Not that it's not extremely competitive to get in and maybe getting more competitive for people that don't check a box or give money (the dropping of standardized test requirements was basically intended to not document their anti-asian discrimination as much, but may also allow a little more discrimination against certain white people (probably white female applicants that don't qualify as poor but aren't wealthy enough to be donors)), but the person in the story was 3rd percentile in grades in her high school class. Perfectly reasonable explanation of why she had a B, but not surprising that she wouldn't get in given how competitive it is. Not sure she would have gotten in a decade ago with a 1550 SAT and a GPA that is not top percentile of a non-selective high school.
Alabama Facilities, Campus, scholarships
- Thread starter kb549
- Start date
Not that it's not extremely competitive to get in and maybe getting more competitive for people that don't check a box or give money (the dropping of standardized test requirements was basically intended to not document their anti-asian discrimination as much, but may also allow a little more discrimination against certain white people (probably white female applicants that don't qualify as poor but aren't wealthy enough to be donors)), but the person in the story was 3rd percentile in grades in her high school class. Perfectly reasonable explanation of why she had a B, but not surprising that she wouldn't get in given how competitive it is. Not sure she would have gotten in a decade ago with a 1550 SAT and a GPA that is not top percentile of a non-selective high school.
FACTS, my oldest son scored a 35, the scholly offers from out of state didn't roll in as much as expected.
If you are wanting to start a business and want some ins with venture capital, then yes, they probably make a difference. But if you can believe the research (which admittedly, I'm not sure it's a good bet to believe something just because it's been peer reviewed and published, at least in the softer sciences), it doesn't make a difference for most students and they do well because of selection, the one notable exception being that minorities appear to get an income boost from attending more selective schools.
ETA: This is old now, but I haven't heard of any major refutations of it. https://www.nber.org/papers/w7322
ETA 2: Can't get the actual paper, but have found a reference to a newer paper that says in addition to impact for minorities, for women, attending schools with high SAT scores reduced women's likelihood of marrying by 4% for every 100 pt increase in average SAT scores (not sure if it's 4 percent or percentage points. I assume it has to be percent).
Last edited:
You are wondering why he might not want to move across the country away from family? I feel bad letting you know this, but for non-roller bladers, family members usually treat them much better and the whole family experience is generally just more pleasant, and a lot of people aren't keen on having to get on a plane to go see family. Even students who "rarely" go home at places like State and Bama still might see their family four to six times a semester between trips home by them and trips by the family to campus.
ETA: Not exactly the same, but your comment for some reason reminded me of this Onion Story:
https://www.theonion.com/unambitious-loser-with-happy-fulfilling-life-still-liv-1819575312
Last edited:
And he could have two fan allegiances, assuming he went far enough away that the likelihood of playing is minimal.
Many times I wish I'd have done this. But I likely wasn't mature enough at 18. JUCO then farther away might have been the better option. I was always going to be an MSU fan no matter what anyway.
Last edited:
Wow. Others in this thread already mentioned Stanford, MIT, and Harvard. Go project onto them if you need an outlet for your frustration.
What does 'family members usually treat them much better' actually mean? If it is aimed at me(I assume so since you mention roller blading), its a really weak and low attempt at insulting me. I live 3mi from my parents and my kids see them 3-5x/week. My nieces go to school with my kids and I see them multiple times a week. If that wasnt aimed at me, I really have no idea what your point of posting that was.
I mentioned Georgia Tech, Purdue, VT, and Northwestern...none require a plane to visit. 385-750mi from Jackson to those places.
Many people actually like going a day's drive away(or further) for college, even if they really like their family. Those silly kooks, right?
Being 5-10 hours away may not be for everyone, and thats cool. I am not criticizing anyone by simply asking why higher rated engineering programs in similar large universities are not on being considered. Maybe the kid considered them and wants to stay closer- cool. Maybe the kid did consider some and the financial packages are not competitive- cool. Maybe the kid's has a girlfriend and he wants to be within an afternoon drive of her- cool.
You do realize that asking why does not mean I am criticizing, right?
I am impressed that his rage underlined the up/down vote part of the post as well. I'm not even sure how he pulled that off.
Ha, yeah that is interesting. On the first page of this thread, the join date and post count for each member is also bold.
<dt style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; min-width: 60px; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; background-color: rgb(242, 246, 248)
Join Date</dt><dd style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; background-color: rgb(242, 246, 248)
Feb 2008</dd><dt style="margin: 0px 10px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; float: left; min-width: 60px; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; background-color: rgb(242, 246, 248)Posts</dt><dd style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 3px; color: rgb(62, 62, 62); font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; background-color: rgb(242, 246, 248)9,748</dd>
I wasn't trying to insult you. It was just a stupid joke. If i was going to insult you, I would...well, actually I would probably point out that you were a roller blader. So I guess I can understand why the tone of my post came off wrong.
I just thought it was funny that you asked why nothing far away was considered when it's obvious. Most people don't want to spend 4 years somewhere just to do something different. Nothing wrong with doing that and a lot of people do it (although still a very small minority of people). I liked the idea of doing something different but didn't want to commit to four years just to do something different, so I did it for a semester. But you do occasionally come across people who view sticking close to home as something akin to a character flaw. Hence the onion article. And that wasn't aimed at you either. If anything, it was aimed at me. I actually always remember that article because the first time a read it I realized I sort of had a toned down version of that opinion for people that were not ambitious about work and I didn't realize before that article that I had sort of internalized such an *** holish opinion.
Ha, see that first response was funny. Thanks for clarifying.
Yes going far away for college is not as common as staying relatively close. I would guess its 3to1 for people who go to college under 5 hours away to people who go away 5-10 hours away. And that goes up to 6to1 or even higher for people who go to college more than 10 hours away. I remember when a guy in college from Raleigh NC found out his hometown is just as far from MSU as mine in the Chicago suburbs. He couldnt believe its almost exact.
Anyways, sticking close to where you grew up isnt a character flaw in my book. The initial post talked about how many prospective students were from far out of state and that got me thinking about why the OP's son wouldnt consider the same.
I do think some people stick close because they dont think they have opportunities to explore, and an excellent student very much has opportunities to explore. That was all.
This thread adds to my suspicion that the number of high ACT scores...
has increased dramatically in modern times. My freshman class in ChemE at State in '96 didn't have a single 36. I think there was one girl who had a 33 as the highest score, but I'm not certain about that. Meanwhile, my daughter's high school has two 36's in the same graduating class with a student body of under 1,000.
Is it that the test has gotten easier, or the prep has gotten so much better?
Well, quick Google search says it's the prep:
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/ne...llege-admissions-scores-test-prep/3566998002/
Guess I'm going to have to start prefacing discussions of ACT scores with "back when that meant something".
In 1997, 0.00771% of scores were perfect. In 2020 it was 0.3340%. 121-fold increase.
has increased dramatically in modern times. My freshman class in ChemE at State in '96 didn't have a single 36. I think there was one girl who had a 33 as the highest score, but I'm not certain about that. Meanwhile, my daughter's high school has two 36's in the same graduating class with a student body of under 1,000.
Is it that the test has gotten easier, or the prep has gotten so much better?
Well, quick Google search says it's the prep:
https://www.cincinnati.com/story/ne...llege-admissions-scores-test-prep/3566998002/
Guess I'm going to have to start prefacing discussions of ACT scores with "back when that meant something".
In 1997, 0.00771% of scores were perfect. In 2020 it was 0.3340%. 121-fold increase.
Kids that don't get to see other places like New York or California or Chicago or Colorado, tend to be limited by what the know. They're far less likely to leave when all they've seen is the SE U.S.
Some like family and being near them. Nothing wrong with that. I'd advise parents to take your kids places and let them see. Don't limit them.
Some like family and being near them. Nothing wrong with that. I'd advise parents to take your kids places and let them see. Don't limit them.
Kb, I have a few thoughts. First off he needs to really think about if he wants to go to law school. There is a reason most attorneys pick cup cake undergrad degrees and that is to boost the GPA and academic status to be competitive to get into school. Admission directors typically don't consider one degree (I happen to be married to a UMC professor and I have heard this often). If he is seriously interested in engineering I would consider state. Although I am not a engineer I have worked with many across the nation and led many pdt's comprised of engineers throughout the the MS Valley (New Orleans to St. Paul). I can guarantee you the quality of work I see out of MSU grads is as top notch as any where through our organization (USACE). Lastly congrats to your son on the academic accomplishments and I hope he is as successful in the future.
I interviewed and was offered 12 different engineering jobs my senior year
I had offers from Boeing, General Dynamics, General Electric, National Semiconductor, AMI, United Technologies, Southern Miss, etc. United Technologies invited students from all those schools you mentioned. I was offered the job over them. I asked why they chose me and their response was Mississippi State offers a more holistic engineering experience. Students aren't only book smart but application smart. He said a their highest performing engineers were coming from Mississippi State. I learned then that the US News and World Report rankings were suspect.
BTW, it doesn't matter where a student goes to school at this point for engineering. The demand is so high that we are importing engineers to fill jobs. I now teach engineering in high school as my way of "giving back" to my community. There are many local companies looking for engineers where I could make a lot more money.
I had offers from Boeing, General Dynamics, General Electric, National Semiconductor, AMI, United Technologies, Southern Miss, etc. United Technologies invited students from all those schools you mentioned. I was offered the job over them. I asked why they chose me and their response was Mississippi State offers a more holistic engineering experience. Students aren't only book smart but application smart. He said a their highest performing engineers were coming from Mississippi State. I learned then that the US News and World Report rankings were suspect.
BTW, it doesn't matter where a student goes to school at this point for engineering. The demand is so high that we are importing engineers to fill jobs. I now teach engineering in high school as my way of "giving back" to my community. There are many local companies looking for engineers where I could make a lot more money.
It is due to preparation and super scores. I graduated HS in 93 and never and never even heard of an ACT prep back then (not like it would have mattered if they did have them cause I wouldn't have attended unless bud lights were being passed out). Some kids start taking the ACT in 8th grade now and keep prepping until their senior year to try to get the highest score they can. Although my supervisor and I were recently talking about this and his observations is the kids highest scores usually occur in their junior year. (he is a West Point recruiter and has reviewed his share of resumes over the last 15 years).
That is a fact. We are always trying to recruit engineers in essentially every discipline. As a government organization it is hard to keep up with recruitment by the private sector.
That is very cool to see the list of really impressive companies that offered you work. That does not change the common rankings that we all see. It also does not change the reality that often times the more prestigious schools open doors through networking that simply do not exist elsewhere. Perhaps its more pay, or more interesting work, or just a foot in the door at a place that isnt available to others
None of this is to say someone cant 'make it' if they go to MSU. That obviously is not what is being said here.
I have been convinced for years that ACT scores are up yet people arent actually smarter/better/more qualified to excel in college. The avg ACT score has risen at every school I 'track' when various rankings are released. Yet I know a bunch of people from some of those schools and they continue to be no more impressive than everyone I knew at MSU 20 years ago.
This is good advice, in my opinion.
To kb549: your son sounds smart and ambitious . . . so I would give him some room to make his own decisions. That being said, I'd certainly try to influence him, if I thought he was making a clearly bad decision.
I majored in Engineering at Mississippi State and then got a JD at Ole Miss. Engineering and law will certainly pay the bills.
I'm sure your son has considered whether he'd like to be a Patent Attorney. He could certainly do that with degrees in both Engineering and Law.
Does you son have any thoughts about the following?
1) What sort of job does he want in the future? (This might help him decide where to go for undergrad and/or grad school. For example, if he wants an engineering career, then he might want to go to whichever school has the best engineering program.)
2) Where does you son want to live in the future? (He might want to go to school near where he wants to live/work. That would give him some time to experience that particular area and determine whether he likes it. Maybe he hasn't thought much about this, since he's still only in high school.)
So long as your son gets an engineering degree, he will always have options (i.e., job opportunities pretty much anywhere in the US). An engineering degree is a great thing to have.
Concerning law, I've heard some horror stories about working at law firms (e.g., 70-hour work weeks, phone calls at 3 AM, high pressure from bosses that are continually looking over your shoulder, partners that cut your billable hours and take those hours for themselves, work items that need to be done by 5 PM today, etc.). One of my colleagues described it like this: the partners think they own you because they pay you that big salary. On the other hand, I'm sure there are some great law firms out there.
Good luck!
I have a younger cousin get a 35 on his ACT. His final two schools were Notre Dame and State. He stayed home. Graduated in 3 years in one of the engineering programs and was recruited basically to work in nuclear. The money was too good for him to stay in school. As far as I know he just got a bachelor's. Hes considered a nuclear scientist. He worked in Baton Rouge for a while then came home to explore medical school but ultimately stayed in nuclear. Not sure what he does. He had a twin brother who was more average. I think 28 ACT score so that influenced him. Alabama is a good experience though. Just let him decide and support him. He might even change what he wants to do. Good luck. I know you're proud of your son and as easy as it would be to say F you and also be jealous of my younger cousin with a house and tesla and you are gloating, I can see you are just a proud parent and you obviously did it right. Even though when they are that smart it is some God given talent just like getting an SEC sports scholarship you still have to keep them on the straight and arrow so to speak and kudos for that.
How does one graduate with that many dc hours and still be considered an incoming freshman and not a transfer student? My kid’s school counselor has told him to hang back on the dc or you lose scholarship money earmarked for freshmen.
What everyone is realizing is that ACT scores higher than 30 are in fact quite common now.
National Merit Semifinalists (top 1.25% in the nation) and National Merit Semifinalists (top 0.5% of your state which is easier in MS) are commendable achievements.
You'll soon learn that the best scholarships do not go to white males from middle and upper class families. In state college offers will be the best every time And white males won't get into med school on the first try either unless you have strong connections that you're willing to use.
Just level setting some folks here that will find out soon.
Last edited:
As much as I like MSU he needs to go where he thinks best prepares him for life beyond school. Both my kids luckily qualified and took advantage of the lottery funded scholarships in Georgia, one with NM which made Ga Tech a no brainer.
I’m no expert, but I do have some attorneys in the family. One thing I’d say is don’t overcomplicate it by trying to make both the undergrad and grad school decisions at the same time as some sort of package deal. For one, your son is still very young and may decide later he doesn’t want to go the law school route. Hell, I know more than one person who decided they didn’t want to go to law school after they already got their law degree. But even if he keeps that path, grad students get plenty of scholarship offers, too. If he maintains his current level of achievement in undergrad, that money is gonna be there for him regardless. There’s also no inherent advantage to getting a law degree from the same school as undergrad. In fact, some believe it to be a detriment.
I’d tell him to focus on what’s in front of him and make the right decision for the next 3-4 years (or 2-3 years) first. Then make the next one at the right time from there. Also tell him not to work too hard trying to get through the best years of his pre-family life as quickly as possible.
Based on how you describe it, that shouldn’t be a problem for him.
I’d tell him to focus on what’s in front of him and make the right decision for the next 3-4 years (or 2-3 years) first. Then make the next one at the right time from there. Also tell him not to work too hard trying to get through the best years of his pre-family life as quickly as possible.
Based on how you describe it, that shouldn’t be a problem for him.
Last edited:
With a 35 on the ACT (and presumably he took/will take the SAT as well), he wouldn't have to restrict himself to either MSU or Alabama. He should be able to get scholarships at more prestigious universities.
I bet all that will be offered is waving out of state tuition for most universities. And wait listed at some just to be accepted.
Engineering degree and then law school? Did i read that right? Is he gonna defend the robots when they take us over?
Figure of speech. Point is they went all the way through and decided they didn’t want to be lawyers, or even use that degree for anything else remotely related to law practice.
I should have clarified a few things and maybe added a few more details. I was trying not to dox him. He has had people
telling him how smart he was since he was 3. He is tired of it being his identity. I was trying to respect his privacy as much as possible with as few details as I thought were necessary. Ill give some more details below that may clarify most of the responses about why not Harvard, etc.
First, I want to address a few things with the resident morans.
1. I thought we had kind of an unspoken rule here about posters kids being off limits. Really. You first couple of guys that made jokes at his expense (the gump one was funny, but out of line. Hes a kid.). You can 17 off. I lost a lot of respect for several long time posters. 17 you. (Slap) Keep my kids name out your 17n mouth.
2. Ive got a friend that may actually be scottfield1. Didnt go to State. They didnt go to State, but being States #1 Superfan and defender is their only identity. Mod on FB groups. Constantly admonishing other people over any criticism of anything State. Scottfield1 - Youre a piece of **** and Either need to quit posting drunk or keep your ****** opinions to Twitter.
3. This post was is NO way a humble brag or a troll. I debated for a few hours about posting it. This is our first born and a huge decision for him. He needs sound advice from someone who has chosen this path. As you will see if you make it further down, he will not have a senior day awards program. He is forfeiting being named Star Student and probably Valedictorian by what he is planning to do his senior year. Why? Because none of us, him included care about the recognition. Im here looking for people who have chosen this path and can provide wisdom (yeah, I know wisdom on SPS?), not to waste my time typing. We dont do pride at this house. My son will tell you, his knowledge is a gift from God and he wants to use it for Gods glory, not his own.
4. We are and always have been 100% the opposite of a Helicopter parent. He has had complete autonomy on his school since pre-K. No study time or forced activities. He has done what he wanted and when he wanted. He has missed turning in assignments and had to go beg for partial credit. We told him long ago, it is his responsibility to be responsible. You have to let kids make some mistakes that they can learn from that will ultimately help them in the long run. A helicopter parent would be forcing him to go to their alma mater or saying you have to go to an Ivy League school with your scores. We have given him the option to go anywhere he wants. Providing guidance and suggestions is not being a helicopter parent. Its just being a good parent.
So heres a couple of more details that may clarify things better about why I specifically asked for Southeast (Bama, LSU, and other SE schools).
1. If he moves more than 4 hours away, my wife is going to be more nuts than women already are. This is a child that we tried to conceive for several years. And she had to have surgery to help. She cant stand the thought of him needing her (sick, hurt, whatever) and not being able to get to him within 4-5 hours. He could go to California or Michigan or wherever. She would be in Whitfield, nervous as a long tailed cat in a room of rocking chairs. Its not being a helicopter parent to want to be within driving distance to your kid. I lived 3.5 hours away and the only time my dad came to visit us when he detected depression in my voice late one night. He was at my door at 5:00 am the next morning. Once he saw I was ok, he went home. No breakfast, or hanging out. Just a wellness check.
2. His sister is his best friend. They are going to have a hard enough time not seeing each other every day. If she cant see him once a month, shell be right next to my wife in those huggy white jackets. And he feels the same.
3. He does have interest in Harvard and Yale. We are visiting them this summer with MIT and probably Georgia Tech. But it is extremely doubtful he will choose any of them due to distance other than GT being a possibility.
4. We (my son included) dont want him going to a university where they are more concerned about indoctrination of liberal philosophy rather than the education he is supposed to be getting. I dont know for sure that Harvard, Yale, etc is completely there yet, but I dont think they are far off. For you libs, no disrespect to you. If that is your belief, whatever. Good for you. I wouldnt blame you for your kid not wanting to go to Hillsdale or a Christian based university. We can disagree without being a-holes to each other.
5. How is he getting so many credit hours pre grad? He has 6 hours of dual enrollment already. Again, we could have forced him to take 9 hours a semester this year and he could have breezed through them. We didnt because we let him decide. And he decided to have a chill year. Next year, we are going to home school his last requirements for diploma needs. He will take classes full time (as a dual enrollment) at a JC for the fall and spring. Because he will not get his diploma until the spring, he will still be classified as an incoming freshman and keep all his scholarships. I spent probably 30-40 hours making calls to different colleges and confirming with them all that this was their policies.
6. He really doesnt know what he wants to major in. Again, we have given him complete autonomy on it. However, as a good parent, we are encouraging him to get a degree in something he likes and can fall back on if he decides he hates law school or hates being a lawyer. Criminal justice would be a breeze for him. But what is it going to get him if he hates law school. He is clearly an engineer. He works the 2 thick crypto puzzle books for stress relief and fun. He initially bucked the idea of engineering to be a rebellious teen. When he took the engineering tour at Alabama, and saw the labs and classrooms, he walked away saying, I think I want to be an engineer. My argument to him has been, engineering school is going to teach you how to investigate and solve problems. If you want to be a good lawyer with a different set of problem solving skills than the political science major, get your engineering degree. Additionally, I think there is about to be an explosion of cyber law needs.
7. In addition to taking classes at a JC next year, he has been offered several opportunities to clerk with some local lawyers this summer and next year while in JC. We believe this will tell him pretty quick if law is the direction he wants to go.
8. He can ABSOLUTELY go to State and get his engineering degree and then to law school somewhere else (not OM). This is why I put all the scholarship details in the post. Im an engineer and I dont like to look up stuff the OP could have posted. It wasnt for the brag. It was so those who have good advice and experience could quickly reference what I was trying to relay. The difference is the amount of scholarship and the fact that he can use the NM stuff towards law school or grad school. He might get a full ride to go somewhere for law school after his undergrad. What makes Bama attractive is the ability to possibly have almost $100k of $130k law school paid for if he does go that route. If any of you dont go anywhere but State for undergrad maroon glass wearing super fans have fishwater money and want to go ahead and commit to giving him a $100k scholarship towards law school to get his undergrad at State so youll feel better about yourself, Ill come pick the money up personally.
9. My wife asked him on the way home today if he had to choose right now, where would he choose? He said Bama. She said, you better get him back to Starkville asap. Then she said, Ill be ok if you choose Bama.
10. As far as ACT scores over the years, I think there has definitely been an uptick, but I think Its because more kids are taking AP and DE/DC courses, taking ACT prep, etc. My son has taken it 3 times. Once in 8th grade (28), once in October (34), and this most recent time (35). His individual area scores are 36, 35, 35, 35. I looked up the numbers. Approximately 11-12k students made a 35 last year. There were 4.7k +/- that made a 36. There are approximately 15,000 that make NM finalists. His school has a year long ACT prep course class that he is finishing this semester. Im not sure it helped him very much. His 34 in October was the result of lower math and science scores (31/32). He is taking Chemistry and Precal/Trig this year. Those classes helped bring him up to 35s after he got deeper in the year.
11. I have an engineer friend who went back and got his law degree. But he works for a large corporate entity doing contracts. Not really the path my son is interested in. He says criminal law is his interest right now. I would love to see him work with an Innocence Project and help get wrongfully convicted people out, but that will be his decision. The world needs more ethical lawyers who help those that have been railroaded and tricked into wrongful confessions. I cant think of anything more fulfilling as a career than to help get someone their liberty and freedom back. But thats a decision for him to make.
12. Im a Bagley COE grad (M.E.). I know States reputation, particularly in AL, MS, TN, GA, and even in other parts of the US. I would love to have a reason to go to Starkville more. But my allegiance to Mississippi State stops with my childrens best interest and their desires. If he wanted to be a vet or meteorologist, I could present a strong case to him as to why he should only strongly consider State. He may decide he doesnt like clerking this summer and then we are back to maybe just engineering (or even something else).
13. He can go to Oxford for college. He doesnt want to. He is going to Boys State this summer up there. He didnt want to go because he didnt want to spend a week in Oxford. When I told him they give a $1,000 scholarship, he said Ill suffer through it and take the money.
14. Lastly, I also thought that he would be getting some calls/emails/etc from some of the Ivy League schools. Nope. Mostly just generic stuff in the snail mail and email. State is also doing a really poor job of recruiting him. And they absolutely know who he is and what his scores are. We have 8 recruiters for Mississippi and apparently none dedicated solely to securing State the best of the best. My eyes have truly been opened to the lack of money we put into academic recruiting compared to athletic recruiting. Not only do our scholarships severely lack compared to just about everyone else, State doesnt really begin recruiting kids until their Senior Year. This is straight from the Admissions and Recruiting head. So, they want everyone to sign up for admission on August 1st at 8:00pm, but they dont want to put any effort into recruiting the kids until they are seniors? Its backwards. Our State recruiter has yet to call him or text him. One letter and one email. And she met him in person at a high school event. Shes obviously overworked. We all know State is great because most of us went there. We are missing out on some good kids because we arent putting any extra effort into getting them to campus. If they do get to campus for a visit, I cant see where we are overly impressing them.
Again, thank you guys who actually provided some good insight and info. Im relaying it to him and my wife. I may reach out to a few of you by PM.
Scottfield1 - just another quick shout out. Hows that degree from Arkansas State working for you? Shouldnt you be cheering for them instead?
telling him how smart he was since he was 3. He is tired of it being his identity. I was trying to respect his privacy as much as possible with as few details as I thought were necessary. Ill give some more details below that may clarify most of the responses about why not Harvard, etc.
First, I want to address a few things with the resident morans.
1. I thought we had kind of an unspoken rule here about posters kids being off limits. Really. You first couple of guys that made jokes at his expense (the gump one was funny, but out of line. Hes a kid.). You can 17 off. I lost a lot of respect for several long time posters. 17 you. (Slap) Keep my kids name out your 17n mouth.
2. Ive got a friend that may actually be scottfield1. Didnt go to State. They didnt go to State, but being States #1 Superfan and defender is their only identity. Mod on FB groups. Constantly admonishing other people over any criticism of anything State. Scottfield1 - Youre a piece of **** and Either need to quit posting drunk or keep your ****** opinions to Twitter.
3. This post was is NO way a humble brag or a troll. I debated for a few hours about posting it. This is our first born and a huge decision for him. He needs sound advice from someone who has chosen this path. As you will see if you make it further down, he will not have a senior day awards program. He is forfeiting being named Star Student and probably Valedictorian by what he is planning to do his senior year. Why? Because none of us, him included care about the recognition. Im here looking for people who have chosen this path and can provide wisdom (yeah, I know wisdom on SPS?), not to waste my time typing. We dont do pride at this house. My son will tell you, his knowledge is a gift from God and he wants to use it for Gods glory, not his own.
4. We are and always have been 100% the opposite of a Helicopter parent. He has had complete autonomy on his school since pre-K. No study time or forced activities. He has done what he wanted and when he wanted. He has missed turning in assignments and had to go beg for partial credit. We told him long ago, it is his responsibility to be responsible. You have to let kids make some mistakes that they can learn from that will ultimately help them in the long run. A helicopter parent would be forcing him to go to their alma mater or saying you have to go to an Ivy League school with your scores. We have given him the option to go anywhere he wants. Providing guidance and suggestions is not being a helicopter parent. Its just being a good parent.
So heres a couple of more details that may clarify things better about why I specifically asked for Southeast (Bama, LSU, and other SE schools).
1. If he moves more than 4 hours away, my wife is going to be more nuts than women already are. This is a child that we tried to conceive for several years. And she had to have surgery to help. She cant stand the thought of him needing her (sick, hurt, whatever) and not being able to get to him within 4-5 hours. He could go to California or Michigan or wherever. She would be in Whitfield, nervous as a long tailed cat in a room of rocking chairs. Its not being a helicopter parent to want to be within driving distance to your kid. I lived 3.5 hours away and the only time my dad came to visit us when he detected depression in my voice late one night. He was at my door at 5:00 am the next morning. Once he saw I was ok, he went home. No breakfast, or hanging out. Just a wellness check.
2. His sister is his best friend. They are going to have a hard enough time not seeing each other every day. If she cant see him once a month, shell be right next to my wife in those huggy white jackets. And he feels the same.
3. He does have interest in Harvard and Yale. We are visiting them this summer with MIT and probably Georgia Tech. But it is extremely doubtful he will choose any of them due to distance other than GT being a possibility.
4. We (my son included) dont want him going to a university where they are more concerned about indoctrination of liberal philosophy rather than the education he is supposed to be getting. I dont know for sure that Harvard, Yale, etc is completely there yet, but I dont think they are far off. For you libs, no disrespect to you. If that is your belief, whatever. Good for you. I wouldnt blame you for your kid not wanting to go to Hillsdale or a Christian based university. We can disagree without being a-holes to each other.
5. How is he getting so many credit hours pre grad? He has 6 hours of dual enrollment already. Again, we could have forced him to take 9 hours a semester this year and he could have breezed through them. We didnt because we let him decide. And he decided to have a chill year. Next year, we are going to home school his last requirements for diploma needs. He will take classes full time (as a dual enrollment) at a JC for the fall and spring. Because he will not get his diploma until the spring, he will still be classified as an incoming freshman and keep all his scholarships. I spent probably 30-40 hours making calls to different colleges and confirming with them all that this was their policies.
6. He really doesnt know what he wants to major in. Again, we have given him complete autonomy on it. However, as a good parent, we are encouraging him to get a degree in something he likes and can fall back on if he decides he hates law school or hates being a lawyer. Criminal justice would be a breeze for him. But what is it going to get him if he hates law school. He is clearly an engineer. He works the 2 thick crypto puzzle books for stress relief and fun. He initially bucked the idea of engineering to be a rebellious teen. When he took the engineering tour at Alabama, and saw the labs and classrooms, he walked away saying, I think I want to be an engineer. My argument to him has been, engineering school is going to teach you how to investigate and solve problems. If you want to be a good lawyer with a different set of problem solving skills than the political science major, get your engineering degree. Additionally, I think there is about to be an explosion of cyber law needs.
7. In addition to taking classes at a JC next year, he has been offered several opportunities to clerk with some local lawyers this summer and next year while in JC. We believe this will tell him pretty quick if law is the direction he wants to go.
8. He can ABSOLUTELY go to State and get his engineering degree and then to law school somewhere else (not OM). This is why I put all the scholarship details in the post. Im an engineer and I dont like to look up stuff the OP could have posted. It wasnt for the brag. It was so those who have good advice and experience could quickly reference what I was trying to relay. The difference is the amount of scholarship and the fact that he can use the NM stuff towards law school or grad school. He might get a full ride to go somewhere for law school after his undergrad. What makes Bama attractive is the ability to possibly have almost $100k of $130k law school paid for if he does go that route. If any of you dont go anywhere but State for undergrad maroon glass wearing super fans have fishwater money and want to go ahead and commit to giving him a $100k scholarship towards law school to get his undergrad at State so youll feel better about yourself, Ill come pick the money up personally.
9. My wife asked him on the way home today if he had to choose right now, where would he choose? He said Bama. She said, you better get him back to Starkville asap. Then she said, Ill be ok if you choose Bama.
10. As far as ACT scores over the years, I think there has definitely been an uptick, but I think Its because more kids are taking AP and DE/DC courses, taking ACT prep, etc. My son has taken it 3 times. Once in 8th grade (28), once in October (34), and this most recent time (35). His individual area scores are 36, 35, 35, 35. I looked up the numbers. Approximately 11-12k students made a 35 last year. There were 4.7k +/- that made a 36. There are approximately 15,000 that make NM finalists. His school has a year long ACT prep course class that he is finishing this semester. Im not sure it helped him very much. His 34 in October was the result of lower math and science scores (31/32). He is taking Chemistry and Precal/Trig this year. Those classes helped bring him up to 35s after he got deeper in the year.
11. I have an engineer friend who went back and got his law degree. But he works for a large corporate entity doing contracts. Not really the path my son is interested in. He says criminal law is his interest right now. I would love to see him work with an Innocence Project and help get wrongfully convicted people out, but that will be his decision. The world needs more ethical lawyers who help those that have been railroaded and tricked into wrongful confessions. I cant think of anything more fulfilling as a career than to help get someone their liberty and freedom back. But thats a decision for him to make.
12. Im a Bagley COE grad (M.E.). I know States reputation, particularly in AL, MS, TN, GA, and even in other parts of the US. I would love to have a reason to go to Starkville more. But my allegiance to Mississippi State stops with my childrens best interest and their desires. If he wanted to be a vet or meteorologist, I could present a strong case to him as to why he should only strongly consider State. He may decide he doesnt like clerking this summer and then we are back to maybe just engineering (or even something else).
13. He can go to Oxford for college. He doesnt want to. He is going to Boys State this summer up there. He didnt want to go because he didnt want to spend a week in Oxford. When I told him they give a $1,000 scholarship, he said Ill suffer through it and take the money.
14. Lastly, I also thought that he would be getting some calls/emails/etc from some of the Ivy League schools. Nope. Mostly just generic stuff in the snail mail and email. State is also doing a really poor job of recruiting him. And they absolutely know who he is and what his scores are. We have 8 recruiters for Mississippi and apparently none dedicated solely to securing State the best of the best. My eyes have truly been opened to the lack of money we put into academic recruiting compared to athletic recruiting. Not only do our scholarships severely lack compared to just about everyone else, State doesnt really begin recruiting kids until their Senior Year. This is straight from the Admissions and Recruiting head. So, they want everyone to sign up for admission on August 1st at 8:00pm, but they dont want to put any effort into recruiting the kids until they are seniors? Its backwards. Our State recruiter has yet to call him or text him. One letter and one email. And she met him in person at a high school event. Shes obviously overworked. We all know State is great because most of us went there. We are missing out on some good kids because we arent putting any extra effort into getting them to campus. If they do get to campus for a visit, I cant see where we are overly impressing them.
Again, thank you guys who actually provided some good insight and info. Im relaying it to him and my wife. I may reach out to a few of you by PM.
Scottfield1 - just another quick shout out. Hows that degree from Arkansas State working for you? Shouldnt you be cheering for them instead?
He’s going to sue Putin or Zelensky in the Metaverse. Once we figure out which one is wagging the dog.
Good luck with his decision. Personally, I wouldn't trade anything for my experience at State. I always feel at home there. I got advanced degrees from Florida Tech and MUW and don't feel the same about them. I also took classes at Arizona State.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the administration at State does not do a good job of reaching out to high school students. Engineering Day this year was weak compared to past years. I have tried to get them to offer dual credit for our high school engineering class but they flatly said no. They told me demand is high for engineering so they don't need to recruit. This is a formula for failure. On the flip side Ole Miss is heavily recruiting engineering students to their relatively new programs.
Has your son applied for the Shackouls Honor college at State? His grades are definitely good enough. Couple that with the study abroad program and he might renew his interest in State. I've had a couple of my students go through the Honor's college and it was great for them.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason, the administration at State does not do a good job of reaching out to high school students. Engineering Day this year was weak compared to past years. I have tried to get them to offer dual credit for our high school engineering class but they flatly said no. They told me demand is high for engineering so they don't need to recruit. This is a formula for failure. On the flip side Ole Miss is heavily recruiting engineering students to their relatively new programs.
Has your son applied for the Shackouls Honor college at State? His grades are definitely good enough. Couple that with the study abroad program and he might renew his interest in State. I've had a couple of my students go through the Honor's college and it was great for them.
Last edited:
Wasn't intended as a flex at all, just to emphasize the point that an undergrad from MSU won't keep you from getting into any law school in the country. Personally, if I were advising the OP's kid, I would tell him to apply to NYU and spend that 2+ years living in Greenwich Village.
If you are having a problem figuring out who is in the wrong there, you should try to find some US WWII veterans to talk to, like my father who had to stand down and let the Russians go in and rape every woman in Berlin. There is a reason they thought we ****** up by leaving Europe without kicking the **** out of the Russians before they came home.
Last edited:
Latest posts
Get unlimited access today.