I am a senior in high school living in Massachusetts, and have been accepted to two schools so far; UMass Amherst, and Ohio State. I plan on majoring in Psychology and have been accepted to the Honors programs at both schools. The net cost of attendance at UMass comes out to be about $7000 cheaper than at OSU ($15,000 vs. $22,000), which makes sense as I am in state for UMass. I have not visited either campus, and plan on doing so, but on my research I think I would like the feel of OSU more because of it’s size, proximity to the city (Columbus), and the legendary football haha. In addition, the campus looks a lot nicer than the UMass one, which kind of just looks like a bunch of concrete buildings. I also would prefer to go out of state if possible; although I love Massachusetts, sometimes it’s nice to branch out! My question is, in your opinion, do you think the extra $7000 for OSU is worth it? I know Ohio State is a bit “higher up” on the US News rankings, which I don’t really care about, but to your knowledge is it really that much of a better school and do employers regard it in a better light than UMass? Also if anyone has any info on the psychology/Honors programs at both schools that would be much appreciated! Thanks!
To answer your last 2 questions: employers don’t regard it in better light, especially if you are going to be back in Mass or the East Coast in general. No it’s not that much of a better school, especially for Psychology.
On the other hand, OSU is a once in a lifetime experience unlike any other, but $28,000 over 4 years is a lot of money. Like a nice new car money.
@patsfan151 We’ve been to OSU, and know many who went/or who go there for Engineering.
My son got into OSU for Comp. Science. However, he is now a National Merit Finalist, so he got Full Ride from other schools, and is waiting on Carnegie Mellon.
OSU has policy of 3.20 College GPA into that major (to be accepted)
What was your impression of some of the tall Dorms (online photos) and would you mind large Lecture halls?
I would apply to more than 2 colleges… which others ones would u seek?
@2sunny I’ve seen the dorms and large lecture halls, and don’t mind either. OSU and UMass were my two safety schools, as I’ve applied early to UMich (deferred), Stanford (reject), and RD to BC, Tufts, USC, Emory, Vanderbilt, Brown, and Cornell.
@OHIvyCA Thanks, that’s good to know, and you’re right $28,000 is a lot of money… I’ll try visiting both and then make a final decision after.
@patsfan151 if you end up at OSU, don’t hesitate to reach out. That’s where I did undergrad
Congrats. Both awesome schools. I have a friend at Ohio State and have visited there. It is one of the most impressive campuses in the U.S. Yes, much more so than UMASS, but UMASS is not bad. I decided to go to UMASS for personal reasons, not money or program specifics. The Honors programs are very similar. The only major difference is the newer and nicer Honors dorms at UMASS. The Ohio State psych department is very strong and pretty high up in the rankings, well above UMASS. You may not be a big football fan, but attending a rocking stadium of 110,000 is a pretty awesome experience. There is incredible school pride there. It’s not for everyone, especially if you like colleges not much bigger than your high school. UMASS is improving fast and is a great school, but it’s not Ohio State.
What’s your parents’ budget ?
Is tOSU within budget?
If it is, it sounds like it’s really the place you want to go to.
UMASS $15K???
Thanks @BBobby , I love football too so OSU does sound great haha. And @MYOS1634 both are within my budget but obviously cheaper is better, just wondering whether or not OSU was worth the extra money. I still have to visit, but if it comes down to these two colleges I have a feeling OSU is going to be the one for me; thanks for your help everyone!
@patsfan151 are u looking at other choices besides these? 1 thing that might help is to read Student Reviews about each.
If it’s within budget (without parent debt), go with tOSU 