CU Boulder vs. Ohio State Uni. vs. WPI vs. Lehigh

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hi guys. I am an international student who has been accepted to University of Colorado at Boulder, Ohio State University, Worcester Polytechnic Institute and Lehigh University for engineering for fall 2011. Also I'm waitlisted at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Iowa State University.</p>

<p>I am having a tough time deciding where to go, and I have to make a decision quickly. Music scene is a priority in my decision. I am really into rock and metal music, forming bands and stuff. Apart from music, I also wish to have research opportunities at college, although I know they are limited for an undergraduate student. As for social life, I do party, but it's not a major decisive factor when.</p>

<p>I really like the small class sizes and the personal feel at WPI. But the lack of academic variety seems a little boring to me. Plus WPI has offered me the Presidential Scholarship.
Lehigh isn't offering any financial aid, so the high fees is gonna be a problem, though I think I can manage it.
CU Boulder and Ohio State are different from the above two as in they're public, much bigger and diverse. But I think that affects the class sizes, the teacher-student interaction, research opportunities and the entire feel of the universities, in general. </p>

<p>Being an international student I only have limited knowledge about these universities, so any inputs at all about any of these universities (including Rensselaer and Iowa) are greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Thank You.</p>

2

<p>Please reply guys. I really need your advice on this.</p>

3

<p>Strictly speaking academically Lehigh and WPI are more highly regarded academic colleges but you won’t have as easy access to a major music scenes. Colorado is a big party school and Ohio State is a big time sports school and they are many times larger than Lehigh and WPI which are small schools with small class sizes and better teacher to student ratios.</p>

4

<p>Colorado and OSU are much more than just party or sports schools. CU and OSU both have very good engineering programs and you don’t find many non-serious people in engineering after the first year–the others are gone into less demanding majors. And both would have plenty of research going on but have the plus of active sports and social scens for when you have time for them. Both are in good college towns with plenty of music and other things for students. Lehigh and WPI not so much.</p>

5

<p>Without a doubt, The Ohio State University is known as one of the most spirited college campuses and most well-known college in the country amongst the group of schools that you listed. The school was founded roughly 150 years ago as “The Ohio Agricultural and Mechanical College”. Therefore, its Engineering School is very well respected!! In fact, the highest ranked amongst the group of the schools that you listed via USNWR. Furthermore, its academic reputation and overall ranking are also the highest rated with the exception of Lehigh - a small university located in the town of Bethlehem, PA, which imho is no match for what Columbus has to offer especially for the International Students in terms of campus diversity, social atmosphere, shopping convenience, alumni network, and last but not least, global name brand. Best of Luck to you!! :)</p>

<p>P.S. TOSU has recent hired new Engineering School Dean from the President of a southern university whose credential included BS, MA and PhD Engineering degrees from the University of Cambridge. Academically, TOSU continues to rise amongst the Top-Publics imho!! Go Bucks!! lol</p>

6

<p>Thank you for all the knowledge and advice required_details, barrons and Sparkeye7. You have been really helpful. Anyone else, please ?</p>

7

<p>" Academically, TOSU continues to rise amongst the Top-Publics imho!! "</p>

<p>Which ones are those?</p>

8

<p>You mentioned music scene before, and I live in Columbus about 2 minutes away from the OSU campus. the college may get a rep for being all about sports and such, but Columbus as a city has one of the best, most underrated music scenes anywhere outside of Brooklyn. there are TONS of venues for local and small touring bands of any and every genre, as well as the newport for mid-size bands and the LC and Value City Arena for the big time bands and rappers. you will find a local band you love, no matter what you are in to, and if you want to make music, everyone is amazingly receptive. also if you live on south campus you will be right next to the Short North, one of the coolest art districts in the midwest.</p>

9

<p>" Academically, TOSU continues to rise amongst the Top-Publics imho!! "</p>

<p>Which ones are those?"</p>

<p>rjk, thanks for asking!! </p>

<p>Here are the lists on USNWR!! oh, I did see Michigan on one of them!! :)</p>

<p>—> [Top</a> Public Schools | Rankings | Top National Universities | US News](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public]Top”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/top-public)</p>

<p>—> <a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/up-and-coming[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-universities/up-and-coming&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Go Bucks!! lol</p>

10

<p>If the music scene is important to you, I would think TOSU would be the best fit of the four. Not everyone at TOSU is a top student but they find a way to make a quality education available to top students. Also a major research institution and a big sports and party scene.</p>

11

<p>Thank You for all your helpful posts, guys. I’ve narrowed my choices down to Ohio State and CU-Boulder. Please keep posting if you have anything at all to say about these colleges.</p>

12

<p>The scene at Lehigh and W are more like RPI’s. The environment at OSU and CU are very different. I love the city of Boulder which is quintessential American college town. Rents are very high there, however. But just as charming as can be. But Columbus is a decent sized city and OSU is right there. For environment, I would go to CU. Otherwise OSU.</p>

13

<p>Anyone with any info about CU-Boulder?</p>

14

<p>Hey, guys.One thing that’s separating the large public universities (CU-Boulder and Ohio State, in my case) from private ones like WPI and Lehigh is the small class sizes. The private universities seem to boast this factor. How much of a difference do you think it would make in the teacher-student interaction as well as the overall learning experience to have 20-30 students in the classroom as compared to a larger number of students in public universities.</p>

15

<p>I came across this old thread from 4 years ago and thought that it might provide you with some insight between WPI and TOSU. In general, TOSU’s general requirement/introductory classes can be huge, but once you get to the major specific classes in your Junior/Senior year, they are generally much smaller as the overall student to faculty ratio reflect similarly to those smaller schools such as WPI (14:1) and Leigh (11:1).</p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ohio-state-university-columbus/334845-osu-vs-wpi.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/ohio-state-university-columbus/334845-osu-vs-wpi.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>“Our undergraduate student-to-faculty ratio is 12 to 1, although class sizes at Ohio State vary a great deal. While taking introductory-level courses, students are likely to have some large classes. These larger classes are divided into smaller sessions – called recitation sections – that meet at least once a week throughout the quarter. Overall, 71 percent of our first-year classes have fewer than 40 students. And, as students move into their degree programs, classes more specific to their majors are generally smaller.”</p>

<p>Source: [Parents</a> FAQ](<a href=“FAQs for parents, guardians and families - The Ohio State University”>FAQs for parents, guardians and families - The Ohio State University)</p>

<p>Hope this helps a bit! :)</p>

16

<p>“Thank You for all your helpful posts, guys. I’ve narrowed my choices down to Ohio State and CU-Boulder.”</p>

<p>For overall quality of life, Boulder>Columbus. You’re right at the foot of the Rockies in one of the best college towns in the country.</p>

17

<p>Even though CU-Boulder is not ranked as high as TOSU academically via USNWR, and not as selective in terms of admission standards, I still think that it offers just as good of undergrad education and perhaps better option for the outdoor activity than Columbus when it comes to Skiing! Furthermore, Denver which is roughly the same size city as Columbus is about an hour and half drive away from Boulder. Therefore, I guess if cost is similar for you for both schools, whichever you end up attending is just as good as the other. Keep in mind though, when it comes to International Students, TOSU has roughly 8% compared to roughly 2% at Boulder and that student:faculty ration is 12:1 compared to 18:1, respectively.</p>

<hr>

<p>University of Colorado at Boulder</p>

<p>Admissions Data (2010):</p>

<pre><code>* Percent of Applicants Admitted: 83%

  • Test Scores – 25th / 75th Percentile
    o SAT Critical Reading: 530 / 630
    o SAT Math: 540 / 660
    o SAT Writing: - / -

    o ACT Composite: 23 / 28
o ACT English: 23 / 29
o ACT Math: 23 / 28

</code></pre>

<p>Enrollment (2009):</p>

<pre><code>* Total Enrollment: 33,010 (27,219 undergraduates)

  • Gender Breakdown: 53% Male / 47% Female
  • 92% Full-time
    </code></pre>

<p>Costs (2010 - 11):</p>

<pre><code>* Tuition and Fees: $8,511 (in-state); $29,493 (out-of-state)

  • Books: $1,748 (why so much?)
  • Room and Board: $10,792
  • Other Expenses: $4,696
  • Total Cost: $25,747 (in-state); $46,729 (out-of-state)
    </code></pre>

<hr>

<p>The Ohio State University - Columbus</p>

<p>Admissions Data (2010):</p>

<pre><code>* Percent of Applicants Admitted: 62%

  • Test Scores – 25th / 75th Percentile
    o SAT Critical Reading: 540 / 650
    o SAT Math: 590 / 700
    o SAT Writing: 540 / 640

    o ACT Composite: 26 / 30
o ACT English: 25 / 31
o ACT Math: 25 / 31
o ACT Writing: 7 / 9

</code></pre>

<p>Enrollment (2009):</p>

<pre><code>* Total Enrollment: 55,014 (41,348 undergraduates)

  • Gender Breakdown: 54% Male / 46% Female
  • 92% Full-time
    </code></pre>

<p>Costs (2010 - 11):</p>

<pre><code>* Tuition and Fees: $9,420 (in-state); $23,604 (out-of-state)

  • Books: $1,554
  • Room and Board: $10,164
  • Other Expenses: $4,716
  • Total Cost: $25,854 (in-state); $40,038 (out-of-state)
    </code></pre>

<p>Source: [Ohio</a> State University Profile - SAT Scores and Admissions Data for Ohio State University](<a href=“http://collegeapps.about.com/od/collegeprofiles/p/OSU.htm]Ohio”>Ohio State University: Acceptance Rate, SAT/ACT Scores)</p>

18

<p>Thank You everyone for taking the time to help me out here. A lot of the classes in the larger universities like Ohio State and CU-Boulder are taught by teaching assistants, while in colleges like WPI all the classes are taught by professors. Since some of you guys would have personal experience, I would like to know how much of a difference does it make to the overall learning experience? Are the teaching assistants knowledgeable enough to answer every doubt and curiosity-driven question that might arise in the mind of a student? I don’t know how college works, but in school, I was personally in the habit of asking a lot of questions if I had a strong interest in a subject, because then I couldn’t control my desire to know more, if you know what I mean.</p>

19

<p>“The scene at Lehigh and W are more like RPI’s.”
cptofthehouse, can you please elaborate on this?</p>

20

<p>Thank You everyone for taking the time to help me out here. A lot of the classes in the larger universities like Ohio State and CU-Boulder are taught by teaching assistants, while in colleges like WPI all the classes are taught by professors. Since some of you guys would have personal experience, I would like to know how much of a difference does it make to the overall learning experience? Are the teaching assistants knowledgeable enough to answer every doubt and curiosity-driven question that might arise in the mind of a student? I don’t know how college works, but in school, I was personally in the habit of asking a lot of questions if I had a strong interest in a subject, because then I couldn’t control my desire to know more, if you know what I mean</p>

<p>FALSE. Very few classes are led by TA’s. Mostly TAs cover the labs and or discussion sections which is where you can ask questions about homework/tests and the material etc. They may teach very intro level composition, basic foreign languages, and low level math classes like algebra. Classes for basic subjects will be larger-that’s the main difference. But if you want out of engineering at WPI you are screwed. At OSU or CU you just go to the office and change majors.</p>