Private vs state?

[treestarfae]

Can someone sell me on which is better? I have 10 years before my first starts college and I need direction.

[Starr]

I wouldn't panic yet. :D Look at the requirements for a few colleges and you'll see where you are headed by 8th grade.

[Michelle in AL]

I wouldnt worry about it yet, for us we had to actually tour the campuses in order to know which was the best fit.

 

Different colleges have different "vibes." We could tell within minutes of a tour with one, that it wasn't the right choice.

 

Actually walking on campus will give you a feel for size fit also.

 

Probable majors also play a large part in public vs. private. Certain colleges will be more compatible with certain majors.

 

We did our first tours this month in 10th grade. Dd loved one (public research based uni), was nuetral on a private and negative on another private. One month later she changed her mind on what she might want to major in, and none of the above universities have that major.

 

My suggestion would be to stick with the most challenging curriculum that is a good fit with your family and wait until mid high school to investigate colleges.

[creekland]

10 years ago hubby and I had it all planned out that our boys would follow our footsteps and go to the great huge state U we are alumni of. We enjoyed our time there and got a great education, so it passed our "approval" test. We knew the ins and outs of housing, etc.

 

Fast forward to this past year. My oldest went there for a visit, and while he liked it, he didn't consider it a fit. (I admire his tact when he told us this.) It also didn't have a good record in getting graduates into the field he wants to go in (microfinance). Instead, he liked a small Christian school with an impressive major associated with his planned major. I had barely even heard of that school. On a visit as hubby and I first walked the campus our thoughts were, "Is this it???" When oldest son first walked the campus his thoughts were, "I can't wait to get here." Our second thought was, "how do we pay for this?" He ended up getting scholarships that actually made it more affordable than state U.

 

So, gradually, we came to the realization that this is his life, not ours, and he's correct about the small college having the better program for what he wants. We gave up our dream of our kids following in our footsteps and will join him in his dream.

 

AND, middle son + younger son have also told us they prefer smaller at this point...

 

Your thoughts 10 years out might not equal your student's thoughts 10 years from now. No one place or type is perfect for everyone. Keep their options open. :tongue_smilie:

[AngieW in Texas]

It depends.

 

My oldest is mostly likely going to UT Dallas. It's a state school, so they will accept her cc credits in transfer while still considering her as a freshman (for all the freshman scholarships). She'll have 22 college credits by the end of summer and will get 14-30 more college credits next year (depending on whether or not the cc will give permission for dd to take 3 or 4 courses/semester rather than just 2). She visited UT Dallas in March and LOVED it.

 

My middle is also quite likely to go to UT Dallas. Among Texas and all the neighboring states, there are just two schools that offer the major she is interested in - Cognitive Science. One is UT Dallas which will accept all her transfer credits and offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in Cognitive Science and the other is Rice (private school) which won't accept any cc courses taken while in high school and only has undergraduate courses in Cognitive Science.

 

My youngest has her heart set on Rice for their architecture program. The other school in our state that has a strong architecture program is UT Austin, but the 10% rule makes it very difficult for hsers to get into the program.

[RegGuheert]

Can someone sell me on which is better? I have 10 years before my first starts college and I need direction.

DS20 is attending a large in-state university and DD17 will attend a large private university in the fall. FWIW, in our case, the private school will be significantly cheaper than the state school.

 

IMO, neither is "better." There are many, many factors which have impacted where our children are attending college. We do not have expectations yet about where our next five will attend, with the next one possibly going off in another six years.

[Andrew Kern]

There's a lot of wisdom in this forum! Now that my fourth is looking into college, I wish I'd hung out here earlier...

 

Whether you go to a state school or a private school is a question of tactics (man metaphor I guess) and tactics come after goals are set. You're in a wonderful position because you can spend the next ten years nourishing your child's soul and his healthy soul will then "smell" the college (or something else) he should proceed to.

 

I agree with everyone that you should not worry about college yet. I think you are wise to calmly and faithfully think about it though. Colleges are changing rapidly and you will want to know how one of them (remember you only need one!) can help your child fulfill his mission and realize his glory.

 

When he gets to ninth grade, I'd recommend you start reading (casually, without stress, trusting in God) some college guides. But always treat college as a means to an end.

 

I hope that is helpful! :)