With my 29 ACT score and PA resident, all three schools will be approximately the same price. Parents are willing to pay the difference after my loans and any grants for each of the three colleges.
Which one would you recommend? What are the biggest differences? How will my employment prospects/internships/co-ops be affected with Pittsburgh ranked 62 vs Alabama ranked 96 (USNews)?
I have been accepted to U of Pittsburgh already and will apply to Alabama before the December deadline. I did apply to Ohio State EA before the November 1st deadline.
Major undecided, but I prefer the science non-engineering fields.
When it comes to the sciences, Ohio State has an edge on Pitt, and both are stronger than Alabama. That said, an undergraduate likely won’t notice much difference between the three unless (s)he wants to major in a particularly strong field at that university (e.g. zoology at OSU or neuroscience at Pitt). Class sizes will be about the same at all of them unless you’re in honors classes.
Fit is more important. A few of the most obvious differences:
[ul][]City size and climate – Columbus and Pittsburgh are closer in size and climate to each other than either is to the much smaller Tuscaloosa.
[]University size – Pitt (19,000 undergrads) is smaller than Alabama (31,000), and both are smaller than Ohio State (44,000).
[]Geographic diversity – In-state students make up 85%, 70%, and 50% of undergrads at Ohio State, Pitt, and Alabama, respectively.
[]Greek life is much bigger at Alabama than Ohio State or Pitt.
[*]Ohio State and Alabama have large, sprawling campuses, and the latter has been investing a lot of money into new buildings and renovations to beautify and improve the campus and facilities. Pitt’s campus is relatively small and cramped in comparison, which is typical for an urban university. [/ul]
Regarding geographic diversity at Ohio State, the incoming freshman profile for Fall 2015 was 24.6% out of state students --this does not include international students. For the Fall of 2013 and 2014 the percentage of freshman out of state (domestic) students was 20% and 22%. OSU is steadily attracting more out of state students each year, with a target goal of 30%. The merit aid scholarships it offers for high stat OOS students helps.
Do you plan on going to grad school? It’s been said that job prospects are not very strong for undergrad science majors.
Your employment prospects will be similar coming from any of these schools. The difference is in how much search work you might need to do. If you intend to work near your home state, you will largely be on your own searching from Alabama. Few companies with a presence in PA would be recruiting on campus at Alabama. Conversely, Pitt is one of the better local schools and should have plenty of local recruitment. Ohio State, as the third largest undergrad school in the country, is actively recruited by many employers both regional and national. That said, on-campus recruiting has become less important these days thanks to the internet. Job searches are easy, and most companies require you to apply through their website anyway. Interviews are often done by phone and skype. I wouldn’t let the recruiting aspect deter you from a school if it’s an otherwise good fit.
I think you should consider value. If you can add 3 points to your ACT on the December test (add have a good GPA) , you can attend tuition free for 4 years at Alabama. With your current score you will pay about the same as in-state tuition. A full tuition scholarship would be enough to pay for a masters ; if you go for a Ph.D. you would likely be able to get a TA or research position sufficient to cover your tuition and expenses.