Some in-state schools are just not good.
The only OOS school DS applied to offered him a full ride, and then some. He wound up at the best instate school. Not a full ride, but a very good deal if you can get it. We are lucky to have stellar instate schools.
Looking at his friends who wound up in OOS publics, (as opposed to privates) they fall into two categories: 1. Didn’t get into any of the better instate schools and 2. got a full ride from OOS, making it hard to resist.
Our best public universities accept OOS students to balance their budget. They don’t “buy OOS scholars” at the UC system, but rather, use OOS who pay full OOS tuition, which is about triple the instate pay. It’s a fact of life and their charter that they must balance the budget (unlike our government…), and IMO, a better solution than others open to them.
I assume some states do not have great instate universities, but I wouldn’t really know. I think we have long moved away from the mission-statement of our public universities on many counts, not least of which is the substantial tuition even instate.
@LBad96 I can’t disagree with that. People’s preferences are very diverse. Yes many will go for experience and weather! If that is high priority, then yes, NC wins over NY, as it is cold and yucky here:)
I think it is just the academic part tho, not being “Northern” that makes ppl say it is better. There are many academically superior schools in the South that would trump Bing any day.
Syracuse- SAT math 550-660
SAT reading 520-620
ACT 24-29
Admission Rate 53%
Penn State- SAT math 560-670
SAT reading 530-620
ACT 25-29
Admission Rate 50%
SUNY Bing- SAT math 620-700
SAT reading 590-670
ACT 27-30
Admissions Rate 44%
UNCW- SAT math 560-640
SAT reading 550-630
ACT 22-26
Admissions Rate 59%
Syracuse, UNCW, and PS have beautiful campuses with a lot to offer their students, but Binghamton has the stronger student body. Some students prefer the stronger student body over beaches, nice weather,and a big sports scene. Others don’t.
And yes- there are southern schools that are superior to Bing in every area.
Actually, there’s variation between these (and yall, too) through Texas and the entire South. There’s been serious sociolinguistic research on this, including the perception that “everyone in [Texas, the South, wherever]” does it this way, not the other—basically, people tend to think that entire states act like the people they know in those states, when (a) there’s a lot more diversity within any given state than that, and (b) dialect boundaries rarely coincide with state borders, anyway.
@twogirls but you’re only looking at one academic metric. And in this case, choosing the “stronger student body” would mean a less diverse all-around college experience. Trust me, most would choose UNCW, Syracuse, or Penn State over Bing. In fact, I know of someone from NYS who actually did choose UNCW over Binghamton.
But we’ll agree to disagree.
What is the source for this?
How do we find out where the highest scoring NYS graduates applied, where they were accepted, how much aid they got (and whether it was merit or need based), where they matriculated, and their reasoning for choosing those particular schools? Do guidance counselors compile that sort of information?
B/B+ students attending Binghamton would probably attend those other schools if their parents would pay.
I’m a born-and-bred, tree-hugging Northerner, all y’all, and I’ve been wearing cowboy boots since I attended college at a genuine Ivy, when western boots were fashionable everywhere,
Cowboy boots can also be among the most comfortable shoes you’ll ever wear. As with most items of clothing, quality counts. I wore Frye boots in college; now I prefer Lucchese–handmade in Texas but worn by folks all over these United States.
And I’ll take “y’all” over “youse” or “yinze” any day of the week! 
@LucieTheLakie agreed. 
@austinmshauri if it wasn’t more than a financial safety for most of its top applicants, then the yield would be at least 30%. For Fall 2015, 13,010 were admitted, 2,661 actually claimed a spot in the freshman class. That comes out to a 20% yield. @twogirls has it right in post #288.
I just want to say that I’m glad that I actually had a civil disagreement about people on the academic quality of schools for once, lol! Thanks for not ripping into me. Such a different aura than the arguments about the likes of Rutgers, TCNJ, Alabama, Ole Miss, etc.
@LBad96 if you were picking a school based on the “college experience” (rather than looking at outcomes), which would be the top picks:
- Penn State
- Ohio State
- Indiana
- Alabama
- UCLA
- UNC
- NC State
- UF
- FSU
- Wisconsin
- Georgia
- Colorado
- Minnesota
- Michigan
- Michigan State
- Maryland
- UT Austin
- Texas A&M
- Arizona
- Arizona State
- Washington
- Oregon
- Missouri
- and if I had time 30-50 more schools
Those are the real traditions for an OOS state school.
A lot of OOS schools offer scholarships - I know Alabama offered $ to both my kids and one considered it. And it depends on your major…some people want to attend a school with the strongest possible reputation in their field of study. Having a music major who had to audition, the professor mattered greatly - as did the scholarships they offered, which in his case also included a significant tuition reduction which made it affordable for us.
Point being, there is no right or wrong answer, there are too many factors. I would just say never to rule it out, why would you limit your possibilities?
The Y’all spelling comment was tongue in cheek and yes, as a Texan I know my state is big. Lots of regional differences between El Paso and Crockett Texas.
But if Texas Monthly decided it was y’all I’m sticking to my guns on that one.
@ClarinetDad16 we’re only comparing UNCW and Binghamton here…
@LBad96 - no this is a discussion on OOS State Schools
@ClarinetDad16 yes, but you and I were comparing UNCW and Binghamton. But I do agree with you, though.
Anyone know about Michigan State for high achieving OOS students?
Looks like they give $15,000 annually for 4 years. And do they stack and make it in state tuition too?
Because California high schools and colleges are filled with robots. The UC system is overloaded, Berkeley’s facilities are worse than antiquated, and since the UC system caters to international students, I refuse to fund the lousy system the University of California has become.
If you can afford it I think it adds to the adventure of college to go OOS but that certainly isn’t for everyone and doesn’t preclude kids going 20 miles from home and still having an adventure.
In state tuitions are not cheap in many parts of the NE so the cost difference, especially for high achieving students, can be close(-ish).