^ Unfortunately, I could never find a venue to make thousands/millions playing Rook, Euchre, Spades and Hearts...

 

 

Wellesly.

True story.

 

When mcdaughter earned her first "C", in the 5th grade, we had a conversation. We told her that if "Cs" were to become the norm, she would have little chance of gaining admittance into Vandy (as did her older brother).

 

Ten years old, she looked me in the eye, and said, "Then I guess I'll just go to Morehead like you."

 

Best laid plans and all that...

What if, hypothetically, your major was card-playing?

 

Hypothetically, mind you.

 

Guess you need to go to UNLV....

I felt like I was at Northern Kentucky University at just the right time and I wouldn't change it at all. Loved all five years lol.

UK, if your a KY resident. It's cheap. It's easy. It's hilariously fun.

 

I don't think paying more than $7,000 a year can be justified unless the school is really top-tier, such as a Centre, or Vandy, or Virginia, or Ivy League, etc. I couldn't justify going to Dayton, Xavier, etc. I recognize that they are better academically then UK, but $40,000 (over 4 years) better? I don't think so.

 

I'm not an employer, and I'm notoriously cheap.

 

I'll be the first to admit, if you're thinking about money, then yeah, you can't beat a public school. My scholarship, combined with work study, is what allowed me to go to Dayton. For me, it was about picking a place that felt like home for four years. When I visited Lexington, I really and truly felt out of place (all the people wearing blue didn't help ). But the moment I stepped on campus, from standing in the Immaculate Conception chapel during my tour to walking through the Ghetto with some people on the unofficial tour, UD felt like home. For me, that was important. I liked the small classes at UD (Chemistry my first semester had 45 people and I never had another class larger than 30, most were closer to 20.). In the end, I also liked that it was a Catholic school; that meant something to me. There is an atmosphere and a culture at UD that I can't put a price tag on and that I truly believe is unique to that campus. Whether it springs from the one-of-a-kind student housing in the Ghetto or something deeper in the Catholic, Marianist traditions of the school itself, I don't know, but I felt a part of that community the moment I got there. It's tough to imagine that I'd considered going anywhere else.

 

Looking back, it's strange to think that a few points lower on my ACT or a few more lackluster grades here and there, I never would have gotten the scholarship I did. I probably would have gone to WKU. I probably would have loved it. There's no telling.

Notre Dame

Xavier is perfect if you are looking for a small school. Great academics, small classes and an AWESOME basketball program that does it the right way (graduates student-athletes).

I'll be the first to admit, if you're thinking about money, then yeah, you can't beat a public school. My scholarship, combined with work study, is what allowed me to go to Dayton. For me, it was about picking a place that felt like home for four years. When I visited Lexington, I really and truly felt out of place (all the people wearing blue didn't help ). But the moment I stepped on campus, from standing in the Immaculate Conception chapel during my tour to walking through the Ghetto with some people on the unofficial tour, UD felt like home. For me, that was important. I liked the small classes at UD (Chemistry my first semester had 45 people and I never had another class larger than 30, most were closer to 20.). In the end, I also liked that it was a Catholic school; that meant something to me. There is an atmosphere and a culture at UD that I can't put a price tag on and that I truly believe is unique to that campus. Whether it springs from the one-of-a-kind student housing in the Ghetto or something deeper in the Catholic, Marianist traditions of the school itself, I don't know, but I felt a part of that community the moment I got there. It's tough to imagine that I'd considered going anywhere else.

 

Looking back, it's strange to think that a few points lower on my ACT or a few more lackluster grades here and there, I never would have gotten the scholarship I did. I probably would have gone to WKU. I probably would have loved it. There's no telling.

:lol: You had to pull the Catholic card on me.

 

If I'd gotten more scholarships (which was a result of a miserable high school GPA which was a result of lack of effort and teenage rebellion), I would have considered more schools (and if my dad hadn't forced me to do college visits to small Catholic schools around the country I would have gone on more locally), and if i hadn't torn my ACL (and if I had wanted to play basketball in college) then I probably would have considered other schools.

 

But either way, traveling the country seeing the small schools made me want to go to a huge school, for reasons that most don't. At a lot of the schools that I went to, if you missed class or your grades started slipping, often times the teacher would call you and see what was up. Contrary to most, I hated that idea. When I get out of the pseudo-reality called college and enter the real world, my boss isn't going to do that- he or she will demand results. I like the responsibility of being just a number to my professors at UK- for better or for worse....

:lol: You had to pull the Catholic card on me.

 

If I'd gotten more scholarships (which was a result of a miserable high school GPA which was a result of lack of effort and teenage rebellion), I would have considered more schools (and if my dad hadn't forced me to do college visits to small Catholic schools around the country I would have gone on more locally), and if i hadn't torn my ACL (and if I had wanted to play basketball in college) then I probably would have considered other schools.

 

But either way, traveling the country seeing the small schools made me want to go to a huge school, for reasons that most don't. At a lot of the schools that I went to, if you missed class or your grades started slipping, often times the teacher would call you and see what was up. Contrary to most, I hated that idea. When I get out of the pseudo-reality called college and enter the real world, my boss isn't going to do that- he or she will demand results. I like the responsibility of being just a number to my professors at UK- for better or for worse....

 

 

As a parent of a college student, your last sentence is what got me the most. I would hate to pay college tuition just so my child can be a number. Or even worse, so that he/she could be taught by a student aid.:ohbrother:

 

It doesn't matter how cheap or how expensive the college is you attend, they all cost something and I want to make sure that I will be getting the most out of every penny that is spent. I also hope that the student is also getting that message. If you waste my money, then your on your own.

UK is the only choice! It has everything and more. My 4 kids and I are all proud alums.

True story.

 

When mcdaughter earned her first "C", in the 5th grade, we had a conversation. We told her that if "Cs" were to become the norm, she would have little chance of gaining admittance into Vandy (as did her older brother).

 

Ten years old, she looked me in the eye, and said, "Then I guess I'll just go to Morehead like you."

 

Best laid plans and all that...

 

That is a great story.

 

If you want a nice small town feel, Morehead is nice.

 

If I could go anywhere it would be one of three places, Miami, USC or UCLA. You can't find better weather and women.:lol:

The fact that you are just a number at UK is a terrible misnomer. Sure that can be the case...if you let it be. Also, the "there's 150 students in every class" thing is well overplayed to say the least. Sure you'll find classes with hundreds of students but that's early on in your academic career...basically the classes everyone (regardless of major) is required to take. I just finished up at UK and haven't had a big class for any of my major classes and only few of my business classes (I'm an Accounting major). I've had classes with as little as 7 people.

 

Personally, I believe big state schools are the way to go. Am I biased? Sure. But in my opinion a school like UK captures the essence of the state as a whole compared to a smaller Transy/Centre environment.

:lol: You had to pull the Catholic card on me.

 

Yeah, couldn't help myself.

If I was a student today, and was looking for a solid undergraduate education at the best overall price, I would consider Murray State.

 

If I were seeking a top-flight liberal arts education at a school with a national or at least regional reputation, AND was fostering graduate school plans, I would choose Centre, Hanover, or Depauw. There are also some fine liberal arts educations at small schools in Ohio (Oberlin or Wittenberg are examples), but being brutally honest the administration and staffs of those schools have given the word "liberal" a modern political emphasis rather than the classical definition it was intended to be.

 

If I were looking for a university degree with no specific graduate plans, wanted a state school price, had a family, or would be working at the same time, I would attend IU, UK, or Ohio State, appropriate to the state I intended to reside and work in.

 

If I intended to go to graduate school but specifically wanted to live and work in Cincinatti, and could pay for it, I might choose Xavier.

 

If I had plans to go to graduate school, wanted to live and work anywhere in the country, and could tolerate the current political environment, I would attend what I consider to be the best school in the 3 states (slightly ahead of Centre), Notre Dame.

 

If I was set upon engineering but might not be going to grad school, I might choose Purdue.

As a parent of a college student, your last sentence is what got me the most. I would hate to pay college tuition just so my child can be a number. Or even worse, so that he/she could be taught by a student aid.:ohbrother:

 

It doesn't matter how cheap or how expensive the college is you attend, they all cost something and I want to make sure that I will be getting the most out of every penny that is spent. I also hope that the student is also getting that message. If you waste my money, then your on your own.

 

As long as your child enjoys their experience and gets his/her degree, why does anything else matter?:idunno: