Colleges + $$$

[witesoxfan]

Grand Valley State Our football team is kind of a big deal, albeit DIV II.

 

atleast you beat the piss out of UND in the playoffs. I cannot stand that team. I actually went to high school for a year with Weston Dressler, but I absolutely cannot stand the guy on the football field (mainly because he's so good)

 

sry, off-topic and talking D2 football, that's ridiculous

[ZoomSlowik]

tuition is around 7 or 8, but with room and board and everything else it's probably fair to come out to around 20k, everything included.

 

Well, yeah, if you count books and other expenses I guess...

 

Good thing I didn't need an extra year.

[Soxbadger]

lol

 

I wasnt going to post but after some one started bashing Wisconsin I guess Ill have to.

 

Of the schools you listed, Wisconsin and Illinois are the top 2 in terms of education. Wisconsin business school is very competitive, I believe you need a 3.2 to stay in the program (my roommate was business/finance).

 

The reason I would say not to go to Wisconsin is the money. Its the most expensive on the list, but in my opinion, the best on the list as well. I had the choice of Illinois v Wisconsin v Michigan (I didnt even consider schools like Minnesota or Missouri because they were just not strong enough academically which was my #1 factor), my safety schools were Penn State, Iowa, and Indiana. I wanted to go to a big school because I went to a very big high school. I wanted to go to a school that had a good football team. My parents wanted me to try schools like Grinnell, but I never even visited.

 

Money is the key factor against Wisconsin. They are not going to give you a dime, Indiana, Iowa, etc were offering me money, but the schools that I really wanted to go to of course were not, because as some one said they get so many applications they honestly dont care. The people they give academic scholarship's to spurn schools like Harvard etc to go there, so they arent exactly hurting for quality applicants.

 

I would say the biggest thing for Wisconsin is the atmosphere. There is no other campus that you listed like it. Madison is a city, and the school area is starting to be rebuilt and become absolutely amazing. Although it means that you lose things like the movie theater where you could drink beer at etc, it is really becoming nice. After I visited Madison there really was no choice to be made, compared to others it just blew them out of the water.

 

But to each there own and money does play an important role. If I had to pay for my own college over a certain point and Madison was beyond that, I dont know what I would have done. But its an amazing college experience, one of the most unique in all of the United States.

Edited December 5, 2007 by Soxbadger

[bmags]

to be real though, unless you are getting an ivy league education, where you got your undergrad really doesn't matter unless you are going real bottom of the barrel. It's all about networking and developing yourself anyways. Nobody is going to look at a job application and say "ooh, well his butler education is ranked 10 spots above his texas A&M education, he must be better for the job." Especially concerning business too, unless you are gonna be in Upenn's school of business, it's a dime a dozen. My friends that go to loyola have an easier job networking in the city for internships, but my friends at northern and missouri in the business school are finding jobs just as easily just not with the same luster as working in downtown chicago.

 

so like I said, go for the campus you feel a connection to, because there really is no scientific way to figure it out. It's a gut feeling, and likely no school will leave you in a terrible position unless you switch to a major they don't offer.

[Soxbadger]

Well if you are going to grad school then the reputation of your undergraduate program matters more. If your just going for a degree, then its not as important as networking etc.

 

I was going to go to a type of grad school regardless (turned out to be law school) and the Dean said one of the most attractive things about my resume was the school I went to. Of course I didnt really get amazing grades in college (just a regular 3.0) but it was the school I went to that tipped the scales when they decided whether or not to accept me and give me a partial scholarship. Well and the LSAT, but whatever hehe.

 

 

[bigruss]

What's your major for one, what sports do you like and your partying habits?

 

Btw apply to Mizzou. Great School and campus is beautiful. The campus is what sold me. Decent and improving athletic department. Good party school and mostly everything there is brand new.

Im looking into business, I am obsessed with baseball, not only with the White Sox, but playing it also. I play for my high school team, and have been contacted slightly for college ball at the D3 level so far. I plan to try and walk on wherever i go, and if I decide that I dont want to continue it, then I plan to study abroad.

Partying wise, I actually love to do it, just when I have the time. So basically I love to have the oppurtunity to party, but I am also not going to do it constantly.

 

Mizzou seems like a great school from what I hear from you guys, but these are the schools that I have applied to, and I am just looking for advice on these schools as it would be a really late response now if I applied to another school, with my high school taking forever to get my transcript out.

 

I emailed Wisconsin and they basically said no scholarship for you. I plan on visiting these schools and hopefully one stands out during those trips (right now Illinois is my number 1, as I stated before I have been dreaming of going there but havent seen the campus in like 10 years)

[santo=dorf]

to be real though, unless you are getting an ivy league education, where you got your undergrad really doesn't matter unless you are going real bottom of the barrel. It's all about networking and developing yourself anyways. Nobody is going to look at a job application and say "ooh, well his butler education is ranked 10 spots above his texas A&M education, he must be better for the job." Especially concerning business too, unless you are gonna be in Upenn's school of business, it's a dime a dozen. My friends that go to loyola have an easier job networking in the city for internships, but my friends at northern and missouri in the business school are finding jobs just as easily just not with the same luster as working in downtown chicago.

 

so like I said, go for the campus you feel a connection to, because there really is no scientific way to figure it out. It's a gut feeling, and likely no school will leave you in a terrible position unless you switch to a major they don't offer.

Bulls***.

 

Accreditation is important for a school. As a graduate of a public school, I take this as a slap in the face, especially when my school is one of the top programs for my field.

[SnB]

to be real though, unless you are getting an ivy league education, where you got your undergrad really doesn't matter unless you are going real bottom of the barrel.

yeah, i really don't think so.

 

The name on your diploma means a ton, a ton.

[CWSGuy406]

yeah, i really don't think so.

 

The name on your diploma means a ton, a ton.

 

I'm not intelligent enough to comment on whether this is true, but I'd certainly hope that SnB and Santo are, in fact, correct. I'd feel really crappy and embarrassed to have my parents put me through four years at Marquette if I could get the same outcome by going to Northern. I'd certainly hope that the name means something (not that MU is ivy league or even upper echelon, mind you, but I still think it's pretty well above average)...

[Soxbadger]

Well I think it means that just because you went to a better school does not mean that you will get a better job. It increases your chances, your opportunities, but you can go to a lesser ranked school and still get to the places you want to be in life.

 

[sox4lifeinPA]

Not being a douchenozzle probably trumps just about anything including where you went to school.

 

just sayin'

[SnB]

Well I think it means that just because you went to a better school does not mean that you will get a better job. It increases your chances, your opportunities, but you can go to a lesser ranked school and still get to the places you want to be in life.

I don't think anyone would disagree with this, but saying where you go to college really doesn't matter is definitely false.

 

 

[southsider2k5]

No one has so far, so I am going to advocate for all of us small schoolers out there. For me it was the smartest move I could have ever made. All of my class sizes were small, the biggest class I had was about 40 people, most were in the 12-20 range. I never got taught by TAs, in fact I knew all of my professors by their first names, and had all of their homephone numbers. By the end of my four years, I knew their families as well as I knew them. I also got the opportunity to things like college radio and run on the track and cross country teams, without being a supergreat athlete. I wouldn't trade it for the world.

[bmags]

I'm just saying this isn't a life or death decision, and it's the reason why the choice between a school of 40,000 and one of 2,000 is still a huge choice in narrowing it down. The difference between the actual education these schools are offering is so trivial and hard to quantify.

Obviously for specific schools in some colleges it is reason to go there, but for business you have the choice of really just finding the school that's a right fit. In reality the northern business school just got a new facility and has been climbing up the rankings, what marquette can give you is a more personal experience with professors. But to say that later in life because you went to x school it will give you a leg up just by name? No, it's all on what you did to get yourself there, and it's a lot easy to develop yourself at a school you feel right at.

 

But every employer I've talked to in a social setting, they get about 600 applications a year, and just where you went to college is among the bottom of the criteria they are looking for. But if you use your UWisc. time to use everything the school has to offer to network and all those things, then that's where all that money pays off in spaids, because schools like that have so many tools for you.

 

 

[farmteam]

I just went through this last year, so I'll see what I can help with.

 

First off, you're looking for a good business program in the midwest, but you didn't consider Indiana? I'm offended (Not really, but considering it is usually considered the second best business school [most publications I read rank them as 1. Michigan 2. IU 3. Illinois and Wisconsin, but there's not much separation, so don't get too angry at me, Illini and Badger fans] in the Big Ten, and one of the best in the nation [11th overall in 2007)]).

 

Since I can't comment on any of the specific schools on your list (All I can say is the couple times I went to Illinois I liked the feel of their campus, and I know people who love it there), I'll talk about your more general points.

 

On going to a big school:

I came from a very large high school, and I knew I wanted to go to a big school. A family member went to a very small school in the middle of nowhere, and while they liked it, I wouldn't be able to stand it. A big school has more to offer in terms of brand recognition -- I can turn on ESPN and see Hoosier highlights, but I wouldn't be able to do that if I went to a small school. I personally think a large college town is a great place, there's so much to do.

 

As for class sizes and feeling small and what not, I wouldn't worry about it. Of all my classes this year, only my geology lab is taught by a TA -- everything else is taught by a professor. I don't mind the large lecture halls -- you get used to it, and you can always go to office hours, or a discussion section if your class has that, if you want something more intimate. And, anyway, you only have those your first year or two, after that the classes get smaller.

 

I hope that answered some of your questions.

[bigruss]

I just went through this last year, so I'll see what I can help with.

 

First off, you're looking for a good business program in the midwest, but you didn't consider Indiana? I'm offended (Not really, but considering it is usually considered the second best business school [most publications I read rank them as 1. Michigan 2. IU 3. Illinois and Wisconsin, but there's not much separation, so don't get too angry at me, Illini and Badger fans] in the Big Ten, and one of the best in the nation [11th overall in 2007)]).

 

Since I can't comment on any of the specific schools on your list (All I can say is the couple times I went to Illinois I liked the feel of their campus, and I know people who love it there), I'll talk about your more general points.

 

On going to a big school:

I came from a very large high school, and I knew I wanted to go to a big school. A family member went to a very small school in the middle of nowhere, and while they liked it, I wouldn't be able to stand it. A big school has more to offer in terms of brand recognition -- I can turn on ESPN and see Hoosier highlights, but I wouldn't be able to do that if I went to a small school. I personally think a large college town is a great place, there's so much to do.

 

As for class sizes and feeling small and what not, I wouldn't worry about it. Of all my classes this year, only my geology lab is taught by a TA -- everything else is taught by a professor. I don't mind the large lecture halls -- you get used to it, and you can always go to office hours, or a discussion section if your class has that, if you want something more intimate. And, anyway, you only have those your first year or two, after that the classes get smaller.

 

I hope that answered some of your questions.

 

In regards to not applying at Indiana, its just my prejudice, and thats all my fault as I just dont like the state very much (not the people Ive met from there, as one of my best friends lived there for awhile), just the experiences Ive had there, Ill leave it at that, its hard to explain.

 

I could be happy in a small town atmosphere, but one thing I have noticed, even at the most populated hs in michigan, taht I wan to meet more people, so I feel that a large campus would be nice, plus like you mentioned the sports are a big deal to me.

 

[pierard]

I think people put way too much stock into the name/prestige associated with certain schools. The best advice (in my opinion) is pick a place that you'll happy at. There may be slight differences in opportunities based on where you went, but I haven't really noticed that much disparity between the jobs of my buddies who went to high ranked school v. lower ranked schools. Who knows.....

[santo=dorf]

I'm just saying this isn't a life or death decision, and it's the reason why the choice between a school of 40,000 and one of 2,000 is still a huge choice in narrowing it down. The difference between the actual education these schools are offering is so trivial and hard to quantify.

Obviously for specific schools in some colleges it is reason to go there, but for business you have the choice of really just finding the school that's a right fit. In reality the northern business school just got a new facility and has been climbing up the rankings, what marquette can give you is a more personal experience with professors. But to say that later in life because you went to x school it will give you a leg up just by name? No, it's all on what you did to get yourself there, and it's a lot easy to develop yourself at a school you feel right at.

 

But every employer I've talked to in a social setting, they get about 600 applications a year, and just where you went to college is among the bottom of the criteria they are looking for. But if you use your UWisc. time to use everything the school has to offer to network and all those things, then that's where all that money pays off in spaids, because schools like that have so many tools for you.

Ever notice how all the Fortune 500 companies offering nice opportunities go to the campuses recognized for their excellent programs?

 

[witesoxfan]

I plan on graduating from the University of South Dakota and then running for President. That's how good of a school USD is.

 

And then I'm still going to tank on the weekends.

[SoxFan1]

atleast you beat the piss out of UND in the playoffs. I cannot stand that team. I actually went to high school for a year with Weston Dressler, but I absolutely cannot stand the guy on the football field (mainly because he's so good)

 

sry, off-topic and talking D2 football, that's ridiculous

Yeah, then we beat Central Washington by 20 after their quarterback Mike Reilly guaranteed a victory. Someone in our student section had a sign that read "Reilly Hearts 2 Girls 1 Cup". It was hilarious.

[CanOfCorn]

Ever notice how all the Fortune 500 companies offering nice opportunities go to the campuses recognized for their excellent programs?

 

That's true...but after that first job...doesn't matter except for networking.