Hi, I’m really struggling with which college I should attend. My shortlist has been narrowed down to OSU, Miami (of Ohio), Dayton, and Purdue. I live in Ohio, so Purdue would be the most expensive out of all of the choices. I’m going to major in either biology or psychology and I am going to pursue either medical school or grad school after graduating.
I know OSU and Purdue would have the strongest programs, but Purdue is a the most expensive out of all of the other choices even after scholarships. As for OSU, I visited campus twice and I was so overwhelmed. I did not like the layout and I did not like how massive the school was physically, or by class size. I loved Miami, but their programs are not up to par with OSU and Purdue, and program strength is among my main focus points. As for Dayton, I thought it was nice as well, but still not the best program-wise. Purdue was awesome, but since I want to pursue more schooling after my UG, I don’t want to be totally in debt after my UG. OSU and Miami would be the cheapest options for me after scholarships.
PLEASE HELP!!! I have to decide by May 1, but I want to decide earlier than that to get a good housing plan, roommate, etc. I’m really at a dead end here, and any words of wisdom would be GREATLY appreciated.
Congrats! You have been admitted to some great schools!!! The good news is that you can’t make a bad decision. Now it’s all about finding the right fit for you. If you were overwhelmed at OSU, maybe the size of the school is not for you and you should take another look at Miami. One thing to consider is that Miami is very focused on its undergraduate program and you might get some opportunities there that would go to graduate students at a larger research university. Take a look at their medical school stats and premedical studies comajor, which is geared towards students not majoring in the sciences who want to pursue medical school. OSU definitely has a stronger national reputation, but if you are planning to stay in Ohio for medical school and practice, I think any of those schools would be a worthy choice. Good luck!
I’m really confused when people say OSU is “too big” for them.
You’re going to have a large number of students in your classes if you are in a heavily populated major or taking a pre-req that a lot of majors need. You’re also going to have this at Purdue. You’re going to have this anywhere unless you go to a tiny private school or a school in a small town. Professors are accessible outside of office hours if you need 1-on-1 attention. For example, less than 10 people went to my organic chemistry professor’s office hours each week, and he taught 2 sections of about ~200 students. Now that I am in the second half of my degree, I have smaller class sizes. One of my classes literally has 10 people in it.
As for the school being “too big,” most of my friends, who are in different majors (including myself) have had classes in the same buildings semester after semester, on the same part of campus (except for the random gen ed here and there). Being pre-med, you’re probably going to have most of your classes be on north campus or at least in buildings not too far from each other.
Another thing you can do to make campus “smaller” is get involved with clubs and extracurricular activities. College is what you make of it, especially at a school like OSU. OSU is also far and away the better option of the in-state schools you listed, and you could even get into great research groups here that would further help you apply to medical schools after you get your undergraduate degree.
My daughter looked at Miami and OSU (only because I have a rule that my kids have to apply to at least one in state school!). Miami wasn’t for her, but I know a lot of kids who go there and love it. (I also got an undergrad degree at Miami many moons ago.) If that’s the one where you felt most at home, I’d definitely weigh that in your decision. She also felt that OSU was too big. JBuck7 is correct though. However, I can totally understand what you mean; in terms of both the campus and college town, it is more overwhelming than quaint little Miami.
My son looked at UD and found it “too Catholic.” I don’t think it really is. We are not Catholic and my daughter goes to a different Jesuit school and loves it. I think at UD we just had a tour guide who was really into the chapels and religious groups. One of my daughter’s best friends goes there and loves it. She’s in Engineering though. My son also considered applying to Purdue, but we too knew that it would not be very affordable. They give out very little money to out of state kids. He also didn’t like that it’s kinda in the middle of no where.
So, all of that was to just give you some other opinions on the campuses themselves. As far as the programs go, I have two thoughts:
*Miami - When we visited, we talked to a professor in the Kinesiology department. My daughter’s major is Occupational Therapy and Kinesiology would have been her undergrad major had she gone to Miami. When we asked about numbers of kids who go on to grad school in OT, the professor had NO idea. I have a feeling that it is very different for med school. I know someone there now who is in the process of applying to a ton of different med schools and his options look great. But I’d still ask someone there.
*OSU - We visited the OT program and spoke with the director of the program. Great school; however, the director told us that they give no preference to OSU undergrads for graduate school. In fact, she continued on saying that my daughter should take the easiest classes she can take to maintain a high GPA and invest money in preparing for the GRE (or whatever test she would have to take for grad school). She said that they are a big grad school – too big to look at things like activities and accomplishments. She said they only look at test scores and GPAs. This did not sit well with us at all. We’ve always encouraged her to challenge herself and learn as much as she could. Again, OSU is a great grad school with lots of opportunities for research. I know a ton of kids there who love it. It just wasn’t for us.
My D is a sophomore at Miami - Viola Performance/Pre-Med Co-Major. She loves the campus and is doing very well there. She also found the size of OSU overwhelming. If you’ve visited OSU twice and still felt overwhelmed, it’s probably a sign that it isn’t the right school for you for undergrad.
Miami has turned out to be a nice size - plenty of opportunities with a true focus on undergrad education. My D has had some fantastic professors and has found both her professors and advisors to be very accessible. We were able to meet with the pre-med advisor and several professors before my daughter committed to Miami. These visits were extremely helpful to my daughter in making her final decision.
