The Best Public Universities in the Country (2024)

The college counseling company IvyWise recently hosted a webinar titled “A Look Inside Public Universities.” The discussion was hosted by two IvyWise counselors, both of whom attended public schools and both of whom have sterling resumes. Eric Sherman graduated from the University of Georgia and went on to receive his masters degree at Stanford before working in admissions at Columbia University and The New School. Mike Pichay attended the University of California at Berkeley, got his masters in education from Harvard, and then worked in admissions at Stanford.

That IvyWise, which, as its name suggests, tends to attract parents looking to get their kids into the most elite—private—institutions in the nation is illuminating the benefits of public universities says a lot about college admissions in 2024. Namely, how much recalibration has been going on ever since acceptance rates started plummeting into the low, single-digits at the nation’s most competitive schools, and even second-tier schools, and enrollment priorities and practices have shifted due to events like the Black Lives Matter movement and SCOTUS’ undoing of affirmative action. In short, the harder it’s become to get into elite colleges, and the more confusing it is in terms of who gets in and why, the more families are casting a wider net when it comes to selecting schools and, often, accepting that a student’s top choice is often a Hail Mary pass.

Increasingly, this has meant looking more favorably at big, public institutions, whose acceptance rates are generally higher due to the number of kids they admit. Schools like the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have always been regarded as “public Ivies,” bestowing as much prestige as their private peers. But now the University of Oregon and the University of California Irvine have inched into the competitive category and are becoming go-to destinations for top students. The University of Colorado at Boulder, which has a reputation for attracting kids looking to kick back and enjoy long ski weekends, is now drawing students, such as one engineering major who worked with IvyWise’s Sherman, who were admitted to much more competitive schools.

Sherman recently spoke with Town & Country about why public schools, which have long boasted benefits such as lower cost, extensive resources and research opportunities, and strong community spirit, are finally getting their due.

As a U of Georgia grad, you’re a big promoter of public schools. What are the benefits of public institutions that perhaps not all families are aware of?

“I think it’s just the breadth of possibility that these schools are able to offer. If you look at honors colleges [at public universities], they’re like a dream, because the honors college is the liberal arts experience within the framework of a larger institution, with all the resources that that affords: smaller class sizes; preferential housing options; in many cases, priority registration; and extra wrap-around support like faculty mentors or small seminars. I know as a former honors program student at a large state school, it also just meant you kind of had the best of both worlds, which I really liked. I had access to upper level and graduate level courses even as an undergrad. The president of the university was my advisor. And then I was admitted to grad school at UCLA and Stanford. If you’re a proactive student who’s eager to get involved, then you may choose a large state school which you know how to navigate versus students who will sometimes choose these smaller private schools because they need the support to be really accessible and within arms reach.

“Also, having done college visits more recently, a lot of times there’s more buoyancy and energy at these state schools in the information sessions and the tours than at the elite, highly competitive institutions. They’re not as warm and friendly. The vibe comes off as ultra-competitive. Often times, the students seem stressed. So I hear interesting reactions after the visits, because while the students will still remain attracted to the brand and the idea and the conception of [a highly competitive] school in the abstract, I think there can be an energy and a levity that might not exist at those schools.”

How are you seeing families come around to understanding the value of public schools?

“There are occasions where I will encourage students to apply to larger state schools either locally or in adjacent states because of the more forgiving levels of selectivity. What I find is that there are some of these schools that are what I call crowd pleasers. Every student I’ve sent to places like Indiana or Wisconsin or Michigan—whether it’s their first or they go kicking and screaming and it’s their last choice—they come back in a year and they’re like, ‘Oh my God! I can’t imagine myself anywhere else. I’m sorry I was crying on your couch when I got denied from Penn.’”

What other public schools are now popular?

“There are the usual suspects like UVA, UNC and Michigan. They’ve always had great reputations. Then the hot, new kids on the block are the University of Georgia, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of Washington, UC Boulder is big. The mid-tier UC’s are also on the come up: UC Irvine and UC San Diego are huge. Louisiana State University is another good one. They have a lazy river, there’s so much money. For students wanting to study business they have a really good program. Students really need to see it to conceptualize it. It’s beautiful and super well-resourced.

“Another one on the radar, especially for California kids, is the University of Arizona. They have a program called SALT, which is a dedicated program with built-in learning support, so students get tutors, mentors and can take specific classes. The University of Wisconsin and the University of Indiana are by extension basically like the University of Michigan just with different colors. The University of Oregon is another sleeper. I think some of it comes down to geographic preference. If you’re a California student and you’re not competitive for UCLA or Berkeley, then Oregon, Washington and Arizona are options that I see.”

Are there any drawbacks to applying to a public school?

“The challenge is that admissions-wise it’s tough because you can’t apply early decision binding” to state schools. “Large, public schools don’t have binding ED programs as a rule. So you can’t from a strategic standpoint indicated that a large, public school is your number one choice in the way you can with private schools.

“Every year I have a student for whom the UC’s are their number one choice. But they don’t receive UC decisions until March. So they apply in November and hear in March. That precludes them from applying binding ED to Duke, because then if they got into Duke (in December) they’d have to go without knowing if they’d gotten into UCLA or Berkeley.
“The larger, public schools do offer early action, the non-binding, program, though. And they’re trying to woo the top students. So they’ll admit the top, top students in early action to try to incentivize them to come. Because getting good news early is always nice.”