<p>This is a follow up to my post a few days ago re a road trip this summer to Miami U . I have registered for a tour of Penn State on Tues July 23 midday and a tour of Miami on Thurs July 25 early evening. Given these perameters, what is your suggestion of one school to visit on Wed? (I don't want to overdo it.) I am leaning toward Ohio State in Columbus. My only concern is that it may be redundant together with Penn State, and that we would be better off with a Kenyon, Dennison, or Ohio Wesleyan. I am pretty sure the smaller schools will not appeal to my son, but I still feel he should be exposed to a variety. Thoughts?</p>
<p>I’d recommend keeping Ohio State on the list. They have better merit scholarship offers than Penn State especially for OOS students.</p>
<p>Agree with momofbassist. Although many Big 10s are almost interchangeable as far as campus atmosphere, Ohio State and Penn State are not. OTOH, my DS was convinced he wanted a big state flagship, and really liked them when we visited. Then, we visited some small and mid-sized schools just to compare, and he completely changed his mind on the big school thing and wants nothing to do with them. So, definitely worth visiting schools of various sizes to be certain of best fit.</p>
<p>You could even do OSU in the morning and Ohio Wesleyan in the afternoon.</p>
<p>What about Pitt, to look at a large school but in a more urban setting? Or Case Western in Cleveland?</p>
<p>Or, if you don’t want to go as far north, my son absolutely loved Dickinson.</p>
<p>Denison does have a cute campus.</p>
<p>I did not read your other thread, but child one just graduated from Pitt and child two just finished his first year at Ohio University. Ohio University is smaller than Ohio State and is in a lovely little college town. It also has some nice merit money.</p>
<p>To me PSU and OSU’s only major campus difference is size of the local town. Also State Colege cleaner than Columbus near campus. OSU is more on an upward movement despite recent Gee comments.</p>
<p>MD Mom, how far is Ohio U from Miami?
Son is digging in his heels about not being interested in going to a small LAC, so I guess we’ll stick with the big publics for this trip. There is always time next summer if he changes his mind. He wants to see Pitt and Ohio State, and maybe I’ll throw in Ohio U. We can hit one of them on the way home from Miami with my rising 9th grader in tow. Thanks!</p>
<p>Denison will be a smaller version of Miami. Ohio State will be comparable to Penn State. I think both are worth looking at. </p>
<p>I’ve done tons of college tours. I thought that Ohio State does the best job with marketing their school. If he likes Penn State I wouldn’t miss OSU to compare. I think you will be happily surprised. I have been very impressed with Ohio State. </p>
<p>Edited to say that I wouldn’t go to Ohio University this time. It’s a nice school but I would pass this trip.</p>
<p>Thanks deb922. Do you mind if I ask why you’d pass on Ohio U? I just asked my son which he’d rather tour if he had to choose and he immediately said Ohio State. He seems to be fixated on super large schools. Frankly they scare me. I know a small school under 2000 students isn’t right for him, but I was thinking something like Miami or Ohio U (in the 15,000 range) would be just right. Logistically, OU might be too far off our path, though.</p>
<p>Athens and Oxford are about three and a half hours apart, and if you take the Appalachian Highway from the Cincy outer belt, you’ll get a scenic rural tour along the way. I am forbidden from saying anything nice about OU, but it is worth a visit if you have the time.</p>
<p>I’d also suggest adding Pitt. It’s a larger school with a different vibe than the others, and an urban campus. I think it’s definitely worth a look to let him see a different school.</p>
<p>Okay, here’s our itinerary thus far:
Tues morning: leave NJ, drive to Penn State for tour on Tues afternoon. Drive to Pittsburgh in evening
Wed morning: Tour of Pitt. Drive to Columbus in afternoon
Thurs morning: Tour of OSU. Drive to Oxford in afternoon, tour of Miami evening, stay in Oxford
Fri: pick up daughter from Miami skating camp</p>
<p>At this point I either head straight for home or tack on one more school if there is something important I’m missing. If I want to sneak in a small LAC, which one would take me the least out of my way on my route from Oxford to NJ?</p>
<p>Denison and Kenyon are both more or less on the way, Denison slightly less out of the way. From Oxford, you can go north and pick up Interstate 70 to Columbus. Denison is in Granville, OH, about 40 minutes ENE of Columbus, and pretty close to Interstate 70 which will shoot you into Pennsylvania and connect with the Pennsylvania Turnpike SE of Pittsburgh.</p>
<p>Kenyon is in Gambier, OH, more like 1 hr 15 min NE of Columbus, but it’s a little more time-consuming to pick up the Interstate from there. Lovely school, though. As between the two, I prefer Kenyon, but its admission standards are a bit higher.</p>
<p>If you’re choosing between Denison and Kenyon to visit, I would pick Denison. Especially for a kid who is looking at large state schools. Denison has similar students and similar school spirit. Kenyon, while a beautiful school, pleases only a select type of student, even among those who are clear LAC types.</p>
<p>Granville is a lovely, lovely town. We stayed at Fraley House, a bed and breakfast.</p>
<p>Thanks. I’ve done a little research and I believe Kenyon would not be the right school to visit if it were just my son. But on the way home I will have my daughter with me as well and it might be a good fit for her. She’s all about writing and creating. Any thoughts on Ohio Wesleyan?</p>
<p>I think your planned trip sounds great. I also would pick Denison over Kenyon. As lisabees says it seems a better fit for your S. Kenyon is very selective. I would visit Denison as it would give both of your children a good idea of a LAC. If your D likes Denison she can visit Kenyon later. I think that visiting Kenyon would be something I would do if your child has an idea that they can get into and that they are very interested in a small rural LAC. </p>
<p>I’m a big fan of Denison and think that it would give a good overview of a different type of school than the others you are visiting. </p>
<p>Ohio Wesleyan has mixed reviews from people I know who have toured there. I’ve never have so I don’t have much to say. It might be worth a drive through to see if you liked the campus. I know that it is not as pretty as Denison or Kenyon or Miami, some of the prettiest campuses you can find.</p>
<p>I thought Ohio State does a fantastic job of stating how big they are and how they make the campus seem smaller while having that big school sports scene and various majors. They really try to combat the big school stereotype.</p>
<p>You asked me why I thought you should leave Ohio University off this trip. Many reasons but one is that it is pretty remote. Miami is close enough to Cincinnati that kids can get to the city easily and get to an airport (although I hear flying out of Cincinnati is very expensive). Although I think that OU is good if you are looking at their journalism school or their Honors collage (HTC) I think that Miami is better known and has a better reputation for many of their majors. I also am reading behind the lines and thinking that your S is looking for major school spirit. Miami offers more of that than OU, alums are very pro Miami as are OSU and Penn State grads.</p>
<p>Miami is about an hour a way from the Dayton airport which typically is much cheaper than flying out of Cincinnati. I like your tour. Pitt has a very different feel from OSU which is very different from Miami U. Another University that is on your way back is the University of Dayton. A larger (10,000 or so) private university in a small/mid size city. As a college and a city it would be half way between Miami and OSU. You have a nice mix of colleges.</p>
<p>thanks so much everyone! I’m excited the trip really seems to have come together in just a couple of days. Of course it’s a lot of driving but I was going to drive out to get my daughter anyway and this breaks it up nicely. I’m pretty confident we haven’t overloaded ourselves too much and have a nice variety to tour. Yes, my son is definitely going for the big school spirit idea but as many have mentioned, there are great differences even among large state schools. It will be interesting to see his reaction to the urban Pitt and Columbus campuses as opposed to Penn State and Miami, for example. Of course, programs of study will have to come into play at some point, but he isnt’ sure what he wants to major in. Unfortunately he’s been a bit of an underachiever academically (and certainly compared to a lot of the kids at our over-achieving tri-state area public high school) and I doubt he will graduate with more than a 3.5. I’m hoping he tests well, but I have no idea what his scores will be (he is my oldest and I don’t even know how to read the scores yet - they are so different from when I was applying). He will have four years of cross country and his Eagle Scout will be his biggest achievement. Can someone assure me that I am being realistic with my list? Again, things have changed considerably since my husband and I were in high school and we are still wrapping our brains around the incredible selectivity of not only the top private schools but state schools as well.</p>
<p>Are you leaving open the possibility of another trip to OH later? I know you said you don’t want to “overdo it,” but especially if you think one of your kids may be interested in a good LAC would seem a shame to not visit at least a couple of them while in the area even if that means taking an extra day. Why not visit Denison AND Kenyon? Or Wooster and/or OWU? I think Denison and Kenyon are only about 30-35 minutes apart.</p>
<p>I am biased towards Kenyon because I have a rising junior there, and I think stereotypes can be misleading. He’s a science kid who has yet to take an English course (to my chagrin) and he’s an athlete who feels a good deal of school spirit. The swimming team has won about 30 NCAA D3 titles in a row, except for last year (when they came in 2nd to Denison!). Kenyon may be somewhat “quirkier” than Denison, but the environment is very comfortable, and there certainly is not just one type of kid who fits in. I like Denison and Wooster a lot as well, and of course there is Oberlin which is a little further out of the way.</p>
<p>I would have the same inclination about a PA or New England trip as well, in terms of taking advantage of areas with a concentration of strong LACs.</p>