:D It helps that I have not lived in the midwest for awhile, even though my heart is still there, so I am removed from the intensity of it all. Must admit though, I definitely miss being in a college town (where football is relevant) on football Saturdays.

For many years I would have said Penn State. I knew a couple of people that graduated from there that I absolutely despised, so it colored my vision on all things PSU. Ahhh, the young and stupid. Now I have friends who went to PSU or have kids there, and I like them, so PSU has moved off my blackstar of death list. Except when they play OSU. In anything.

If we did not live in such a large urban area with a billion universities and colleges, I would not be exactly thrilled if my daughter chose to remain local for college, gotta get some air under those wings honey...

Illinois -- it's just too big, even with the great Greek system. :)

I have to agree about not sending my children anywhere that is for-profit or non-accredited. I would also have serious reservations about them getting their bachelor's online, unless there was a very good reason that they needed to do things that way.

However, I can't agree that I would refuse to send my child to a school with a religious affiliation. Though my partner and I are not religious people, there are some very fine institutions of higher education that are religiously affiliated and it would be a mistake to exclude them. I think college is an important time to be exposed to other world views and experiences, and as long as religion is not foisted upon the students at every turn, I think it's healthy to be exposed to it and/or to take a required religion course. I also think the emphasis on service learning and social justice that many of these schools have is admirable. That said, any school that requires its students to be of a certain religion or makes an effort to exclude or silence certain groups (such as LGBTQ students) would absolutely be out.

Finally, I absolutely would not want my child to choose to attend a school solely because of its prestige. I attended a very highly ranked private university and while I would be thrilled to send my child there, I wouldn't want him or her to attend just because of the name. I have seen too many college students choose a more highly ranked university over a less highly ranked one because of the "bumper sticker" factor, even though the less prestigious university would have been a better fit.

Question:

Is a for-profit college any private one, or any non-state school?

Just curious.

Nope. Most private universities are non-profit.

For-profits are often (though not always) online - i.e. Kaplan, University of Phoenix, etc.

For-profit schools are run by organizations whose goal it is to turn out a profit. While not-for-profit schools receive donations and tuition payments, that money goes back to the Universities, either through operating expenses or endowments.

Auburn, Ohio State, Notre Dame

Alabama and Ole Miss are both NO-GO's for my kids.

Gotcha, thanks for the clarification. I only asked because I couldn't think of a "for profit" school.


Two schools:

Michigan
USC (cal)

I will give my children the same criteria my parents gave me:

Any school I choose as long as it is not in Oxford, MS. :D

Or I could do like my father and say that you can go anywhere you want but the only one I'm paying for is Alabama.

I couldnt agree with this statement more!!!

What's with Michigan? Just curious.

I wouldn't want to see my kid take on a ton of debt...so I would very strongly suggest he/she stick to more affordable options ( or get a great scholarship). Or join the military! That is what I did :)

I just did online research and UTX Austin (49,984 total enrollment) is larger that U of IL Champaign (41,620 total enrollment). U WISC Madison is not much smaller (40 thousand plus) so my traditional argument against Illinois fails. It is still the state university to send your child to if he/she can get in. :)

If I had a daughter and she wanted to go to Michigan, I would fully support her. And furthermore, if she wanted to go to ANY Big Ten school, I would have no problem. All twelve schools are terrific research institutions with tough programs.

I guess I am very opposite of you. If she decided to go to a super conservative school, I would cut off all funding. I have a friend whose DD did that and while she is an A student, she can't think for herself.