<p>I am planning my summer tour & will be including some Ohio schools. I want a liberal arts college & am leaning toward a writing major. My SATs -1280 (R/M) , 2040 with writing (hoping these scores improve). I don't think I can afford the top tier schools even if I manage to get in. I'm looking for schools that will be more likely to offer me merit money. Any input about Ohio Wesleyan, Baldwin-Wallace &/or Ohio Northern?</p>
<p>I will put in my vote for Ohio Wesleyan University. OWU isn’t too big, isn’t too small, isn’t too rural or urban either. Classes are small but the workload is rigorous and getting good grades takes a lot of work. The environment is supportive and not competitive and the professors/administrators are very dedicated in helping students out. There are many international students (9%) so the campus is very diverse. OWU is also half a hour away from Columbus in case you get bored of the small town. (Ohio Northern is in the middle of nowhere)</p>
<p>Thanks. I’m not from Ohio, so that is helpful.</p>
<p>Reasons why I would not pick Ohio Northern:</p>
<p>-The most popular major and where most of the money goes is to the college of pharmacy and biology. Other big programs are business and engineering which make up 40% of the student population. Liberal arts majors may not get as much attention as they would like
-There’s nothing to do off campus in the town of Ada, so there’s a lot of parties, hooking up, alcohol consumption etc…
-ONU has no minority students so everyone is white, conservative from rural communities, diversity is a bit lacking</p>
<p>If those SAT scores are paired with top grades and a rigorous HS curriculum you could be in the running for some serious merit money from Ohio Wesleyan. OWU is also interested in geographic diversity, so depending upon where you are coming from you may be eligible for additional grant support there as well. OWU is generally considered to be a notch or two above ONU and Baldwin-Wallace academically.</p>
<p>I have a D who is a sophomore at ONU NOT in pharm or engineering. She is in their communications -PR program - I cannot stress how though small, there program is EXCELLENT! In her two years there she has had many opportunities - she will be starting her second internship this summer related to her major and helped to secure by her profs who bend over backwards to get to know the students and help them get career related experiences right away. She has also had 2 paid positions on campus over 2 years that will be resume builders for her academic area and has a 3rd lined up for next year. </p>
<p>Last week at Honors day I had the opportunity to meet several of her profs personally - because they initiated coming up and meeting us. I cannot say enough about the personal attention and completeness of what she is experiencing at ONU.</p>
<p>She has 2 or 3 very good friends who are creative writing majors - one wants to combine art history and creative writing, one is interested in film and creative writing and a third is more general. From what I"ve heard, they have had opportunities to spread their wings, attend conferences, etc. </p>
<p>Unless you really don’t like the rural setting (i.e. you require a lot of city/night life) I would take the top to stop and meet with the department. The campus is beautiful, on a lot of acreage, has renovated most dorms and often offers good merit aid.</p>
<p>The only thing my D has “hooked” up with at ONU is a great group of kids who study hard, work hard and enjoy each other and the activities on the campus .</p>
<p>I have to second much of what Abasket said about ONU. We toured and were impressed with the individual attention the professors gave students. While DD2 did not apply there, it was in the running until the end. It is a very rural environment.</p>
<p>Thanks. Sounds like I should take a look at ONU. I don’t mind rural- my only concern would be how hard it is to get to a flight/train/ride home at break time without a car. In the end, my decision will likely be made by money, so the thought of merit money at OW is encouraging.</p>
<p>translucent, I think you are also looking at Pitt right? I think that might be a cheap option too since that is a state school, if you live in-state that’s even better!</p>
<p>Translucent, I am not 100% sure, but I feel like ONU does offer some type of transportation to area airports during break times - be sure to ask when you visit! If you have decent grades/ACT’s there is potential for good merit aid…</p>
<p>translucent, it seems from what I have heard that because OWU is smaller than ONU, you will get more attention from professors and administrators. But that is also true for ONU. I am still under the impression that the majority of ONU is made up of pharmacy/biology/engineering/business (I’ve heard that they make up around 50-60% of the school) so OWU might be better for someone not looking into those fields.</p>
<p>Thanks all. Yes, I am looking at Pitt. I’m leaning toward a small school, but I really like the city & Pitt looks like a great school. I am from NJ, but I really want to go somewhere else for college. I’m looking at LAC schools in Pa, but I kept reading how there were many good schools in the midwest that were slightly more reasonable in cost & easier to get into than the east coast schools. So, I am extending my search into Ohio. My trip this summer won’t give me as much information as a trip during the school year, but I am hoping it will still give me a feel for the schools. I am also going to visit Hiram. I thought about Kenyon, but I don’t think I would be a good candidate for merit money & I will definitely need some if I go to a private school. I’m trying to focus on schools where my scores are at or above the 75th %ile. I appreciate everyone’s insights.</p>
<p>If you didn’t want to leave NJ, I’d recommend TCNJ
also look at Gettysburg College in PA</p>
<p>Thanks Pierre. I may wind up applying to TCNJ because my parents will insist, but it is too close to home, & “the” school everyone in my high school tries to get in. I am looking at Gettysburg. I am afraid that I may be at a disadvantage at Gettysburg & some of the similar schools because I can’t afford to apply ED. But you never know…</p>
<p>TCNJ is an excellent school but I definitely understand about being too close to home</p>
<p>A school that has an excellent liberal arts curriculum that is underrated and is better than all the school’s you’ve mentioned so far (and has a beautiful campus) and isn’t too hard to get into is St. Mary’s College Of Maryland. You owe yourself to take a look because not too many people know about it. Also look at UNC-Asheville.</p>
<p>If you are looking in OH, you might want to look at U of Dayton, Oberlin, and Earlham (IN, but close to OH).</p>