Ohio State vs Macaulay (Queens) vs UH...Torn between three vastly different schools

College Search & Selection
1

Hi!
If you know important/helpful info about any of three, feel free to scroll down and reply right away rather than read all this below, lol XD

I’m in a dilemma over which college to choose. I’m up for big scholarships at all these schools, and I am extremely grateful, but choosing between them is difficult. Any advice is highly appreciated! :slight_smile:

Quick stuff about me: I’m a NY resident and looking to go to college for education, specifically esl teacher education.

Ohio State-So, I first found out I liked Ohio State in 9th grade by looking up what schools have majors that I liked. Ohio State appeared on almost every list, having every major I could possibly ask for. Even though by senior year I realized OSU would be totally unaffordable, I still applied, was accepted, and was pleasantly surprised and positively thrilled to receive a full tuition scholarship via the Morrill Scholars Program.

Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Queens College-One day in 10th grade I googled “free college” and found out about Macaulay Honors College. Queens College has just about everything I want as well, but is frankly a little too close to home for my liking. I wanted to go away to college (if I do go, I might dorm, but it still wouldnt really be “going away” since its 45 minutes from home and practically down the block from where my Dad works). However, I decided affordability was more important, and Macaulay at Queens was my top choice for most of my high school career. I just received my acceptance an hour ago.

University of Houston-Then, this year, I got National Merit Finalist and everything changed lol. There are several schools that I could get full rides from, and I researched all of them, and decided I liked University of Houston the best, and made it my top choice for National Merit. While originally the National Merit full ride schools didn’t interest me, since most of them seemed to be unheard of state schools, the more I research UH, the more I like it. Full ride scholarship. Highly ranked undergrad teacher education program. Extremely diverse, which is something that I want. Also nice weather and alma mater of my favorite senator and favorite actor!

I like all three of the schools, and they are all sort of special me. And yes, I know I am blessed to have full tuition+ scholarships to all of them. Queens College is the only on I’ve toured. (I will not get the chance to tour the other two by the time the enrollment deposit is due. I’ve never even been to Texas or Ohio). It was alright (if I could take it and move it further away from home I would have loved it) but I didn’t like the commuter feel. My family also wants me to go to Macaulay, and is horrified at the thought of me going OOS. For me myself though, I think I want to go to UH. I feel like it would be pointless, if going to Queens College, to dorm since I live so close, but I also know there’ s no way in hell I’m staying home for college. I understand UH has a commuter feel too but from what I’ve read its not as bad (80% commuters at UH vs.99.9% commuters at Queens) and its becoming more residential. Ohio State is still in the running too though, since its not a commuter school (the college experience is something Ive looked forward to) and is also the only one I applied to because I liked the school, whereas applying to Macaulay and UH affordability was my main motivation.

Once again, I’m looking to major in teacher education. From what I’ve heard, where the degree is from won’t really matter, and since salaries aren’t that high, minimizing my debt is important. Therefore, UH is probably my best option, I would think. But Macaulay seems maybe more realistic. But I still can’ t decide! Gr!

Thanks in advance!

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If you’re planning to settle down to a teaching job in the NYC area, then Queens College may make the most sense. Consider getting an apartment with a couple of friends by the end of your first year.

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University of Houston with an 80% Commuters might prove to be disastrous for you. With most of the people going home on weekends, you might feel isolated there and an overall horrible dorm experience. I have read a few stories like this on CC from students who elected to attend Universities with a high Commuter population. The campus might seem deserted on weekends and/or at nights.

If you are sold on going away to College, then I would go to OSU, assuming you can afford the Room & Board Component for 4-years. I’m curious as to why you did not apply to any of the SUNY Universities, if you want to live on Campus for those 4-years? What about some of the other reputable Universities just outside of New York City (Sarah Lawrence College, for example).

Personally, I would attend Macaulay Honors College at CUNY Queens College, which a view at attending a graduate program at a elite University after finishing Queens College. You would be pretty much debt free after leaving Queens College and those 4-years will go by so quickly you might not imagine. If you become involved in a number of Clubs, Groups, etc. on Queens Campus, who could emulate that coveted “Campus Experience” (studying at the library and returning home only to eat/sleep). Doing a year abroad may also mitigate issues relating to going to College so close to home.

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@Psata82 I applied to SUNY Buffalo, Oswego, and Plattsburgh, and none of them are offering as much money as these schools are.

Wouldn’t that problem at UH also exist at Queens College, which is 99% commuters and half the size of UH?

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If you want to go away to college, have a residential experience, and live in another part of the country, I believe that you still have a shot at UAlabama’s Honors College under the NMF scholarship. The cool thing is that you can use the scholarship for 10 semesters - since they’re generous with AP credit, it means you can get your BA/BS and MA/MS for free (or almost)!
http://scholarships.ua.edu/nationalscholars/
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1549857-what-schools-did-your-child-pass-on-in-order-to-attend-alabama-p1.html

Since your goal is to teach ESL - a high-demand area- check that Ohio and Alabama’s license process is recognized by the State of NY. If not, is the process onerous? (Since ESL teachers are in high demand, I imagine that a certification from a state flagship would be easy to use in many states).

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I was looking into UA too but dorm is only paid for one year, and they also aren’t well known/highly ranked for education majors as the other three are.

I looked up reciprocity in NY, licenses from most states are accepted. However, licenses from Ohio and Alabama are only valid a certain number of years. Interestingly enough, professional certifications from Texas are valid for life. http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/levelcert.html

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Yes, but dorm for one year, that’s at least as good as what you get for tOSU (and you do get all kinds of perks with this, including a stipend you could use for dorm fees, not to mention that many students move in with friends their 2nd or 3rd year at large state universities), and the possibility to get a Master’s in the process is not to be underestimated since it’s important/required for NYS at some point. I wouldn’t say any of the three (especially UH!!) are well-known for education :slight_smile: and ALL teaching certificates are only valid for 5 years at the initial level. (If you have a master’s + 3 years of teaching, it’s different.)
You can also look into OU-Norman, UT-Dallas (with McDermott Scholars and others has a contingent of very strong students + less commuter than either CUNY or UH)? But UAlabama Tuscaloosa (the flagship) is the highest ranked of these and has the best honors college.

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A concern I have is that I highly doubt I would ever be able to just “move in with friends”, I’m just not that good at making friends. That’s kind of unrealistic for me. And all three are either known or highly ranked as education schools: QC is labelled by the College Board as a “Teacher’s College” and is considered the best public education school in the NYC area at least, and both UH and OSU appear in the top ten of NCTQ rankings. Anyway, between national merit scholarship schools its UH hands down for me. Not only is it one of the few that does pay dorms for four years, it also isnt regarded as a huge party school (I know I contradict myself lol, I want the “college experience” but I don’t want a party school. I guess I would like some sort of compromise) like many of them are and its also in an urban setting. My family will have an even harder time accepting me going to rural Alabama or Oklahoma, than Houston, TX.

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If you have trouble making friends, then QC is better than UHouston. QC is at least in a city that’s navigable and where you have family or acquaintances.
Unless you choose a residential college where students live on campus all 4 years, in most cases students will move out of the dorms after the 1st or second year. Typically housing is not guaranteed past freshman or sophomore year, except sometimes to students in the Honors college who choose to stay on campus (many don’t).

I’m not sure your list of rankings is all that useful - any ranking that has Lipscomb above William&Mary, or Mansfield (the worst of the PASSHE schools) above tOSU, is highly dubious. And yes, I saw that they mixed undergrad and grad programs.

You need to find information about state test pass rate, % majors who got a job by graduation, etc. Email each college on your list.

Tuscaloosa is actually a college town, much better for a student to navigate than Houston.
If really you can’t imagine going there (check out the forum on this website though), then tOSU or QC Macaulay are a better choice.

UHouston is NOT a party school by the way, and it’s definitely not a college where people go for the “college experience”. Many are adults who have lives and go back to their families, or students who live in their area and go back home after class. It’s a step above a community college but it’s definitely a directional college and it’s 80% commuter.

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Is there anyway the OP can visit University of Houston UH, and Ohio State before making a decision? If you visit, you should plan to spending a weekend (if possible) to get a feel for living on campus and other student’s perspective about living on UH Campus.

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@Psata82 Unfortunately, that’s out of the question, the enrollment deposit for Macaulay is due May 1 and I wont have a chance to visit tOSU or UH before then.

@MYOS1634 I’m not going to college to make friends, or to party. In fact, I was actually happy to see both QC and UH on PR’s Stone Cold Sober colleges list. tOSU and 'Bama don’t seem to be famous as big party schools, but from what I understand they are very passionate about sports teams, which probably means they’re both more of party schools then not. That’s another thing: I really don’t want a school thats overly focused on athletics, but I would like there to be at least SOME school spirit. From what I’ve heard, OSU is crazy about athletics. From my own experience on the campus, Queens College has no school spirit/pride whatsoever. I had to actually look up what their team name (Knights) was when I got home, no one there had even mentioned it. UH seems to provide a compromise: “Cougar Pride” does seem to be like an actual thing, but the school definitely does not seem to be completely nuts over sports teams like OSU. When I say I want the “college experience”, I guess for the most part I just mean I want to go away to college. I’ve decided that if I do go to Macaulay, I will be dorming for at least the first year, and thats not covered by the scholarship.

Rereading my posts, I feel like I’m being stubborn and defensive. But like I said, frankly, I want to go to the University of Houston. But I still think its worthwhile to have this thread to get some advice. I’m really sorry if I seem immature.

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The reason there aren’t parties at QC and UH is because nobody’s on campus over the weekend. So there aren’t any parties. Cougar Pride is exactly the same as Queen’s Knights - something that looks good on the website but that’s not mentioned in real life. This being Texas of course there’s a huge amount of respect for football players. True, tOSU is mad about football, as is Alabama. The difference is the breadth and quality of the Honors College at Alabama. As for OU, they enroll the largest number of NMFs in the country.
If you do Macaulay, definitely dorm. And some campuses do include housing in their Macaulay package, I guess not Queen’s. The residential experience is important since it brings
Try to visit UH in the coming month. It’s a huge decision. Spending an overnight there will help you see whether you like it (see if they can fly you in, email Admissions, say UH is your first choice as a NMF but you can’t afford to visit and many people say it’s a bad choice, can they help you visit?)
Understand that UH is the Texas equivalent of John Jay for New Yorkers, a solution for locals who want a cheap education, but no one with high scores would actually think of travelling 3,000 miles for it. That’s why people who actually know the school tell you it’s a bad idea.
Spend time on this list:
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/national-merit-scholarships/649276-nmf-scholarships-an-updated-compilation.html
Willamette would have a perfect residential experience, it’s an excellent school, and you’d see another part of the country. Contact them to see what they offer NMF’s. http://www.willamette.edu/admission/explore/index.html
U Cincinnati is a pioneer of co-op education, more urban than tOSU, perhaps more to your liking. You get instate tuition, room&board, + part of the OOS difference.
May 1st is the national deposit date.

13

As a National Merit Finalist, I’m shocked that you wouldn’t have been offered a significant sum to attend University at Buffalo. I agree with those who say Houston could be a disaster. Being VERY far from home at an essentially commuter school. Eek. I would go either OSU or the Queens option and make the best of it.

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Also, isn’t Ohio State pretty highly ranked for Education?

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@Trisherella I searched through Buffalo’s website and found no info about National Merit Scholarships. They offered me a pretty good financial aid package but not as good as these three. When you say a “disaster”, what exactly do you mean?

And yeah, Ohio State is pretty highly ranked for education, but at this point I think its the least likely of the three I’d choose. It’d be the most expensive, not as diverse as I’d like, possibly too sportsy and too much of a party school, and also the most inland (I do think beach withdrawl could be serious issue for me lol). It’s still in the running because it is one of the few schools that has a major for those specializing in TESOL, and also offers a lot of foreign languages.

Social life and activity on weekends really aren’t a big concern for me. As of right now, my weekends consist of working and volunteering at a local nature museum. I don’t really hang out with friends much or party nor do I intend to do so in college.

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I will buck the trend and suggest that U.Houston would not be anything close to a disaster. This student is fairly obviously a highly intelligent introvert, which is the kind of person who generally will be just as happy no matter the situation.

Not only do I think the “commuter school” issue is minor, it also appears slightly overstated. About 76% of students are from close to the Houston metro area, about half are from Harris County, and almost all are full time students. In other words, UH is not a commuter school for part time adults. Its students are of normal college age attending full time. Given that 32,000 undergrads are at UH, over 7,500 of them will definitely not be commuters. 10% of students are international, and another 10% are from elsewhere in Texas.

There is no reason to believe that even all of the Houston natives would commute. For example, my nephew lives on campus at the college in his hometown. His parents are only about 12 miles away. Plus, U.Houston now claims to have more beds on campus than any other university in Texas except TAMU; having just added new dorms for 6,000 students, for a total on campus capacity of 8,000 students (some of whom are in residential fraternities and sororities).
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/New-dorms-help-UH-shed-image-as-commuter-school-4758750.php

http://www.uh.edu/ir/reports/facts-at-a-glance/Fall%202014%20Facts%20at%20a%20glance.pdf

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Something I’d like to add is that I’d like to teach English abroad for a while after college. Do any of these three have any international standing?

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It’s really up to you, although I think Queens College is probably your best bet, I also got into the program (for CCNY and not Queens) and they really do a lot for you, to help you succeed and get your foot in the door. I wouldn’t choose Houston though, as it would be a hassle if you wanted to go home. I’m fairly surprised you didn’t consider any SUNY schools, especially if cost is a driving concern, they’re highly ranked and offer pretty much every imaginable field of study. You could also get far enough away from home that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable and also close enough that you could get back if you needed to.

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I am looking at this from a completely different perspective than the OP, so my points are probably not valid. You should do whatever feels right for you. Good luck!

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I’ve talked to a lot of my teachers and most of them agree it is a tough choice but houston is probably the best bet. It’s the least expensive, extremely diverse (which is something that I’m passionate about). I’ve taken virtual tours of OSU and UH. I really like that OSU has a lot of tradition and spirit, but I’m not sure if its worth the $16,000/year for room, board, books, etc., to go there just because it has more tradition and school spirit. Right now I’m still leaning towards UH, I just feel bad that Macaulay was my top choice for so long.