Skyrocketing tuition

That Amy person brings up some good points.

In the hard copy version, they used her words as the featured quote in the body of the story. I wish I had the opportunity to read more of her thoughts on other issues somewhere . . . .

I didn't realize that some majors at Illinois had to pay above and beyond even this higher tuition. Better stick some more $$$ under the mattress.

quote:

Originally posted by GE Fan:
Skyrocketing tuition

That Amy person brings up some good points.

She is also kicking your *** in the GEBB NCAA pick em.......imagine that, great counselor and smarter than you when it comes to ncaa pick em...

quote:

Originally posted by IMJ:

quote:

Originally posted by GE Fan:
Skyrocketing tuition

That Amy person brings up some good points.

She is also kicking your *** in the GEBB NCAA pick em.......imagine that, great counselor and smarter than you when it comes to ncaa pick em...

Now THAT is "Suprising." Thanks to me you will never misspell that word again.

Yes, Fish, it's true that both the words "ridiculous" and "surprising" are words that trip me up in spelling and both have been visibly corrected on this BB, causing a strong emotional response from my brain. This means I will never spell them wrong again!

Yeah, the reporter called me Wednesday afternoon. I got to know her a few years ago when U of I held a meeting with school counselors from U of I's "feeder" schools (where they get a large number of applicants - at York, well over 100 students apply to U of I every year so I was invited). I had no idea press were at the meeting and I asked some very pointed questions. I was quite SURPRISED to be approached by reporters from the Trib and Sun Times regarding my questions. Ms. Cohen does some very good reporting and I'm now in her "rolodex" so I get called by her once in a while.

I didn't get the hard copy - just saw it online. We get the Trib Sunday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday (some sort of package). I'd love a copy of the article if any of you haven't already recycled it or put it in the bottom of your bird's cage.

My husband really did say that we might as well send the kids to Harvard - though with extreme sarcasm. But, the cost of in-state tuition at U of I seems out of line. Why should it cost SO much more than most of the other state institutions? Why should they charge so much more? Why? Because they can.

And, by the way, I'm sucking bad on the GEBB NCAA pick em now. So, I've clearly shown I know more about being a school counselor than about basketball.

Amy - I plucked it from the recycling bin and will drop it off later this morning. I have to run to West before noon.

With regard to picking teams - we do a family pool that is a random draw - each participant gets a one seed, etc. I'm likely doing better than if I had tried to pick for myself!

quote:

Originally posted by Amy:

But, the cost of in-state tuition at U of I seems out of line. Why should it cost SO much more than most of the other state institutions? Why should they charge so much more? Why? Because they can.

I don't think that is entirely fair or true. Ask our Governor and state legislators why they have been financially ignoring our state's flagship university. After the shootings at NIU, Blago ran up to DeKalb and promised 40 million to tear down a perfectly good building and replace it with something new....when was the last time they've offered up 40 million to ANY of our State Universities for public improvements?

You ask why they charge so much? They have to. If you want to maintain a level of world class instruction, you have to charge for it. And if the State isn't picking up much of the tab for their land grant institution, someone has to.

Study on Illinois Higher Education Funding

Fan,
I don't necessarily disagree with you. But if you honestly believe that the instruction at other state institutions is inferior to U of I, you would be mistaken. One could argue that pay for instructors would be higher at UIC or NEIU or even CSU because cost of living is higher for the instructors.

quote:

Originally posted by Amy:
Fan,
I don't necessarily disagree with you. But if you honestly believe that the instruction at other state institutions is inferior to U of I, you would be mistaken. One could argue that pay for instructors would be higher at UIC or NEIU or even CSU because cost of living is higher for the instructors.

I don't believe I am mistaken. I took summer classes at other institutions while in college. They were a joke.

And please, compare to me the engineering faculty at U of I with that of NIU. Come on...not even close. The facilities are better, the students as a whole are smarter and the teachers are better.

The same goes for Michigan vs. Michigan State, Virginia vs. Virginia Tech, Iowa vs. Iowa State, Kansas vs. Kansas State and Purdue vs. Indiana (that one is for you).

One final thing - you went to Purdue right? So you've never sat in a classroom at the University of Illinois, UIC and NIU, correct?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: GE Fan,

quote:

Originally posted by Amy:
One could argue that pay for instructors would be higher at UIC or NEIU or even CSU because cost of living is higher for the instructors.

Why would one argue that? The pay should be commensurate with ability and skill.

And let's also not forget the concept of supply and demand.

I know it is taboo is our child nurturing society to say this - but - some things are just better than others.

As an alum of COD and NIU, my net worth pretty much trashes your theory. My attendance at both schools has opened doors for me my entire working career.

It has always been my opionion that 'Big 10' being better has always been a bunch of hype and people are much more wise to this than ever before.

quote:

Originally posted by GlenEllynRing:
As an alum of COD and NIU, my net worth pretty much trashes your theory. My attendance at both schools has opened doors for me my entire working career.

Congrats to you!

* GE Fan gets off chair and gives GlenEllynRing a standing ovation due to his "net worth."

Oh...where did anyone discuss net worth? And, where did anyone discuss net worth as a measure of success? But well done sir....by the way....Mark Cuban says hi.

Fan:

You have personal knowledge of my vast wealth....and I went to Elmhurst College. If I were a parent in Glen Ellyn, I would look no further than 4-5 miles east to guarantee success.

Clamato:

You are right. Your net worth has absolutely trashed my theory.

Sorry for hypothesizing.

I will admit that I did attend school in DeKalb and also took classes in south Glen Ellyn. Seeing that you and MR feel that I have several million $$$ hidden somewhere in my home or offshore, perhaps GER is right.

All that said...I would hope to send my children to school in Champaign rather than DeKalb. NIU is the single most depressing, run-down and filthy campus I have ever stepped foot on. And it hasn't gotten better with time. The place is positively East German in appearance.

I think Thomas Sowell sums it up best in his article "Prestige vs. Education:"

"...while we are on the subject of reality and prestige, one of the tragic misconceptions of many students and their parents is that you have to go to a prestigious, big-name academic institution to really get ahead and reach the top.

Some students get sunk deep into depression when they are notified in April that they have been rejected by some Ivy League school that they had their heart set on. When they are accepted, some parents go deep into debt to finance the education of their offspring at the college of their dreams.

Seldom is either reaction warranted.

Stop and think: What is an academic institution's prestige based on?

Academic prestige is based mostly on the research achievements of the faculty. Places like Harvard or Stanford have many professors who are among the leading experts in their respective fields, including some who have won Nobel Prizes.

Good for them. But is it good for you, if you are a student at Prestige U.?

Big-name professors are unlikely to be teaching you freshman English or introductory math. Some may not be teaching you anything at all, unless and until you go on to postgraduate study.

In other words, the people who generated the prestige which attracted you to the college may be seen walking about the campus but are less likely to be seen standing in front of your classroom when you begin your college education.

Lower level courses are usually left to be taught by junior faculty members or even graduate students. Yet these courses are often the foundation on which higher level courses are built.

If you don't really master introductory calculus, physics or economics, you are unlikely to do well in higher level courses which presuppose that you already have a foundation on which they can build.

By contrast, at a small college without the prestige of big-name research universities, the introductory courses which provide a foundation for higher courses are more likely to be taught by experienced professors who are teachers more so than researchers.

Maybe that is why graduates of such colleges often go on to do better than the graduates of big-name research universities.

You may never have heard of Harvey Mudd College but a higher percentage of its graduates go on to get Ph.D.s than do the graduates of Harvard, Yale, Stanford or M.I.T. So do the graduates of Grinnell, Reed, and various other small colleges.

Of the chief executive officers of the 50 largest American corporations surveyed in 2006, only four had Ivy League degrees. Some -- including Michael Dell of Dell computers and Bill Gates of Microsoft -- had no degree at all.

Apparently getting into Prestige U. is not the life or death thing that some students or their parents think it is.

Unfortunately, prestige rankings are so hyped in the media -- especially by U.S. News & World Report magazine -- that many people think that is how to choose a college.

What you really want is not the "best" college but the college that fits you best. For that, you need in-depth information, not statistical rankings. For such information, you could start looking up colleges in the 900-page guide, "Choosing the Right College." After that, campus visits would be in order.

quote:

And it hasn't gotten better with time.

I completely disagree. The restoration of Altgeld Hall is fantastic. The new Barsema School of Business, also fantastic.

quote:

The place is positively East German in appearance.

I think you have NIU confused with UIC.

I agree that article has a lot of salient points but it does nothing to debunk my general statements re: teaching and quality of the student body (as a whole). Further, it does nothing to bolster Amy's suggestion that the teaching at other state universities (which are large institutions and thus, not bolstered by your article) is equal to that of the flagship university of each state.

Oh, and just for clarification sake, the author mentions that Gates and Dell did not graduate college. While that is true, Gates dropped out of HARVARD and Dell dropped out of U TEXAS - AUSTIN...two of the most prestigious Universities in the world.

And mind you - I got my law degree from DePaul....I'm not even sure we're accredited. Don't get me started on the slugs from John Marshall.

Thomas Sowell also transferred out of Howard University to attend Harvard (BA), Columbia (MA), and then earned a PhD from the University of Chicago.

quote:

Originally posted by GE Fan:
I know it is taboo is our child nurturing society to say this - but - some things are just better than others.

Indiana Grads do not have these kinds of spelling errors. Boilers, maybe. Hoosiers, NEVER!!