Help Deciding Between Ohio State/Wisconsin!

<p>I have like... 50 friends who fly home with me (I'm not from the East Coast) out of Madison to DC. Kids from Montgomery Co. Maryland/DC seem to have no problem. There is a large DC population @ UW. They might schedule more during the peak times (Thanksgiving, Xmas, etc)</p>

<p>I don't know a great deal about these 2 schools (although my son was considering OSU and was quite impressed with it). When my son was down to his final 2 schools, the way he decided was how he felt about the department of his intended major.</p>

<p>Visit Wisconsin & make an appointment to talk with someone in the Business department. Have a list of questions to ask. Then see what kind of feeling you get. If you can, talk with students you see. Go with your gut, not with other people's opinion.</p>

<p>Most flights to madison connect at Ohare and there are tons of flights to Ohare from DC. A lot of people skip the connector flight and save some money by taking the bus that runs from Ohare to the UW Union many times a day. It picks up right at the Ohare terminals.</p>

<p>A2wolves, you gotta remember that alot of these kids here on these forums do tend to be "prestige whores" as you refer them as, and all they tend to think about is the name. I'm trying to show that college choice is way more than whats in a name.
All you others reading this thread, please please please remember that it is not all about the name, look beyond rankings, its all aobut personal fit. Why would anyone think you go to OSU just for athletics? Those people are ignorant folks who think about prestige everyday. Everyone feels they have to live by the rankings, and we need to really move past that notion. Transfer your quote, "Anyway, the fact that when OSU is mentioned you go straight to football (or basketball) says a lot about how the school is viewed.
" is in reference to those who, as i just stated, cannot look past the name.
IMHO, Badger, this decision is all up to you, don't rely on anonymous people on forums to choose where you are going to go, remember this decision will impact you for THE REST OF YOUR LIFE. If you have to, take a flight out to Wisconsin, poke around the campus, and see how you would feel if you were to attend there. Then, you can evaluate your decision based on the pros and cons, campus, the program strengths, and try not to look at just the name.</p>

<p>SenorMatador, I am glad to see somebody likes OSU on this board because my son wants to apply there. He wants the sports scene. </p>

<p>Is the OSU campus nice?</p>

<p>Oh ho ho... Wisconsin was named the best college sports town by Sports Illustrated - and please, OSU can't even begin to touch UW in terms of academics. The OSU football team isn't bad at all, but if your son is looking for a sports scene, have him take a good long look at UW.</p>

<p>As for OSU being a slum: I think its the worst campus in the US. My parents live in Columbus and I have partied/ been to OSU countless times. High Street is the pits (especially compared to other schools), the student off-campus area is literally in a slum (imagine boarded up houses next to student houses - almost every year there is a house fire), the twin-tower dorms are the pits, the campus buildings are mostly in the 60s red brick style that manages to still be ugly, the sky is always grey, etc, etc. Its depressing.</p>

<p>Visit OSU then visit almost any other school in the country. OSU is the pits. Sure it has a "national name" but its awareness - i.e. people knows it exists because of its sports team. I don't know anyone who thinks of its academics as close to top-notch.</p>

<p>Just got my housing contract in the mail today...the living arrangements at Wisconsin look much better than the ones at Ohio State. The dorms at OSU were freakishly small...</p>

<p>Which dorm did you get at this late date?</p>

<p>Hey, I all I said was OSU is a great school that I would attend without any delay. But so is UW. Make your choice based on what you think and how you feel -- did you visit either/both? What were your feelings? Go with those. </p>

<p>And by the way, if you do go to OSU, you should join the Honors/Scholars College, which gives you additional funding, preference in scheduling, and other benefits -- notably, a class trip with other Honors/Scholars (last year, they went to London).</p>

<p>UW > OSU</p>

<p>Yeah. That's about it.</p>

<p>
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the sky is always grey

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</p>

<p>I'm sure it's like that in Wisconsin. It's like that in all of the midwest.</p>

<p>Ohio State is a fine school. I don't know what your major is, but OSU has quite a strong philosophy program</p>

<p>dstark, the campus especially in the springtime and summertime (when alot are not there) is pretty beautiful to say the least. Alll the trees are in bloom and theres so much green all around. The campus is pretty big, as can be expected from a student body so large. Alot of the buildings, I will admit are older, but they have that certain "older charm" to them. When you walk inside however, it's completely different, and defies what you would imagine the outside would tell.
Badger, which dorms did you visit at OSU? Was it an older hall? Like the ones near Mirror Lake? I will agree with you, those are pretty freakishly small, but did you get to see any other dorms, like the ones more in South Campus like Bradley, Patterson? Those are quite much larger.
Can we also avoid some of the empty rhetoric peoples??? Like the last post "UW>OSU".... we're trying to help inform the original poster so he can make an educated decision, not trying to tear down another schools image, give some reason to your argument, don't just state something and not back it up. I'm pretty sure the one line stabs at another school don't exactly help the OP that much.</p>

<p>The upper midwest west of the great lakes is sunnier than the eastern portion. The great lakes add lots of water to the air and create more clouds.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
The upper midwest west of the great lakes is sunnier than the eastern portion. The great lakes add lots of water to the air and create more clouds.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yea, it's always grey in Ann Arbor. It's so depressing. As a matter of fact, it's grey right now.</p>

<p>Heck yeah, it looks like it's going to storm, humid as hell.</p>

<p>They are both respectable schools. You could get a good eductation at either, or you could just cruise through and not learn a lot. It really depends on your motivation. </p>

<p>Ohio state is not in the ghetto. When you hear people say that about schools, it's a good guess that they've lived in the suburbs all their life and are afraid of dark skinned people.</p>

<p>I haven't gotten a dorm assignment from Wisconsin yet, just a housing contract where I will list my choices. Senor, I am planning on living on South Campus (Park) if I go to Ohio State. </p>

<p>FYI, I was NOT offered honors or scholars at Ohio State. Therefore, I will be a "regular" student at both schools.</p>

<p>I think it all boils down to where you will be most comfortable at. You've been set on going to OSU for 3-4 months, have made arrangements, visited, and so on.. and now you're about to change your decision completely? I think academically, socially, and otherwise (weather? are we seriously aruging that? if you live in ohio now, you should be used to it), both schools have their advantages and disadvantages. I completely agree with cincistudent's comment -- you're going to learn, or you're not going to learn, no matter where you go.</p>

<p>Speaking of honors at OSU, did you apply? If your grades or ACT/SAT score are subpar for their program, they offer you a chance to complete an application and apply for scholar/honors. (I'm not sure if you are even interested in that, but I thought I'd throw it in)</p>