Hi everyone! I recently got accepted in ohio state and their scholars program. i’m waiting to hear back from scholarships and another program so i’m really hoping to go there.
anyway, I’m south asian (Indian to be specific) and i’m from a VERY culturally diverse area in maryland. i’m use to diversity and different cultures/races as i’m sure the majority of you are
however the OSU student body is 72% white and only 5% asian. i was just wondering if any of you who have heard about, go there, or have any friends there could tell me what the student body is liek. i have friends at clemson and USC who say that certain groups of kids (based on race) stick together normally and i was just hoping OSU would be different like that. i obviously like having a diverse group of friends and don’t want to feel out of place or anything bc of my race.
i hope this post doesn’t sound rude/mean i’m just geniunely interested because i’ve never visited ohio and diversity is a REALLY important factor for me.
thank you all so much!
Well you know already it is not diverse. I hope you get answers from someone there, maybe in the Ohio forum would be a better chance. But some people stick together and some don’t. I personally think it is more up to you to put yourself out there when it might be easier to hang with the Asians. I know of two freshman this year from a very diverse Calif HS, one Asian at a 80% white campus and sticks with Asians and other minorities (boyfriend is a different minority) but isn’t bothered by it and another friend is black at a different 80% white school where the black kids hang out together, but this kid hangs out with everyone because of an outgoing nature and may join a white fraternity. My (white) kid hung out mostly with people from the department, but stayed one winter break in dorms with international students, so ended up hanging out with a lot of the internationals who also often stick together. I know that white people don’t think it is weird to have a friend of group member nonwhite. Whether you get large mixed groups at a largely white college is another things. USC is only 45 pct white, so if kids aren’t mixing there then that is really strange to me, a Californian where people mix quite a bit.
I think OSU is even “whiter” than 71% since its about 5% African American, 5% Asian, and 3% Hispanic. (I’m not sure about the foreign student population but you can probably figure its at least half asian). Its not going to be culturally diverse the way things are in Maryland. That said, you are also not going to see the different groups seggregating the way you would at Clemson or USC. Being part of the scholars program is a great choice - you will have a mix of people to live with and be friends with. People are really friendly in Ohio - you will probably meet the nicest people you have ever met. Much less materialistic than the East Coast, much nicer. (I know this is a major generalization, but that has been my experience).
I am an OSU alum, as is my husband, mother, stepfather, and my daughter will be attending in Fall 2016–to play lacrosse. OSU, as others have said, is not very culturally diverse. (I am white and from Ohio now settled in Northern Virginia, for what it’s worth.) When I attended OSU, I had a good friend who was Middle Eastern and she had a spouse and friends who were also Middle Eastern. I spent quite a bit of time with her and her husband; she did not complain to me that she felt awkward–although I don’t how helpful that is. You should probably spend a weekend there after doing an Admissions tour and then judge for yourself if you’d be happy there.
My daughter is currently a freshman at OSU, and I am on campus at least once a month.
All three of my daughter’s roommates are from another culture, religion, etc. Her dorm is diverse.
I always wonder about the stated statistics on minority groups, because it seems much larger to me when I am on campus. I love it. But your best bet is to see if any Asians will reply to your query and see what they think.
As other posters have mentioned, Ohioans tend to be a friendly lot, and kids going to OSU are going there because they want to get out of small town Ohio. Want to spread their wings and experience the world. Otherwise they would stay in some of the smaller more local colleges. OSU is gay friendly, diverse friendly, etc.
In a scholar’s program, you will have a mix of backgrounds. But it is really up to you if you want to mix or not.
@ longhorndreamer - I am an Ohio resident, I was born here in Columbus and I am from South Asian (to be precise North Indian background). I can tell you that Columbus or OSU has a large population of diversity. I know the stats seems skewed but there is a good population of Indians in Columbus area. I think around 50,000 families. Being in CBus for a long time, I have seen demographics change over the period. I am getting ready to apply during the Fall of 2015, and OSU will be my safety and home pick. I am selecting OSU based on its campus size and ethnic diversity. There are colleges here in Ohio, not as diverse and I myself enjoy diversity.
If you are looking for diversity, you will find, kids from Chinese, Japanse, Middle East, Jewish, Indian ethnic background along with White and Black kids. Hope this helps you!