Why Your College List Should Start with Your Flagship University

Long time readers of my blog know that I think that the start of any college search should begin with estimating your Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This simply sets the baseline for how much you should expect to pay. The next step should be looking up your state flagship university. Why? Because while your EFC sets your financial expectations, your state flagship serves as the ideal reference point for adding and comparing the schools you add to your final college list.

Defining State Flagship University

So what is your state flagship? Without going into details, there really isn’t just one definition of a flagship university. For our purposes, the flagship is the state-supported university or universities that meet the following criteria:

Carnegie Classification of Doctoral University: Higher or Highest Research Activity
Have among the highest graduation rates for public universities in the state
Know that if I don’t include it, people will complain

Yeah, I know the last one is kind of iffy. But I’m from Texas and I know better. The Doctoral University qualification keeps some quality schools such as Truman State University that don’t fit the image of “state flagship” from showing up. And the graduation rate actually closely correlates to the listing of state Flagship Universities defined by the College Board. The colleges with an asterisk are recognized as state flagships by the College Board.

I’m sure there will be plenty of people who will think I should have two schools listed for some of the 33 states where I only list one. And for those where I listed more one, there will be those who will wonder how I could have possibly considered the two schools academic peers. Sorry, I made the best choice with the data I had available.

Furthermore, if you really think school X should be included because that’s the school you would choose over the listed flagship, great! The point of this is to set a benchmark public institution and if you already have one that you know you prefer, by all means, use it.

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Why Use Your Flagship University as a Base

I tell people to start with their flagship because even if they haven’t saved a penny for college, as a state resident, you have been paying to support your public universities through taxes.

For those with a high EFC, your state flagship is likely to still cost less than any private option even with merit aid. If you know the profile of your state flagship, you can decide if the advantages of a private college are worth the cost.

If you’re looking for need-based aid, you also need to know how much your public options cost. If your financial aid award from a private school can’t come in below the cost of attending your public universities without student loans, it just makes financial sense to attend your state school.

I’ve created a list of 68 public universities that I think people can use as their base flagship university. As with most Doctoral Institution, they tend to be large. Only nine had fewer than 10,000 full-timer undergraduates while 29 have 20,000 or more.

Beware of Out-of-State Tuition

One of the first things you should look at is how much these schools charge for out-of-state tuition. A total of 46 charge non-residents more than $40,000. The eleven schools below, charge more than $50,000.

• University of California-Berkeley
• University of California-Los Angeles
• University of Virginia-Main Campus
• University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
• University of Vermont
• University of Colorado Boulder
• University of Connecticut
• The University of Texas at Austin
• University of Hawaii at Manoa
• University of Arizona
• Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus

Unless you’re applying to a university that explicitly offers out-of-state students ways to pay the in-state rate or substantial tuition discounts, it doesn’t make sense financially to attend an out-of-state public university.

In-State Tuition May Not Be Such a Great Deal Either

Of course, for some of the universities, the in-state price isn’t anything to brag about. Some public flagship universities charge twice as much as others. In 2016-17, the total cost of attendance ranged from a low of $18,556 to a high of $36,369. Among the 68 schools on the list, 40 charged $25,000 or more. It cost over $30,000 at the following eleven:

• University of California-Berkeley
• Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
• University of California-Los Angeles
• University of New Hampshire-Main Campus
• University of Vermont
• University of Virginia-Main Campus
• Rutgers University-New Brunswick
• Auburn University
• The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
• University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• University of Connecticut

Students without need shouldn’t be counting on merit money to offset the costs of attending these schools. According to publicly available Common Data Sets, at six of the universities less than 10% of students without need received merit aid. There’s actually quite a bit of variation in the percentage of students receiving merit aid without demonstrated need. The percentage ranges from less than one percent (University of Texas at Austin and Montana State University) to 97% at the University of Utah. You need to check the percentages for the schools in your state.

Graduation Rates are Important

Cost isn’t the only factor to consider when using your state flagship as a baseline for your search. You should also consider graduation rates. Do you really want to pay more to attend a private college that has a lower graduation rate than your state flagship?

Given that the flagship universities on the list have four-year graduation rates from 15% to 88%, this is something you really want to pay attention to. A more expensive private college may be worth the price if you can graduate in four years rather than five or six.

However, you need to keep in mind that graduation rates have a lot to do with the academic credentials of the students admitted. Basically, the lower the acceptance rate, the higher you would expect the graduation rate. Therefore, you need to make sure you take into consideration student characteristics such as test scores, GPA, and percentage receiving Pell Grants when you start comparing graduation and acceptance rates.

Is Your Flagship a Realistic Option?

Among the listed schools, 54 admitted 50% or more of students while five accepted less than 30%. This means that in some states, you shouldn’t use your state flagship as a baseline because you aren’t likely to be admitted. If this is the case, the smart thing to do is find the public university in your state that would be at least a match for you in terms of academic qualifications. Use this institution as your baseline to compare other schools.

Ultimately, using your state flagship university as a benchmark to compare other school is the smart approach to creating a list of quality, affordable colleges. Reviewing how it ranks in different categories can help you to decide which factors are important to your family in picking a college. And the sooner you start the process, the sooner you can find the colleges that will best meet your needs.

If you think this sounds like a reasonable approach to making a college list, you’ll want to get the 7 Days to a Smarter List guide.

Flagship Universities

 

Name	State	Full-time Under-grads	4 yr Grad Rate	% Admitted	Total Price In-State Students (16-17)	Total Price Out-of-State Students (16-17)	% Freshman Receiving Pell Grants	% Freshman Receiving Institutional Grants	Avg Amount of Institutional Grants for Freshman	Avg Net Price After Gift Aid (2015-2016)
Auburn University	AL	19,738	47	81	$30,458	$48,602	13	60	$8,996	21,698
The University of Alabama*	AL	28,689	44	53	$28,836	$45,316	18	56	$15,538	20,133
University of Alaska Fairbanks*	AK	3,398	15	73	$18,556	$30,764	26	40	$4,291	9,097
Arizona State University-Tempe	AZ	38,212	49	83	$26,263	$42,363	26	85	$9,681	13,007
University of Arizona*	AZ	29,597	42	79	$27,169	$50,367	26	74	$7,521	16,466
University of Arkansas*	AR	19,607	42	63	$24,302	$38,650	19	37	$4,894	15,411
University of California-Berkeley*	CA	26,622	76	17	$36,369	$63,051	23	53	$10,878	17,160
University of California-Los Angeles	CA	29,004	74	18	$34,056	$60,738	30	52	$10,657	14,236
University of Colorado Boulder*	CO	25,059	47	77	$29,215	$52,763	16	50	$7,327	22,727
University of Connecticut*	CT	18,131	70	49	$30,002	$51,794	18	56	$10,361	19,064
University of Delaware*	DE	17,556	71	70	$27,198	$46,618	14	67	$8,604	15,894
Florida State University	FL	29,185	61	58	$22,575	$37,741	26	44	$3,328	16,506
University of Florida*	FL	30,168	67	46	$21,251	$43,529	25	29	$5,019	14,761
Georgia Institute of Technology	GA	13,668	41	26	$27,420	$47,612	11	25	$7,944	13,340
University of Georgia*	GA	25,906	62	54	$26,208	$44,418	19	20	$5,179	14,956
University of Hawaii at Manoa*	HI	11,413	25	85	$28,613	$50,645	28	50	$6,271	13,520
University of Idaho*	ID	7,400	30	76	$20,640	$35,448	39	89	$4,746	14,787
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign*	IL	31,989	70	60	$30,064	$45,686	22	46	$8,410	16,683
Indiana University-Bloomington*	IN	31,728	60	79	$24,809	$48,667	19	55	$8,021	12,621
Purdue University-Main Campus	IN	28,682	49	56	$23,032	$41,834	17	43	$6,919	11,693
University of Iowa*	IA	19,911	51	84	$21,875	$42,113	23	75	$8,936	14,161
Kansas State University	KS	17,935	31	94	$23,740	$38,641	21	71	$5,192	16,431
University of Kansas*	KS	17,191	41	93	$25,215	$41,999	23	62	$7,202	18,014
University of Kentucky*	KY	21,199	38	91	$27,928	$42,778	24	67	$8,795	17,850
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College*	LA	23,602	39	76	$28,934	$45,611	24	57	$5,636	15,095
University of Maine*	ME	8,120	36	90	$23,992	$42,862	36	87	$7,615	15,763
University of Maryland-College Park*	MD	25,410	69	48	$26,063	$47,927	14	52	$7,705	15,757
University of Massachusetts-Amherst*	MA	21,098	67	60	$29,268	$46,501	19	65	$7,797	20,093
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor*	MI	27,258	77	29	$28,776	$59,784	15	49	$15,411	16,107
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities*	MN	29,168	61	44	$26,719	$36,383	19	59	$5,561	16,242
Mississippi State University	MS	16,023	32	56	$23,582	$36,702	34	81	$10,889	15,628
University of Mississippi*	MS	17,395	37	78	$23,606	$37,874	22	65	$7,944	14,678
University of Missouri-Columbia*	MO	26,027	44	75	$25,916	$42,290	19	64	$7,189	16,317
Montana State University	MT	11,671	24	83	$20,467	$36,766	22	63	$4,473	14,953
The University of Montana*	MT	8,682	25	92	$19,521	$37,047	39	52	$3,401	13,894
University of Nebraska-Lincoln*	NE	18,817	36	75	$24,245	$38,766	25	65	$6,035	16,462
University of Nevada-Reno*	NV	14,950	23	83	$23,500	$37,410	29	47	$2,243	15,022
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus*	NH	12,687	67	76	$32,200	$46,000	23	70	$10,540	23,066
Rutgers University-New Brunswick*	NJ	33,392	59	57	$30,995	$46,646	28	46	$7,579	15,614
New Mexico State University-Main Campus	NM	10,419	17	60	$19,144	$32,702	45	61	$6,217	10,213
University of New Mexico-Main Campus*	NM	16,126	16	58	$21,750	$36,339	41	70	$2,805	11,230
Stony Brook University	NY	15,714	52	41	$24,649	$41,889	33	66	$4,844	13,615
SUNY at Binghamton	NY	13,054	71	41	$24,861	$39,941	25	42	$2,941	16,540
University at Buffalo*	NY	18,452	58	59	$25,489	$42,729	34	60	$3,241	15,987
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill*	NC	17,645	84	27	$24,898	$49,980	21	41	$14,036	10,077
North Dakota State University-Main Campus	ND	10,676	27	93	$20,663	$32,227	22	41	$3,738	14,581
University of North Dakota*	ND	9,120	25	84	$20,414	$31,568	17	54	$2,969	14,693
Ohio State University-Main Campus*	OH	41,117	59	54	$25,847	$44,039	17	80	$8,626	17,971
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus	OK	18,347	39	75	$23,071	$37,193	28	75	$6,798	13,951
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus*	OK	18,133	40	71	$27,308	$41,630	20	80	$7,106	17,966
Oregon State University	OR	18,493	33	77	$26,341	$44,821	28	67	$4,966	19,484
University of Oregon*	OR	18,630	50	78	$25,815	$48,495	25	60	$5,934	15,355
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus*	PA	39,520	68	56	$35,758	$50,240	12	35	$7,656	25,055
University of Rhode Island*	RI	12,293	42	73	$28,405	$44,395	24	84	$9,165	18,391
Clemson University	SC	17,238	59	51	$28,662	$48,544	16	68	$7,153	17,797
University of South Carolina-Columbia*	SC	23,613	54	68	$26,288	$45,716	17	59	$3,202	19,913
South Dakota State University	SD	8,559	29	91	$26,527	$29,758	25	57	$2,382	21,421
University of South Dakota*	SD	4,961	34	88	$21,377	$24,608	28	67	$3,258	16,502
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville*	TN	20,569	43	77	$30,226	$48,646	28	47	$6,519	20,780
Texas A & M University-College Station	TX	43,531	52	67	$28,278	$48,456	24	54	$5,038	15,455
The University of Texas at Austin*	TX	36,565	55	40	$25,134	$50,724	24	36	$5,345	16,010
University of Utah*	UT	16,927	29	76	$22,834	$41,355	24	72	$5,416	11,322
University of Vermont*	VT	9,991	62	69	$31,960	$55,024	16	92	$14,447	17,816
University of Virginia-Main Campus*	VA	15,807	88	30	$31,186	$60,530	12	31	$16,142	15,945
University of Washington-Seattle Campus*	WA	28,377	65	45	$25,948	$49,986	19	38	$7,917	10,068
West Virginia University*	WV	20,532	32	76	$21,730	$36,226	27	66	$4,843	10,814
University of Wisconsin-Madison*	WI	28,555	56	53	$25,230	$47,480	12	35	$6,995	15,874
University of Wyoming*	WY	8,394	27	95	$19,615	$30,775	19	70	$5,359	13,155

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