It is a good school. It is like comparing a 15:45 5k woman to a 14:20. One is AA in NCAA XC and the fastest runner in her city after college. The other makes world teams and finishes top 5 once or twice.
Could make this argument in major sports. Why not go to Stanford/Northwestern type schools to play football or basketball? Why go to Ohio State? Well, to win championships & to develop for the next level. I don't think this is a perfect argument, especially for running where talent is talent. I think you can develop anywhere, get a good degree, and still go pro if you're good enough. But, big state schools still have strong academics & you're going to get great resources as a runner. I think it really just depends on fit sometimes. Only 1/4 of adults even have a bachelor's degree. You're coming out ahead no matter what. If you have good grades in HS & likely won't go pro then definitely look at top academic schools. The running experience might be better -- who knows. But going to NC State & winning championships is fine too. Different college experience. Big campus. Football games on Saturday's. Being in a place where the school really takes over the town it's in. Etc.
Why is this Stanford fan poster constantly attacking NC State for its academics? If we are talking about women's cross country, which it seems this Stanford fan poster is focused on, and you look at the current top ~10-12 women's cross country programs, NC State is among the better schools for academics - better than BYU, Oregon and Colorado and significantly better than Oklahoma State, Alabama, Northern Arizona, and New Mexico. Only Stanford, Florida, and Notre Dame are ranked higher academically.
Stanford poster guy should be bashing BYU, Oregon, New Mexico, and NAU for their academics. Not NC State.
1. Ivy League doesn’t fully support athletics. Sports are an add on and facilities are sub par.
2. Stanford: elite in every way but perhaps too elite for some students who may feel unworthy of the academics. Some of the smartest people in the world are classmates. Pressure is real. Not for everyone.
3. Notre Dame: elite athletically and deceptively hard academically like other Catholic schools. Realistically, probably not much easier than Stanford.
4. NC State: the best team spirit and coaching. The best athletic development but the most competitive athletically. Mediocre academic reputation at best and much less academic pressure. Ideal fit for those who want to be stretched athletically but not academically.
5. BYU: fringe school only for those that can tolerate the culture. Stronger academically than people realize.
6. Florida, Oregon, New Mexico: Florida is ranked relatively high but none of these school place any demands on students academically. Are foreign recruits that are non native speakers stressed academically?
7. UNC, Wake Forest: strong but reasonable academics that might be the sweet spot for many.
That said, the allure of NC State is pretty clear. By far the best program if academics are secondary.
BYU is tough academically because the kids are disciplined and don't screw around, just like their cross country teams. It doesn't get enough credit in terms of academic reputation because it's mostly an undergrad university with few PhD programs. There's also the bias against religious universities that "limit academic freedom" ... as if most universities don't have their own biases against academic freedom. (Try to question DEI/diversity or social justice in terms of research or school administration, and see how quickly you'll be shot down.)
Academically there are many other schools in between Stanford and NC state
Clearly you are not very bright and you are not an elite runner. How many top 10 running schools are in that group? Clearly Stanford is the top academic university in that list. But Harvard, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt have mediocre running programs that won’t develop a top runner. At least NC State is still respectable academically unlike the majority of the running schools.
Harvard won’t develop a top runner? Graham Blanks might disagree.
1. Ivy League doesn’t fully support athletics. Sports are an add on and facilities are sub par.
2. Stanford: elite in every way but perhaps too elite for some students who may feel unworthy of the academics. Some of the smartest people in the world are classmates. Pressure is real. Not for everyone.
3. Notre Dame: elite athletically and deceptively hard academically like other Catholic schools. Realistically, probably not much easier than Stanford.
4. NC State: the best team spirit and coaching. The best athletic development but the most competitive athletically. Mediocre academic reputation at best and much less academic pressure. Ideal fit for those who want to be stretched athletically but not academically.
5. BYU: fringe school only for those that can tolerate the culture. Stronger academically than people realize.
6. Florida, Oregon, New Mexico: Florida is ranked relatively high but none of these school place any demands on students academically. Are foreign recruits that are non native speakers stressed academically?
7. UNC, Wake Forest: strong but reasonable academics that might be the sweet spot for many.
That said, the allure of NC State is pretty clear. By far the best program if academics are secondary.
BYU is tough academically because the kids are disciplined and don't screw around, just like their cross country teams. It doesn't get enough credit in terms of academic reputation because it's mostly an undergrad university with few PhD programs. There's also the bias against religious universities that "limit academic freedom" ... as if most universities don't have their own biases against academic freedom. (Try to question DEI/diversity or social justice in terms of research or school administration, and see how quickly you'll be shot down.)
There was a study that showed BYU is one of the top schools in the country in terms of the number of its undergrads who go on to get PhDs, which shows they have to be well-prepared academically.
love that article. First paragraph the BYU grad owns up to feeling like they don't belong at a "top program". BYU undergrad was a breeze but actually going to a good school made them feel inadequate.
BYU is tough academically because the kids are disciplined and don't screw around, just like their cross country teams. It doesn't get enough credit in terms of academic reputation because it's mostly an undergrad university with few PhD programs. There's also the bias against religious universities that "limit academic freedom" ... as if most universities don't have their own biases against academic freedom. (Try to question DEI/diversity or social justice in terms of research or school administration, and see how quickly you'll be shot down.)
There was a study that showed BYU is one of the top schools in the country in terms of the number of its undergrads who go on to get PhDs, which shows they have to be well-prepared academically.
love that article. First paragraph the BYU grad owns up to feeling like they don't belong at a "top program". BYU undergrad was a breeze but actually going to a good school made them feel inadequate.
Most people going to a top PhD program likely feel inadequate at some point, but that doesn't mean their undergrad was easy. Undergrad and doctoral programs are two different animals.
If BYU is so easy, then how are they one of the top universities in sending their students on to doctoral programs at other universities? Wouldn't those other programs want the best qualified doctoral students? If BYU students did poorly, wouldn't they stop accepting them?
The Ivy League may seem unattainable admissions- and price-wise, but some students actually pay less to attend an Ivy than an in-state public university!
Clearly you are not very bright and you are not an elite runner. How many top 10 running schools are in that group? Clearly Stanford is the top academic university in that list. But Harvard, Duke, Northwestern, Vanderbilt have mediocre running programs that won’t develop a top runner. At least NC State is still respectable academically unlike the majority of the running schools.
Harvard won’t develop a top runner? Graham Blanks might disagree.
Harvard's program is a meat grinder that Blanks survived, but not without a number of injuries. Few do survive or thrive but they hit it big with Blanks and Maia Ramsden.
I was talking to a buddy who graduated from Harvard. At reunion wene they come across those who are grad students who went to some BS undergrad like NC State, they move along and try to not get lowered into the dregs of their pretend Ivy degree friends at reunion..... He associated it with the Army and how there are OCS people who NOBODY who went through basic respects.
its funny because NC State has had quite a few ivy league grad transfers who wanted to pursue their grad degree at nc state
this is a fake argument. ivies DO NOT ALLOW GRADUATE ELIGIBILITY. so their choice is call it a career or leave the ivy league.
also, at that level of the food chain, they might do multiple grad degrees. they might go back to an elite school for a phd. they might do one of a pair of masters this way then the other back at a good school. you're making an argument at what may be the half point.
one thing you're missing is at a top running program you could be awesome and end up basically a walkon. in which case you're covering your own cost with FA or the wallet same as an ivy.
there's also the free tuition bit.
plus "percent need met." nc state meets 72% of need. the ivies and stanford meet 100%. if you need FA that actually favors the more expensive school. you will have larger out of pocket with nc state -- if you aren't paying your own way.
it's only cheaper if you pay your own. and if my parents make half a million and can't get aid and send me to nc state and not an ivy or someplace swank i feel ripped off.
and there's also ROI. ivy is a ticket to better jobs that pay more. or better grad programs. we can debate "bates" or "trinity," but every ivy on down to brown or cornell is a license to print money. only an idiot turns that down on an upfront expense basis. yes, there are cheaper schools. you struggle to get a job more from them. you get paid less.
my personal experience -- i did an ivy semester -- an ivy "grind" is fairly bright and as much snap as a smart kid at my top 50 LAC. the smart kid at my LAC gets an "A" for their work.
if we are considering how they compare to other schools -- and these are almost universally 1500+ SAT kids -- they are all probably doing what any other school would consider A or A+ work. that's why they are at harvard.
it's an insincere argument where you don't like harvard or the ivies so ivy kids should have a harsh curve where some make a "C." even if that kid went to UT or NC state they'd have gotten an "A" for the same work.
you're fake "meritocrats," on things like affirmative action you want the kids treated like they are special. now you want to give "Cs" to ivy kids just to be mean or prove some artificial point.
if you are smart but only good not great, then you should go ivy or the best academic option. you aren't going pro. you pick on prestige. better education. better return. ivy or the other elite academic option that accepts you.
if you are fast and smart, this debate is laid out fake. there are schools you can triangulate. stanford was mentioned. notre dame. you do that instead of nc state if both offer you.
nc state to me makes most sense for future pro kids or sports obsessed who are more average students. which is most kids. most kids couldn't make the SAT an ivy or stanford would want from even a recruited athlete. i am sure they want 13xx or 14xx minimum even if you are greased lightning.
This must be an NC State alum posing as a Tar Heel. Anyone with familiarity of the state of NC knows that the finance jobs go to UNC, Wake and Duke.
NC State is a trades school, and the academic requirements to get in are significantly lower than that of UNC, Wake and, obviously, Duke, which is the most difficult standard to meet of all universities in NC.
This is falsely stated everytime in these threads. 50% of selective school students pay the full $95K per year. The other 50% pay $25K on average. Income is only part of the equation. A 50 year old couple should have $500K in home equity which many schools count. They should have $2M in 401k which schools don't count. And they should have $1M in stocks and education accounts which schools count. I am in that cstegory with a son at an Ivy. We are paying $65K this year.
They are not smart enough, The People who go to The Ivy League and Stanford have 180 IQ's MINIMUM.
Sure The Kids Running for NC State, BYU, Florida etc are not dumb, But The Smartest Student would seem like a Moron/Imbecile compared to even the Dumbest Student at a Yale.
Only God is Omniscient, But if Someone is in a Ivy League School They are extremely close to being Omniscient.
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They are not smart enough, The People who go to The Ivy League and Stanford have 180 IQ's MINIMUM.
Sure The Kids Running for NC State, BYU, Florida etc are not dumb, But The Smartest Student would seem like a Moron/Imbecile compared to even the Dumbest Student at a Yale.
I know you're joking, but on the off chance someone *doesn't* know you're joking:
I could count on my fingers the number of people with ~~180 IQs whom I have met in my entire life. And I've been in some pretty high-powered intellectual groups.
I was accepted Ivy/Caltech/Stanford and I have never done better than 150 on any legit IQ test.