<p>This is actually my first post. I have been lurking for quite a while here, but finally got up the nerve to say 'hi'. I would like to thank everyone for the all the great words-of-wisdom that I have used to help my son get through the college search & selection process.</p>
<pre><code>With the majority of his acceptances in, the best contenders look like UMiami (florida), Clemson (honors), Ohio State (honors) & UConn (honors). Finances are a BIG consideration and all of these have come up with merit awards to make them equal (or close) to our in-state public schools (NY). Also waiting to here about full-tuition scholarships at Ohio State & Boston University, but not counting on it.
Things he is looking for in a college:
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<p>*Engineering Major - but not positive about this. I would like there to be other options, if he decides to change.
*Good School Spirit/Sports - he is big into Marching Band and will be joining in college. Likes the rah, rah!
*Good Academics - this is probably more important to me than him.
*A New Experience - wants to get off Long Island & experience new things.</p>
<pre><code> Any advice you can give will be very much appreciated!
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<p>If money isn't an issue, I would personally pick Miami. Lets face it: fabulous weather and fabulous school spirit and sports and good academics. Also, it has a lot less beauracracy than at a state school such as Ohio State. They also give a slight preference to their undergrads for their graduate and professional schools. </p>
<p>If money is a big issue, pick Ohio State. It has strong engineering program, very good school spirit and being a midwest school,certainly will be a different learning experience over your long island upbringing. </p>
<p>By the way, I was from long island too, although many years ago.</p>
<p>Means "The Best Damn Band In The Land", the motto of the Ohio State University Marching Band.</p>
<p>Ohio State would be an excellent pick, especially on full scholarship. However, audtions for band membership are <em>very</em> competitive, and every member has to audition for membership every year, even upperclassmen. It's probably easier to get into Harvard than the OSU Band. :)</p>
<p>Your son would certainly enjoy his time in Columbus, except for the weather. Miami looks better in January and February. :)</p>
<p>MY S's first pick was Miami until another money offer and scholar opportunities came his way.His offer from them was 3/4 scholarship but costs still came to 18,000 or so a year.We're also from LI. He also wants big school rah rah rah.Can't beat Miami for that+location.Remember there's alot of New Yorkers there so if he's looking to really get away it might not be the best choice.S rejected U Conn after visiting due to location or lack thereof! Really need a car there but transporting to and from the Island is easy due to Port Jeff ferry.Didnt think much of their Honors setup but you dont think thats too important to your S? Ohio State would be a good choice,whole different location,really rah rah.Midwestern feel is nice for a LIslander,friendly,slower pace.My S was seduced by the South,good manners and hospitality, when he visited U S Carolina and is picking it.We heard lots of good things about Clemson from the local kids and parents,its the other choice for lots of those kids from Carolina.Just my two cents for what its worth!</p>
<p>A ditto with Radionicist on the Ohio State band - not my cup of tea in style of band, but certainly extremely selective, competitive, and disciplined.</p>
<p>Miami certainly has the school spirit, "experiencing different things", sports. It also has a reputation for up and coming academics. I will put in a good word for Clemson - might be a nice compromise - good weather, rabid school spirit, don't know about the band, academics not the best of this group, BUT, engineering is their specialty, and I think some of their programs are very solid, cost should be reasonable, also will be a new and different experience (and different from Miami). He doesn't have a bad choice, congrats to him!</p>
<p>I wish I could say I know something about UM, UConn or Ohio State, I've never visited. However, I can speak for Clemson. Our S competed for (did not win) the Clemson National Scholars program. We all fell in love with Clemson. Beautiful campus, nice people, lots of opportunity. As parents, we felt very comfortable with the environment for our S. We think it would be a great fit. Clemson has moved up the rankings significantly the past few years. At approx 12,000 undergrads it wasn't overwhelming in size either. My two cents.</p>
<p>Ohio State is one of my S's final choices. He was very impressed by the engineering dept and the advantages of Honors make it a very viable option. Out of the schools that you've mentioned, the band at Ohio State is the most well known.</p>
<p>The Ohio State band is all brass, hopefully he knows that and is not a woodwind player. I know someone who's S played Tuba in the band and it was a great experience. It used to be that it was hard to even make the band if you were not a Music Ed major but that has changed as OSU has become more selective. If I remember correctly engineering majors make up the most members of the band who are not Music majors.</p>
<p>Another things to remember is that at Ohio State you travel to all games and they are always in a bowl game so if he is in the band he will get to go somewhere over the Winter Holidays. I'm sure that it would be the same at Miami but I don't have any knowledge of UConn or Clemson.</p>
<p>Fans at Ohio State are very appreciative of the band. They love their football team, but they love the band almost as much. I don't know if he would get the same response at the other schools that he is considering.</p>
<p>My S was accepted at 2 of the schools you listed, UMiami and UConn. We know he would have been happy at UConn, but it was the first school he dropped from his list as other acceptances came in. The location is just not ideal and he too, was looking for a new experience. His final choice came down to UM and UMD-CP (Scholars). Even though the Scholars program makes a large state school much smaller, he felt a much more personal touch at UM. His comment after the admitted students day was that at UM they really care about their kids. He chose UMiami and has never looked back. I don't know anything about their engineering program, S is a biochem major, but I do know that the marching band is open to everyone. If you have questions about the band, ctmom on the UMiami forum has a D who participates.</p>
<p>Have you visited the schools? As others have said, there is not a bad choice on his list. I kept reminding myself that last year everytime I got myself worked up over "The Decision". Good luck.</p>
<p>Boy dudedad, now I'm not sure. But we do get all of OSU's games and I never remember them not having the band there. But maybe the band doesn't go to some of the smaller Big Ten venues. Non-conference they play smaller schools at the Horseshoe (next year I think that they play BGSU) or bigger schools such as Texas. I'm sure that they will take the band to Texas next year, can't imagine that they wouldn't. Here's the schedule for next year. <a href="http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/2006-schedule.html%5B/url%5D">http://ohiostatebuckeyes.collegesports.com/sports/m-footbl/2006-schedule.html</a> Maybe they wouldn't go to Iowa or Northwestern but if they are in the national title hunt, I would imagine they would find the money to go there.</p>
<p>Very big diifference in school profiles. Ohio State is a BIG school....huge. Not familiar with all that their honors program entails, but if he wants personal attention it isn't going to happen in regular classes at OSU..at least until upper division classes. The campus is enormous and can be a bit overwhelming as well.</p>
<p>We visited Clemson on a SE tour. Very pretty campus, small town is a short drive to Greenville which is a very nice town. Very strong emphasis on science, math and engineering which is why it has dropped on D's list (she was admitted) who is more liberal arts oriented.</p>
<p>Big time athletics, major marching band, lots of tradition and school spirit. He won't be freezing and performing in ice and sleet either.</p>
<p>Honors get the best (and newest) dorms (I believe they are suite style) and well located on campus. Clemson's location is certainly rural but the proximity to mountains, beaches and all around good weather is a big plus over Columbus. They have their own lake and golf course on campus as well......and then there are the southern girls who are very different from midwestern ( or northeastern) girls on the whole ...maybe it's the weather and time they can spend with outdoor activities....we certainly noticed the difference but that is another discussion.</p>
<p>I grew up in Ohio and lived in Dayton for a while so I know central/southern Ohio pretty well.</p>
<p>If you haven't visited both schools, if possible I would certainly do so before making a decision, especially when school is in session because they are VERY VERY different places.</p>
<p>As posted above, my D is in the U Miami marching band (UBAND...they have their own web page with 100's of photos if you're interested). She loves it! She is not a music major and comes from a HS with no marching band, so was a bit nervous about taking this on with all of the other<em>new</em> things, but it was the best thing she could have done. From the first day of 'band camp' she had her friends. By the time the new freshman were moving into the dorms, she felt like a veteran. They practice 3 days a week and then Sat.s are taken with home games- they generally travel to one <em>big</em> away game with a fun trip built in (last fall they went to FSU, then an overnight and day in Disney World). Of course they go to the bowl game as well (Atlanta this year and the previous) - all expenses are paid and they receive a stipend.</p>
<p>We are very happy with her UM experience...the school really has a small feel to it, the students living on campus seem to all have at least a nodding acquaintance. The campus is gorgeous. My D lives on a sub free floor which has worked well for her - next fall they are doubling the number. Transportation couldn't be easier - she generally gets a lift to the airport, and is home in 3 hours. </p>
<p>BTW...I live quite near UConn, so if you have any specific questions about it, I'd be happy to answer them
Also, D is home for spring break and said she'd be happy to take e-mail questions from you or your S.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your imput. Seems like many positive comments about Miami, Ohio State and Clemson. We have previously visited Miami & UConn and have already made plans to re-visit Miami during their Open House. I guess we should make plans to visit Clemson & Ohio State as well.</p>
<p>BTW, son IS a brass player (trumpet), so no problem with Ohio's band! I will pass along all this great information to my son. Thanks again! I'll have to post more often!</p>
<p>MY2ANGELS, Ohio State engineering grad here! As noted above OSU is huge but it is made up of a huge number of academic departments. This results in an academic environment which is very managable and in some instances intimate.</p>
<p>If you son does major in engineering he will probably be pleasantly surprised at the academic atmosphere within his chosen department. My Civil Engineering class totaled in the mid-30's, a size similar to many small LAC departments. I knew ALL my classmates and all of the teaching faculty knew all of us. Other departments like EE and ME are substantially larger but none typically confer more than 150 BS degrees annually.</p>
<p>Having said that, first year was a bit of a mob scene. Honors programs mitigate this to some extent. However almost all large lecture courses also have small recitation sections. Yes these are taught by TA's but I found most to be very helpful in helping me "master" the material.</p>
<p>I absolutely loved my 5 years(it was a 5 yr engineering program in those days) attending the Big Farm and met many amazing people including Hollywood comedy writer and Broadway "star" Bruce Villanch who is a wonderfully intelligent, zany and fun to be around personality.</p>
<p>So my advice on attending OSU would be-be wary of its size but do not be intimidated by it; take full advantage of the endless academic, intellectual and social opportunities OSU offers; form friendships which will make your time there a wonderful experience.</p>
<p>I attended Clemson coming from New Jersey many moons ago. The students are very friendly, lots of school spirit, lots of drinking, especially during football season. They have a very good engineering department. Very safe nice area, Lake Hartwell and the mountains are nearby.</p>
<p>The biggest drawbacks are that you are pretty much in the middle of nowhere which is why drinking is a major attraction. There are alot of in-state students, which is not necessarily a bad thing, just different, very Southern and conservative.</p>
<p>S and I visited Clemson on Feb 20. School is beautiful -- my s fell in love. The tour guides was very nice and knowledgeable. The honors dorm is new and next to the best eating facility with a bowling alley and ice cream right there. They let us walk around inside the eating facility -- numerous "stations" where food is prepared "exhibition" style (meaning each dish is prepared for each customer by an employee -- such as an omelette station, a sandwich station, chinese station, etc) Son couldnt understand why the "books" give clemson a C for food when that dining room was awesome -- food great and selection great (maybe the dining room was too new for the books).</p>