May 22, 2015
Today we are continuing our virtual tour of colleges across the
U.S. to try to stretch your thinking about colleges that might be
attractive to your child. We made our first stop in the Great Lakes
region and our second stop in what we have nicknamed the “Southern
Southeast” region. In this episode, we will head just slightly
north. As we have said from the beginning of our tour, we are
looking at four-year colleges only, reasoning that students headed
to a public two-year college are highly likely to go to one in
their home state and are not, therefore, looking to leave their own
geographic region—at least not right away. We also want to repeat
that no college has asked us to spotlight it in our episodes and
that no college has paid us anything to choose it. For better or
worse, these are entirely our own choices. It is certainly true
that some of the colleges we are spotlighting will require that
your child have very good high school grades and college admission
test scores to get in. On the other hand, others will be a bit
easier, especially if a college is looking for out-of-state
students to enhance its student body’s geographic diversity. But,
because each student’s profile of grades and test scores and
activities is his or her own unique package, it will be up to you
to look at your child’s high school record to see which colleges
might be most appropriate. Two general notes: First, when we talk
about the colleges and universities in this episode, we are going
to be talking about the main campus—that is, the one that most
people associate with that institution—in those cases where an
institution has more than one campus. Second, because enrollment
figures are not necessarily comparable as reported by various
colleges, you should use the figures we provide here just as an
approximation of the actual campus enrollment, but one that is good
enough to help you understand whether the student body is the right
size for your child—roughly, small, medium, or really huge. 1. The
Southeast Region As we said in our last episode, the Bureau of
Economic Analysis (an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce)
has divided the U.S. into eight regions, with each region’s
covering four to 12 states. In our recent episodes, we have been
looking at the Bureau’s Southeast region, which has 12 states.
Because we thought that would be a lot of states to investigate all
at once, we divided the Bureau’s Southeast region into what we
called the Southern Southeast region and the Northern Southeast
region. In our last episode, we finished up our tour of the
Southern Southeast region. Today we will move on to the six states
of the Northern Southeast region: Arkansas, Tennessee, North
Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Virginia. If you are one of
our listeners from the West Coast or the Southwest, for example, I
am going to guess that you have not considered almost any colleges
in the Northern Southeast region for your child, with a rare
exception. Perhaps you will reconsider after today’s episode about
public colleges in these states or next week’s episode about
private colleges in these states. 2. Flagship Public State
Universities Let’s start with the flagship public state
universities in these six states. Each state has one, though some
are better known nationally than others. They are all good schools,
and most people would agree that two of them would be in anyone’s
list of outstanding public universities. While these universities
have smaller branch campuses in other locations in their states, it
is the main location—that is, the flagship of each state’s public
system—that we will talk about here because that is the campus that
is most respected and most widely recognized, both in the state and
outside the state. Some of these flagship campuses attract students
from far away states more often than others; at least two of the
ones we are spotlighting today can be thought of really as national
universities, annually drawing students from across the U.S. But
for the others, an application from a student in New York is not so
commonplace; in those cases, a New York student with decent, but
not spectacular, high school grades and college admission test
scores might have a real chance of being accepted. As we have said
before, colleges like to have geographic diversity in the student
body. Let us repeat what we have said in other episodes about
flagship campuses: They are the place to be, if you graduated from
high school in that state. Why? Because they are relatively
inexpensive, academically respectable, well regarded across the
state and across the country, super-competitive in sports arenas,
chocked full of student clubs and activities, within driving
distance of home, and a social hub for high school classmates. So,
these flagship campuses draw a large portion of the best high
school students in the state, which understandably drives up the
average high school GPA of entering freshmen. At one of these
universities, where 80 percent of the students are residents of the
state, the average high school GPA of entering freshmen was a 3.79.
So, what are these flagship campuses in the Northern Southeast
region? They are the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville;
University of Tennessee, Knoxville; University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill; University of Kentucky in Lexington; West Virginia
University in Morgantown; and University of Virginia in
Charlottesville. These universities are located in different kinds
of settings—from picturesque small college towns to substantial
cities—but they have some things in common. One thing they have in
common is that they have a lot of students. The typical number of
undergraduates at these campuses is around 21,000, with the
University of Virginia (commonly known as UVA) on the low end at
about 15,000. The total undergraduate, graduate, and professional
student enrollment averages about 28,000 students, with UVA again
at the low end with about 21,000. While these student bodies are
smaller than the flagship campuses we looked at in the Great Lakes
states, these campuses are still going to feel quite large to
incoming freshmen. Each campus, of course, has its own history, and
I personally love to read about college histories. I could tell you
stories about every college we mention. But I would be remiss, on
this occasion, if I didn’t offer you at least a brief recounting of
the founding of UVA (as quoted from the website): Thomas Jefferson
founded the University of Virginia in 1819. He wished the publicly
supported school to have a national character and stature.
Jefferson envisioned a new kind of university, one dedicated to
educating leaders in practical affairs and public service rather
than for professions in the classroom and pulpit exclusively. It
was the first nonsectarian university in the United States and the
first to use the elective course system. Jefferson considered the
founding of the University to be one of his greatest achievements.
Undertaking the project toward the end of his life—after a long,
illustrious career that included serving as a colonial
revolutionary, political leader, writer, architect, inventor, and
horticulturalist—he was closely involved in the University’s
design. He planned the curriculum, recruited the first faculty, and
designed the Academical Village, a terraced green space surrounded
by residential and academic buildings, gardens, and the majestic
center-point—the Rotunda. The most recognizable symbol of the
University, the Rotunda stands at the north end of the Lawn and is
half the height and width of the Pantheon in Rome, which was the
primary inspiration for the building. The Lawn and the Rotunda have
served as models for similar designs of “centralized green areas”
at universities across the United States. If you have not seen
Thomas Jefferson’s campus in Charlottesville, it is truly
lovely—like a picture postcard of a university, with its red brick
buildings and white columns. But I don’t want to overemphasize UVA,
because I feel that it is one of the harder flagship universities
to get into from out of state—both because of its smaller size and
its high standards. Ditto for the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill (commonly known as UNC). These flagship universities
have from 8 to 16 undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools
and colleges—from liberal arts and sciences to every kind of
career-related field you can imagine. Here are some of the more
distinctive ones: UVA has the Frank Batten School of Leadership and
Public Policy; UNC has the Gillings School of Global Public Health;
The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, has the College of
Communication and Information; University of Kentucky has the
College of Design; West Virginia University has the College of
Physical Activity and Sport Sciences; and the University of
Arkansas has the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences,
which is named, obviously, for J. William Fulbright, former
university president and longtime U.S. senator from Arkansas, who
introduced the legislation that set up the well-known Fulbright
scholarships for U.S. and foreign scholars. When we attended the
National Association for College Admission Counseling’s college
fair in New York City last month, we had a nice chat with Christie
Banks, an Admissions Counselor at the University of Tennessee, who
did a quick audio pitch for our listeners. So, take it away,
Christie. (Be sure to listen to it in our recorded episode.
Christie mentions the VIP page for prospective students, which can
be accessed here.) These flagship universities offer from about 75
to 175 undergraduate majors across their numerous undergraduate
colleges and schools—truly something for everyone. Like other large
universities, each one has many student clubs and organizations and
many men’s and women’s varsity sports teams (plus club sports and
intramurals). Sports are a bigger part of college life on some of
these campuses than others—for example, with basketball teams at
Kentucky and UVA ranking in everyone’s top 10 in 2015 (and with UNC
not far behind). Speaking of Kentucky, when we attended the
National Association for College Admission Counseling’s college
fair in New York City last month, we spoke with Cara Franke, a
University of Kentucky recruiter for parts of Kentucky plus the New
England and Mid-Atlantic states. Cara, a Lexington native, did the
following audio pitch for her alma mater for NYCollegeChat. (Be
sure to listen to it in our recorded episode. Cara mentions the
online virtual tour of the University of Kentucky campus, which is
available here.) Each of these six flagship universities is well
enough known to attract students from many states and foreign
countries, but most of the undergraduate students attending these
campuses are home grown—ranging from about half of the students at
West Virginia to about 85 percent of the students at Tennessee. For
some of the universities, that could mean that a solid application
from outside of the state would be viewed with interest, and your
child could likely get a great education at a cost lower than at a
private school in your home state—that is, before any financial aid
package is figured in. More important, as we said in an earlier
episode, these six flagship universities are better academically
and more widely recognized than many private colleges in the U.S.,
and there is no prestige in attending a private college that is not
as good as a great public university. 3. Other Public State
Universities In these six Northern Southeast states, there are also
other public universities—some are branches of the flagship campus,
but others are universities in their own right. Interestingly, each
state has at least one public university designated as one of our
nation’s HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities).
Virginia has a number of public universities that are well known
outside the state, starting with the Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University in Blacksburg in southwest Virginia (commonly
known today as Virginia Tech, though it was known as V.P.I. some
years ago before the legislature changed its name), which offers
about 90 undergraduate majors in seven undergraduate colleges to
about 24,000 undergraduates, about 70 percent of whom are Virginia
residents. With a large total enrollment of about 31,000 students,
New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Maryland are four of the
top five home states for out-of-state students. Other large and
well-known public universities in Virginia include George Mason
University, Old Dominion University, and Virginia Commonwealth
University—with total enrollments from about 24,000 to 32,000
students. But perhaps the most respected public university in
Virginia is actually one that doesn’t sound public, and that is the
College of William & Mary, located in Williamsburg. The second
oldest college in the U.S., William & Mary was chartered by King
William III and Queen Mary II in 1693 in the Virginia Colony. The
college cut its ties with England in 1775 and became state
supported in 1903 (and coeducational in 1918). Unlike most public
universities, William & Mary is small—just about 6,000
undergraduates and 2,000 graduate students. Even so, its has over
400 student organizations. Students at William & Mary are smart and
accomplished, and it is quite selective in admitting students. But,
if you have the high school record to go, it is a fantastic
education at a public price for Virginia students—though
out-of-state students are going to be paying private college
tuition rates to attend (about $35,000 a year currently). William &
Mary is proud of its “firsts,” including the first Greek-letter
society (Phi Beta Kappa, founded in 1776), the first student honor
code, the first college to become a university, and the first law
school in America. Going from smallest to biggest, let’s take a
quick look in North Carolina at North Carolina State University in
Raleigh—not too far from UNC at Chapel Hill. NC State is actually
the largest higher education institution in the state, serving a
total of about 34,000 undergraduate, graduate, and professional
students in 12 colleges, including the College of Textiles and the
College of Natural Resources among all the usual choices. NC State
offers its 24,000 undergraduate students over 100 majors and 700
student organizations to choose from. Engineering was the top
declared major of incoming freshmen last year. The average high
school GPA of these incoming freshmen was a 3.66, with SAT scores
in math and reading of 1248—good grades and scores for such a large
university. Just as with Virginia Tech, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania, and Maryland are four of the top five home states for
out-of-state students. And before leaving North Carolina, let us
say a word about the University of North Carolina School of the
Arts, one of 17 campuses of the University of North Carolina and
located in Winston-Salem. The UNC School of the Arts is a well
known and respected institution among those in the arts world. It
offers high school diplomas as well as undergraduate and graduate
degrees. Undergraduate students can earn degrees in dance, design
and production (includes visual arts), drama, filmmaking, and
music. As with all fine arts schools, there is a rigorous interview
and/or audition process for admitting its approximately 850
undergraduates—about half in-state and half out-of-state students.
Before leaving public universities in this region, let’s take a
quick look at just some of the public HBCUs in these states. (For
more about HBCUs, see our show notes from our last episode, Episode
30.) They are smaller—sometimes quite a bit smaller—than most of
the other public universities in their own states and typically
draw more students from their home states, but they do offer a
cultural experience for students and a campus history that is
different from what other public universities offer. West Virginia
State University, located in Institute, West Virginia, a suburb of
the capital of Charleston, offers about 20 majors to its 2,800
undergraduate students (the slight majority of whom are now white).
Kentucky State University, located in the state capital of
Frankfort, offers 24 bachelor’s degree majors to its 1,800
undergraduate students (about three-quarters of whom are black).
The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff offers more than 30 majors
across its four academic schools—including the School of
Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences—to about 2,300
undergraduate students; about 90 percent of UAPB students are
black, and about 65 percent are Arkansas residents. Both Virginia
State University, located about 20 minutes south of the capital of
Richmond in the village of Ettrick, and Norfolk State University,
located in Norfolk, offer majors across five or six undergraduate
schools and colleges to about 4,500 undergraduates (about 80
percent of their students are black, and about 80 percent are
Virginia residents). Tennessee State University, located on two
campuses in Nashville, offers 45 bachelor’s degree programs across
seven undergraduate colleges and schools—including the College of
Public Service and Urban Affairs—to its 7,100 undergraduate
students (it has another 2,000 graduate students); it merged with
the University of Tennessee at Nashville in 1979 to form a new
institution serving students of all races, though its current
student body is about 70 percent black. North Carolina Agricultural
& Technical State University, located in Greensboro, offers 55
degrees through seven schools and colleges to about 9,000
undergraduate students (there are another 1,500 graduate students).
NC A&T’s students are about 75 percent black, and about 80
percent are North Carolina residents. Winston-Salem State
University, Fayetteville State University, and North Carolina
Central University in Durham all serve about 6,000 undergraduates.
Their student bodies range from about 65 to 80 percent black, and
about 90 percent of their students are North Carolina residents.
Though smaller than many other public universities in North
Carolina, they have some unique programs. For example,
Winston-Salem has a bachelor’s degree in Motorsports Management,
and NC Central offers bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Jazz
Studies and is the only HBCU in the nation with a School of Library
and Information Sciences. As we have said before, all of these
public universities (and there are even more in these states than
those we mentioned here) would cost an out-of-state student more
than a public university in his or her own state, but less than
most private colleges. So, consider looking at public universities
beyond just the flagship university, for the special programs or
the appealing locations or the sense of history and tradition that
they offer. Listen to the podcast to find out about… The University
of Kentucky firsthand The University of Tennessee, Knoxville,
firsthand A wealth of public HBCUs Check out these higher education
institutions and organizations we mention… Outside of New York
State College of William & Mary (Virginia) Fayetteville State
University (North Carolina) George Mason University (Virginia)
Hampton University (Virginia) Kentucky State University National
Association for College Admission Counseling Norfolk State
University (Virginia) North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State
University North Carolina Central University, including the School
of Library and Information Sciences North Carolina State
University, including the College of Natural Resources and the
College of Textiles Old Dominion University (Virginia) Tennessee
State University, including the College of Public Service and Urban
Affairs University of Arkansas, including the J. William Fulbright
College of Arts and Sciences University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff,
including the School of Agriculture, Fisheries and Human Sciences
University of Kentucky, including the College of Design University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, including the Gillings School of
Global Public Health University of North Carolina School of the
Arts University of Tennessee, Knoxville, including the College of
Communication and Information University of Virginia, including the
Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy Virginia
Commonwealth University Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State
University Virginia State University West Virginia State University
West Virginia University, including the College of Physical
Activity and Sport Sciences Winston-Salem State University (North
Carolina) Connect with us through… Subscribing to NYCollegeChat on
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notes for this episode at http://nycollegechat.org/31 Following us
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available at Policy Studies in Education Inquiring about our
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Facebook Ask your questions or share your feedback by… Calling us
at (516) 900-NYCC Emailing us at paul@policystudies.org to ask a
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