Rutgers or Ohio State?

College Search & Selection
1

<p>Hello everyone. These are my final two colleges and I'm having trouble deciding which one.</p>

<p>A few notes:
-Cost is virtually the same. I live in NJ, but Ohio State gave me a 15k per year scholarship to roughly even out the cost. So they're both roughly 20-25 thousand per year (And I'll only be about 20k total in debt at either school)</p>

<p>-My major is Journalism. Both schools have a School of Communications, with Journalism as an option to major in</p>

<p>-I got into Honors at Ohio State. I'm appealing for Honors at Rutgers because they never sent me an invitation(I should get in though...3.8 GPA, 2120 SAT)</p>

<p>-I've visited both schools. Both had their unique benefits and detriments. Both have great food. Ohio State's dorms were somewhat bad compared to RU's. Loved Ohio State's campus more than Rutgers.</p>

<p>-I'm pretty torn between them, but if it means anything, I have grown up rooting for Rutgers sports teams and I live an hour away from campus</p>

<p>Any opinions? Suggestions? Questions? I'll take anything. Are these schools of roughly equal prestige?
Thank you,
-KBronx17</p>

2

<p>Rutger’s buildings are scattered all over the campus. Ohio State has larger land area than Rutgers. Ohio State also has higher student population. The academic quality is the same at both so we need to look at other factors. </p>

<ol>
<li>Transportation cost from New Jersey to Ohio vs New Jersey to New Jersey</li>
<li>bad dorms vs alright dorms</li>
</ol>

<p>I think Rutgers wins for you if you get into honors. If you don’t then take the OSU honors.</p>

3

<p>First off, congrats to OP who got accepted to two great public universities in the nation.</p>

<p>Since OP stated that the cost is similar for both schools, I would suggest tOSU over Rutgers for the following reasons:</p>

<ol>
<li>TOSU is on the rise academically. The only USNWR “Up-and-Coming” college ranked 6 year in-a-row in the eyes of 2000+ academics under the leadership of former Brown & Vanderbilt President Dr. Gordon Gee.</li>
</ol>

<p>[E</a>. Gordon Gee: The Big Man on Campus - The 10 Best College Presidents - TIME](<a href=“http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1937938_1937934_1937914,00.html]E”>http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1937938_1937934_1937914,00.html)</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Rutgers has the reputation of more of a commuter schools in the eyes of east coasters if not the backup school for the ivy rejects. OTOH, tOSU has been a proud member of the prestigious B1G/CIC member for over a century with alumni network connections across the nation if not the entire globe.</p></li>
<li><p>Ohio State is certainly more prestigious as a top comprehensive research university (Top-10 in terms of overall research expenditure as well in billions annually) in the nation than Rutgers. It’s “Undergraduate Academic Reputation Index” is rated 6 points above Rutgers, 12 spots ahead overall in the current issue of USNWR Best Colleges 2013. </p></li>
<li><p>This year, tOSU has just admitted the most selective freshman class in the school’s history with the introduction of Common App. With 25.6% applications increase, the acceptance rate is dropped to 50.8% with nearly 60% in the top 10% high school class, 50% ACT 27-31 with Ave ACT 28.8, certainly much more selective than Rutgers. </p></li>
<li><p>Besides the nearly 4x the endowment, tOSU is also ongoing a $2.5 billion fundraising campaign in an attempt to propel the school in the the rank of Top-10 Public University in the nation by 2020. </p></li>
</ol>

<p>[Provost</a> Alutto’s Address to the University Senate 2012 - Office of Academic Affairs - The Ohio State University](<a href=“http://oaa.osu.edu/provost-address-to-senate-2012.html]Provost”>http://oaa.osu.edu/provost-address-to-senate-2012.html)</p>

<ol>
<li>Most of the dorms on Ohio State’s campus had recently undergone major interior renovation with upgraded AC unit, elevator system, food court, common area…, etc. which cost the school nearly $500 million with a dozen of additional NEW dorms currently under-construction at a price tag of $400 million in an attempt to require all Sophomores to live on campus by 2015. </li>
</ol>

<p>Newly renovated dorms</p>

<p>[Ohio</a> State University Park-Stradley Hall – Sasaki Associates, Inc](<a href=“http://www.sasaki.com/project/232/]Ohio”>Ohio State University Park-Stradley Hall and Smith-Steeb Hall – Sasaki) </p>

<p>[Ohio</a> State Kennedy Commons serves up $12.5M tab for remodel - Campus - The Lantern - Ohio State University](<a href=“http://www.thelantern.com/campus/ohio-state-kennedy-commons-serves-up-12-5m-tab-for-remodel-1.2597244#.UUx1jVc5VJI]Ohio”>http://www.thelantern.com/campus/ohio-state-kennedy-commons-serves-up-12-5m-tab-for-remodel-1.2597244#.UUx1jVc5VJI)</p>

<p>[North</a> Residential District Plan Approved at OSU ? ColumbusUnderground.com](<a href=“http://www.columbusunderground.com/north-residential-district-plan-approved-at-osu]North”>http://www.columbusunderground.com/north-residential-district-plan-approved-at-osu)</p>

<ol>
<li> East coast - NY/NJ has long been the heavy OOS recruiting area for the freshman admission at tOSU:</li>
</ol>

<p>Geographic diversity (autumn 2012)
Ohio State enrolls students from every state and territory. States with the highest enrollment:</p>

<p>500+: Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, New York, Michigan
300 – 499: New Jersey, Texas, Maryland, Virginia
100 – 299: Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Kentucky, Connecticut, Minnesota, Tennessee, Washington, Missouri, Utah, Arizona
50 – 99: Colorado, West Virginia, South Carolina</p>

<p>Last but not least, with B1G expansion continues eastward, tOSU will be grouped in the East Division along with Rutgers which will further solidify its presence and appeal to the East Coast students in the future.</p>

<p>[How</a> the New East-West Divisions Will Look Like in the Big Ten | Sportige](<a href=“My Site – Just another WordPress site”>My Site – Just another WordPress site)</p>

<p>The One Ohio State Framework Plan</p>

<p>[The</a> One Ohio State Framework Plan – Sasaki Associates, Inc](<a href=“http://www.sasaki.com/project/29/river-restoration-protects-campus-from-flooding/]The”>http://www.sasaki.com/project/29/river-restoration-protects-campus-from-flooding/)</p>

<p>Ohio State tops national rankings for combined football/basketball records</p>

<p>[Ohio</a> State tops national rankings for combined football/basketball records | cleveland.com](<a href=“http://www.cleveland.com/datacentral/index.ssf/2013/03/ohio_state_tops_national_ranki.html]Ohio”>Ohio State tops national rankings for combined football/basketball records - cleveland.com)</p>

<p>Best of Luck & Go Bucks!! :)</p>

4

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<p>This might be your answer.</p>

<p>OSU’s dorms are very tiny. It’s a real turn off to my daughter. But the students don’t seem to mind. I think you’ll enjoy rooting for the Buckeyes during football season.</p>

5

<p>I think the key is where you want to live once you graduate. If you like the NY area, then stick with Rutgers. If you’re open to the midwest–at least to start off, then go for Ohio State. Columbus is a pretty fun town.</p>