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
In addition to the scholarship requirements, you also need to look at any entry into major requirements at the schools.
Run the numbers here: http://www.finaid.org/calculators/awardletter.phtml
Don’t forget to include your best estimate for transportation costs. And take a look at what your costs would go up to at Ohio U if your GPA drops. Is that cumulative or must you meet it every semester? If your GPA drops, do you lose the scholarship immediately, or do you have a semester to try to pull your GPA back up? If you lose the scholarship, can you get it back if your GPA recovers?
OP,
I am copying a long post that I wrote in another thread, where I commented at length about Ohio U. BTW, both schools are terrific, and both are similar in a lot of ways, though Iowa State is a bit larger. You should have little problem maintaining a 3.0 at Ohio U unless you seriously get caught up in its party culture (missing class and so on). If you are definite about studying engineering, I guess this would make the GPA issue a concern. Iowa State is the stronger engineering school, but others can perhaps tell you if the difference in money is that important to attend one over the other.
"I attended Ohio U for graduate study and also taught there for three years. I love this place. It has a bit of a reputation as a party school, but really, any large university will have a party scene. I taught English, and my students were ambitious and bright; they were in no way remedial, lazy, or under-achieving (there are exceptions, of course). I cannot say enough good things about Ohio U.
In terms of campus culture, it is my favorite place out of all the schools I have either attended or taught at. The campus is drop-dead gorgeous: hilly, tree-filled, with the Hocking River forming one of the campus boundaries. The buildings are all consistent–lots of red brick–and the campus definitely captures the idealized notion of a beautiful college campus. I am not gushing out of homerism. I went out to OH not knowing what to expect. Even now, I miss Athens dearly. The town is smallish (20,000-plus), but like the school itself, it’s not too big or too small. Court Street, which is filled with restaurants and bars, is the main strip, and it ends at the campus gate, through which is an open quad. Court Street is lively on weekends, but during the school week it’s also convenient. There used to be a shiny diner there, and I imagine it still is. Friends and I would eat there often.
Athens is in the foothills of Appalachia, so there are some beautiful surroundings, though economically the region is struggling (not Athens so much because of the university). If you need access to shopping malls or a sense of city, keep in mind that Athens is fairly isolated. The nearest big city is Columbus, about an hour or so away (not too far, though you’d have to be speeding to get there in an hour). Parkersburg, WV is 45 minutes away. When I lived in Athens during the early aughts, we’d go to Parkersburg because it had a Walmart and a few other big box stores. I’m pretty sure Athens has more of this now. On the way to Columbus there are sizable towns that offer these as well. Lancaster, for instance."