<p>Hey all, I am an Economics major at Ohio State. I would just like to know everyone's opinion on Ohio State as a school. Is this a good major coming out of OSU? I do plan on going to a higher tier Grad school once done here. Thanks for your input.</p>
<p>It’s probably better than most majors there, but the school’s reputation will not carry very far. I’m assuming it has some kind of reputation in the region, but judging by Ohio’s economic woes: that doesn’t mean much. If you want to get an MBA, they’ll pretty much expect you to have great work experience. Your grad school effort is a good idea, but you might end up needing to get a job from your current level first. Try to make yourself stand out as much as possible and you might have to come to recruiters for some of the top companies on your own.</p>
<p>I think Ohio State is a fine school, of course i’m biased though.</p>
<p>Its a very good university, but of course it isnt an Ivy.</p>
<p>Some things about it</p>
<p>“U.S. News & World Report’s widely read rankings of undergraduate colleges in America currently places Ohio State as the 18th best public university and 53rd overall ranked university in America”</p>
<p>“China’s Shanghai Jiao Tong University placed Ohio State as the 61st ranked university in the world in their 2007 Academic Ranking of World Universities.”</p>
<p>“The Lombardi Program on Measuring University Performance at Arizona State University detailed analysis and rankings of American universities currently places Ohio State as the 24th ranked university in America, the 10th ranked public university in the country and the top overall university in Ohio”</p>
<p>“In 2006, The Public Accounting Report ranked Ohio State’s accounting department 9th in the nation for undergraduate programs and 10th in the nation for graduate programs. In each case, the ranking was the highest among Ohio universities.”</p>
<p>“US News ranks the undergraduate program at Ohio State’s Fisher College of Business 12th in America and the top undergraduate business school in Ohio. The graduate program of the Fisher College is ranked 22nd in America and is the top graduate school of business in Ohio. The Economist ranked The Fisher College as the 29th ranked MBA program in the world in their 2005 “Which MBA?” issue.”</p>
<p>There’s no contesting that OSU is a good and well-recognized institution.</p>
<p>Again, it is no IVY, but i’d be willing to be that in the next decade or so OSU will be within the top 5 of public universities.</p>
<p>Hmm. I didn’t know it was the #12 business program, and most people won’t, but aiming for #29 for MBA seems rather low and pretty irrelevant at this point in his career.</p>
<p>We understand it’s above average, but your bet is definitely a stretch.</p>
<p>Well i’m not saying that OSU is spectacular, but it is a great university.</p>
<p>And recruiters will know the top 20 business programs, so they will know that OSU’s is #12. </p>
<p>And if you think about it statistically - According to a random web search (reliable, I know) there are 2618 UNIVERSITIES in the nation. </p>
<p>If OSU is ranked #53 in America overall it is in the in the top 3% of all universities in the nation. That is pretty damn good.</p>
<p>If we look at the poll that ranks it #24 in America, that puts it in the top 1%. Also pretty damn good.</p>
<p>Don’t be ashamed that you go to OSU. It is a great institution. And from what i’ve learned on these boards its entirely probable that you can compete for the same positions that the people who go to Ivies try for, and be successful. The only thing is that you will need to make sure you have a higher than normal GPA for people who get the job, have extra work experience/extra-curriculars, and be a little more proactive at networking.</p>
<p>And skittles, OSU has been following a sweeping advancement program which has been steadily increasing OSUs rank since the late 90’s. If progress continues as it has it will be within the top 5 public universities in a decade or two.</p>
<p>One thing to keep in mind with Economics at OSU is that there is an Economics degree program in the School of Arts and Sciences and one in the Fisher College of Business. So it’s kind of what you make out of it. The people that I know who are pursuing the Business Economics degree generally pair it with another specialization, because there aren’t too many jobs just for economics majors.</p>
<p>Wow, I’m currently in Fisher and I didn’t even know we ranked #12 for undergrad business. I knew it was a respectable business program, but wasn’t aware it was 12. It’d be nice if Fisher moved into the top 10 by the time I graduate. Seems somewhat doubtful though if you look at the top ten list, but I’ll stay hopeful…</p>
<p>Does that make fisher ahead of other top-ranked business schools in the midwest: michigan ross, uiuc, iu-kelley?</p>
<p>i would guess not but am willing to be proven wrong.</p>
<p>You can look at those rankings, but they are very subjective. As people have mentioned, most Ivy leagues don’t even have Undergrad Business, so the rankings are definitely skewed. If you had a chance to get an Economics in Undergrad at Harvard or a Finance degree at OSU what are you going to choose?</p>
<p>It really depends on where you want to go. OSU is a great school for those who want to work in the surrounding area (Ohio, Indiana, Pennsylvania) but it won’t translate to a lot of upper level jobs such as IBD or jobs in NYC. That is true for a lot of colleges and universities though.</p>
<p>Jax, Fisher would come in 3rd of those schools you mentioned. Ross is a top-5 no matter what ranking you use, Kelly has a lot of national companies recruit there, and I thought I saw somewhere that a few people even got into IB from there. Illinois is solid, and I believe the accounting program is very good there, but I think Fisher is better all around. </p>
<p>You did leave out some pretty prominent schools in the Midwest though. Notre Dame (Mendoza) is the best school in Midwest for business, and then you have Chicago (Booth) and Northwestern (Kellogg).</p>
<p>People on these forums are all hyped on IB so when you mention a school that is out of the top 5 in those rankings there is going to be an uproar.</p>
<p>Tigers, I go to OSU as well, and from everything I have heard an Economics degree from there is useless unless you are going to have the grades to get a Masters in Economics (very challenging no matter what school you attend) or an MBA. Unless you have stellar grades (you have to be knocking around a 4.00) then you are going to need some work experience.</p>
<p>The main thing is don’t let people bash you in these forums. Any school in the top 50 of these rankings will set you up for a decent starting job (assuming you have a decent GPA) and then it is up to you to succeed in that job and decide whether or not grad school is right for you… At the same time, be realistic. Going to OSU you have no chance (well, slim at best) of getting into IB unless you have some very high up contacts. </p>
<p>Talk to career services though. I have been there a couple times and while the advising is not very good, career services places 90% (could be off by a couple points) of graduates within 3 months. They have a great alumni base and have a few big name companies that prowl around the campus (most prominently JP Morgan Columbus).</p>
<p>I completely agree with this.</p>
<p>Also, IB isn’t all its hyped up to be. </p>
<p>It is just a profession that carries a higher starting salary and a higher degree of prestige.</p>
<p>However, from what i’ve learned, although IB may start you out higher and get you more quicker, if you’re good in consulting or accounting the salaries will usually even out after 10 years of experience or so.</p>
<p>Also remember that IB has a very very high attrition rate, and is infinitely more dependent on the market to be a lucrative and sustainable career than accounting.</p>
<p>I’d be willing to bet that employers will value the experience you’d get working for the big 4 just as much as the experience you’d get working in IB.</p>
<p>I think that people on these boards think that IB is the beat-all, end-all business profession and the only way that you can make a some-what reliable salary of 150k+.</p>
<p>However, making 150k+ is easily possible if you are skilled at accounting or at being an actuary. </p>
<p>Please, correct me if i’m wrong on these points.</p>
<p>I would disagree a little bit OSU student.</p>
<p>You mentioned high prestige and high starting salary, isn’t that what most people want in a job?</p>
<p>The only possible way accounting would even get close to investment banking salary would be if that person was made partner, and if you look around these boards, becoming a partner is very difficult. If someone is still in investment banking after 10 years, then they LOVE their job and I don’t care how the economy is, they are going to be making some jack.</p>
<p>As far as what employers think, that depends on what field you are in. If you are going to get an accounting related job then the big-4 would more than likely help compared to working in IB. If you are going to move to different bulge brackets than there is no substitute for investment banking.</p>
<p>I guess the biggest difference is that accounting majors are more likely to get the CPA designation whereas any one in IBD will be getting an MBA. Again, it just depends on what job area you are trying to get involved with. There is nothing wrong with either, it’s just different jobs need different skills and different qualifications.</p>
<p>Both of the positions mentioned have extreme burnout, obviously IB more so than accounting. Everyone asks, “Should I get an accounting degree because it is the “safest” major?” and the resounding answer is no. If a person utters that question they obviously have no idea what accounting as a career entails or are very insecure.</p>
<p>There are two things that are guaranteed on this site. First, if the words “Investment Banking” are in a post then someone is going to get a hard-on. Second, 99% of the posters on this site who **** on everyone’s fire when a job or career other than IB is mentioned will never have a chance to be a banker or tried and failed miserably so they take it out on other people.</p>
<p>It just takes research and paying attention in school to figure out what you want. A majority of the jobs a college graduate can get (when an economy is decent, aka not in the recent past or now) can ultimately result in $150K+ salary.</p>
<p>As far as what skittles said about the economic woes, that is irrelevant. Go to any city or state in this country and you will find economic problems because of this recession. You are going to college to plan for your FUTURE. A lot of people are making their academic decisions based solely on what has happened in the past 10 years and what will happen in the next 2-3. The simple fact is (and you didn’t mention your estimated grad year) the amount of jobs available in the next couple years are going to be vastly different compared to the recent past and present. OSU has credibility nationwide (albeit not as much as the top-tier schools) and definitely in the Mid-west.</p>
<p>^^^TUOS is not thought of highly in the state of Michigan.</p>