I have been considering some of the bigger state schools around me. I am an Ohio resident but right now Ohio state is the least appealing of the three. So I guess I am asking what these three schools are like as a whole? Are they pretty similar being large public schools? Also, I am most likely going to be a business major. Is it harder to get into the business schools than the other colleges within the universities, since they are all well-ranked?
P.S. I have unofficially visited Ohio state multiple times for football games and such, and I am scheduled to visit Illinois and IU within the next month or so.
Thanks in advance!
Having been to UIUC and IU, I would assume both are pretty similar, give or a take a few unique characteristics. As you know, IU’s Kelley School of Business is very well-known. My friend was a direct admit to Kelley with a 30 ACT and 1950 SAT.
IU is very diverse and the campus is beautiful. The dorms are also not terrible, especially Briscoe and Spruce. IU also offers many different language courses and has a very lively atmosphere.
@NASA2014 we have not gone over a specific number yet. However, my parents have said they are willing to pay more and take out loans if it is for a good school. The main thing that I dont like about Ohio state is that of the 400 in my class, about 100 will go there, and I don’t think I want to go somewhere that I will see everyone from high school. Also, a significant amount will be in the business school.
I would get an exact number from your parents, and not assume just because they are willing to take out loans that any school will be affordable. UIUC is going to be very expensive OOS. Campus is not as nice as IU, in my opinion. Kelley is a quality B-school.
@bomber1 You are fortunate to have such a great business school to go to at in-state tuition. The reason so many of your high school classmates will be going to Fisher college of business is its great value. Going to Indiana’s Kelley or Illinois’s college of business will cost you about $80,000 more over 4 years. IMO its not worth going into that kind of large debt for those schools when you are in-state for Fisher. My son is OOS for Fisher and is so glad to be there. We could not afford it if not for the national buckeye and other scholarship offered to high stat OOS students.
@trackmbe3 I understand your point, and if it comes down to it, I will most likely be happy going to Ohio state if I have to, but I really want to see what else is out there besides Columbus and Cincinnati.
Also, these are not the only schools I am applying too. I am also looking at notre dame, Loyola Chicago and northwestern. I just wanted to see how these three stack up because they seem so similar on paper.
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However, my parents have said they are willing to pay more and take out loans if it is for a good school. The main thing that I dont like about Ohio state is that of the 400 in my class, about 100 will go there, and I don’t think I want to go somewhere that I will see everyone from high school.
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You need to get some numbers from your parents. Rarely will parents happily pay more for a “similar school” (another similar flagship). Your parents may not realize that the tuition can be 2-3 times as much for an OOS student. Few parents are willing to pay a LOT more just so that their child won’t have to see some former high school classmates. To take out loans for that seems like a painful way just to avoid seeing some high school people.
In the end, you will likely find that far fewer than 100 from your high school class go there, unless tOSU is within commuting distance from your home.
The state of Ohio has tOSU, UO, MiamiO, Cinn, Akron, Bowling Green, Kent State, Youngstown, Toledo, other publics, many privates, and CCs.
With all of those options, it’s highly doubtful that 25% of your high school will go to tOSU. I look at my own kids’ high school class (where 100% go on to college). Only 10% went to the flagship, another 10% went to the other top state school, and the rest went to the other instate publics and to privates both instate and OOS.
What are your stats? Maybe there are some schools that will give you merit scholarships that will bring the price down to close to tOSU.
Miami-Ohio Fisher is actually a better Business school than tOSu’s, so you may have an instate solution that doesn’t involve having a fourth of your graduating class with you.
Indiana Kelley is an excellent college but is unlikely to offer scholarships.
What are your stats? Babson, Bentley, and Bryant are three excellent northeastern business schools. Babson meets 100% need but you need to have top stats. Loyola Chicago is another good choice, as well as DePaul, and why not Loyola Maryland?
Talk with your parents and run NPCs on Miami, tOSU, Indiana, Babson, and Bentley (for instance). See if they can pinpoint amounts they find affordable.
@mom2collegekids the 25% is actually true and I am willing to go to OSU if I have to but it is just not my first choice at all. About 75% (100% will go to college) of my class will go to OSU, UCincinnati, Miami-OH, Xavier, or Indiana, based on what is published by the school every year. It is not that I don’t want to see my high school classmates, (I love my school) it is more that I want to experience more than Ohio.
@MYOS1634 I have looked at Miami a lot and I have been there many times because it is pretty close to where I live. I just don’t like the feel there at all. Also, I am not sure about Miami farmer vs. OSU Fisher.
@mom2collegekids I am a junior and I am taking the next ACT. Based on practice tests, I will be around 30-32 hopefully but who knows how accurate those are. I have a 3.9 uw gpa a a ton of community service, peer tutoring, leadership groups and things like that. That should be enough for OSU. However, OSU has really been cracking down on in state admissions so it can still be unpredictable
@MYOS1634 I looked at babson for a while because my dad’s friend who manages m&a at Guggenheim (he went to Illinois) told me he loves students out of there, but it’s just so far from home I don’t know about it.
I wil chime in on the Fischer vs Farmer dilemma. Farmer is known as the better business school and is rated as so. I suggest you look up undergraduate rankings from Bloomberg to look at highly ranked business school that might spark an interest in you.
Would you pay ~double (an extra $20K each year times 4 years) just for the privilege of not running into a few HS classmates now and then? Bear in mind that TOSU-Columbus has more than 57,000 students.
If you really do want an out-of-state experience, and if you qualify for either need-based or merit aid, then you may get a lower net price at someplace other than an OOS public Big 10 school. Northwestern and other selective private schools give generous need-based aid to those who qualify. OOS public schools usually don’t (although a few do give good merit scholarships.)
@tk21769 the more I think about it, seeing a few high school classmates isn’t really the problem. I want to see more than Cincinnati and Columbus. While Indiana and Illinois may not provide that, I know that Loyola Chicago and northwestern will. That is why these three schools aren’t my only choices, I just wanted to see if they are very different from each other.
You need to take the ACT and SAT soon, to get an idea of what your stats will be. You may be able to get large merit elsewhere so that you can see another city/region of the country.
That said…paying a LOT more just to “see other US cities” isn’t necessary. You can see other cities for a lot cheaper in other ways.