<p>hi guys... this is my first post. </p>
<p>anyway, how prestigious is osu? i got into the honors program, but i don't know if i should go somewhere else instead. osu is a pretty attractive option though since it's cheap, though. </p>
<p>how strong are its academics? how does it compare to other schools? </p>
<p>thanks</p>
<p>Which OSU?</p>
<p>Ohio? Oregon?</p>
<p>Well..as an oklahoman, i take "osu" to mean Oklahoma State University. But there's also Ohio State and Oregon State. Which one are you asking about? </p>
<p>If it's Oklahoma State, I don't have the best things to say about its academics. As a fan of OSU athletics, it's hard for me to say this but the University of Oklahoma is better academically in most fields. If you're in-state and can get honors at OU, I'd go there unless you're looking at hotel and restaurant management, veterinary school, or any agricultural science. You can't go wrong with any of those fields at OSU, especially if you are into the honors program.</p>
<p>I'm going to venture to guess the OP means tOSU...</p>
<p>Ohio State, especially its honors program, can hold its own. I'd say it's on par prestige-wise with its competent Big 10 brethren (though a tier below NU and UMich).</p>
<p>oh yeah, i meant ohio state university... sorry about that</p>
<p>.........and U Wisconsin and U Illinois and U Minnesota and............</p>
<p>^ haha...ok.</p>
<p>@ bball812</p>
<p>If you are an in-state resident of Ohio, OSU is a very good public university. The city of Columbus is nice and thriving too.</p>
<p>OSU, like virtually every flag ship state mega U, has had some highly notable stars in its crown ... student-scholars, faculty, athletic acheivements. These all add to the lustre of an institution. Ohio State has had its share of those, particularly in the last generation since WW II, when these types of places have had literally hundreds of thousands of students, many of whom have been bright, motivated, and determined to succeed as 1st generation college students in pursuit of the American dream.</p>
<p>That said, many of these students succeeded because they were determined to do so. And having so many of these potential success stories who've gone to OSU for the very reason you are considering it ... it's relatively "cheap" ... well, while OSU would like to and does claim their success as a function of their experience (and it may be to some degree) at OSU. </p>
<p>That said, I believe that as undergraduate student factories, the OSU's of the world (put your own name on it ... Penn State, Rutgers, Ok State, etc. etc. etc.), there is very little "prestige" value. When you start to look at graduate school programs, totally different story, and those need to be considered on a program by program assessment. The "prestige" that comes with being an OSU alum is more often associated with what goes on in Ohio Stadium than with what goes on in the undergraduate chem lab or accounting class.</p>
<p>On the other hand, "prestige" is a very nebulous, evasive concept that we're very enamoured with and often has very limited market value over a lifetime.</p>
<p>I don't think of Ohio State as being very prestigious outside of Ohio and even then, it's pretty much a safety school whilst applying to Ivy-caliber schools- however, from what I hear, its linguistics program is top-notch.</p>
<p>".........and U Wisconsin and U Illinois and U Minnesota and............"</p>
<p>Ha, U Minnesota over Penn State University Park? That's a laugh.</p>
<p>Your ignorance is showing. In fact, U.Minn has long been one of those stellar Big 10 research U's to which PSU has matriculated. The Gophers are in fact the model for aspiring Nits. And in recent years Minnie cleans up its gym floors with downtrodden Lion hoopers ... and increasingly, it seems, Paterno coached pigskinners. :( (So sad watching an icon wither on the vine that's been so good for him and his boys for so long. Ah, power is both an intoxicant and corrosive.)</p>
<p>In either case though, grad programs excluded, neither is what I'd consider "prestigious" since virtually any and all among the masses can and must be admitted.</p>
<p>Whistle Pig: </p>
<p>You're incorrect that anyone can be admitted to PSU. I don't know about the other schools, but you'll see that students with 3.8 GPA + and impressive SATs were rejected from PSU University Park -- verifiable by looking at the Discussion Board relating to last year's admissions. Admittedly, these were late applicants in a rolling admission process but our GCs advise students they need to be top 20% and have better than a 3.7 to be accepted, with the honors college taking only Ivy-candidates. </p>
<p>Its sports teams are another story...but it's to be hoped that most students don't actually pick a college based on an NCAA record. Even with a kid at PSU University Park, I concur with your assessments of PSU's current sports situation.</p>
<p>WhistlePig, both Ohio State and Penn State are substantially more selective than Minnesota, though UMN has been closing the gap recently. UMN was actually the last Big Ten public U. to abandon an open admissions policy. </p>
<p>Ohio State was second to the last (did it in '87) but had originally wanted to move to selective admissions in the early 60s. They were prevented from doing so by a populist, anti-intellectual Governor (and two of the other state universities teaming up to stab OSU in the back) who kept getting reelected over and over (finally left office in '82). Considering that this Governor, Jim Rhodes, had flunked out of Ohio State his freshmen year, one has to wonder what personal grudges played a part in his ridiculous policy towards Ohio State.</p>
<p>Yes, PSU can be challenging to get to U Park as a frosh. TONS of kids going to branches for a year or two. All have same degree ... Penn State.</p>
<p>None of these places are what I'd deem "prestigious" institutions though, no matter how one slices it. Mass merchandising at a bargain sale pricetag. </p>
<p>That said however, the fact so many attend them and places like them all over the country, illustrates highed ed's ultimate inablility to provide evidence that theirs is any lesser education than those with premiums pricetags ... unlike the automobile business where everyone has figured out why it makes all kind of sense to pay lots more for a Toyota than a Chevette or Pinto.</p>
<p>And I can hear them saying, "Hey Dad, what's a Pinto?" "Well son, it's sorta like PSU-DuBois."</p>
<p>Whistle Pig, you constantly make ignorant comments on college confidential. You obviously have no facts to back up any of your biased comments. When did your opinion on prestige become the end all be all? Penn State University Park is a great school. I think that maybe you should go over to the Penn State discussion area and convince all the kids with 3.8s and great SAT scores that didn't get in that they were all just flukes and that Penn State University Park is not actually that tough. I don't care if you went here, there are people that slip through the cracks and get in that are not intelligent. As I continue to read your comments, I become more and more convinced that you were one of those people. Just because admissions were a lot easier when you were a student does not make that the case now. You most surely would not get accepted now. While many people do start at branch campuses, the fact that you started and took classes at branch campuses shows on your transcript and employers know what that means. There is a significant difference between the students that went to branch campuses and those that did not. While Minnesota is a good schoool, it is definitely a notch below Penn State. I think you probably are stuck in the whole mindset of when you were a student. Sorry sir, things have changed in the past 20 years. You might want to start catching up to what the rest of us already seem to know.</p>
<p>No doubt your delusion provides great comfort. Penn State is a fine U of the masses. One of the most "selective" student bodies of 75K or so you can find. And only 23 or 24 campuses. But in the end ... every diploma says one institution. Nit Lion U.</p>
<p>So much for "prestige." Oh, btw, PSU has the biggest alumni association in higher ed. Now, tell us about how tough it is.</p>
<p>PSU was the next "and". :-)</p>
<p>datas from CB:</p>
<p>PSU
Test Scores
Middle 50% of First-Year Students Percent WhoSubmitted Scores
SAT Critical Reading: 530 - 630 85%
SAT Math: 560 - 670 85%
SAT Writing: - -<br>
ACT Composite: - -<br>
Percent applicants admitted: 51% </p>
<p>0SU
Test Scores
Middle 50% of
First-Year Students Percent Who
Submitted Scores
SAT Critical Reading: 550 - 650 61%
SAT Math: 580 - 680 61%
SAT Writing: - -<br>
ACT Composite: 25 - 29 87%
Percent applicants admitted: 59% </p>
<p>UMN
Test Scores
Middle 50% of
First-Year Students Percent Who
Submitted Scores
SAT Critical Reading: 540 - 680 18%
SAT Math: 580 - 700 18%
SAT Writing: 530 - 660 18%
ACT Composite: 24 - 29 94%
Percent applicants admitted: 57% </p>
<p>They are nearly the same in selectivity...
Though UMN is trying to change their rankings and become much more selective than last year (lower tuition for 08-09 is great, for out states UMN costs 8k less than PSU and 7k less than itself last year)...But it seems that every college is becoming more and more selective.
So I think these three Us may be equal in next few years: less selective than NU, UMich, UWisc, UIUC, but more than Purdue, IU, UIowa and MSU.</p>
<p>Whistle Pig,</p>
<p>"No doubt your delusion provides great comfort."</p>
<p>Hopefully my Penn State degree will one day take me to the enlightened point of pessimism as you have obviously been able to reach. There are many people that would agree with me that Penn State University Park is a prestigious school. It is ranked by Greene as a public ivy. I know many people that have done very well with their Penn State degree. I am sorry that you have not fully utilized the opportunities that the Penn State degree offers. </p>
<p>"Oh, btw, PSU has the biggest alumni association in higher ed. Now, tell us about how tough it is"</p>
<p>Interesting, I didn't know that exlcusivity and the amount of students graduating had anything to do with the quality or difficulty of an education. Cornell has 13,500 undergrads while Duquesne University has a student body of around 5,000. By your logic, Duquesne has fewer alumni and must be more prestigious that Cornell. Does having the most largest student body at Cornell make it definitely the worst school in the Ivy league? Nope. The people that matter know the different between the branch campus students and the main campus, so the number of graduates that we are competing with is signficantly smaller than you are making it out to be. Stop preaching your ignorant nonsense.</p>
<p>Liangyishi, the rankings are combination of a lot of factors. The quality of an education is not based simply on the SAT score ranges. Penn State's admission emphasizes gpa, which I think is good because a student is not simply defined by a two hour test. Penn State's decision is 2/3 gpa, while only 1/3 SAT. I was fine on mine, but I have never understood how a student with a 3.1 gpa and an amazing SAT should get in over a 4.0 student that does not do well on the SAT. Obviously, the level of difficulty is different at every high school, but I you find the best students by focusing on gpa.</p>