Rutgers applications reaching record heights after Big Ten, CIC entry

[ZooCougar]

I really don't know much about higher education in New England other than what you all say and what my brother-in-law tells me (he grew up on Cape Cod, earned his Bachelors from Providence and his Masters from University of Indiana - Bloomington). It seems like, historically, private schools were on a higher status level than the publics, correct? In the Midwest, The big publics, except for Northwestern and U of Chicago) are the most desired. Going to a Big10 school is preferred over most other schools. It's almost like a seal of approval that a school is very good when it's in the Big10.

Rutgers, now being in the Big1o, just might be looked at more from Midwesterners, especially those that can't get into the higher rated Big10 schools. Ohio is a little bit different. Their state school system is huge and has many great schools, a couple are right up there with OSU in status (Ohio U is very highly rated).

I'd say this is mostly right. But it's not just the midwest, it's the south as well. SEC and ACC schools are at the top of the pile. I went to a private school in the south and when I first got down there I was surprised to hear how proud some of my classmates were that they had a brother or sister enrolled at Mississippi State or Tennessee. The guy across the hall from me was bragging about his twin brother getting into Georgia Tech, and I was like wow, what did he do wrong? LOL

Even still even easterner applying to colleges in the '90s would know that Wisconsin and Michigan were awesome schools. But you could never pay me enough to attend a dump like Illinois or Ohio State.

 

[ZooCougar]

More than that, however. There are many second tier private schools that just aren't worth the exorbitant cost. The top echelon private schools (ie. the Ivies, most Nescac, MIT etc.) will always do well because students from all over the world recognize their elite status. It is the expensive private schools that aren't as good as the best public schools that are going to be hurting. UConn has vastly improved in the last 30 years and it is a preferred choice for many of the best HS students. This is an anathema to a school like Syracuse because they can't justify charging more than twice what UConn charges for a year of attendance. I am sure Maryland, Penn State and Rutgers compare favorably to Syracuse for their residents for the same reason

Some of those second tiers are big regionally though. For example if you're from the mid south and you're going to settle there, then if you attended Hendrix or Centre then those schools have some serious cache in that region.

 

[DarthGrumpy]

I'd say this is mostly right. But it's not just the midwest, it's the south as well. SEC and ACC schools are at the top of the pile. I went to a private school in the south and when I first got down there I was surprised to hear how proud some of my classmates were that they had a brother or sister enrolled at Mississippi State or Tennessee. The guy across the hall from me was bragging about his twin brother getting into Georgia Tech, and I was like wow, what did he do wrong? LOL

I was a wannabe engineering major coming out of high school and looked all over in a vain attempt to escape the suburban hell I was trapped in CT. A lot of folks encouraged me to look at Georgia Tech advising its top notch and a lot cheaper than the private schools in the northeast (RPI, Union, Syracuse, Clarkson) that I was looking at. I am under the impression that G-Tech has been seen as a very good engineering school for years. Agree on what your impression of Miss St, Tennessee, etc. A lot of state pride; but, questionable end results.

Ended-up going to UConn as I did not get into RPI (nor U Buffalo) while Syracuse and Clarkson did not give me enough financial aid for it to make sense and my parents did not want to spend the extra money for me to go out-of-state to Delaware.

 

[upstater]

The cost of privates all depends on the particular schools' need-blind admissions policy.

Admitted students are literally given a grade, ABCD, by the admissions committee. The school then tries to meet the financial needs of all the As first. Then the Bs get a 25% reduction in the amount offered (25% less than need as determined by FAFSA), Cs 50% less and Ds 75%. There is a grid in the admission office that determines this.

But this only applies to the top schools that still do need-blind. Many privates have dropped it altogether and they just do whatever the hell they want with no rhyme or reason.

If you want to try an interesting experiment with your high school senior, try applying to one of the top privates without sending in a FAFSA or asking for financial aid. You're telling them you will pay $60k. I bet at most schools you 3.5GPA, 1200 SAT, child gets in.

It really pays to know which of the privates are still worth it, and which are not. For instance, my own biases would probably lean toward a child applying to Hamilton College but refusing to pay for Colgate. The schools are a couple miles apart. They probably draw from the same cohort of applicants. But one school gives you your money's worth for education, and the other is drifting toward Skidmore status (not that there's anything really wrong with that).