<p>Thought this was interesting as my DS happens to be one of many who is making his college home OOS. I'm sure the new financial aid policies at some schools along with the prestige of OOS schools have a powerful appeal. It will be of some interest to see how the strategies of Ohio colleges and politicians stem the brain drain of Ohio's top students.</p>
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Ohio State also is targeting more of its marketing toward high-ability students, said Blackburn-Smith.</p>
<p>"In 1995, 21 percent of our freshmen were among the top 10 percent at their high schools," he said. "We're projecting 55 or 56 percent for this autumn."
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I think that OSU's scholarships make it very tempting for top students to stay in state - especially those who apply to highly-ranked no-merit-aid schools and OSU as a safety. At the final hour, those students compare the programs and the prices, and OSU - with his merit scholarships and Honors Program, plus its fun Buckeye atmosphere and nice campus - wins. </p>
<p>I'm not surprised that the number of top students at OSU is increasing. But 55% in the top 10% of their HS classes? Now that is surprising.</p>
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I think that OSU's scholarships make it very tempting for top students to stay in state - especially those who apply to highly-ranked no-merit-aid schools and OSU as a safety. At the final hour, those students compare the programs and the prices, and OSU - with his merit scholarships and Honors Program, plus its fun Buckeye atmosphere and nice campus - wins. </p>
<p>I'm not surprised that the number of top students at OSU is increasing. But 55% in the top 10% of their HS classes? Now that is surprising.
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<p>In my DS case, OSU had the least desirable financial aid offer, even though he received an offer for a Morrill Scholarship totalling full tuition for 4 years. I've noticed that OSU has had a steady upward trend in the academic profile for at least 11 years now. The 55% number was impressive to me as well. It looks as if OSU and Cincinnati have invested more in attempting to lure more NMF caliber students.</p>
<p>I would imagine that many of Ohio's top performers are disproportionally affluent (no class envy here) and that would factor in exploring OOS options more readily. At my DS school, which is an affluent school, about 70% choose to go OOS. I think it is a mindset in that particular environment. The lucrative financial aid offers from elite schools make OOS relatively affordable to the high cost of in state tuition in Ohio public schools as well.</p>
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<blockquote> <p>OSU had the least desirable financial aid offer, even though he received an offer for a Morrill Scholarship totalling full tuition for 4 years.>></p> </blockquote>
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<p>Does this mean that your cost of attendance was higher at OSU than at any of the other school awarding your son financial aid? Full tuition for four years is an excellent award meaning your costs are for fees/books/housing/board...not a bad deal.</p>
<p>I guess that I will jump in here as I am an Ohio parent and both of my boys opted to go oos for college. For my guys it wasn't really a matter of wanting to go oos, well my youngest son really did want to go south, but each of mine chose the LAC where they felt the most comfortable. It wasn't really a financial decision just which school they liked best. For each of my kids their second choice school was an Ohio school. For my younger son Ohio Wesleyan was his second choice school and they offered him significantly more merit money so if the $ were the only factor he would have stayed in Ohio. However, we happily trundle down to Memphis several times a year because that's where he felt that he "fit".</p>
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It looks as if OSU and Cincinnati have invested more in attempting to lure more NMF caliber students.
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<p>Don't know how did you get that impression. The merit $$ for a NMF was full tuition + $4500 last year. It is only this year they cut that to tuition only. Several people got upset with me because I said that this move will make OSU less attractive to those top students. In our case, because of an additional $2550 state outstanding student award (don't know the exact name), OSU is our best Financial option in absolute $$ sense.</p>
<p>I have posted this before. Out of about 180 graduates from our HS, only 9 go to OSU this year. I think (don't know for sure) less than 55% of top 10% from this HS goes to OSU. I also don't know if any students from the HS got the presidential award. Based on my limited research, I think (speculation), OSU offers the top $$ award rightfully not to the best students, but the best students they think they have a chance to keep in state.</p>
<p>Disclaimer: Almost everytime I said something about OSU, some people will get upset with me. I am hereby disclaiming that I am just disclosing what I saw without any negative intention</p>
<p>Wondering too, how things will go for our state flagship, PSU. Seems that the main campus is very popular with more and more apps each year, but the fin aid changes from some of the top schools may make it more difficult for the honors college to snag students. PSU does not offer many full rides to top students. And the honors college scholarship is only $3500. Financial aid packages from PSU are dismal.
It is interesting to think about how the large state Us will compete once the student population decreases, especially if the generous aid packages trickle down to schools like Cornell, Johns Hopkins and Duke. From what I've seen, very few if any students will turn down a Harvard or Yale for the PSU honors college, but quite a few turn away the next level down. Not sure that will continue to hold....</p>
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Does this mean that your cost of attendance was higher at OSU than at any of the other school awarding your son financial aid? Full tuition for four years is an excellent award meaning your costs are for fees/books/housing/board...not a bad deal.
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<p>Yes. Compared to other typical OSU bound students, an excellent package. Compared to the other private school options and even an OOS selective public, the OSU offer wasn't in the stratosphere. No embellishing here. I understand that OSU as a public has certain financial contraints, but top elite universities, and LAC's (all ranked top 15 or above) made the choice from a financial standpoint a no brainer. The resources and level of academic prestige were as good if not better for DS intended major(s). Ironically, I'm a huge OSU fan, and DD (who also had numerous OOS options) will be graduating from there this Sunday with honors, but top students who are fortunate enough to have OOS offers, merit based or otherwise, make it tough to stay in state, all other considerations being relatively equal.</p>
<p>Thanks for sharing the link, and for sharing your comments about the in-state versus out-of-state trade-offs. My son will be at the Ross Program (based on the Ohio State campus) in a few weeks, as he was two years ago, so he is familiar with Ohio State. We have to deal with the same issues here: the in-state flagship university is my alma mater and my wife's, and a strong college for what my son likes to study, but we are curious about what might happen if he applies to out of state colleges.</p>
<p>My D will probably be an addition to this statistic since she doesn't want to consider OSU. Her reasons: too big, too much emphasis on sports, too many of her classmates will be going there, many crummy dorms. I am fairly certain she will be NMF and should therefore be eligible for full scholarship but she's just not buying it. </p>
<p>From my perspective while I really want her to consider OSU because it would be a financial safety, I really can't disagree with several of her points. There is WAY too much emphasis on sports, many of the dorms are really awful (4 people in a tiny two room suite with 2 bunk beds and an attached bath which they are responsible for cleaning), and the university is huge. The only Ohio school she is considering is Case but I suspect that she won't end up there either because of the weather.</p>
<p>Since my husband and I are likely moving OOS at some point in the next few years, what is in state now might end up being OOS.</p>
<p>After moving several times throughout the country, and dealing with many, many campuses, I just wanted to add a few observations about Ohio State. We also went through the whole process of visiting top schools, talking to deans, advisors, etc. and I have to say, without a moments hesitation that we have NEVER been treated with so much personal attention and respect as we have at OSU. Moving to Ohio, we were also afraid of the size and of being lost, but time after time, I find myself saying-THIS is the biggest school in the USA, and they treat us as if we are their only reason for existing--every question is answered promptly, people fall over themselves to help us out, the opportunities that they have presented to us are incredible--it is so hard for me to believe--and meanwhile, some of these very top colleges never found the time to return phone calls or arrange meetings--and expected us to pay much, much more in tuition and fees. This was, by far, the biggest shock I have encountered. The other thing that I have seen at OSU that is unlike any of the other dozens (and dozens) of schools I have toured over the years, is that, unlike sharonohio, I think that the dorms are incredible. I'm talking about Lincoln Towers, because those are the ones I'm most famililiar with--but I have never seen ones with so much room and offers so many possibilities for sleeping, studying and hanging out with friends. They are the nicest dorms I have ever encountered an any campus. In answer to DAD II, I know several students who received the Presidential Award and were accepted at very top schools, including Harvard, Columbia, and MIT. Anyway, I just wnted to say that while I was not thrilled about having to pack our house up and move again with my family-and I never thought that we would ever consider Ohio State because of it size, having the chance to really discover it and see everything it had to offer was the best thing about our move.</p>
<p>rcefn, did they publish the list of presidentail award winners? If you could give me a link so I could give some points to our DS for preparation.</p>
<p>I second about Lincoln dorm is one of the best. I was so impressed that we sent in our deposit in March to make sure we are in front of the line to get a spot in that tower.</p>
<p>To clarify about the dorms, I have never visited Lincoln towers but my son was interested in the biological scholars program and they are housed in northside dorms that are as I described. My daughter was at a flute camp and also stayed in northside dorms (3 girls for 1 week thought it was an awful living situation).</p>
<p>I do know that OSU has plans to replace these dorms but they do exist and comprise a decent percent of the available housing.</p>
<p>OP, I am also surprised at your comment about OSU had the least desirable financial aid offer among all of these schools: Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Denison, Bates, The Ohio State University, UVA, Rice, Vanderbilt, Emory, Swarthmore.</p>
<p>I guess it may be in the interpretation of "desirable". In absolute $$ wise, do you have to pay the most for OSU?</p>
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OP, I am also surprised at your comment about OSU had the least desirable financial aid offer among all of these schools: Amherst, Williams, Middlebury, Denison, Bates, The Ohio State University, UVA, Rice, Vanderbilt, Emory, Swarthmore.</p>
<p>I guess it may be in the interpretation of "desirable". In absolute $$ wise, do you have to pay the most for OSU?
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<p>If you take a closer look at these schools, many have no loans, caps on loans, meet 100% of demonstrated need or a combination of these factors. Some are overlaps and meet or get close to matching competing school offers. Note that most are private and can offer FA as it sees fit and makes it's own determination in defining merit. Ohio publics may not have that discretion. U Va although public, has a scholarship fund supported by alumni which can be very lucrative for desirable students. Even Denison had a much better FA package. So to answer your question, yes, all things considered, OSU had the largest "gap".</p>
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<p>5 of the schools mentioned offer no merit scholarships at all, although they reportedly can be very generous. </p>
<p>[Just not with my family (Amherst took an @$15K efc and turned it into @$25K out of pocket).]</p>
<p>Madville...Does OSU have the highest COST for your child to attend? I think that is what most of us are asking.</p>
<p>OSU Morrill Scholarships are awarded to outstanding minority students as far as I know. URM status can be a factor in aid and admissions at many universities.</p>
<p>We're sending 5/68 students to OSU next year from our affluent suburb (if there is such a thing in Toledo). Of the 5, I believe only 2 received any money to attend. Four other students received Provost Scholarships, but chose other schools. Here's our breakdown:</p>
<p>Public in-state - 31
Public out-of-state - 10
Private in-state - 8
Private out-of-state - 16
Community College - 1
Prep School (Year 13) - 1
Undecided - 1</p>
<p>Besides the 5 going to OSU, 12 are headed to Univ of Toledo, 4 to Miami Univ, and 10 to various other public schools here in Ohio.</p>
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Madville...Does OSU have the highest COST for your child to attend? I think that is what most of us are asking.
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<p>Yes, if DS had chose OSU it would have been the school that had the highest cost to attend.</p>
<p>At DS school, out of 67 graduates, only 7 chose to matriculate in state as of May 9.</p>
<p>The breakdown</p>
<p>Denison
OSU
Cincinnati
Wittenberg
Miami U, Oxford (2)
Dayton</p>