Expensive versus cheap universities

 Here's the punchline:  for nearly all students, I don't think there's a justification for attending an expensive university over a "regular" university -- e.g. a "state school".


As someone who's attended three universities and taught at one American university and two Australian universities, my assessment is that it's more about the student (and possibly the prestige/reputation of the university?), and not about the "quality" of the school.  That is:  unless you're doing some high-powered medical or science degree where there can be substantial differences in the resources (high-end lab equipment) -- there are good instructors and bad instructors everywhere, and it really comes down to how smart, and how studious, the student is.   Maybe at the ultra-high end there might be more opportunities for the "gifted" student:  but my impression is that the higher-end student will either "make" his/her own opportunities, or else maximize the "standard" opportunities (e.g. do a really ambitious "capstone" project). 

So my 2c is that if there's an in-state/out-of-state tuition cost difference, to just stay in-state.  If she truly wants to get away from the parents for "independence", just move to the other end of the state.  ;) 


The exception is if you think that a "fancy" school (Harvard?  Yale?) will build business networks that you otherwise wouldn't gain.  I can't speak to that.

The other exception would be if there's a very specific program, or person you want to study under, at a specific program.  (And!  Professors leave universities for a different one ALL THE TIME -- so do not attend a university JUST for one specific person; do it because the university also has a strong program.)


For "advanced" work -- sure, go for the peak.  But as an undergraduate:  let's say the calibre of one program is 70% the quality of the other.  Is the student really going to learn 100% of what is being offered?  Will the student **really** "max out", and absorb 100% of what the professors have to offer...?

Unless the student believes that she or he will be the equal of the instructors at the end of the program (unlikely -- even for graduate students) -- she or he will still be developing and learning, right up to the end of the program.


Definitely, some programs are better than others.  But (in my observation) it's more because some programs/departments are actively bad (i.e. dysfunctional) -- not that some are definitively superior to another.

Again:  it comes down to the student -- both the intellect and the effort -- not the "quality" of the program.  As long as the program's quality is at least "pretty good".


That said:  if she truly wants to go out-of-state:   if it's a state school, it would be far cheaper to investigate the "residency" rules and (presumably) move there for a year or two, work, and then attend university once she can pay in-state tuition.

I ended up having to take a year and a half off between the first half and second half of my undergraduate degree:  it was an incredibly useful and informative experience, and I don't regret it for a moment.  (I worked one and a half jobs -- but I was young and energetic, and it was only for a year and a half...)


That's my assessment, anyhow...   ;)


--GG

About as stupid as you can get

So, my wife -- a college professor -- caught a student plagiarising: passing off someone else's work as his own. Or technically, one of the teaching assistants caught it, as she was grading the papers.

First, the person is stupid for trying to do this, rather than just writing the paper properly. Smart people are able to write decent papers on their own.

Second, the person copied from one of the assigned readings from the course. A smart person would figure that the teaching assistant has probably read the course material.

And, third: the paper was written by my wife and the other co-instructor.

Duh, duh, duh.


--GG

Another college dream

Two nights ago I had yet another recurrence of the "back in college" dream. This time I dreamed I was a "returning student" (or whatever the current euphemism is for someone who doesn't go directly from high school to college).

I was at a university reminiscent of Pacific Lutheran University (Tacoma, WA), a few days before the start of the first semester. I pulled up with a car full of belongings, then realized that I didn't know which dorm I was staying in. So, I walked around campus, looking for the Housing office, or something similar.

While doing this, I also realized I didn't know what classes I was taking -- or if I was even enrolled. So, I also kept an eye out for the Registrar's office, or similar. I spent most of the day doing this, with no luck.

Then (in contrast to most of my other "back in college" dreams) I realized, Hey! I have a Ph.D.! Why am I trying to go back to college. I'm better off moving in with my parents, getting a crummy non-career-track job, and recording music on my days off.

Then I woke up.


--G

More degrees

On Sunday, The Lady had to help staff a booth from her university department -- so the kids and I wandered around the other booths. Pretty good swag: got a small tape measure from the Engineering Department, a pen from the Business School, a squeezy ball from Accounting, a flexi-frisbee from the Health Dept, and I forget what else.

Picked up a catalog from Engineering. Good stuff, but if I won the lottery I wouldn't bother getting an Engineering degree: I have enough knowledge to dink around in the shed, making contraptions, without having to go to university. And at this point I don't need to do that stuff for a living: I'd rather mess around doing what interests **me**, not what my boss tells me needs doing.

I also stopped by the Creative Industries booths. The "Music and Sound" program is interesting, and I think I would've enjoyed being a film student. If I won the lottery it might be fun to do the Film and T.V. program -- not that I couldn't just go out and start making my film shorts, but more that it would be fun to hang around with like-minded people.


They also have a graduate certificate in Music and Sound: six months if you do it full time. **That** might be something fun to do, once I earn my "long service leave".

Long service leave is "a period of paid leave granted to an employee in recognition of a long period of service to an employer." In addition to the four weeks of paid vacation each year, Queensland government employees get eight and two-thirds weeks of leave for each ten years of ongoing employment. So that's twelve weeks, if I combine them.

A university semester is thirteen weeks, plus finals. So if I saved up a little vacation from a previous year, I could spend my entire three months doing a graduate level university course on recording technology.

Hm. Actually, I'd be better off spending the AU$7,400 tuition on some recording equipment, and spending the three months locked in a room, recording songs.

Although, it would be a different experience.

Mostly, I'd just do it to be able to put some more letters after my name, on my business card (seems to be an Australian thing: listing your qualifications on your business card).


--GG

That dream again

About a week ago, I dreamed a variation on my "back in university" dream. It was my first semester at a new university, and I was trying to cobble together a list of classes that I wanted to take, so that I could earn a Master's degree. The problem was, I kept forgetting to attend class.


Last night, I had yet another variation. Again, I was trying to get a Master's degree, and it was my first semester of the program. But this time, I was having a hard time finding any courses that seemed interesting. I ended up with a Literature class, some math class, and (I think) some Engineering class. But what the heck kind of Masters degree could I earn with such an oddball mix?

Then I realized that -- hey! I already have a Ph.D.! I don't **need** to get a Master's degree. In fact, I have a JOB! So, I dropped all my courses, early enough that I got a full refund.


The interesting part was that it wasn't until half a day later that I realized -- duh -- that I also have a **Masters** degree: I got it as part of the Ph.D. program. (That is, you get your M.A. -- then you keep going and (hopefully) get your Ph.D.) But neither in my dream, nor after I woke up, did I remember that I do have a Masters.

Huh.


--GG