Hi with the number of scholarships I have received from both schools Iowa State would be 5,000 more a year and 20,000 more in 4 years.
However, for Ohio U I have to keep a 3.0 and Iowa I have to keep a 2.0.
I don’t really know how hard it is to maintain this GPA. I can afford both but I’m questioning if Iowa State worth 20,000 more for engineering or business
@Kingly71 - I doubt that you will get a solid answer, but I know what it’s like to ask a question and not get an answer so I will try to help a little. I have one son studying biomedical engineering at Miami University and another studying materials engineering at Iowa State (and a third graduating in May from Texas A&M in aerospace engineering). I think both are getting a solid education. We visited 22 colleges, so we have seen quite a few.
Engineering education is pretty standardized so you should get a solid education at either Ohio or Iowa State. Iowa State is much higher rated overall in engineering and has over five times as many engineering students as does Ohio. Iowa State also has outstanding career fairs in the fall and spring. My son was offered a co-op job during his third semester from a company that he interviewed with at last fall’s career fair. Miami does not have as many recruiters visiting campus, which would likely be the same as at Ohio, so likely you will have to work harder to get internships and jobs after graduation.
Although Iowa State is very large, it feels smaller. The engineering complex is in a great location, not far from good dorms, the student union, and Campustown (the area immediately south of campus). I like Ames and the campus is quite nice (not as pretty as Miami) but nice. Des Moines is about 45 minutes south. I had never been there before our first Iowa State visit, but I like Des Moines a lot.
The Iowa State engineering department is very well organized and seems to be quite student focused. My son has no problems getting into see his advisor, who is a full-time advisor, not a professor forced to also do advising. My comparison here is to the experience of my Texas A&M student. He has done very well there, but he had a very difficult time getting appointments to see an advisor.
You can directly compare the two schools statistically here: http://profiles.asee.org/
I don’t know anything about the business schools at either college.
Anyway, I hope this helps.
About that scholarship GPA requirement… engineering is a tough major, and sometimes getting a 3.0 isn’t going to happen despite the student’s best attempts (our experience!). If your child is a dedicated studier and focused, this may not be an issue. Our son had a rude first semester wake up call and discovered that his high school study habits wouldn’t cut it in a university setting. The forgiving scholarship GPA has been helpful while he refocuses!
I’d go with Iowa State for Engineering and Ohio for business.
Have you visited, attended classes, met students? If not, plan to do that shortly.