PaperAngel
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Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Jul 2, 2024 18:18:24 GMT
Both universities are nationally recognized, so I recommend he chooses the one that seems the best fit & the ideal experience for him: WFU is a private university with ~9k students (60% white & 8% black / source). It is located in Winston-Salem, NC, which is also home to Winston-Salem State University, a historically black public university in the UNC system. As of 2022, the city's population of 250k is reportedly ~ 40% white (non-hispanic), 32% black, 6% Hispanic, etc. ( source). LSU is a large public university with ~38k students (~62% white & 17% black / source). It is located in Baton Rouge, LA, which is also home to Southern University & A&M College, a historically black public university. As of 2022, the city's population of 226k is reportedly ~ 52% black, 36% white (non-hispanic), etc. ( source). Best wishes to him! ETA: ... I am not necessarily concerned with him fitting in or being the only biracial/black student at either school ... [bold is mine] You didn't see any biracial/black athletes on rosters at WFU or LSU or noticed biracial/black students attending summer classes or working in the athletic or business departments during your recent visits? Both WFU & LSU have more black students (see above) than his current college, Butler University (80% white & 5% black / source)! |
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PaperAngel
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Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Jul 2, 2024 18:20:42 GMT
Where in NC did you live? Charlotte. We were about 1.5 hours from Winston-Salem and went there often for soccer & baseball. Which area of Charlotte? ETA: ... I will comment on Winston Salem though. I lived in the Chapel Hill, Durham area for nearly 10 years. ... Winston Salem, is about a 35 minute drive from where I lived for those 10 years ... Note Winston-Salem is located about 80 miles (~1.5 hour drive) west of Chapel Hill/Durham. |
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Post by Bridget in MD on Jul 2, 2024 18:27:02 GMT
The South is absolutely the only place I've ever lived where people felt free to use the N word anytime/place. I grew up in Alabama, lived in Baton Rouge for 6 months, and lived in Tennessee for about 6 months. I used to tell DH (when we were dating) that I loved living in the South because everyone was so friendly. When I brought my Midwest grown guy along with me to live in Tennessee, that was absolutely not his experience as blonde hair/blue eyed male. He calls it "nice if you sound and look like them" nice. My Daddy looks Hispanic, even though he's Japanese, but when he's in the South, he absolutely gets the Southern twang that lets other people know he's "from around there". It doesn't mean they're less racist, it just means they're more likely to be nice to your face. Now, I've lived in Vegas (for over a decade), and we now live in the KC area(~12 years now). I've been back down to Alabama on multiple occasions, and I prefer the Midwest. It's certainly not around the same high school / college age as when I was in LA/TN, so that could be a difference. I've definitely gotten more Liberal over the years, but you would have to pay me millions of dollars to consider living down there again. I am a bi, white-passing POC, with 3 kids, who doesn't attend church, I absolutely know it would not be 100% safe. Especially depending on how things go in November. If it was my child, I'd be pushing for Maryland. Unfortunately, none of us were that thrilled with Maryland. He has a lot of other offers but I don’t know if he wants to do anymore visits, and prefers to be in the acc or sec so all of those would be south anyway. Just curious what turned you off about UMD - was it the sports facilities or the actual academics? Unfortunately, the campus is completely torn up with construction of new facilities, plus they are putting the purple metro line right thru campus, the kids call it "construction park" (instead of College Park) and I swear its not going to be done until 2027 or 2029. its terrible. When we went to visit Auburn I was SHOCKED. The campus was so quiet and gorgeous, not torn up and noisy with construction (although AU does have one construction project right smack dab in the middle of campus). However, UMD's ranked much higher in engineering than Auburn (BUT my kid is afraid if he goes to Maryland, he'll never get out of MD or get a chance to live somewhere else). And the Clark School of Business is VERY highly regarded if your son is going into business. The school is super close to DC and Baltimore, which I would hope would offer internship possibilities. I am not sure where LSU/WF are in the business school rankings. I realize he's being recruited for baseball tho, I thought UMD did OK last year, they are in the BIG 10 (which we call the BIG 20 haahahahahaha). That is something else to consider, where will he compete? BIG10 just added UCLA, Oregon, and... some other west coast schools. I know they compete with U of Minnesota, Northwestern, U of Michigan and the green Michigan (Spartans). You would probably get close to watch some of his games, I bet. If he went to the SEC or ACC, probably not as much opportunity. I watched a TikTok of a female soccer player saying how taxing it was to travel to the other coast, and to adjust to the time changes. And baseball is not football, so they aren't getting the same kind of travel accomodations unfortunately. Anyway, happy to answer any questions about UMD. It's been good for my DD and the field she wants to go to - she doesn't play a sport tho. |
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Post by smasonnc on Jul 2, 2024 18:33:33 GMT
South, almost to the next county. |
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PaperAngel
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Post by PaperAngel on Jul 2, 2024 18:38:06 GMT
South, almost to the next county. I've lived in the Ballantyne/PCC/Longview area of Charlotte for 25+ years (excluding a year in corporate housing in W-S plus two years in GBO) & would not describe this area as "racist" given its diversity & my experiences (otherwise, I couldn't/wouldn't live here)! |
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Post by Susie_Homemaker on Jul 2, 2024 18:58:47 GMT
Since he plays sports and might want that as a major, then LSU is the place to go. The SEC motto is “it just means more” and it’s true. He would not see anywhere near the level of sports- athletes,fans, student involvement- at WF as he would at LSU. Is there a higher percentage of black students at LSU? If so, then that might help your worries about possible racism. Not all southerners are racist though.  |
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Post by smasonnc on Jul 3, 2024 0:11:55 GMT
I've lived in the Ballantyne/PCC/Longview area of Charlotte for 25+ years (excluding a year in corporate housing in W-S plus two years in GBO) & would not describe this area as "racist" given its diversity & my experiences (otherwise, I couldn't/wouldn't live here)! I lived in PCC. That part of town wasn't racist, but the neighborhoods were laid out by economic strata. They asked us when we moved there where my husband worked and wouldn't show us anything in East or West Charlotte, and back then you had to know someone in Myers Park to know what was for sale because they didn't want outsiders. We went to a lot of small towns for baseball and soccer. You didn't have to go far beyond the city limits to find that things were very different. It was eye opening. |
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Post by katlady on Jul 3, 2024 1:03:08 GMT
I don’t know much about either school, but I feel a bigger school has more to offer, especially in terms of sports.
As someone mentioned above, the school you go to matters only for certain niche industries. If you want to get into Hollywood style films, you go to USC. Second choice is UCLA. Both schools have big connections with Hollywood. For more indie type films, you go to NYU. Also, the school you go to can matter to the hiring boss.
ETA - My nephew went to a school with only 5% Asian in a state with only 4% Asian. I was a bit worried, but he had no issues. He did say it was a little weird at first to move from a state with a large Asian population (HI) to being one of the few.
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Post by FuzzyMutt on Jul 3, 2024 1:04:28 GMT
Charlotte. We were about 1.5 hours from Winston-Salem and went there often for soccer & baseball. Which area of Charlotte? ETA: ... I will comment on Winston Salem though. I lived in the Chapel Hill, Durham area for nearly 10 years. ... Winston Salem, is about a 35 minute drive from where I lived for those 10 years ... Note Winston-Salem is located about 80 miles (~1.5 hour drive) west of Chapel Hill/Durham. Definition of urban sprawl. And I did say Chapel Hill/Durham area lol Anyone heard of Alamance County? Hahaha |
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ellen
Pearl Clutcher
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Post by ellen on Jul 3, 2024 1:32:53 GMT
My nephew is a really good ball player and he started at one school and transferred to where he felt he could have his best ball playing experience. He feels like the degree he gets from this school will serve him well. He didn’t overthink it too much and he’s thrilled with his decision.
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Post by iamkristinl16 on Jul 3, 2024 2:01:20 GMT
Both universities are nationally recognized, so I recommend he chooses the one that seems the best fit & the ideal experience for him: WFU is a private university with ~9k students (60% white & 8% black / source). It is located in Winston-Salem, NC, which is also home to Winston-Salem State University, a historically black public university in the UNC system. As of 2022, the city's population of 250k is reportedly ~ 40% white (non-hispanic), 32% black, 6% Hispanic, etc. ( source). LSU is a large public university with ~38k students (~62% white & 17% black / source). It is located in Baton Rouge, LA, which is also home to Southern University & A&M College, a historically black public university. As of 2022, the city's population of 226k is reportedly ~ 52% black, 36% white (non-hispanic), etc. ( source). Best wishes to him! ETA: ... I am not necessarily concerned with him fitting in or being the only biracial/black student at either school ... [bold is mine] You didn't see any biracial/black athletes on rosters at WFU or LSU or noticed biracial/black students attending summer classes or working in the athletic or business departments during your recent visits? Both WFU & LSU have more black students (see above) than his current college, Butler University (80% white & 5% black / source)! Just because there are black students at the school does not mean that there isn't more racism in that area. |
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PaperAngel
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Jun 27, 2014 23:04:06 GMT
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Post by PaperAngel on Jul 3, 2024 4:25:59 GMT
Just because there are black students at the school does not mean that there isn't more racism in that area. Agreed. Given I quoted you, I was attempting to alleviate your concern of him "being the only biracial/black student at either school." Perhaps your response was intended for this comment instead: ... Is there a higher percentage of black students at LSU? If so, then that might help your worries about possible racism. ... |
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CeeScraps
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~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
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Post by CeeScraps on Jul 3, 2024 12:07:07 GMT
We are in TN now. Has he looked at UT? Holy sports is all I have to say.........people eat, breathe and sleep UT sports here. I seriously don't know a thing about the school except they seem to be well respected in the area of sports.
The baseball team has just won the college world series. The football and basketball team here are cherished and supported.
The school is close to the Smokey Mountains. The area is just plain beautiful. The college is in Knoxville on the Little TN river.
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Post by lisacharlotte on Jul 3, 2024 16:12:03 GMT
Do not discount the power of alumni and networking. I worked for two guys who both went to LSU. The connections they made were instrumental for both of them in advancing in their careers. Both were from New Orleans, and both worked outside the south at various points in their careers.
If your son is majoring in something very specific the school may matter. If it's a general subject, I'd look at the reach of the alumni and network.
I'm always amazed at the reach of the UNL (Nebraska) alumni. They are strong in almost every state. You find out just how strong when the perennially losing Huskers swamp an out state stadium with fans.
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... I am not necessarily concerned with him fitting in or being the only biracial/black student at either school ...[bold is mine] You didn't see any biracial/black athletes on rosters at WFU or LSU or noticed biracial/black students attending summer classes or working in the athletic or business departments during your recent visits? Both WFU & LSU have more black students (see above) than his current college, Butler University (80% white & 5% black / source)! 
