Experiences at Ohio University

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Has a reputation as a good school.

I went to Miami back in the 1980s and Ohio U had a reputation then for being a party school and Miami was considered the best one in Ohio. Today those reputations are reversed.

One nice thing about it is the undergraduate focus on teaching.

They do Halloween right, too.

This is false. First, both schools were party schools in the 80s as well as now. Second, although Miami's reputation has fallen off a bit and Ohio's has improved, Miami is still the better school by every metric: graduation rate, incoming student stats, freshman retention rate, and so on.

Something else that hasn't changed since the 80s is the starkly different cultures at the two schools. Miami: wealthy, white, preppy, reasonably conservative. Ohio U: working class, not as white, not preppy, and surprisingly woke.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding? Ohio U is 82% white where Miami Ohio is 77%.

[Anonymous]

OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

[Anonymous]

Following this, as we toured OU last month and my 11th grade DC loved it. It quickly jumped to the top of his list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

Why not Ohio State instead of Ohio U, especially for a kid looking at a state flagship like UMD? Isn't Ohio U just Buckeye rejects who aren't preppy or rich enough for Miami Ohio?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

Why not Ohio State instead of Ohio U, especially for a kid looking at a state flagship like UMD? Isn't Ohio U just Buckeye rejects who aren't preppy or rich enough for Miami Ohio?

That's pretty harsh and incorrect. OSU is more than twice the size of OH, and many students prefer the smaller campus and class sizes.

[Anonymous]

People who have no idea why a student might make another choice -- well, you are the reason.

[Anonymous]

OU's HTC is great for students who are set on grad school

[Anonymous]

Nice community but a lot of the kids went to high school together so sometimes it's hard to break in to those established cliques.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

Why not Ohio State instead of Ohio U, especially for a kid looking at a state flagship like UMD? Isn't Ohio U just Buckeye rejects who aren't preppy or rich enough for Miami Ohio?

No, not at all. In fact, it's more selective than Ohio State. In my hometown, OU is where the smarter kids go (the ones that don't make it out of state go there and Miami), OSU is for everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Great coffee shops in Athens!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

Good to know. Hoping for a good outcome with career options if DC chooses OU.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

Why not Ohio State instead of Ohio U, especially for a kid looking at a state flagship like UMD? Isn't Ohio U just Buckeye rejects who aren't preppy or rich enough for Miami Ohio?

No, not at all. In fact, it's more selective than Ohio State. In my hometown, OU is where the smarter kids go (the ones that don't make it out of state go there and Miami), OSU is for everyone else.

The data refutes this claim.

Ohio State:

USNWR: #43
Acceptance rate: 53%
Middle 50% ACT: 29-32
Middle 50% SAT: 1310-1480
Top 10% of high school class: 64%

Ohio U:

USNWR: #178
Acceptance rate: 87%
Middle 50% ACT: 22-27
Middle 50% ACT: 1100-1260
Top 10% of high school class: 23%

FWIW, Miami-Ohio ranks in the middle in all categories. tOSU is far and away the best public school in Ohio by every quantifiable metric.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, I went to a W school in MoCo. My kids were raised in Northern Virginia due to the commute. They went to FCPS schools. Ohio University is a great choice. DS graduated from OU. If your student doesn't go to UMD, I can't think of a better choice. There wouldn't be anything I would choose in the state of Maryland. (I think OU is more enjoyable and pleasant than UMD and College Park. Certainly UMD instate would be hard to reject) OU has a beautiful campus. Nice size. Greek life is little/not noticeable - in that way, it's very different from Miami of Ohio. More liberal politically. A MoCo student would feel at home. OU professors are engaged and love the university. Students and alumni are happy and successful.

Why not Ohio State instead of Ohio U, especially for a kid looking at a state flagship like UMD? Isn't Ohio U just Buckeye rejects who aren't preppy or rich enough for Miami Ohio?

No, not at all. In fact, it's more selective than Ohio State. In my hometown, OU is where the smarter kids go (the ones that don't make it out of state go there and Miami), OSU is for everyone else.

[Anonymous]

Ohio State is in a city and OU is more rural if that matters to your child OP.