will write more later…

ConLax11 · September 8, 2007, 1:02am

Connecticut:

Yale- It’s Yale…

Uconn- If you go to public school in CT then a good quarter of your class will go here. It is rising academically but it is not a top school by any means. Kids party there… whats new? Best basketball teams in the country!!! (mens and womens) Football team just went DI-A and yet it has been in two bowls and has a grad rate of over 80% for the team (only public school with such high grad rate).

CCSU- Sucks but some people have to settle for it if they don’t get into Uconn. Referred to primarily as “Central”.

ECSU- Eastern… sucks not to have gotten into Central lol

WCSU- Western… poor souls stuck in Danbury, CT.

SCSU- Southern…

and there is no NCSU (Northern) for some reason, but the geographical name would round out all the possible geographical names for the CT public university system.

Weslyan- Hippie, top LAC

Trinity- Top LAC, not as highly ranked as Weslyan but it is preppier, less liberal/hippie-ish. Located in Hartford, great campus but one block away is the hood so… no off campus dining unless you get a ride to West Hartford Center (best restaurants in the state).

Nottingham · September 25, 2007, 2:31pm

“Illinois State University: I Screwed Up University”

hahaha. Man, I wonder what they did to deserve such a name.

AdamM412 · September 25, 2007, 3:34pm

I’ll give some info on the Pittsburgh PA region and how people from my highschool might react.

CMU - This is considered the school of gods. You have to be a brilliant person. many people believe that Carnegie Mellon is just as good as Harvard. Everyone must be Asian and/or depressed.

University of Pittsburgh - Good school with tons of house parties. does anyone really know anything about the academics when pitt is mentioned? nope, but it must be good. Pitt and our next entry seem to be where people from Pittsburgh shoot for…and that is

Penn State - drive through Pittsburgh and you will see more Penn state flags, stickers, license plates, hats, paw print magnets and blue/white stuff than you can imagine. Penn state is thought to be a tough school even though more students from my high school went there than anywhere else. The parties are, like, so cool and of course…WE ARE…bleh, give me a break.

IUP - I usually party…oh, I mean Indiana University of Penn. Recently built some nice looking dorms but for the most part, IUP is an easy school to get into where unmotivated high school kids end up (myself previously included). What is there to do on campus…well, you can drink, or you can sleep, or you can go to Sheetz and Pizza hut. fan of Mcdonalds, there are 5 with in less than a square mile. enjoy.

University of Penn - “uh, dude, I think you mean penn state?” no, I didn’t.

it’s terrible here.

doctorb · September 25, 2007, 4:20pm

Bentley- W&M has higher SAT scores and a tougher admit rate than UVirginia. Fiske guide comments it’s more “intellectual” than any school in Va. It doesnt play second-fiddle to anyone in Va.

dvm258 · September 25, 2007, 4:26pm

I live in Florida too, so here is what I think of them:

UF- Everyone’s first choice…if they have the grades. Their admissions are weird though, almost like the Ivies. There are people with 1400 SAT scores, great ECs, and grades that don’t get in, and at the same time people with 900 scores and average ECs and A’s B’s and the occasional C also get in. It is almost random!

UMiami (private) - If people have the cash or scholarships, this is where they go if they can’t get into UF. Great environment and resources.

FSU- I don’t like it. People just seem to go there because they want to be at a party school.

UCF- What I call the “college of UF rejects.” People who can’t quite afford to go to UMiami and get rejected from UF go here.

USF- Ditto what was said way earlier. Why is it called USF when it is in Tampa? It is also one of the UCF style schools some UF rejects choose to go to.

New College- This is on the Colleges that Change Lives list. However, it is very different from the others on it because it is actually very selective. On paper, it is selective than UF, but that is up for debate. It is ridiculously small, with a grand total of only a little more than 800 undergrads. It used to be a private school until they got in debt. Then it got absorbed into USF. In 2001 or so it became an independent public school.

FGCU- This is the newest school in Florida. (Excluding New College, if you don’t count it becoming independent from USF in 2001) It isn’t very selective at all. (Just look at their mid-range SAT scores.) However, they reject a lot of applicants. Only a little more than 50% actually get in despite their other low statistics. Their dorms are among the best in the nation. They feature full kitchens (stove, oven and full size refrigerator) and are right outside the beach. The buildings literally are on the beach, and students can rent kayaks and other small boats to go out on.

FAU- IMO, the most boring of all of them. Nothing special here. It is just a non-selective 4-year college.

moviefreak126 · October 14, 2007, 7:07pm

anybody else?

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