<p>I'm a senior this year and can't choose between University of Pittsburgh and The Ohio State University. I am a pre-med bio major. The cost of both schools is the same for me, and I love both campuses. Which school do you think provides the best science education? Most manageable?</p>
<p>Is there any difference in average class size? </p>
<p>Sure both are very good in sciences; since you mention pre-med, I would lean slightly towards Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh’s teaching hospital is tightly linked with many academic departments, and the proximity of the hospital may help in shadowing, and participating in medical related research. Of course Ohio State has also a teaching hospital, but don’t know how well the undergraduate academics are linked. </p>
<p>Interesting post… my 2 girls have OSU and Pitt on the table right now too for pre-med. They are visiting both in Feb to try to make a better assessement (but they are double majoring also - neoroscience and acting. I know, odd combo).</p>
<p>I looked at both schools, but D dropped OSU because of its size. OSU had tremendous facilities in neuro and other sciences, surprisingly good facilities with an active research program. But Pitt appears to her to be a little closer to manageable to her. She knows what it’s like to live in a strange city and feel all alone, and she thinks that’s less likely to happen at Pitt. the u/g research opportunities appear every bit as good at Pitt. It’s true what Trinity said about the hospital being linked to the u/g programs at Pitt. I’ll be interested to hear the reaction of 3tallblonds’ girls to their visits to the schools. </p>
<p>My son had both schools on his list, as does my current high schooler. It’s really a toss up. But the one took OSU off his list because he liked the smaller size of Pitt and how it integrates into the community more. My close friend’s 3 DDs all chose OSU over Pitt, and they had no regrets. It’s too close for me to call.</p>
<p>My question would be is Pitt more of a commuter school than OSU or is it residential?</p>
<p>it’s residential.</p>
<p>Yes both are residential, and I recognize that Ohio State is one of the largest Universities in the nation. I like Pitt’s UPMC right there, and also the whole city feel. On the other hand, I like Ohio State’s more suburban campus and school spirit. Which do you guys think has the more manageable workload?</p>
<p>Manageable means I can get it done in 40 hrs a week. I don’t think of pre-med sciences as manageable. I think it’s something you just do any way you can as long as it takes. I don’t see why either school would be more manageable. One could I suppose check to see what AP credits of yours each school will accept whether or not you’ll have to take freshman comp, whether they both require three semesters of calc, whether the orgo teacher has a rating on ratemyprofessor akin to the antichrist, etc. But short of that being pre-med should pretty much suck up most of your time.</p>
<p>OSU is just as urban as Pitt. OSU’s campus is very much inside Columbus, and downtown is just a couple of miles south (Pitt is a similar distance west as I recall). OSU is surrounded by primarily residential neighborhoods, but so is Pitt. The population of the city of Columbus is 800K, Pitt is only 300K. You’ll see tall buildings on and near both campuses. Both campuses have residential students and commuters. OSU does have 4x as many student, more or less.</p>
<p>I’m guessing OSU isn’t going to cut it. My girls applied bc it was a financial safety since they clearly tell u on their website the merit $$ you will receive for given stats. But the size… I love a big school, they do not. Received a letter from neuroscience dept accepting them in… Seemed great but the size is a big deterrent. Apple falls far from the tree. </p>
<p>From what I know of the schools, there is not clear cut answer, but I am not intimately familiar with either. I am, however, familiar with pre-med, so here are my suggestions: </p>
<ul>
<li>How close to the classes/dorms is the medical center? If you will be volunteering/working/researching in term, it would be nice if the commute does not suck up your time </li>
<li>Ask the pre-health office if they ever turn people away when they ask for a committee recommendation to medical school. If they say they do, ask what goes into that decision. You want a committee that is as lenient as possible in agreeing to write recommendations. </li>
<li>Figure out which of the attached medical schools give a preference to their own. Not an easy thing to do. I would ask both the pre-med office/the medical school admissions department for the official word and the pre-med students/current med students from the UG institution for what they think goes on (if you can somehow track them down) </li>
<li>Sometimes an UG program has an early assurance program for which you can aim. </li>
</ul>
<p>All of the above are tie breakers. I don’t think you can go wrong with either. </p>
<p>Although it would take a while, tOSU is in the process of hiring additional 500 faculty members which should ultimately lower its student:faculty ration from 19 to roughly 14 to 1 which would be comparable to small school like Pitt. From my own personal experiences, besides the first two years of GEC classes, most Junior/Senior major classes are much smaller. </p>
<p>Ohio State Will Add 500 Faculty Members in 3 Fields</p>
<p>Read more: <a href=“Ohio State Will Add 500 Faculty Members in 3 Fields”>Ohio State Will Add 500 Faculty Members in 3 Fields;
Inside Higher Ed</p>
<p>Ohio State $1.1 billion Wexner Medical Center is set to debut this summer which allows for more undergraduate research opportunities. It is located in the health science district on campus next to its medical / dental / pharm schools. <a href=“http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/aboutus/expansion/Pages/index.aspx”>http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/aboutus/expansion/Pages/index.aspx</a></p>
<p>Best of Luck & Go Bucks!! :)</p>
<p>Here’s a new development at Pitt for posters interested in neuroscience:</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.upmc.com/media/NewsReleases/2014/Pages/pitt-brain-institute-unlocks-brain-mysteries.aspx”>Page Not Found | UPMC;
<p>3TallBlonds, please post impressions and tips after your trip! Both these are on my daughter’s long list right now. And best of luck to all of you in your decision.</p>