<p>Did anyone visit OHIO University in Athens OH? Their campus is stunning and I felt that the college town was great. They seem to have a lot of new initiatives and their housing from what we saw (and have heard) was great. I was definitely impressed by the school.</p>
<p>I liked the size - it wasn't as overwhelming as OSU and it didn't feel as unsafe as Case Western. It seemed like it had more to offer socially than schools like Kenyon or Oberlin which is nice. Those two felt quite small.</p>
<p>I graduated from OU back in the dark ages. Even then it was a terrific small college town, there was never a shortage of things to do, and the campus was gorgeous. The dorms there were very nice at the time (the south green suites had just been built).</p>
<p>Wonderful - I know that the school has gotten more competitive with the new SAT average anticipated to be 1600+ which is great. I felt that I liked the administration there a lot more than I did at OSU and they seemed more concerned with student well-being at OU. I liked the personal atmosphere. </p>
<p>The campus was stunning as I said and I definitely think the school deserves a good look - seems like a hidden gem for sure.</p>
<p>You know, this makes me wonder why the Ohio public schools don't receive much attention --- between Miami, Ohio U, and OSU...and even Bowling Green, it seems to me that Ohio has an excellent public university system with something for everyone.</p>
<p>And don't forget Wright State in Dayton and others. It is really too bad that so many people think Ohio is one big cornfield with a few spots of colleges. If you realize how great the state schools are AND consider the large number of excellent fairly small LACs in Ohio, the educational opportunities are superb. OK, I admit that I went to both undergraduate school and med school in Ohio though I haven't lived there since I went to med school on military scholarship, but I certainly tried to get my D to look there for colleges. She's liking Oberlin (among others).</p>
<p>Also, don't forget University of Cincinnati with almost 1 billion endowment and having some of the top schools in not only Ohio but in the country in design, art, architecture and planning and in, criminal justice. Also very good programs in pharmacy, engineering, medical school and allied health, and business. It also had the first, and many consider the foremost, co-op program in the US. For some reason Northeastern seems to get all the press on having a strong coop program,but Cincinnati was the first school in the US ( as they themselves note) that instituted the program. They also have one of the only 6 year undergrad/law degree programs.</p>
<p>Yes, Carolyn, I do think that Ohio state schools get very short changed in publicity. They have some terrific programs with some very strong endowments.</p>
<p>Oh one more thing, at least about Cincinnati, they are good at giving out both need based aid and merit money.</p>
<p>I might add that I'm sort of partial to midwest folks. They just seem nicer, less prestige obsessed, less cut throat. Stereotypes I suppose, but I was raised in Minnesota and have since lived in both Boston, NYC, and upstate New York. In many ways I'm really happy my eldest son has ended up in Ohio and we will certainly look for schools there for second son.</p>
<p>I think a lot of people are definitely intimidated by the thought of moving to Ohio because of the idea that it is in the middle of nowhere. But the reality is that college towns, like Athens (where Ohio U is) aren't really that much different than college towns on the east coast in Massachusetts, New York or Maryland.</p>
<p>I visited some friends at Ohio U this past year and I was absolutely blown away by the campus and the students. I was visiting friends and really hadn't heard of the institution that much - just in passing from a few friends in undergrad or grad school. </p>
<p>Nonethless, I was expecting a small, bland college but it was a thriving college town to be honest. I was nicely surprised and I think it definitely is a school that is ready to get some great exposure.</p>
<p>My oldest daughter graduated from OU in June. It is a lovely campus, and Athens is a better college town than most college towns of the same size in Ohio.</p>
<p>digmedia's son is going to OU. He also had a very positive visit and that led to his son choosing OU as a #1 choice. You might want to PM him and find out any other info you need.</p>
<p>cangel, I hear the HTC (Honors Tutorial College) is amazing - and that it is modeled after the tutorial program at Oxford in the UK. That's awesome - I'm sure that there are a lot of students out there who would benefit from a great program like that. Do you have any idea how selective the HTC is there at Ohio U?</p>
<p>Wealth, the HTC program is selective. I seem to recall Dig saying that there was a minimum cutoff for grades and test scores, and a separate application. I know all of the information is on the HTC webpage so you might check it out. The thing that makes the HTC different from most other honors college programs is that they use a tutorial system modelled after Oxford's --- you do one on one work in your major with a faculty tutor so it is very customized to your interests and goals.</p>
<p>Dig recently described his son's HTC dorm room to me - a single complete with carpeting, a refrigerator, and a beautiful view. I think the HTC program is definitely worth checking into and I'll be anxious to hear how Dig's son likes it.</p>
<p>taxguy is always pimping UC on this message board. :) Ohio colleges (Kent State is the best ;)) are all pretty good, but it is not that hard to get into any of them. High school grades are pretty much useless, because you can attend a satellite campus (OSU-Mansfield, KSU Stark, BGSU Firelands, OU Chillicothe etc.) for a semester, get above a 2.0 with 12 credit hours, and just transfer to the main campus. For OOS this might not be feasible, but I don't know why everyone in Ohio doesn't do this if their undergrad is lacking.</p>
<p>UW-Madison
Ohio University in Athens
Lehigh University in Pennsylvania
University of California-Santa Barbara
State University of New York at Albany
Indiana University-Bloomington
University of Mississippi
University of Iowa
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Loyola University New Orleans
Tulane University in New Orleans
University of Georgia
Penn State University
West Virginia University
The University of Texas-Austin
University of Tennessee-Knoxville
University of New Hampshire
University of Florida
Louisiana State University
University of Maryland-College Park</p>