<p>Hi y'all! Having a dilemma between deciding these two universities. </p>
<p>I really want to major in political science/international studies (which is what I am going to do at Emory), but for Ohio State, I just put in Fisher because I didn't know any better. I'm okay with majoring in business related majors, but my passion lies in politics. </p>
<p>That being said, Emory offered me a good amount of grant money, but that will still put me at around <70k in debt (4 years). Ohio State, <20k (4 years), but I'm pretty confident that I can get a lot of scholarships by keeping up my grades. </p>
<p>Parents can pay for both undergrad.</p>
<p>Which one, considering the fact that I want to go to grad school too?</p>
<p>I actually attended both schools, so I can probably help you out. </p>
<p>First of all, Ohio State is HUGE. You absolutely will be a smaller part of the community there than at Emory. If that is something important to you, you should keep that in mind. Emory’s entire student body is smaller than OSU’s undergraduates by half. </p>
<p>Second, I would consider that for a liberal arts program like polisci, a more prestigious private education is going to open more doors and connections in politics than Ohio State would. Polisci majors from large state universities are a dime a dozen, and those classes are huge as well. Though Emory is more expensive, it may very well be worth the additional money in your specific situation. </p>
<p>I think that a private education could help with graduate school as well, and Emory’s smaller class sizes mean you’ll have more of an opportunity to make an impression on your professors for those all important letters of recommendation. </p>
<p>I left OSU and I’ll be finishing at Emory and I don’t regret the decision. You may have other factors to weight than I did, but I find Emory to be superior, personally.</p>
<p>I agree wholeheartedly with the above post. </p>
<p>My son is in grad school and that is a competitive world in which to gain admission. Grad schools are going to expect that everyone applying has a high gpa and great GRE scores. But what will set you apart is the strength of your professor recommendations, and internships and experiences while in college. You should have great opportunities at Emory for research, and possible TA positions. </p>
<p>Unless you are in OSU Honors, Emory is the stronger option. Yes, you might be able to do everything at OSU that you could do at Emory, it will just require more effort to get those opportunities when you are competing with many, many more students.</p>
<p>Thank you SO MUCH for replying y’all! I’m so grateful! </p>
<p>@skribe I understand that OSU is huge, but strangely enough, that doesn’t worry me. It will take a lot of work, but I’m willing to stay and chat with the professors. I know Emory’s polisci department is prestigious, and I know that I will get the most from professors. However, OSU has such a strong alumni network, and their department for political science is world-renown while Emory isn’t much so (right? I have only heard of two Emory student experiences in polisci and two from OSU; both positive)</p>
<p>Also, if I’ll be at OSU’s honors and dig dig DIG for a professor’s attention, would it be more impressive to have a professor say that I stand out well among the thousands of students at OSU?
I’m so glad that you love Emory a lot. Convinces me that Emory’s alumni network is stronger than its reputation. And THANK YOU for telling your experiences. I am very grateful! </p>
<p>@snajean Congratz on your son! Grad school is competitive, and I believe that Emory would definitely mark a stark contrast among other applicants in the grad school pool. However, I’m not sure if it’s worth the price for undergraduate when I can also utilize internships, leadership roles, etc. at a state university where 10k people compete for those same opportunities. Not sure if that will appear more impressive to grad schools. </p>
<p>Once again, thank you so so much for your replies. You have inspired me to help others on CC as well :)</p>