Help choosing a college...UNL or CSU?

JJ Husker

JJ Husker

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My daughter will be starting college next fall. She is a very good student 1st or 2nd in her class depending on the day with near a 4.4 gpa. I think she has narrowed her choices down to CSU in Fort Collins (30 miles away) and UNL (8 hours away). She’s been a Husker fan her whole life (because I did my job well) but college is about much more than sporting events. She was pretty well settled on CSU until a scholarship offer from UNL reduced the out of state tuition costs to where they are basically the same now. So that put UNL back in consideration. I’m torn betweeen wanting her close enough that we can see her whenever and she can come home at anytime and wanting to see her grow a little more independent, go to the same college her mother and I did and of course have some in roads to acquiring Husker tickets. I believe she will be okay and do well wherever she decides to go. UNL actually has a better program for the field she wants to study- math, statistics, actuarial science and she also wants to dual major in psychology.

My question is, does anybody have any advice or experiences to share that would help the decision making process? It’s been a long time since I went to UNL and I was not a good student. I pretty much drank and played euchre and poker and ignored my studies. I really have no firsthand knowledge on the academic merits of either institution. It’s possible another option may arise but I think it’s down to choosing between these two. Anybody got any pros or cons about the schools or the programs in her field of study?

 
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The other thing I forgot to mention that I’m sure is weighing on her more is that one of her best friends is going to CSU and she had plans to room with her in the academic village. The large scholarship offer that just arrived from UNL really cornfused things. Now I think she is torn between rooming with her friend and the large financial offer. The scholarship is awesome but it really only equalizes the costs. Hard to turn down that amount of money but it doesn’t really make her 4 year cost any less comparatively....if it takes her four years. She’s got almost two years of college credits with all the AP credits she has acquired. Guessing she could graduate in three years if she wanted to.

 
Comfortably Numb said:
My daughter will be starting college next fall. She is a very good student 1st or 2nd in her class depending on the day with near a 4.4 gpa. I think she has narrowed her choices down to CSU in Fort Collins (30 miles away) and UNL (8 hours away). She’s been a Husker fan her whole life (because I did my job well) but college is about much more than sporting events. She was pretty well settled on CSU until a scholarship offer from UNL reduced the out of state tuition costs to where they are basically the same now. So that put UNL back in consideration. I’m torn betweeen wanting her close enough that we can see her whenever and she can come home at anytime and wanting to see her grow a little more independent, go to the same college her mother and I did and of course have some in roads to acquiring Husker tickets. I believe she will be okay and do well wherever she decides to go. UNL actually has a better program for the field she wants to study- math, statistics, actuarial science and she also wants to dual major in psychology.

My question is, does anybody have any advice or experiences to share that would help the decision making process? It’s been a long time since I went to UNL and I was not a good student. I pretty much drank and played euchre and poker and ignored my studies. I really have no firsthand knowledge on the academic merits of either institution. It’s possible another option may arise but I think it’s down to choosing between these two. Anybody got any pros or cons about the schools or the programs in her field of study?
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I was not a traditional student, so I didn't do any partying and didn't really socialize with any whippersnappers until I started my M.S.

I got both my B.S. in Math and my M.S. in Statistics at UNL. The statistics dept. at UNL focuses more on applied stats than a lot of other statistics programs, which is good if you don't want to become a professor. I don't know anything about CSU but that's what I know of UNL. I really enjoyed my time there. - this is all irrelevant if she doesn't want an M.S., and she could also go to a different school for her M.S. of course.

This is more my gut than anything else but if the cost is the same I would tell pretty much anyone to get away from their parents for awhile. I just think it's good for them. 8 hours isn't terribly far and she could come home in the summers. As for the friend... that makes it difficult too. But sometimes it can be good to get away from high school friends and make new ones all on your own. She will still have that friend whenever she goes back to Colorado.

Anyhow, you should be very happy she wants a math/psychology/stats degree. I think it would be really hard right now to have a kid dead set on a degree that will be hard to get a job with, and there are lots of them. Telling a kid not to go to college isn't something I'd want to do, even if it's the right decision. Or even trying to sway them toward something more practical because that'd cause resentment.

 
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GSG said:
There's no parking on the CSU campus. That's all I got
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Yeah, a buddy of mine works for CSU campus maintenance and they don’t even have places to park since the new stadium went in. My daughter has attended volleyball camp there 2 or 3 times and we’ve been on campus a couple other times. We’re a lot more familiar with that campus than we are with Lincoln’s, even though I spent around 4 years there. I doubt anything in Lincoln would look familiar to me anymore. Lots of changes since the early 80’s. We have to get a visit planned soon for UNL.

 
Moiraine said:
I was not a traditional student, so I didn't do any partying and didn't really socialize with any whippersnappers until I started my M.S.

I got both my B.S. in Math and my M.S. in Statistics at UNL. The statistics dept. at UNL focuses more on applied stats than a lot of other statistics programs, which is good if you don't want to become a professor. I don't know anything about CSU but that's what I know of UNL. I really enjoyed my time there. - this is all irrelevant if she doesn't want an M.S., and she could also go to a different school for her M.S. of course.

This is more my gut than anything else but if the cost is the same I would tell pretty much anyone to get away from their parents for awhile. I just think it's good for them. 8 hours isn't terribly far and she could come home in the summers. As for the friend... that makes it difficult too. But sometimes it can be good to get away from high school friends and make new ones all on your own. She will still have that friend whenever she goes back to Colorado.

Anyhow, you should be very happy she wants a math/psychology/stats degree. I think it would be really hard right now to have a kid dead set on a degree that will be hard to get a job with, and there are lots of them. Telling a kid not to go to college isn't something I'd want to do, even if it's the right decision. Or even trying to sway them toward something more practical because that'd cause resentment.
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Good stuff Moiraine. Thanks.

I’m not convinced it will make much difference if she is 30 minutes away or 8 hours. She’s pretty independent and set on getting away from home. Not that there are any issues, she just knows what she wants to do. I don’t think she would be running home at all. More likely her mother and I would visit her more than she would prefer. :lol:   Started out she wanted to go to UW in Seattle but that was more because she was enamored with Seattle than the school. When we discovered how huge of a school that was kind of gave up on it. I was surprised to find out that CSU is actually a bigger school than Nebraska.

I hope she stays interested in stats/actuarial stuff. There are a lot of job opportunities that blend that with psychology very well. I’m just not sure if that interest level will continue. She had an excellent AP Stats teacher when she was a freshman and that is when she developed that interest. Not sure if she’ll maintain that interest if she stumbles across any bad teachers in college. But at least she’ll always have a very strong math ability to fall back on. Math and stats have just always come really easy for her.

 
Interesting stuff, Comfortably Numb.  I may be going through a similar situation in a few years.  I would ask your daughter "what do you want to get out of college?"  If she is trying to get a similar experience to high school (assuming she has high school friends also going to CSU) and the comfort of that, she may want to attend CSU.  If she is looking for a brand new experience, where she looks to get new friends, move further away from home, and get out of her "comfort zone", then UNL may be a better choice for her.  The academics at either school are about the same.  If she is looking to stay in the Colorado area for her long-term career, degrees from both schools will be treated very similar.  I am sure this isn't much help, but she should most think about is what she wants from her college experience. 

EDIT:  If your daughter is a huge sports fan, it may be worth her considering NU.  Simply put, NU will have more opportunities to be successful in sports than CSU.  If she ends up as an alum from NU, she will have the ability to be a proud Husker fan for life.  I know that you don't have to be an alum to be a Husker fan, but as an alum, I have a great amount of pride in my University, and proudly cheer for all NU athletics.

 
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I probably would have went to CSU if they had my major. Since I live in Western Nebraska it would have been closer to home than Lincoln. I would say you should let her decide which campus she likes best and go with that. Both are excellent schools.

 
ColoradoHusk said:
Interesting stuff, Comfortably Numb.  I may be going through a similar situation in a few years.  I would ask your daughter "what do you want to get out of college?"  If she is trying to get a similar experience to high school (assuming she has high school friends also going to CSU) and the comfort of that, she may want to attend CSU.  If she is looking for a brand new experience, where she looks to get new friends, move further away from home, and get out of her "comfort zone", then UNL may be a better choice for her.  The academics at either school are about the same.  If she is looking to stay in the Colorado area for her long-term career, degrees from both schools will be treated very similar.  I am sure this isn't much help, but she should most think about is what she wants from her college experience.  
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Thats pretty much how we’re trying to handle it. The problem is, I think either place offers almost the exact same experience. It’s not like she spends a bunch of time with that friend now. In college it would just be one person she is already very familiar with. She’d still meet plenty of new people. On the plus side, that friend is also a very good student. From my experience I know firsthand that a party hound roommate could distract from the goal. I think she realizes that too and that is why she is looking into the honor student housing options no matter where she goes. To be honest a little partying would probably do her some good. But, with the wrong roomie, a little can turn into way too much. I know....

The biggest advantage for UNL, the way I see it, are the academic offerings for her major(s). Not sure if it will make any difference for her future but they do supposedly have a better math/stats/actuarial program. I’m sure it will become clear once we’ve actually visited both campuses and find out some more specifics. I just wish we would have visited Lincoln sooner. Now it will have to be in February or March. Pretty spoiled with the low humidity here in Colorado. If we go to Lincoln on a cold couple of days with some humidity and wind, that might make up her mind pretty fast  :lol: I know I don’t miss those Nebraska winters....or summers. Yeah, I’m basically a wuss now.

 
I wouldn't worry too much about the partying issue.  Kids can party at any college if they really want to.  I partied plenty in college, and I was still able to maintain the GPA, I needed to for the scholarship I had.  I am sure your daughter will be able to know when it's the time to party and when it's time to focus on academics.  

 
ColoradoHusk said:
I wouldn't worry too much about the partying issue.  Kids can party at any college if they really want to.  I partied plenty in college, and I was still able to maintain the GPA, I needed to for the scholarship I had.  I am sure your daughter will be able to know when it's the time to party and when it's time to focus on academics.  
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Yeah, I'm not really worried about it with her. It was a huge problem for me though so it's hard for me to ignore the issue. I guess my wife's freshman year roommate was a partyer and it didn't affect her. But my frat days were all about everything except studying. I did just enough to get activated in the frat and it was downhill from there. Good memories though.

And I agree the sports would be much better at Nebraska but I doubt they are that important to her. I'm sure she'd go to the football games, some volleyball and maybe a few basketball but even though she's already a NU fan, she can take or leave watching the football games now. Of course I've kind of been that way the last few years, as painful as it has been to watch  :lol:

 
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