<p>My son received $13,000 in scholarship money from Ohio State, and $5000 from Univ. of Oregon. Though he loved visit to Ohio State, his heart is pulling him to Oregon (closer to home in So. Cal., etc) We have told him he will need to come up with the extra funds if he chooses Oregon, while we can afford to pay for Ohio State. It comes down to which is the better school, better networking post-college, etc. Any advice?</p>
<p>Seems like Ohio State at Columbus (#55) has higher ranking than UO (#101) from USNews National University Rankings. </p>
<p>My wife (MBA) and I (CS) both graduated from UO graduate school many years ago. We are now able to put my D and a S (in two years) thru college without being qualified for any aids so we know we received quality education there. It is as they say what you make of it. </p>
<p>From SoCal, it is still a two day’s drive. Eugene has a small airport so need to stop over Portland first then a twin-engine. Time-wise might not make much of a difference.</p>
<p>Even though I’m from OR, I generally think of The OSU (not to be confused with our OSU ;)) as being academically stronger than UO. As I’m sure you’re aware, the state of OR has had major budget problems, much like CA, and the universities have suffered from reduced funding and higher tuitions for several years. I’m not familiar enough with OH to know how their fiscal condition is in comparison.</p>
<p>I do like Eugene and haven’t heard great things about Columbus. And while a small airport, you don’t always have to go through PDX, there are direct flights from LAX (Allegiant) and 1-stops via SF (eg. United).</p>
<p>Networking might be stronger at OSU since it’s a much bigger school. Both places are likely to have a regional bias as well.</p>
<p>Just some random thoughts. They’re both great schools, best of luck on the decision!</p>
<p>I grew up in Oregon and am a proud Duck, although I’m now a Californian.</p>
<p>Sportswise, how can your S even consider Ohio State? 
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<p>Seriously, what is his major? I think that should play a role in determining the school. </p>
<p>Granted that OSU may be a ‘better’ school, but UO has wonderful networking, great faculty, and an outstanding college atmosphere. It may be in tiny Eugene, but it is just a few hours from Portland and Seattle with diverse industries.</p>
<p>I am an Ohioan and a purebred Buckeye. However, I will try to be fair.</p>
<p>I think Ohio State is where he belongs. It is a really good school that every year seems to get tougher to get into. There are so many good things happening and I don’t mean the sports- although that is fun too!</p>
<p>They have many programs and majors. Their political science is very strong- one of the best in the world. Columbus is an awesome town. Probably the best in Ohio. OSU is blocks from the Capitol buildings and many awesome shops and restaurants surround the campus. It is definitely not a commuter school and the kids who go seem to love it…the ones I know at least. I dont see how you could go wrong with OSU. I think the networking would be stronger as it is such a well known school nationwide. Plus, it is cheaper! Columbus has a great airport with lots of reasonable flights and easy to navigate.</p>
<p>And it is cheaper than Oregon! I don’t think you can go wrong with OSU- he will love it.</p>
<p>It might sound frivolous but I caught the So Cal note…</p>
<p>Eugene is DARK as in cloudy/rainy farther north gets dark at 3 pm in the winter (maybe slight exaggeration) But my sister went from the high desert to Corvallis, which is not even as dark as Eugene and almost killed herself with a bad case of SAD. </p>
<p>I can’t comment on Columbus weather, but how dark Eugene can get can be a shock. Of course late spring it is beautiful and light late…</p>
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<p>Eugene is 40 miles south of Corvallis, in same geographic region within the Willamette Valley, it is NOT darker than Corvallis. I do agree that climate can be a factor, some people have great difficulty with the gray days.</p>
<p>OSU has the better academic reputation. Ohio is very middle America. People are relatively friendly and down to earth. The economy is about average. The cost of living is reasonable and the unemployment rate is not sky high. I would guess that if a kid went to Ohio State, made the most of his/her opportunities there, and graduated with a degree in something practical with excellent grades, then he/she should not have too much trouble finding a job.</p>
<p>@entomom
Perhaps my transition was imperfect going from talking about Eugene in general to Corvallis in specific example. </p>
<p>Latitude-wise, they are the same in my mind, but Eugene seems darker (TO ME) because of the hills or something. I have less feet on the ground time in Eugene though, so don’t listen to me. </p>
<p>I was trying only to address the shock that one may not realize that it isn’t just the rain in parts of Oregon that makes it seem darker than a person from SOUTHERN Cali might first think. And that the dark might be significant. </p>
<p>For all I know Columbus is just as sun-dark as Eugene, in which case only weather temps / cloudy days will matter.</p>
<p>Weather in Columbus covers all four seasons. We were on campus yesterday-temps in the 70’s and the oval was packed with students sunning themselves, playing frisbee and chatting- enjoying a gorgeous spring day. Today it’s in the 30’s and overcast. Typical spring-never know what to expect. Fall is spectacular. Summer hot and humid. There will be unpredictable amounts of snow in winter but there are sunny days. My son loves Ohio State-he is in engineering. There are many opportunities at OSU-academic, tons of organizations, volunteering, internships, career fairs and recruiting.</p>
<p>Go for the best academics and financial best fit. Your son must be a good student to get that much in scholarships. The distance doesn’t matter since it sounds like neither is a go home weekends distance. The midwest is friendly (despite the sports rivalries among states) and the winters not damp and gloomy (in fact, the coldest days are usually sunny and central Ohio is not all that cold in comparison to many other midwest college towns). It will be good exposure for him away from the west coast. Have him think back to last fall when he chose where to apply to college. There had to be good reasons to choose a school far from your region. It will be a good experience to see another part of the country. He can always return to your area. Ohio is the eastern edge of the midwest and many students will likely have had family vacations all along the east coast- another frame of reference different from the west coast experiences where driving distances are vast. Tell him to go for it and not be afraid of leaving the west coast.</p>
<p>What are your net costs for both schools? Would much of the “savings” at Ohio be eaten up by travel costs? Is he going to be a kid that wants to come home often? As for networking, it is what you make of it. No school has fantastic networking if you don’t put yourself out there. If he is the type of kid that will take advantage of networking opportunities, either school will be just fine.</p>
<p>What major? Where does he want to end up living?</p>