I have been admitted to both colleges for my geology major. I am planning on going into the oil and gas industry and still need to get into grad school. I want a rural campus but ive been skeptical recently about WVU’s academic reputation on grad school applications in the future. Someone please help me with some clarity on my situation.
There is no comparison on the academics. Ohio State is WAY better. However, WVU has the rural campus and Ohio State is in a city.
Gosh I agree, those two are really not on the same planet academic wise. Or setting wise, either. OSU is definitely urban and about twice the enrollment size of WVU. Maybe you should let finances make the decision since you need money for grad school? And/or, are there more resources (internships, recruitment) for that major in the WV area? I don’t know that a grad school would specifcally reject you because of the location of your undergrad, as long as you are an exceptional applicant (grades, experience, etc). If you feel like you would be happier at WVU and it’s a better fit, I wouldn’t let the fear of grad school acceptance force you into OSU (not that OSU isn’t great, it is. But it may not be a fit for you).
You can get into graduate school from WVU. Graduate school is much more about what you do there, not where you went to undergrad. If you prefer the setting and environment, then you should go to WVU.
Entirely different caliber of schools. Not even close.
Nevertheless, does WVU have a better program in the specific discipline that you want to study ? If so, then that university may be the better choice based on geography department offerings & concentrations which relate to your specific goals.
Agreed. Also note that grad school admissions use a standardized test, the GRE, in the same way that undergraduate admissions use the SAT or ACT. That’s an equalizer. If you have strong test scores, you will get the attention of the admissions committee regardless of the school name on your degree.