Picking the right school

My son is stressed about picking his school. He wants to major in Mechanical Engineering. He has been accepted to the following:

Miami - Mechanical
Ohio Northern - Mechanical
University of Cincinnati- Chemical (3rd Choice)
Ohio State - Main Campus (not a direct admit school)
Ohio University- Mechanical

UC was his first choice but he is now concerned he will not be able to switch to mechanical.

Miami was a very close second but he is concerned about their engineering program strength.

He was very enticed by Ohio Northern’s new engineering facility but is sure he would be happy in the middle of nowhere.

Ohio State has a great program but he is worried he may not be accepted since it’s not a direct admit and he is not sure he wants a large school.

Ohio University is somewhere in the middle of all these for him.

Looking for feedback from anyone who has any pros or cons for him.

He will be visiting all of them again.

He currently has a 4.1 weighted GPA and is taking a few AP and college classes this year. He received a 27 on his ACT. Additionally he is the Mechanical Team lead on his high school robotics team.

I understand your conundrum. Most engineering majors have similar first year programs regardless of whether they admit direct to major or not. However, I would be hesitant to attend UC as a Chemical Engineering major. I could see switching being chancy. I would definitely be asking about that at your next visit.

Miami’s Engineering department is not as well known as some of the others. Miami is a good school for undergraduate education. I would be asking them about support during and after they get their degree. Mainly in the area of job placement. Unlike Cincinnati he would have to seek his own coop.

Ohio Northern is a rare private Christian university with an engineering department. It is isolated but would give him a chance to stand out within the school.

I would worry about tOSU in that he would be competing against a very strong field of students. He could be very challenged with students not only from Ohio, but nationwide and even internationally. It could make it difficult for him to compete for a very popular major.

Take a close look at Ohio University. Their Russ College of Engineering is strong and it is a good fit academically for him. I’ll be curious if he gets one of the Russ scholarships which could help with financing. Like my Miami he would have to seek his own coop. They do have a department for that.

There are a couple of other schools I might have recommended. It’s probably not too late to apply to the University of Toledo. Like UC they have a mandatory coop program. They offer one of the best Engineering presentations of the schools my D looked at several years ago. He would also be eligible for scholarships if they don’t have an early date for scholarship consideration. They have a separate engineering campus (walk-able from main campus) and even offer a 5 years Masters program. Something to look into.

Good luck.