HELP DECIDING Miami U vs OSU

<p>I have been accepted to both Miami and Ohio State and they're giving me about the same amount of money… Now, I applied to Northwestern and Notre Dame, but I am almost certain I'll be rejected by both those schools so I am planning to attend one of these two schools. </p>

<p>I have been to both campuses and liked both, but I like Miami's better overall. I did like the location of OSU's campus but the "feel" wasn't as spectacular. I am planning to major in economics, but my real goal is to go to a top 14 law school so does anyone know which school looks better for top graduate/law schools? </p>

<p>Also, I know Miami is somewhat considered to be a "snob" school, but I personally like the elitist attitude of their students and I guess you could say I am kind of preppy. What I really liked about Ohio State other than their location was the fact that they have tons of minors you can pair with you majors. If I go to OSU, I can minor in judicial politics (which their website claims is nationally ranked), where if I go to Miami the best they can do is a poly sci minor… I would love any help students, or just anyone could give that would help me to make this decision.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t put too much weight on OSU being nationally ranked in an American Politics subfield (as it’s stated on the web site). For law you’ll need a high GPA and good LSATs. Both schools should be able to prepare you well. Where do you think you’ll feel more comfortable?</p>

<p>A second consideration for me would be Miami’s emphasis on undergrads.</p>

<p>where are you going to be enabled to do your best work? and, really, do some reading before applying to law school. the profession is changing and there are lots of recent graduates who cannot find salaries in the legal field that will allow them to service their debt.</p>

<p>IMHO, Miami gets my vote. OSU is so huge unless you are in the honors college it is too easy to get lost and too hard to get into classes. </p>

<p>^ I have to ask if the “too hard to get into classes” comes from direct knowledge? I have people on my team who are OSU grads and noone mentioned that difficulty.</p>

<p>“Miami and Ohio State and they’re giving me about the same amount of money…”</p>

<p>The amount of money being given isn’t as important as the net price. Are the net prices about the same? Are your parents fine with paying for the net price? </p>

<p>If the finances are in order, then go to Miami because you seem to like it better. Law Schools aren’t going to care more about either one, and they won’t care about minors or even majors. </p>

<p>Erin’s Dad, does 2prepmom mean the notorious problem of large state universities of having required courses subject to great demand that aren’t taught often enough to allow students to graduate on time? My S has one right now where instead of graduating this spring he’s going to have to wait til fall to take this one course that’s “only taught in the fall” but that he couldn’t take last fall because he had to have completed a certain pre-req before taking this all-important course. As 2prepmom mentions, being in honors programs often gives students a leg up on enrollment to these kinds of high-demand classes, although being in honors was irrelevant in my son’s case.</p>

<p>@jkeil911, I agree being in an honors program for early class selection is a distinct advantage. But smaller schools also have problems with students getting in to classes (both my DDs attended LACs and were prevented from taking the class they really wanted). I was just asking if this was a general statement or first hand knowledge. A general statement about large Us is less than helpful IMO.</p>

<p>Graduate of Miami, lots of friends and family that attended The Ohio State University. Congrats for the two acceptances so far. You have two very good options no matter what happens with your other apps.</p>

<p>One objective fact to consider beyond what has been mentioned- what are the law school acceptance/placement stats foe the two schools now? I assume they are similar, but if not, something to consider.</p>

<p>As far as the subjective - 25 years ago there was no comparison of the profiles of the two schools. At that time, Miami had just been mentioned in a book on the “Public Ivies” and tOSU was considered a safety school for most. tOSU has raised its academic profile considerably since then. Miami is still known as one of the premier schools in Undergrad education. tOSU is a large research university with amazing opportunities at a Graduate level but big numbers in the UG programs. Doesn’t mean you can’t/won’t have a great UG experienced there, but you likely will have a very different experience as an UG than at Miami. To some extent it comes back to personal preference (assuming financials are an issue). </p>

<p>One more comment on the Honors college discussion. My son has several friends who are Freshman in the Honors college at tOSU this year. I would have to say their experiennce (at least after 1 semester) was a bit underwhelming. </p>

<p>Miami is smaller, UG focused, preppy, greeky, highly respected business school, great launching pad to Grad school. Loved my time there and met my wife there - still get a Valentine’s Day card from Miami every year. tOSU is attracting more and more talented kids every year, huge with incredibly broad opportunities, certainly at a Grad level, and big time athletics.</p>

<p>Good luck. </p>

<p>we are in agreement, Erin’s Dad, but there’s a large difference between a student not getting into a popular course she’d really like to take and a graduating senior not getting into a course required for to graduate because the course is already over-subscribed AND only offered once a year. This latter kind of scheduling insanity is all too common at state unis and even medium size unis like the one where I teach, and applicants to these schools need to be aware that they run this risk in certain depts where they might major. </p>

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<p>Ditto for some of my friends’ kids. One has a professor - not a TA, a professor - whose accent makes his lectures unintelligible for her. Housing is tight as they are redoing dorms one by one, there were forced triples. </p>