<p>D was accepted to Case Western, Purdue and Ohio university. All were generous with financial aid. The bottom lines are thus</p>
<p>CWRU: Loans (for D) approximately $30k over 4 yrs and will require co-op to help pay for college
Purdue: Loans app. $32k over 4 yrs but coop goes to paying off loans (she was offered a $2k university backed loan it's hers not ours plus fed loans)
Ohio University: zero loans any coop money is D's</p>
<p>She will study ChemE at any of the schools. All are abet accredited. The decision between CWRU and Purdue is one of school type (small private research vs. large public research). Purdue I think has the edge in reputation. I guess my question is does Purdue's reputation make it worth more than $30k more than Ohio University? With either Purdue or OU mom and dad will not have to borrow money for her to attend, the only borrowing would be hers. CWRU would be tighter.</p>
<p>I’m cooping right now at a company where we have people from all these places. There is no difference in terms of number of recruits for each term. Now, in terms of education, I don’t know the differences. However, Purdue’s ChemE program provides a freaking awesome coop program. They make about $30/hr during their senior year.</p>
<p>Purdue is definitely slightly better on reputation and OSU is also very good but CWRU is a lot smaller - so the dreaded fit comes into play once again. </p>
<p>My younger daughter is double legacy at Purdue (like it gets more $ :)) and yet because it’s her I feel she’d be more comfortable in a smaller setting like Case Western (we’re visiting next year). OSU defies explanation regarding student size (a lot bigger than Purdue even but Columbus is very livable and one can find everything there academically or otherwise. </p>
<p>Look for courses / profs in areas of likely interest, research opportunities, and the like. Weather is a wash. Good choice to have.</p>
<p>Yeah, you tell them! Ohio University is definitely not Ohio State, one is a whole lot better. I’ll give you a hint, it’s the University that dates back to 1804.</p>
<p>Also, to speak on the matter at hand, it would seem to be if your daughter got accepted into schools such as CWRU and Purdue, then it would be safe to say that she is quite a bright young girl. This being the case, I would recommend that you look into the Ohio University - Honors Tutorial College ([Honors</a> Tutorial College](<a href=“Honors at OHIO | Ohio University”>Honors at OHIO | Ohio University))</p>
<p>I myself am not in it, but I do know a great deal about it. Essentially, the HTC allows students to have a much more direct and personal academic experience, as students typically work with professors one on one or in small groups.</p>
<p>Many students who get accepted into Ivy League schools choose Ohio University over names such as Harvard, all because of the Honors Tutorial College.</p>
<p>Pretty unique experience, but aside from that OU is great and the academics deserve way more recognition.</p>
<p>Ma510010: The engineering department doesn’t have a degree through the Honors Tutorial College. It did sound pretty unique though. Here in Ohio there are some biases against OU that permeate any discussion and have affected D’s opinion. She had one teacher when she asked him to write a scholarship letter tell her that he felt “she would do better”. Her mom and I feel rightly or wrongly that at the undergraduate level where you get an engineering degree is less important than getting the degree itself. OU would give her an opportunity to graduate with cash in the bank, not owing the bank. It might very well allow her to continue her education if she chose to do so and also give her an opportunity do study abroad or even do her engineering degree in 4 years and co-op because of her AP courses. The CWRU would completely tap our resources. It barely fits within our budget for 4 years and if something went wrong she’d have to transfer. Purdue is the school I THINK she’d most like to attend and frankly I think it’d be great as well. Financially, it is more secure than Case but would require some sacrificing such as graduating with debt. Purdue has both a 3 session coop and a 5 session coop. The longer one might help her cover the cost as it seems like Purdue’s co-ops pay better than OU’s co-ops. Sorry to beat the horse. This is decision week and we are clamoring for as much information as possible. I’m happy that she has these options and don’t feel she has a truly bad choice.</p>
<p>Ahhhhhhh, I misread your post, I was under the impression that she would be going into Chem. </p>
<p>To be honest, Ohio University really does not have the greatest engineering school. It’s a great school for many things, but if she truly wants to go into engineering, I would definitely have her go to Purdue. After all, Purdue was once THE preeminent engineering school. </p>
<p>Since I am not engineering, I do not believe I can say much more. I hope she makes a decision she is happy with.</p>
but Columbus is very livable and one can find everything there academically or otherwise. </p>