Hello!
I’m a senior from Ohio who is trying to make decisions. Right now, my top two are OSU and Purdue. Since I’m instate, OSU is definetly the better financial option, but Purdue isn’t totally out of the question. I haven’t gotten to formally tour either campus yet, but I have been to OSU for football/basketball games and live in the area. We are going to see Purdue at the beginning of March, since they opened up some tours for admitted students. My major at OSU is Data Analytics, which I will probably choose to specialize in either Public Health or Business. My major at Purdue is Supply Chain Information and Analytics. I applied to honors at both and I’m waiting for those decisions.
Please share with me any info/opinions/experiences you have with these schools, so I can start to figure out what to choose!
My D graduated from an Ohio HS and attends Purdue (for engineering). I’ll preface what I’m going to say by adding that we moved out of state after her graduation so neither school would have been instate for us in terms of tuition (or at least for very long).
So first off, congrats on excellent options! Secondly, my gut is to go with the more affordable option.
That said here were our impressions of the two schools -
OSU is significantly bigger (66k vs 40K) and more urban feeling than Purdue (State capitol vs small town).
Purdue felt more pre-professional to our D, which was a positive for her but could be a turn off to others. Lots of focus on internships and co-ops. More opportunities for research at Purdue (at least for her major).
Both have tremendous team spirit and strong alumni support.
OSU = better football
Purdue = better basketball ; )
If you can visit this Spring, definitely go!
Congrats again!
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Thank you for all the input!
The Ohio legislature fixed its in state tuition policy recently to include a “Forever Buckeye” policy that allows Ohio hs graduates that were qualified for in state tuition their senior year (Ohio residents) to continue to qualify for in state tuition. So even if your parents move out of state or you leave the state to attend school out of state you should be able to continue to get in state tuition at Ohio publics.
https://www.ohiohighered.org/forever-buckeyes
If you choose Purdue and don’t like it, you can always come back to Ohio. My D loved her undergrad at OSU. She called one day as she was crossing the Oval to thank us for paying for her to attend the perfect school “Not too big and not too small” Um, it’s one of the biggest! But it does have a very friendly campus.
Congratulations on getting some great choices!
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Both are great options. Here’s my advice from experience. When you graduate from either school you will get a job in your major and be working side by side with graduates from OSU, Purdue, Cincinnati, MSU, PSU, Wisconsin, etc. All are excellent schools! You’ll have the same or similar roles as a new hire and be making the same amount of money. It isn’t worth the extra $20-25k per year to attend OOS for the same starting salary. Good luck and you will have success anywhere.
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Thank you, I didn’t know that was a thing!
That’s a very good point, thanks for bringing it to my attention!
I am very interested in this topic as well! My D21 is OOS in SoCalifornia and accepted at both. She has toured Purdue but not OSU yet. These are her top 2, but we re waiting for UCs here which even with perfect Stats there are no guarantees, every UC is a reach.
I am curious about weather at both, and more important for us is airport access? I’d love some insight!
Columbus is easier to fly in and out of. At Purdue your student would need to go to Indy or Chicago. There are shuttles but it can be a haul especially in the winter
Weather is roughly the same at both schools. Four seasons for sure.
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OSU is definitely easier to fly to, since campus is about 15-20 minutes from the airport. I think Columbus gets somewhat less snow than West Lafayette, but I may be wrong. Overall, both schools get all four seasons, so it will definitely be a change from SoCal.
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Some of this depends on your intended major and residency. My D was accepted to both for Engineering, and OOS scholarships at OSU would have made it slightly cheaper. But despite my grandfather graduating from there, my father teaching there, and me spending several years growing up in Columbus, we decided Purdue was the better choice.
If you live in Ohio, and are a non-Engineering/CS major, the decision is probably quite different. I can’t say I’ve followed other majors, but Eng/CS are Purdue’s strengths and I suspect they are roughly equal elsewhere. In those cases, the financial difference becomes important.
Also important is what campus just feel right - where a student feels he/she can be successful. After tours, this factor easily drove my D’s decision down to two (Purdue, VT), and the final decision wasn’t really that hard.
(Unfortunately, OSU basketball is currently ranked #7 and Purdue just lost after breaking in the top 25 for the first time this season. But they did sweep the season series.)
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