I’d do whatever you feel like doing, as cheesy at that sounds. I’ve done both in my on-again, off-again college career. The small, private school Honors program did nothing but make me miserable, since I was around those people all the time, and I mean ALL THE TIME. The only break I got was when I went home at the end of the day. I go to a large state school now and I’m fairly well unknown, which I like.
Hi everybody, longtime lurker, decided to join in today.
Go to the State school where you are comfortable. Save 10 grand a year in tuition. Be happy and save money. Your career won’t be hurt by this.
Question: What do they call the guy who graduated at the bottom of his class in the rattiest and least prestigious medical school around?
Answer: “Doctor”.
As a former journalism major, if you decide to go with that, then:
I’ve found that, academically speaking, a big state school is just as good, if not far better, than a tiny, ritzy private school. Even if you’re going for something in the humanities. Prestige shouldn’t factor into your choice of school at all - this is all based on the school’s glories in the past, and has no bearing on the quality of the school now, and being miserable for four years is not going to make up for having a name on your resume.
Always remember - If you don’t like it, you can transfer. High school seniors seem to get locked into thinking that choosing a college is necessarily signing on for four years. Look at it as a one-year engagement; if you don’t like it, you can start looking around elsewhere second semester.
Let me just add one more comment. You said that at the private school, you didn’t like the atmosphere and didn’t feel comfortable. But a college isn’t entirely uniform under one atmosphere. Life can be very different in different dorms, and there’s also the possibility of living off campus. I would visit the place, if possible, and try to get some exposure to different communities on campus, and see if there was some place that you might fit in well.
Go to the school that gives you the most money…that was my only criteria and it was the best decision I ever made.
I’ve been out of school for a long time. One thing, can you defer the State school for a year? That could give you breathing room to try the private school.
Another possible con of a small private school is that if you have no money, you might feel pretty left out. A big state school will have a significant chunk of their students who wear ripped clothing and are vegetarians because it’s cheaper not because it’s a statement.
Grad school is much more important than undergrad.
I got out of undergrad virtually debt free. My MBA took up all my savings and left me 10k in debt – which I paid off in a year. I’ve got buddies from that same grad school who were 60k in debt going in and left close to 100k in the hole. If you’re paying that school debt yourself, then I would think real long and hard about racking up that debt.
As far as the prestige goes, and I really wish I could find a cite for this, I remember a recent study that suggests that although a more prestigious college may indeed lead to advantages in initial employment, it in no way predicts the future success that a graduate will have in his career. If I recall correctly, they compared, among other things, salaries of Harvard graduates a number of years down the line from graduation, to those from graduates of various state schools, and found no distinct difference. That said, I’d definetly go where I felt comfortable.
What would I do? Ah, nothing, I’m not going back to college again. UCSD was enough for me. 
What should you do? Compile a list of the responses you got here & tally up a vote count for each option.
When you are young, you get options where you must choose yourself & live with the decision, that’s how we get experience.
I picked the state school. I was in a similar situation to yours during my senior year of high school. Sure, I had the grades to get into the small private schools, but then I’d visit them, and they felt like high school, except with “chapel” in the middle of the day. Yeah, you didn’t have to go, but still… Also, the students leading the campus tours would be sure to mention that there were buses every weekend to the city that the state school was in! (Hmmmm, I thought, if I went to that school, I’d be in that city every day, rather than just escaping my school on weekends!) I’d say that if you are comfortable at a school, you are more likely to find people like you there and find your niche.
Also, remember, regarding class size–your lecture may be huge (my Intro. to Psych. class had about 600 people!) but they usually break the class down into “recitation” sections that are much, much smaller–about the size of a class in high school (20 or so people). In my college, being in the honors program often meant that you were in the recitation taught by the professor rather than a grad student. If the school you’re considering does things like that, then you will very likely be getting just as good an education as at the private college for a lower price, and in a better atmosphere to boot. Kind of shifts those pros and cons about, doesn’t it? Classes get smaller in the higher levels, too.
I started at a local state school with a crappy reputation, saved money, lived at home, and got all the basic English, intro-to-whatever stuff out of the way.
I transferred my third year to another, father-away, school that had a much better reputation with hiring companies and a better program for my degree.
Consider that eventually your resume will reflect your education and for the first several years of employment it helps it to be a well-regarded, well-known school.
I started in a small, private, liberal arts women’s college. I dropped out after the first year. Apart from not wanting to be in school at all, I think not fitting in socially was the deciding factor in leaving. Most of my classmates came from money, had cars, lived on campus, and I rode to school on a 3-speed bike and lived at home. I think I made 2 friends.
I went back to school 3 years later at a large midwestern university in one of their smaller engineering schools. I didn’t mind the huge classes that much, and once I got into my field of study, the classes were lots smaller. Socially, it wasn’t any better since I was older than most of my classmates, but by that time, I wasn’t all that interested in socializing - I was after the degree.
Tensoc,
I was faced with a decision similar to this one. Fortunately, having attended a pre-college program at a private school where I didn’t fit in, I knew not to disregard my gut instinct about the importance of socialization during college.
In the end, I chose the large state school in Pennsylvania–like you, with an honors program. I didn’t change my major (like you, journalism) during those four years, but many of those who did were able to do so without leaving the university, which is a bonus of a larger school. Additionally, I didn’t get lost in the hugeness of the place because the honors college provided me with a tight-knit family.
I don’t think I ever would have built relationships with some of the folx I met at the private schools…but the friends I made in undergrad are my friends today and were the people I invited to my wedding.
Finally, I was able to get into a competitive graduate program with my state-school degree. If this is something you see yourself doing in the future, consider your extracurricular activities and volunteer work as a way to make up for your non-Ivy-league degree.
If you want to talk about your decision in greater detail, feel free to e-mail me. While in undergrad, I helped do some admissions stuff, so have maintained a degree of familiarity with the struggles of a college search and decision.
For me, college was about a lot more than getting a degree to get a good job. There’s a lot of personal growing to do. And, personally, I loved learning for it’s own sake.
Given that, I would choose the state school in your case. In the honors program, you’ll get an excellent education. And there are a lot of resources available to you as an undergrad and an alum with large institutions that aren’t always available with smaller schools (though this obviously varies by the actual schools in question).
Also, the money thing is important. I just said this on another thread, but nothing is worse than feeling trapped in a career because you have school debt to pay. And nothing is better than being debt free and having all your choices available to you.
Do what is right for you. If you were considering a community college or a presitgous school, I may advise you differently. But you’ll do fine at a state school.
I’ve done both, and I actually found the curriculum more demanding at the state school. shrugs
And, not to disparage Maddy just above…but the money I spent at community college before going on to higher levels was the best I ever spent education-wise. My AA’s in Lib Arts, Marketing, and Management positioned me much better for college…and cost a hell of a lot less than two years of freshman crap at a larger school.
Double-check this one, Tensoc. It is true for many state schools, but not all. For example, in Pennsylvania, grad students are forbidden from teaching undergrad courses. You definately will have a relationship with your professors.