Sorry, Harvard. Everyone Wants to Go to College in the South Now
- Thread starter From Atherton to Auburn
- Start date
Penn state sucks on what it gives as far as aid. Plain and simple. Southern schools including Duke giving a ton of aid to students.
so my girls are southerners. Stay away Bob.
one had to go to psu because we “brainwashed her” she said. Very little aid even for schreyers. Paying a ton.
the other hates the cold and went to Duke. They gave her a lot of aid! Which offsets my daughter that went to psu.
the third wants to go to psu.
Sc Clemson give full rides for in state students as well as
Some nc schools as well. They consider Carolinas as one.
so my girls are southerners. Stay away Bob.
one had to go to psu because we “brainwashed her” she said. Very little aid even for schreyers. Paying a ton.
the other hates the cold and went to Duke. They gave her a lot of aid! Which offsets my daughter that went to psu.
the third wants to go to psu.
Sc Clemson give full rides for in state students as well as
Some nc schools as well. They consider Carolinas as one.
I found that out in the late 1970s. When we were helping to move my sister into Vanderbilt for her freshman year, there were hot coeds everywhere. I thought to myself, WTF didn’t I think about the southern schools? I’m at Penn State with 2 to 1 male to female ratio and crappy weather during a lot of the school year.
My older daughter chose UF because the weather, great engineering department and reminded her of a ”Penn State South.” Then she went to GA Tech for her doctorate. We tried to talk our younger daughter into going south but she chose BGSU because it was close to home. After a year of college she tells me she made a mistake and should have gone to a school in the south, but was stuck there now.
Selling the experience, man that’s rich. That article sounds like it was written by someone who’s never actually set foot on these campuses or attended a live sporting event in their lives.
Furthermore, why would any school leave money on the table by offering in state tuition? Hmmmmm. Could it be because their primary education systems are abysmal and they can’t produce enough people with the skills needed for a modern economy? Nah. Can’t be. Southern states taking shortcuts is crazy right.
And as far as “escaping the political polarization”, bloody hell that’s a gut buster. Might as well just say that this generation of Charmin parents can’t stand the idea of their precious tykes being exposed to any ideas that run counter to their own views.
Furthermore, why would any school leave money on the table by offering in state tuition? Hmmmmm. Could it be because their primary education systems are abysmal and they can’t produce enough people with the skills needed for a modern economy? Nah. Can’t be. Southern states taking shortcuts is crazy right.
And as far as “escaping the political polarization”, bloody hell that’s a gut buster. Might as well just say that this generation of Charmin parents can’t stand the idea of their precious tykes being exposed to any ideas that run counter to their own views.
When you look at the % of applicants that are accepted ... this is from back in 2018 ...
| SCHOOL (STATE) | FALL 2018 ACCEPTANCE RATE | U.S. NEWS RANK AND CATEGORY | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| University of California—Los Angeles | 14% | 20, National Universities | ||
| University of California—Berkeley | 15% | 22 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of North Carolina—Chapel Hill | 22% | 29 (tie), National Universities | ||
| Georgia Institute of Technology | 23% | 29 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of Michigan—Ann Arbor | 23% | 25 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of Virginia | 26% | 28, National Universities | ||
| University of California—Irvine | 29% | 36, National Universities | ||
| University of California—San Diego | 30% | 37 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of California—Santa Barbara | 32% | 34 (tie), National Universities | ||
| San Diego State University | 34% | 147 (tie), National Universities | ||
| Texas A&M University—Commerce | 34% | 293-381, National Universities | ||
| College of William and Mary (VA) | 37% | 40 (tie), National Universities | ||
| Florida State University | 37% | 57 (tie), National Universities | ||
| CUNY—City College (NY) | 38% | 228 (tie), National Universities | ||
| Florida A&M University | 39% | 254 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of Florida | 39% | 34 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of Texas—Austin | 39% | 48 (tie), National Universities | ||
| Binghamton University—SUNY (NY) | 40% | 79 (tie), National Universities | ||
| University of California—Davis | 41% | 39, National Universities | ||
| Stony Brook University—SUNY (NY) | 42% | 91 (tie), National Universities |
Daughter was accepted at USCe which most kids are - not that hard to get in and neighber had all 3 kids go there but now with #3 they have cut back on aid and no instate tuition so that $50K is about right - daughter is at PSU as a Freshman in Kinesiology and lives it - $17,800 per semester all in so not that bad - PSU does get kids from all over as well. But trend of kids from the North going South is real.
A rather simple concept the SEC has noticed and is implementing - improve academics. The reason why is also noticeable - the Big Ten as a nationwide competitor has schools with better academic rankings and attracts high number of qualified applicants.
Case in point - my oldest Grandson is a senior at Ravenswood HS in Franklin, TN, suburb of Nashville and a very high influence by Vanderbilt. He has had all AP courses for 2 years plus and will be at or near the very top of his class. He received a full academic ride to USMA and turned it down (he has been #1 in JROTC for 2 years), will not attend Duke since they do not credit AP courses. TN has social volunteer requirements for all grades in HS and must be included in academic reporting. Several SEC schools are offering 4 year academic scholarships for the best students in high school classes all over the South - Bama, Georgia among them. U of Florida is hard to get into, but Florida State does offer FL residents lessor qualification standards.
Of course this will be his decision, he does not want cold weather, and since we have been in Naples, FL for 20+ years - our Penn State influence will not deter him.
Not sure I would include Ga Tech in with other southern and SEC schools. Tech very competitive to get into and very demanding academically. More in line with CMU and MIT level academic standards. Not a place to go if you are interested in Southern college experience. And since implementation Hope scholarship even tougher to get into. Even UGA standards have increased significantly with Hope. One of my kids graduated undergrad and PhD from Ga Tech in mechanical engineering (PhD with 4.0 BTW) and their experience every bit as rigorous and demanding as mine was at CMU.
Or just move to FL and pay $7,000 per annual for resident students in their state university's. Amazing to me you can get a 4 year degree in FL for less than 1 year at PSU
US News and World Report 'Strongest Job Markets' 2024; about 8/25 are in the South:
25. Lincoln, Nebraska
24. Manchester, New Hampshire
23. Honolulu
22. Charlotte, North Carolina
21. Raleigh, North Carolina
20. Portland, Oregon
19. Virginia Beach, Virginia
18. Atlanta
17. Salt Lake City
16. Boise, Idaho
15. Portland, Maine
14. Boulder, Colorado
13. Washington, D.C.
12. Greenville, South Carolina
11. Denver
10. Madison, Wisconsin
9. Austin, Texas
8. Ann Arbor, Michigan
7. San Jose, California
6. Santa Barbara, California
5. Charleston, South Carolina
4. Sarasota, Florida
3. Naples, Florida
2. Seattle
1. San Francisco
I’ve had the opportunity to spend some time on a bunch of SEC campuses. The amount of stunning looking young ladies is insane.
Every time one of these college in south threads comes up I make the pitch for Georgia and Hope scholarship program. If you have kids younger than 11 grade and are worrying about paying for college, move to Georgia. Both my kids went college there one to Tech one to UGA TUITION FREE thanks to Hope. Not means tested, but performance tested. So I guess kid has to be smart and motivated and persistent but otherwise..,......
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And I’ve lived in The South at times. I won’t argue your point. But there’s a downside that young men thinking with the wrong head don’t see.
A lot of those young women are Sorority girls who are living off of daddy’s money and expect to be taken care of in the same way by any future husbands. It’s very much part of the culture that we as non-Southerners simply don’t understand.
Having lived and dated in the South, I can tell you, you're right.
I remember a girl I dated from a ritzy suburb of Birmingham telling me, despite being a degreed engineer with a pretty good job, that i needed to "do something" with my life.
When I asked her what "something" was, doctor, lawyer or dentist seemed to be the only acceptable possibilities.
Mind you, she was a part time teacher at a church school.
My kids (all graduating in the 2010s) were all offerred in-state tuition at USCe also. It was tempting and I Google-walked the campus and checked out their majors, etc. We never did end up taking a college visit, but our school (in Maryland) had probably about 6-10 kids every year out of 300) attend USCe. It was probably the most attended college outside of the state.
If you're 1 or 2 in your class and only have a "1360+" SAT, you're either homeschooled, or you're being taught by toothless folks.
I glanced through this thread, but only for bemusement purposes.
But, that said......if a kid can get into and afford Harvard, I think he (or she) is better off in the long run than attending University of Alabama, or South Carolina, or even Duke or Vanderbilt.
But, that said......if a kid can get into and afford Harvard, I think he (or she) is better off in the long run than attending University of Alabama, or South Carolina, or even Duke or Vanderbilt.
What's the downside? Have fun with those girls during undergrad, then move back up north where you can find real, intelligent, driven women, instead of Barbie dolls.
Affording Harvard generally isn't a problem. Getting in is another matter.
That would defend my position even more - if you can get it into Harvard, then go. It will be better for you in the long run.
Up here in New England, the trend seems to be for middling kids to head south to bigger state schools. Don't know if they're getting money, but I'd assume so. The smart kids still largely stick around and go to an Ivy or NESCAC type of school. If anything, there's a bit of leakage to the midwest ... kids going to Michigan, Wisky and related schools.
My oldest is a junior, so we're just sniffing around the landscape at this point, but he's going to have a unique issue of trying to find an elite Comp Sci program that also plays (likely) D3/D2 baseball. Lots of quality liberal arts schools in the area that would fit the baseball need, but not the academic need ... and a number of quality Comp Sci programs reside in bigger D1 schools. We're going to have to thread the needle of finding the right fit. MIT would be ideal, but beyond that, Tufts is a fallback option, academically, and he would need to hope he impresses an Ivy enough to get a baseball bid and go lower D1. Outside of this region, it's Johns Hopkins, UChicago and CalTech. Not many (any?) options down south.
My oldest is a junior, so we're just sniffing around the landscape at this point, but he's going to have a unique issue of trying to find an elite Comp Sci program that also plays (likely) D3/D2 baseball. Lots of quality liberal arts schools in the area that would fit the baseball need, but not the academic need ... and a number of quality Comp Sci programs reside in bigger D1 schools. We're going to have to thread the needle of finding the right fit. MIT would be ideal, but beyond that, Tufts is a fallback option, academically, and he would need to hope he impresses an Ivy enough to get a baseball bid and go lower D1. Outside of this region, it's Johns Hopkins, UChicago and CalTech. Not many (any?) options down south.
Harvard is cheap, if you need it to be cheap. They throw copious amounts of financial aid at you if you aren't a 1%er.
Then.....why is this even a question as to whether to attend Harvard or some state school in the South? It should not be.
At least she had a “job”. That puts her above 75% of the women you’ll find.
And let’s not even get started on the rates of infidelity and divorce in the Southern States.
I'm not sure any prospective student (not student-athlete) is really deciding between Harvard and ... let's say ... The University of Georgia. Unless they're an absolute whacko conspiracy froot loop ... or there's some kind of unique personal situation (family to care for, etc.).
This is more about folks deciding between a decent, expensive private school up north, or going down south for cheap ... or someone deciding to go to a southern state school rather than UMass or SUNY (if a resident in that state).
The title of the thread said "Harvard", not UMass. Also, follow along where I said I glanced at this thread for bemusement.
I don't take it all that serioiusly.
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My nephew ended up at Auburn--and loves it. Great campus. His dad (my brother) is also a PSU grad and Varsity S. But they live in Georgia, so Auburn made sense. I was there for the game a couple of years back, and its a really nice campus.
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