Heh heh I was being sarcastic with the "dragging my carcass to KY" comment. It was hotter than a snake's butt when we moved in July '99 and my Yankee being was not used to such heat and humidity. I was literally "dragging." :D
Did my Happy Valley education pay? Sure did. That, btw, was my grad experience, with Pitt being my undergrad school. Having been in higher education my entire adult life in several states and with several institutions since my PSU days, and through my spouse's MSU employer, I think I've seen a lot with regards to the college experience. My comment was getting to what Ride alluded to - paying tax dollars for education just to see only 1 ranked KY university, and that university being outside the top 100. In KY there are many fine schools like WKU and MSU who are trying to do their best with the meager monies the state gov't gives. In all the places I've been, I knew where my tax dollars were going. In KY I really don't know where they are going, 'cept maybe to fund some new fancy gold-plated parking meters at the kitty cat college, or something ridiculous like that. MSU certainly doesn't seem to be getting their fair share of the money pie, and I would suspect WKU isn't either.
Don't get me wrong - going to a "BCS" school did have its disadvantages. It was a trade-off for being in a top 5 program in my discipline. I don't think Pitt was classified, or is classified, as a BCS school, then or now. They've had their ups and downs, with FB and MBB being their top programs. BCS schools mean higher tuition, less direct prof education, less flexibility with "rule-bending," less opportunities to meet with classmates, sometimes an insensitive administrative attitude toward students, and a lot of just plain old headaches that were magnified by the sheer size of the universities (as in you walk everywhere because you car is parked out in New Jersey - that would be PSU's football stadium on the fringe of campus where students parked their vehicles).
The way I see it, the kitty cats have had their shot at academic glory and haven't done it. So dump their funding, give it to the other KY schools, let me see where my tax dollars are going, and give everyone else a shot. 'Cept the birds. They can get their money elsewhere too. BTW where were they on the list?
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