She just sent me the list. Could she get any further away from where she was born and raised?

I get it. I wouldn’t stay where we are in Florida either if I were her age. It’s like visiting your grandparents in their over 55 community for spring break everyday of the year. She’s adamant; not the South or Texas.

Florida State is an exception because a lot of her high school senior friends from last year are going there. I’m really not sure how or why 7 out of 10 of the universities made the list.

Question:
What do these cities have in common?:
Ann Arbor
Los Angeles
New Haven
New York
Providence
San Francisco
Tallahassee
Williamsburg

Choices:
Mostly liberal
Mostly cities I wouldn’t live in
Mostly in states I would live in
Mostly the opposite of Florida
Places with universities trapper’s daughter is applying to
All of the above

 

She will freeze in Ann Arbor. Quite a change from FL.

First choice is incorrect. They are not “mostly” anything. They are 100% liberal.

trapper189,

What does she want to get her degree in?
(So Hillsdale, MI didn't make the list?)

quote:

Originally posted by YooperSigs:
She will freeze in Ann Arbor. Quite a change from FL.

The only place I've ever lived where the snow is so cold on the ground that it squeaks when you walk on it.

Two things make Winter in Ann Arbor even worse than it might otherwise be are the never-ending wind (AA is on the top of a hill), and the recurring overcast.

For months, you will wake up and look out the window to a brilliant blue sky, after your shower and breakfast it has become a solid gray that persists all day. This is pretty much every day in the Winter and most of the Spring, and is very oppressive.

I don't miss it one bit.

That said, I think AA has fewer negatives than the other cities on the list, with the possible exception of Williamsburg.

quote:

Williamsburg

College of William & Mary?
Founded in 1693 under a royal charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II?

I wasn’t sure if Williamsburg was liberal. And yes, The College of William & Mary.

Next to Florida, she’s spent more time in Michigan than any other state. At least two months every year, but it’s been in the summer. She has yet to experience the gloom.

Hillsdale was my goal for my kids. They don’t have a geology degree, so that eliminated my oldest son.

I told my kids they can keep whatever they don’t spend out of their college funds. So my youngest son said he’s not going to college. Kid is sharp, I walked right into that one. I had to explain he only gets what’s leftover after he gets a 4-year degree. He’s going to get scholarships, save money from washing cars and pressure washing, and go to a state school in Florida to keep the cost down. Hillsdale is out for him.

My daughter was my shot at a kid going to Hillsdale, but she has no interest. She doesn’t know what she wants to major in, but she knows she wants to go to NYU. She’s been there twice and NYC three times. She’s got friends going to Florida State this fall, it’s in state and she’s got at least free tuition instate at this point. It’s her safety school. University of Michigan: we have a lot relatives in Brighton and Canton, plus she’s spent a lot of time in Michigan so she’s heard how great the school is for a long time. She’s got a tour scheduled later this month.

The rest of the schools? I have no idea, never been to California. They’re nothing like NYU. She doesn’t want to go to UF because Gainesville is just a college town. This is me hearing that and looking at some of the other towns on her list: .

The hardest part for me is she doesn’t know what she wants to do. She’ll be a senior this fall, so she’s got some time to figure it out. She’s been the easy child. I’ve never had to get on her about school. In fact, I was just telling my youngest son’s best friend’s mom about that the lowest grade my daughter has ever earned was a B+ in the 3rd quarter of the 4th in Handwriting. The mom then apologized for it. That’s when it dawned on me the mom was my daughter’s 4th grade teacher.

I know what I think she should do, I’m fairly sure I know what you folks think she should do. Despite that, I’m going to sit back and be supportive of whatever decision she makes. She’s done better than I ever did at her age so far, so I think she’s earned it.

Out of state tuition when she doesn't know what she wants to do is a pricey proposition.

Our daughter wanted to get far away from home as possible. She went to Boston U after eliminating NYU. Her funds lasted 1.5 years and she fell of the pre-med track. Came back home at the start of Covid, enrolled in the same junior college my wife and I attended and finished her degree at the local state school. She graduated with less than $10K in debt instead of $100-150K had she stuck it out at BU.

Thought you'd like this...

https://x.com/JimBreuer/status/1942651416293634280

I’m much, much younger than you, but here’s my $0.02

1. NYU might as well be an indoctrination camp you pay for.

2. Paying out of state tuition for these schools, without a clear idea of what they want to do, is downright stupid.

3. Have them work at something for a year, then pick a school once they have work experience.

A choice of the lesser liberal, progressive evils. Perhaps consider where your education dollar will go further. Williamsburg "may" be the lesser of the evils. Once you have narrowed the choices down, a visit to the campuses may help you make a decision, based on what you observed on the ground.

I've never heard that Williamsburg is liberal and I've lived in VA nearly six decades. Perhaps it's a recent trend

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
I’m much, much younger than you, but here’s my $0.02

1. NYU might as well be an indoctrination camp you pay for.

2. Paying out of state tuition for these schools, without a clear idea of what they want to do, is downright stupid.

3. Have them work at something for a year, then pick a school once they have work experience.

Yup, very yup.
So, it's a given that your urban universities are going to be heavy, far-left establishments; at least much more so than the small town campus. Why pay for something where you know what the end product is going to result; perhaps she enrolls and realizes after the first year she made a mistake, plausible but that can be a costly oops. NYU, Columbia for sure, Cal, UCLA, Stanford, U$C likely unless she goes into a STEM field which those CA schools are strong in.

If she finds the traditional campus-life attractive (which I understand A LOT of gen-Z kids seek and want to avoid the urban-campus model), Ann Arbor would be the place, actually most of the B1G, SEC and ACC schools will satisfy that requirement. Brown and Yale fall somewhere in the middle but, because they're within the Ivy-bubble she's going to be within that far-left echo-chamber... I actually liked Dartmouth when I visited, maybe because it was the most remote of the Ivy's and a student body that seemed much more balanced compared to the other schools. Brown on the other hand is notoriously Left, even amongst the Ivy's.

Has she been accepted at any of the schools on her list? If so, that's a nice feather in the cap, especially if she's looking to transfer. Out of state fee's are pretty harsh, especially now as foreign students and Pell grants are facing greater scrutiny.

None are on the Mississippi River,
I win !

quote:

Originally posted by reloader-1:
I’m much, much younger than you, but here’s my $0.02

1. NYU might as well be an indoctrination camp you pay for.

2. Paying out of state tuition for these schools, without a clear idea of what they want to do, is downright stupid.

3. Have them work at something for a year, then pick a school once they have work experience.

Yep. Maybe most of the schools on her list as well, not just NYU. No. 2 and 3 are spot on with my thinking as well and I’m assuming most folks here would think similarly.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
Thought you'd like this...

100%, that guy even looks like me a bit.

We’ve talked about the math and her position is she wants to see what the schools offer her if anything and what scholarships she gets to see what the actual cost is going to be before making a decision. She’ll graduate high school with a college AA degree.

These are the schools she wants to apply to. The applications for Fall 2026 just opened and she sent me the list. She’s not one to put things off. Her test scores, GPA, and class rank are within the range for all of these schools.

quote:

Originally posted by trapper189:
We’ve talked about the math and her position is she wants to see what the schools offer her if anything and what scholarships she gets to see what the actual cost is going to be before making a decision. She’ll graduate high school with a college AA degree.

Hearing friends talk about taking their kids on campus visits....the academics were one thing, the more elite the school the more open-ended the curriculum structure seemed, basically encouraging/attracting self-starting kids. Many schools get into quite the arms race with services...pretty high-end cafeterias and dining options, well furnished lounge/study areas, laundry & cleaning services in the dorms, well funded rec programs to include various entertainment and all the wholistic BS that some people think they need.

quote:

Originally posted by PGT:
I've never heard that Williamsburg is liberal and I've lived in VA nearly six decades. Perhaps it's a recent trend

Yeah, the city has shifted left ever since John Kerry carried it in 2004, and it only got worse, for the GOP. The Kackle won 71% of the votes. FJB 70%. Killary 65%. BHO 64% (2012, also 2008)…. You get the idea.

quote:

Originally posted by PGT:
I've never heard that Williamsburg is liberal and I've lived in VA nearly six decades. Perhaps it's a recent trend

That’s good to know. I have no clue which is why the poll says most.

I think it would be a great school for her and there’s a Publix there so maybe she could keep working for them.

quote:

Originally posted by bendable:
None are on the Mississippi River,
I win !

Like this one:

100 DAYS ON THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER
Applications for the Fall 2025 Expedition are being accepted through March 15. Apply here.
For details and stories from our last expedition in Fall 2023, check out the “Big Muddy” map, which includes posts, videos, and information from the 2023 expedition.

Travel from the Headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico as part of this unique educational expedition. Students earn a full semester of college credits with a customized curriculum focused on environmental justice and social change in the Mississippi watershed. The River Semester is a chance to explore new ways of learning and living, outside the carbon-intensive confines of mainstream educational practices.

a unique, fully-immersive educational experience and opportunity
travel the Mississippi River from the headwaters to the Gulf of Mexico on a 100-day canoe expedition
customized curriculum and courses to fit your interests and graduation requirements
develop a field research project on topics such as urban environmental justice, the Clean Water Act, agriculture in the watershed, political organizing around environmental issues, race relations and social justice, or urban riverfront revitalization
explore the history, literature, food, music, and culture of the American heartland
gain skills tailored to fit the needs of partner businesses and institutions including graduate schools, nonprofits, and government agencies
meet with local experts, “river rats,” and environmental organizations
hear from guest lecturers on topics such fluvial geomorphology, Traditional Ecological Knowledge, ancient river civilizations, American Indian communities and their fight for justice, and the urban resilience in the age of climate change

Augsburg University

^^^
Sounds like a Luthern-based university