Ohio State - what are we missing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the thoughtful answer. Our in-state is Maryland which is comparable to OSU academically. But our daughter doesn’t love it and based on what we’ve heard from kids with comparable stats we think she might qualify for enough aid to make it similar in cost. Plus we really think she’d benefit from going away. College Park is quite close and we worry that she’d come home at the first sign of struggle.

Aid, or merit scholarships? Many state universities do not give much financial aid to nonresident students. Better check on that and run the Net Price Calculator. There do appear to be scholarships available to nonresidents.

Ohio state has merit aid and scholarships

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s in Ohio.

You don’t miss much.

Hard not to miss a shit stain!

[Anonymous]

I have a DS at Denison and I like the Columbus area. Its growing, the economy seems to be doing well, and the COL is attractive. As a young person starting out in life it seems doable.

[Anonymous]

Ohio State is a great school, OP. But it's not a school you should ask about on dcum. Remember, these are people who are incapable of seeing life outside of their little bubbles. They consider living in DC comparable with life in a real city, remember? And no. I did not go to Ohio State. But I would have loved it!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP,

My daughter is interested in engineering so we have looked at many large schools as her specific engineering major is impossible to find at private schools.

We have been to Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa State, UMD, Virginia Tech, UF, UT, and ASU.

What she liked about OSU
They have great merit and scholarship packages.
The campus is relatively easy to walk around (no hills, pretty compact, food and exercise close to all dorms and class buildings.)
A lot of school spirit
In an urban setting. Not in the cornfields
Change of seasons, but not 25ft of snow each year
A lot of options for extra classes and double/triple major without going in summers
A lot of student activities, IM sports, and clubs
The dorms and dorm system seemed to be pretty nice
Greek life is only 15%

What she didn't like:
The school spirit was a little too centered around sports and there seemed to be a deep divide between studious and not studious.
Kids were content, none seemed overly happy unless they were talking about OSU football.
Our engineering tour was terrible. Both ambassadors that toured were 5 year students. Neither with co-ops. That was a huge red flag for us.
Most kids were sitting alone at lunch eating, in the student union, walking around etc... That was probably the only thing that really stand out that was so different from other schools. Maybe it was the day, but it felt strange.
It felt very in-state. Even more than others that have more in-state. The admissions tour started with the kids coming in chanting OH-IO. We were like WTF.

Anyway, I think a smart kid who can self-advocate could probably be extremely successful there and get in with professors for internships and research quickly. It is not a cut through atmosphere which can be a positive as long as you know your child won't slack. It is probably a much easier place to be at the top of the ladder.

But there was something about it, that my daughter didn't like. She wasn't sure what. She didn't like VT (too rural, too conservative.) but I would say out of the rest OSU was second to last.

We went into Iowa State thinking that was going to be a bust and was so thoroughly impressed with the people, the spirt, the campus, and the love they have for their program. Same with Purdue. That was one of our favorite campuses. More urban feel than I thought and the happiest and spirited kids there. Even the engineering nerds were social and wearing Purdue gear.

So I wouldn't say it was a midwest thing. It was something else for us. That said, my DD's friend is there on a full ride OOS and is having a great time. I wouldn't go on anyone else's perception, but your own.

not op, but thank you so much for sharing your direct experience with several universities that are not typically discussed on this board!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP,

My daughter is interested in engineering so we have looked at many large schools as her specific engineering major is impossible to find at private schools.

We have been to Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa State, UMD, Virginia Tech, UF, UT, and ASU.

What she liked about OSU
They have great merit and scholarship packages.
The campus is relatively easy to walk around (no hills, pretty compact, food and exercise close to all dorms and class buildings.)
A lot of school spirit
In an urban setting. Not in the cornfields
Change of seasons, but not 25ft of snow each year
A lot of options for extra classes and double/triple major without going in summers
A lot of student activities, IM sports, and clubs
The dorms and dorm system seemed to be pretty nice
Greek life is only 15%

What she didn't like:
The school spirit was a little too centered around sports and there seemed to be a deep divide between studious and not studious.
Kids were content, none seemed overly happy unless they were talking about OSU football.
Our engineering tour was terrible. Both ambassadors that toured were 5 year students. Neither with co-ops. That was a huge red flag for us.
Most kids were sitting alone at lunch eating, in the student union, walking around etc... That was probably the only thing that really stand out that was so different from other schools. Maybe it was the day, but it felt strange.
It felt very in-state. Even more than others that have more in-state. The admissions tour started with the kids coming in chanting OH-IO. We were like WTF.

Anyway, I think a smart kid who can self-advocate could probably be extremely successful there and get in with professors for internships and research quickly. It is not a cut through atmosphere which can be a positive as long as you know your child won't slack. It is probably a much easier place to be at the top of the ladder.

But there was something about it, that my daughter didn't like. She wasn't sure what. She didn't like VT (too rural, too conservative.) but I would say out of the rest OSU was second to last.

We went into Iowa State thinking that was going to be a bust and was so thoroughly impressed with the people, the spirt, the campus, and the love they have for their program. Same with Purdue. That was one of our favorite campuses. More urban feel than I thought and the happiest and spirited kids there. Even the engineering nerds were social and wearing Purdue gear.

So I wouldn't say it was a midwest thing. It was something else for us. That said, my DD's friend is there on a full ride OOS and is having a great time. I wouldn't go on anyone else's perception, but your own.

not op, but thank you so much for sharing your direct experience with several universities that are not typically discussed on this board!

Regarding the no co-ops for engineering Ohio State, this is also true at UMichigan. Look over at college Confidential where posters talk about this in greater detail. Not every program does the co-op thing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a DS at Denison and I like the Columbus area. Its growing, the economy seems to be doing well, and the COL is attractive. As a young person starting out in life it seems doable.

+1

[Anonymous]

I think Ohio State will slowly start to increase as a destination for this area. Right now, the east coast colleges and the southeast colleges are hot. But eventually, kids from this area are going to start looking toward the Midwest. A lot of PP's have mentioned the pros and cons about Ohio State. As an Ohioan, here's what I see as the good and bad about OSU:

Good: Really big alumni network - everyone has heard of OSU! Columbus is a nice area. It's a good, relatively safe city, that is diverse and actually growing unlike many other Midwestern cities. The local economy is more solid than in Cincinnati and Cleveland. A kid could go to Ohio State and then stay in Columbus, working for the state or local government, one of the hospitals, Nationwide, or AEP or one of the many other companies HQ'd in the area. It's such a big school so you have many options for majors, classes, clubs to get involved in, etc.

Bad: The Midwest in general (outside of a few colleges already mentioned in this thread ... Northwestern, Chicago, Michigan, Pitt, I guess Miami OH too?) isn't a hot destination for non-Midwesterners for colleges (yet?) so OSU is still mostly in-state students. Football is HUGE. I've heard it can be difficult to graduate in 4 years if your classes fill up and you have a hard time registering.

I think it's worth a look. If you look at Ohio State, there's also Ohio University (a little smaller but still quite large, a little less selective, small town/rural atmosphere in southeastern Ohio, leans more liberal) and Miami University (also smaller but still a pretty big state school, attracts more out of state students, more selective, small town/suburban atmosphere, leans more conservative) to look at in Ohio. If you're wanting a big Midwestern school, I would also suggest taking a look at University of Nebraska.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hey OP,

My daughter is interested in engineering so we have looked at many large schools as her specific engineering major is impossible to find at private schools.

We have been to Ohio State, Michigan, Purdue, Iowa State, UMD, Virginia Tech, UF, UT, and ASU.

What she liked about OSU
They have great merit and scholarship packages.
The campus is relatively easy to walk around (no hills, pretty compact, food and exercise close to all dorms and class buildings.)
A lot of school spirit
In an urban setting. Not in the cornfields
Change of seasons, but not 25ft of snow each year
A lot of options for extra classes and double/triple major without going in summers
A lot of student activities, IM sports, and clubs
The dorms and dorm system seemed to be pretty nice
Greek life is only 15%

What she didn't like:
The school spirit was a little too centered around sports and there seemed to be a deep divide between studious and not studious.
Kids were content, none seemed overly happy unless they were talking about OSU football.
Our engineering tour was terrible. Both ambassadors that toured were 5 year students. Neither with co-ops. That was a huge red flag for us.
Most kids were sitting alone at lunch eating, in the student union, walking around etc... That was probably the only thing that really stand out that was so different from other schools. Maybe it was the day, but it felt strange.
It felt very in-state. Even more than others that have more in-state. The admissions tour started with the kids coming in chanting OH-IO. We were like WTF.

Anyway, I think a smart kid who can self-advocate could probably be extremely successful there and get in with professors for internships and research quickly. It is not a cut through atmosphere which can be a positive as long as you know your child won't slack. It is probably a much easier place to be at the top of the ladder.

But there was something about it, that my daughter didn't like. She wasn't sure what. She didn't like VT (too rural, too conservative.) but I would say out of the rest OSU was second to last.

We went into Iowa State thinking that was going to be a bust and was so thoroughly impressed with the people, the spirt, the campus, and the love they have for their program. Same with Purdue. That was one of our favorite campuses. More urban feel than I thought and the happiest and spirited kids there. Even the engineering nerds were social and wearing Purdue gear.

So I wouldn't say it was a midwest thing. It was something else for us. That said, my DD's friend is there on a full ride OOS and is having a great time. I wouldn't go on anyone else's perception, but your own.

not op, but thank you so much for sharing your direct experience with several universities that are not typically discussed on this board!

Regarding the no co-ops for engineering Ohio State, this is also true at UMichigan. Look over at college Confidential where posters talk about this in greater detail. Not every program does the co-op thing well.

I am the PP. My point was that both ambassadors for OHU were in the 5th year of straight college for a BA - no change in major. One was going to take 5.5 years to graduate. For those programs, that is not good. Being in an engineering program with co-ops, it is normal to go 4.5 or 5yrs. Without it, there is no reason to not graduate in 4 or 4.5 years. So it was a red flag for us.

UMD doesn’t do co-ops really either, but their internships are great and their 4yr graduate rate is super high. That is important to look into for your major no matter what school.

[Anonymous]

Cult-like. My DH is from Ohio and his sister went to Ohio State. EVERYONE in the state does that "O-H!" "I-O!" thing. I once joked that if Jim Tressel drank grape kool-aid on the 50 yard line, the entire state of Ohio would drink grape kool-aid, too. My MIL responder with a rather sincere and chipper "of course we would!". They're obsessed about THE Ohio State University and the football program, to an unhealthy degree, like no other place I know.

There is an honors college, for the PP who asked.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t have a good academic reputation. It’s a default school for every marginal student in Ohio. It’s huge and carries no weight outside of Ohio, which has no jobs anyways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t have a good academic reputation. It’s a default school for every marginal student in Ohio. It’s huge and carries no weight outside of Ohio, which has no jobs anyways.

This is not even close to being true. The "marginal" students go to a handful of other universities in the state. And OSU has a HUGE alumni network.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t have a good academic reputation. It’s a default school for every marginal student in Ohio. It’s huge and carries no weight outside of Ohio, which has no jobs anyways.

This is not even close to being true. The "marginal" students go to a handful of other universities in the state. And OSU has a HUGE alumni network.

Yeah the marginal students in Ohio end up at Akron, Kent State, Bowling Green, and Wright State and the religiously-affiliated colleges. Not Ohio State.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t have a good academic reputation. It’s a default school for every marginal student in Ohio. It’s huge and carries no weight outside of Ohio, which has no jobs anyways.

This is not even close to being true. The "marginal" students go to a handful of other universities in the state. And OSU has a HUGE alumni network.

Yeah the marginal students in Ohio end up at Akron, Kent State, Bowling Green, and Wright State and the religiously-affiliated colleges. Not Ohio State.

The best students who are staying in state go to OSU (honors program) or Miami. Used to be that Miami was better but that has switched in the last 10 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It doesn’t have a good academic reputation. It’s a default school for every marginal student in Ohio. It’s huge and carries no weight outside of Ohio, which has no jobs anyways.

This is not even close to being true. The "marginal" students go to a handful of other universities in the state. And OSU has a HUGE alumni network.

Yeah the marginal students in Ohio end up at Akron, Kent State, Bowling Green, and Wright State and the religiously-affiliated colleges. Not Ohio State.

The best students who are staying in state go to OSU (honors program) or Miami. Used to be that Miami was better but that has switched in the last 10 years.

Or the excellent privates: Denison, Kenyon, Oberlin.