Are State Universities considered 'bad' ?

No, state schools are still very good. Some are better than most private schools, though you've got a bit of an assortment on your list. Clemson, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and SDSU are all very well known universities. Iowa, South Carolina, and Louisiana State are good, but not quite as good as the previous list. The rest are mostly just okay. Michigan Tech has a good engineering school, but it's not that well known, and it's in kind of a crappy location. University of North Carolina-Greensboro is a satellite campus of the more well-known University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill.

They are very good. You should enroll in them. No University is bad, really.

There are good state universities and not so good ones. The same is true for universities that are not state-funding. Georgia Tech is one of the best schools for engineering the USA. Partying is optional.

Your friend is Full of it. Cal Poly is a tough school. There will be partying everywhere, Especially at a private school or frat/sorority. Cal poly undergrads engineered a lighter nose cone for a Raytheon missle.

Look bro. Ivey leagues are the most prestihious but too say state funded schools are not as good is a lie. People pay $40,000 a year for a private school realize it made no difference where they went to school and end up in major debt w/ a job UC system of California is known nationally for in Science programs. Uni. of Santa Cruz ( state funded ) was rated the 3rd best Economics program... IN THE WORLD. You are actually BETTER of at a state funded school.

All the state universities meet the definition of `good`school. Also, Georgia Tech is one of the best engineering schools in the world. Especially automotive engineering. You would also like the atmosphere of San Diego State University. As for partying, all universities have a lot of parties. They are not mandatory.

Some state universities are better than some of the elite private "Ivy League" schools. Use the academic rankings, and don't worry about which ones are private and which ones are public. For example, Georgia Tech from your list far outranks LSU and San Diego State. Georgia Tech, Clemson, and Virginia Polytechnic(more commonly known as Virginia Tech) are the three best schools on your list. They have engineering programs that beat many private schools.

Out of those choices, I know that Clemson and Georgia Tech are great engineering schools. And if you care about location, Clemson is basically in the middle of nowhere and Georgia Tech is in Atlanta, a big city.

State schools are not bad. There are bad universities that are both privately and publicly funded. As a whole, generally the state flagship is the one called "University of [State Name]" rather than "[State Name] State University." In other words, in general, a state's best public college is not usually called a "State University" (but that might be my bias because I'm from North Carolina, where the University of North Carolina > North Carolina State University (opinion! :D)). So your friend might be getting his theory from that I suppose... Some of the best schools in the country are state funded, for example, University of Virginia, many of the University of California schools (especially University of California - Berkeley and UCLA), University of Michigan - Ann Arbor, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill, University of Illinois - Urbana Champlain, and University of Texas - Austin. These schools I just named are larger than the majority of private universities, and that stems from a different idealogy - specifically, these schools were created to educate the best students in their state, and to advance their state's economy, etc. They are not lesser due to their sometimes smaller tuition costs, they are simply more *affordable* due to state and alumni funding. The government backing a university does not have the magic touch of turning it into a party school. Large schools with successful sports programs do attract students with an interest in fun and socializing, but partying is going on at every college worth your time (this is coming from someone who has never touched alcohol or drugs). I'd look into the International Students prevalence, the availability of classes relevant to your major, etc. Also, since you are interested in three classes in the Carolinas, you should consider College of Charleston (it's a great medium-sized school, located in the heart of historical Charleston, South Carolina, with lots of old buildings (well, old for the U.S.). Learn more about studying abroad there with this link: http://international.cofc.edu/international-students/index.php (They don't have an engineering major, but they do have majors in Astronomy, Astrophysics, Chemistry, Geology, and Physics so there may be related classes you'd be interested in.) Also, you should look into a few private colleges, to see what it is that is different between private and public colleges here in the states, and determine what's right for you. You probably won't find much of a difference - my family toured College of Charleston and they were surprised to learn from me months later that it was a public university! What I know about some of the schools you are interested in: ---------------------------------------… Clemson U, South Carolina - really friendly (that comes with "Southern hospitality"), great for engineering, "college town" UNC at Greensboro - great International focus (Lloyd International Honors College), city full of the arts & culture (third largest city in NC, with other colleges nearby) Georgia Tech - great for engineering, in a great large city (I don't know much, sorry!) U of South Carolina - in the state capital, best International Business program in the U.S. (I assume that correlates positively with a good program for study abroad students), they draw in a lot of good students with their Honors College and scholarships East Carolina U - well-known for medical program, surrounding area isn't the best impression of America, may have the closest thing to the "party school reputation" that your friend was referring to, it's on (near?) the coast! edit... sorry that was so long. :D Also, after reading the comment about Greensboro being a "satellite" campus of UNC Chapel Hill - I'd like to say that I don't think this is not really true. It is another state university, and while it is newer and smaller, it is not an extension campus of UNC Chapel Hill as the word "satellite" may lead you to believe. It is a separate school with it's own colors, mascot, sports teams, etc.