re: Where should my son go to school?

Appreciate the insights. Definitely looking at doing some touring but trying to narrow it down to 2 or so, realistically not going to tour 7 or 8 schools. Don't care about any rivalry stuff (the only one that would be hard to take would be Texas and that isn't happening).

UF has a lot of appeal but is probably a stretch school for him, the Class Rank issue is less but it's certainly a highly competitive school. Vandy is not realistic and not really a fit (great school, beautiful campus, really hard to get into, and insanely expensive).

Agree with the idea of the Land Grant/Sea Grant schools in general. LSU, Auburn, UGA, Miss State for instance. Maybe UT or UK. Clemson isn't SEC but it fits the profile. He has friends going to Arkie.

Not LSU. Unless you want him to work a drive thru liquor store and smell like corndogs, I'd steer clear of Louisiana altogether. They also live out life long obsession with Daddy BAMA. It's just not healthy.

You do realize that the vast majority of posters on this message board didn't even attend the colleges they pull for, much less graduate from the institutions, and probably have no affiliation with the schools other than pulling for their sports programs...right?

And you are coming on this same message board asking for advice on where your son should go to college? That's funny shite right there, I don't care who you are.

The one with in-state tuition if you’re not rich.

I have a family friend who did the JUCO to A&M route.

The high school ranking system in Texas can be a rough go at good schools.

School is overrated. Be a Instagram hoe/athlete wife.

I’m not gay I swear.

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I always thought I wanted my children to go to a great school, no matter the location, get a great education, become professionals, etc.

I had a talk with an older friend of mine a few weeks ago that changed all of that. His daughters were driven to be exceptional students and went to schools far and away and got advanced professional degrees and then married people they met at their schools and they and the grandkids live 1,000's of miles away from him and his wife. He said if he had to do it all over agin, he would have still driven them to succeed, but he would have encouraged them to stay closer because family is the most important thing at the end of the day.

Is that selfish? Maybe. But our children are our legacy and raising them and watching them raise their children is the greatest reward we can be given in life.

One of my greatest regrets in life is moving away after college and not living close to my parents as they age and as I raise children. They have my other siblings and my nieces and nephews, but I miss out on a lot with them, and they miss out on a lot with me and my children.

TL/DR-All of that to say this: encourage him to go somewhere where he's close enough to visit for you and for him. He may not come back, and you want to be close to him, and one day he'll want to be close to you. There are a lot of great schools in Texas and the SEC footprint that fit that bill.

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A lot of wisdom there and in all likelihood he ends up going somewhere in Texas (in state tuition alone is a huge incentive).

Still, seeing other friends with their kids I think there is value in letting them see what else is out there and look at the options with an open mind. In the end most of them that took that approach went on some fun trips to explore but ended up deciding staying close to home was the better fit. Then some did move away and were very happy.

My Dad always told me I could go to school anywhere I wanted but if I went to A&M he would pay for it.

South Carolina is a dumpster fire right now. Avoid it.

What about the Merchant Marine Academy if he wants to work in the maritime industry? It's not in the south, but that's not always a bad thing.

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I guess you're speaking from a Bama standpoint.

US News National Ranking:

14. Vanderbilt
30. University of Florida
47. University of Georgia
143. University of Alabama

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Having graduated from three of those, the only difference is the location. If you look at the specs for how they rate the universities, it includes M/F ratio, Student to Professor ratio, foreign students, etc, which has nothing to do with the education you receive.

Try again.