UW-Madison going down??

[88jm19]

Schools were emailing and calling her like she was a recruited quarterback.

In contrast, Illinois offered her honors college via letter, but that was it. No money, no real effort to recruit her, it seemed like she was just a number to them. It was interesting to see that the very top schools made her feel like she really mattered to them, but her state flagship did not. I know what the other schools are doing is just marketing, but it matters

I see 2 issues here.

The first one is UIUC could make an effort to make a student feel wanted. I agree that they can do a much better job in this area. We actually laughed the spring of my son’s senior year at how little he heard from UIUC. But I question, to what degree is that needed…and at what cost. (Is it “needed” if UIUC is very happy with their acceptances? How much of an already tight budget can/should they devote to it?) Note: If they asked for my opinion I would tell them to improve their communication with prospective, admitted students. But I also don’t feel like these students should be made to feel like a “recruited quarterback”. There is a middle ground and I probably lean toward their current position.

The second issue I see is the mentality we foster in our children where we expect them to be wooed. Is it an offshoot of the “everyone gets a trophy generation”? Do they really need to be treated like a “recruited quarterback”? Imagine if it escalates?

Being warmly welcomed is one thing. Validation of accomplishments is another. However, sometimes I get the feeling that people are looking for validation of their perceived superiority. (I’m not saying that about you, Much2learn. I’m actually thinking of a few people in my own community.)

Furthermore, UIUC does very little to keep the best and brightest.

I disagree with this to a certain degree. One way of trying to keep “the best and brightest” (and the most important in my opinion) is to build strong, desirable, marketable degrees. UIUC is certainly doing this in some areas of study…and doing it with less state funding.

Lastly, I just want to reiterate that Illinois has a huge number of very capable students, many of whom would think they are a part of “the best and brightest” pool. UIUC can’t accommodate them all…and as others have said a lot of the “best and brightest” would not find UIUC desirable, whether that’s due to prestige, location, sports or whatever. So I’m not sure what people are proposing…stronger directionals to stem ‘brain drain’? I agree with BeeDAre that it would take a lot to change how they are viewed in-state, especially with so many established, affordable neighboring state schools.