<p>Applied to 8 schools: in preferred order
1. Fordham (waitlisted)
2. College of Wooster (good scholarship)
3. Ball State Univ (good scholarship)
4. Ohio University (ok scholarship)
5. Ohio Wesleyan (scholarship similar to Wooster)
6. Simmons in Boston (no $$)
7. Marquette (waitlisted)
8. Ithaca College (no $$)</p>
<p>Since waitlisted at number one, I have to choose between 2-5; Ball State is cheapest option although I'm struggling because of size of school as compared to Wooster/Ohio Wesleyan. Looking to major in communications; minor in Spanish to focus on PR. Ball State is only one with PR concentration. Which will give best academics and options for a good paying job at end of 4 years?</p>
<p>What my daughter found helpful was not just listing pros and cons but rating those pros and cons. For example, on a scale of 1-6, if size is a 4 in terms of importance and location is a 1 (not important at all) then that tells you something beyond pro and con. Make this list of pros and cons with ratings, add up the totals, and that should help your decision quite a bit. You might even figure it out before you rank all your schools. Good luck!</p>
<p>First of all what is the $ cost at each school. Take out loans and WS awards from your aid packages to get that $ amount. A “good scholarship” to me is $10K. That sounds mighty good to me and it would pay half our instate public costs. When my one son got a $30K award, our mouths fell open. That was a "terrific’ scholarship, IM. But the problem with it was that the COA for that school even back then was in the $60K range which meant we’d still have to come with another $30K on top of that scholarship. State U was less than $20K then. But then $10K more for the other was still not a bad option. So how much is Wooster,bottom line to you, Ohio Wesleyan and Ball State, your top choices? </p>
<p>I am a graduate of OWU and I believe it is a vastly under rated school. Rock Jones, the president, is fantastic and there is a strong alumni group (I am one of them). The campus may not be the prettiest but the professors are very approachable and the student life is great. Good school spirit, fun things to do, and a strong academic environment. It is a small school but I thought that created a great sense of community. I loved OWU and unlike many other graduates- because of their financial packages- did not graduate with a large amount of debt. </p>
<p>She likes OWU environment but wasn’t so sure the academics were as strong. Any comparison of OWU academics vs Wooster? Wooster seems to get more publicity on strength of professors. OWU has her major or interest - communications/journalism; however she’s willing to go the route of English because the kids at Wooster seemed happier; more engaged. One thing I didn’t like at OWU during student panel discussions was that the administration talked more than students!</p>
<p>Of the colleges you listed, Wooster and Ohio Wesleyan have the most academic prestige. It’s hard to compare the academics of these two though, since Wooster is more of an ‘alternative’ school - there’s a very, very large focus on mentored undergraduate research. If you’re into this, go to Wooster. If it scares you, go to OWU. </p>
<p>Ball State, by far is most affordable with scholarship given that Wooster/OWU are both $50k, all in. Out of pocket would be 15k at Ball State and 30k at liberal arts. Is it worth additional $$ to allow her to go where she thinks she “fits”??</p>