Nothing wrong with that, and a couple of years out it shouldn't make
more than bragging rights or a better chance to get laid if you are still on
the market. I attended two years at Florida State University [then about
22,000 students] and enjoyed them. I used to lead out the right hand line
for the pre-game shows and had a lot of fun in the band. I did have a
couple of classes of 1,200, but that is because courses such as Intro to
Psychology were taught by the head of the psychology department rather than
a grad student. After 40 or so it made little difference how many were in
the class, but the quality of the professor could make a difference. Too
bad that guy wasn't a very good teacher for intro stuff. I decided to try
Lynchburg College because I'd never seen snow and was ready to be on my own
[one of those 19 year olds who still thought they could do anything]. I did
find that there was a qualitative difference in the student body and the
relations with the professors at LC, and campus life in that small school
was much more interactive and with lots of very interesting students. It
had a VERY active student activities program with as much talent brought in
as at FSU, at less than one tenth the student body size. I enjoyed both,
but felt I got a better education at LC than at FSU, and had a lot better
student life experience. Could have been that I was paying for it myself,
also that I was working on my majors and more interested and invested in the
classes.
I can suggest one item to look at that mattered to me, though.
Where I was the classes worked with source materials rather than books about
source materials [especially in grad/post grad work]. Numerous times I
would talk with colleagues about some field of study or school of thought
and they would say, yes, we had a class that talked about that or read a
book that discussed that. For us it was going through the stuff written by
the author and facilitated by a professor who actually understood it. When
I was studying Third World Development we imported a top Asian, African and
Latin American scholar each year to teach development from the perspective
of the developing countries [as well as having opportunities to visit some
of the countries], and the program was administered by the world's leading
authority on Third Development at that time. I do think that made a
significant enough difference to be worth the years it took to pay off
student loans. BTW, I made the last payment on my last student loan the
same month I made the first college payment for my oldest child - but I was
a slow learner and my last degree took me 10 years to complete. I'd
probably have been better off financially had I started digging ditches out
of high school, but I think job satisfaction and enjoyment made a
difference. I didn't get to go to an Ivy League school, but as you said,
there are lots of good schools out there.
BillR
-----Original Message-----
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
On Behalf Of John Robbins
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2008 12:20 AM
To: Mercedes Discussion List
Subject: [MBZ] College Costs
I just don't understand why people pay high dollar for the "Ivy"
schools. For the vast majority of people, there is no reason to spend
that kind of money... I think I got a pretty good education from a
state school, and it was DIRT cheap. I also don't understand the small
school thing either. If you find a larger school that has the same
student/teacher ratio you're no better off either way. Except your wallet.
When I co-oped I had some friends that went to Georgia Tech. Almost all
of their senior level engineering classes were still in the 50+ student
range. MSU's is around 15 students. I only had 2-3 classes during my
entire degree with more than 50 students. They have lots of student
loans, I have none. I also had plenty of opportunities for
undergraduate research.... In fact, thats how I have my current job.
MS State Tuition cost/semester: $2600
Yes, there are only two zeros in those numbers. MSU estimates that it
costs $16k a year to attend. That INCLUDES, room and board, full meal
plans, books, and estimated living expenses.
http://www.futurestudents.msstate.edu/choice/cost/
If you are a grad student and get a Teaching/Research Assistant position
(not very difficult), you get a monthly stipend (8-16k a year) and free
tuition.
My opinionated $.02
John 'the MSU cheerleader' R
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/
For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
_______________________________________
http://www.okiebenz.com
For new parts see official list sponsor: http://www.buymbparts.com/
For used parts email [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To Unsubscribe or change delivery options go to:
http://okiebenz.com/mailman/listinfo/mercedes_okiebenz.com
