<p>Hey all, I've narrowed my choices down to two colleges - The Ohio State University and Louisiana State University. These are motivated partially by financial concerns - my parents put a cap on what I can spend at 100,000, meaning that OSU is the only state school that's in-budget (I'm out of state but with a scholarship). I received a tuition exemption from LSU, so I would need to spend 10,000 a year there as opposed to the 25000 I'd need to spend at OSU, completely expending my "fund" and having to take out loans for grad school. Basically I'm looking at a whole host of questions - if I go to LSU, it would be with the intent to transfer to a place like UofC or WUSTL; I'd like to go someplace that would be "worth it." Chiefly - how difficult would it be to transfer from LSU (hopefully their honors college) to someplace like the aforementioned? If I attended OSU and transferred, are there transfer scholarships available for "high-class" schools like those to defer the cost? Essentially, I'd like some input from someone that has been in this situation, as well as general college-choosing tips from those who've had to choose between cost and a place they like. I do like OSU; the fact that they push undergraduate research as much as they do is a pull. Any sort of information would be appreciated, and I can elaborate on anything if anyone asks.</p>
<p>Tough one. With your G.P.A., I’m assuming you (currently) are not accepted to either honors program at these schools. If so, I think your chances are quite slim of transferring into Chicago or UWASH. If they did accept you, it is doubtful that they will offer you financing that will compete against current options. </p>
<p>Personally, I don’t differentiate LSU from OSU other than the first letter so I’d just go to the cheaper school. Once on campus, get good grades and get into their honors program, get good grades there and you will have a ton of options for graduate school study.</p>
<p>I think it is a safe bet to say that neither Wash U nor Univ. of Chicago offers any merit awards to transfers. They barely offer any to freshmen, and the high school records of those who get any are really stellar.</p>
<p>I’m assuming you are not eligible for any need-based financial aid, since you don’t mention anything about it in the first post.</p>
<p>Re research, since you mention it in your title:</p>
<p>I don’t know enough about OSU and LSU to compare the two. You should look into what kind of research is going on in the field that interests you. Take a look at the web pages of various professors, see if you can determine who is doing what. Send an e-mail to the undergraduate director of the major/s that you want to do undergraduate research in and try to get a feel for the availability of undergrad. research options.</p>
<p>Depending on the field, you may not absolutely need the left-over funds from the 100K parental contribution for graduate school. Both H and I had full tuition waivers and stipends that covered living expenses (modest living) for all of graduate school. That depends entirely on the field, the university and your own undergraduate record.</p>
<p>LSU is not in the same class academically as OSU, but saving 60K is significant. That said, if you do well in undergrad, you may not have to pay for grad school, you could earn a fellowship what fields are you interested in?</p>
<p>I’m currently undecided, but I currently have an interest in Physics or Economics; both topics obviously have research components. I got better vibes on my OSU visit than the LSU visit, but I couldn’t do the student-led tour when I was at LSU, so the conditions were unequal.</p>
<p>Academic rating from the Princeton Review has OSU 71 - LSU 68. So we are not talking different tier schools here folks. </p>
<p>What big state schools don’t handle physics or Econ adequately? Maybe I’m wrong but paying more cash here doesn’t seem like an upgrade to another class of automobile.</p>
<p>RaoulDuke, in answer to your question above, both of the graduate programs I’m referring to are at large well-regarded public “flagship” universities. Certainly for economics, most graduate programs worth the investment of several years of your life have funds available to cover tuition and fees and a stipend. If they don’t, that means they don’t have external research money, and you don’t want to go there anyway. I don’t know much about physics, but the same is true of my field, molecular bio and biochem.</p>