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The best university definitely depends on her major, though I guess that's not possible to use since she is unsure. If she has any inclination towards arts or design, UC's DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning) is definitely something to look at. Music? UC's CCM (College-Conservatory of Music). These are nationally very prominent. Various other programs are strong, as well (Classics, Philosophy, Criminal Justice,...).
Anyway, I was just disappointed to not see Cincinnati on the list. But, whatever. Ohio has a bunch of solid schools! I wouldn't send her to OU if you don't like the idea of her partying her liver away.
The best university definitely depends on her major, though I guess that's not possible to use since she is unsure. If she has any inclination towards arts or design, UC's DAAP (Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning) is definitely something to look at. Music? UC's CCM (College-Conservatory of Music). These are nationally very prominent. Various other programs are strong, as well (Classics, Philosophy, Criminal Justice,...).
Anyway, I was just disappointed to not see Cincinnati on the list. But, whatever. Ohio has a bunch of solid schools! I wouldn't send her to OU if you don't like the idea of her partying her liver away.
I'm glad to see their architecture program has improved so much. When I entered KSU's arch program in 1995, Cincinnati's program had only just received a 3 year accreditation. 5 years is good, 4 years is just OK, and 3 years is sort of probationary. (just giving you a hard time...)
I don't know anything about Kent so I'll leave that one to people who know it better.
I was born on OSU campus to two Buckeye alumnus. My dad still lives in Cbus and I hung out around campus a bit when I was in college. I'm not a fan of the area (it's pretty rough right around campus) and I can't stand their athletics so I'm biased against OSU which admittedly have nothing to do with academics.
I went to OU briefly before transferring out of state. It's beautiful and Athens is a great town but it doesn't have the best reputation academically. All I heard when I'd tell people where I was attending was "oh, you chose a party school". OU is VERY proud of it's party school reputation. Drugs are rampant just like in every college town but Athens seems to kick it up a notch. The journalism department is well respected but not much else.
I've always had a favorable opinion of Miami. I would be proud to have a degree from Miami.
Last but not least, BG. I grew up in Bowling Green. My mom still works at the university and as such, my sister and I both could take advantage of free tuition at BGSU. Both of us bolted as fast as we could. Free tuition at BGSU wasn't even enough of a positive for either of us to attend. I didn't/don't feel BGSU is a quality school. It's gone through a lot of changes recently and I don't think many of them are for the better. Oh, and if you're not aware, BGSU is often referred to as BGSTDU.
Bowling Green it's self is a nice enough town. I had a great childhood growing up in such a nice/safe town but going back for periodic visits is depressing. The town looks rundown.
Overall, I would suggest your daughter research her potential major and choose based on which schools fit her major instead of working back the other way. I went at it the wrong way and transferred a few times before I found where I needed to be.
I just went back and read a comment about something being in the water in Athens. It's funny because there IS something in the water in Athens. It's called contaminants! Oh, the good ole days of boil alerts while living in the New South dorms! Don't open your mouth when you shower they say!
RE: Partying at OU, since it's been mentioned here a couple times.
Ohio's party school reputation is always a touchy subject, especially with prospective students and their parents. Having just spent four years in Athens, I feel like I'm qualified to discuss it.
Yes, I will say that there are more parties at Ohio than other schools I've visited. Yes, you can find people going out and drinking any night of the week, but you can find that at any school. Yes, we have a huge Halloween party that shuts down the main street Uptown and is attended by thousands, many who travel from other schools to attend. However, it's not like the entire student body gets drunk every night and goes to class hungover every day.
I actually think Ohio's party school reputation will decrease in the coming years. Aside from Halloween, the other most notable party element at Ohio are the "fests". Basically a half dozen or so of the biggest off-campus streets will host day-long parties. When it's that street's fest, almost every house on the street will host a party, some with bands, some with DJs. Parties start early in the morning and last all day and into the night (they all stop at midnight as Athens has a noise ordinance that shuts down any party that can be heard from the street at midnight). They usually go on without incident. Almost all of the arrests made are by undercover agents busting people for underage drinking. I went to them every year, always had fun and never had any problems.
Why am I bringing this up? Because this year, OU, OSU and UC switched from quarters to semesters in order to unify the Ohio public universities. Most of these fests occurred in May when many other schools were already done for the year, but OU was still in session. They were heavily attended by non-OU students, and if you look at the arrests records, most of the arrests were non-OU students. Now, the fests will be happening in March and April, and I think they will be a lot smaller as a result. You won't have as many non-OU students coming down for them because they will all still be in school. Additionally, the colder March weather will make for a smaller and more subdued fest season.
These fests are not exclusive to OU either. Kent State has College Fest every year on College Street. It seems like Kent police end up shutting it down every year around 7pm because it gets too out of control. Last year, the police went down the street with riot gear and armored vehicles and fired tear gas into the crowds. Here's a story about it: Police break up College Fest after violence ensues
Another thing to keep in mind is the party school (and any other Princeton Review rankings) are about as unscientific as you can get. It's all based on student surveys, and students at "party schools" are more inclined to stuff the ballot and say they party more than they really do. It seems like the same ten or so schools top those lists every year, but OU always seems to be the one singled out as being strictly a party school. My theory? The other "party schools" also have big time athletic programs that receive most of the publicity for those schools. Schools like West Virginia, Penn State and Florida party just as much, if not more than OU, and are always at or near the top of the party school list. However, when people think of them, their first thoughts are usually about their prominent football/basketball teams. OU's athletics are improving, but they are nowhere near the level of these schools. So instead of associating Ohio with big time athletics, they go to the next most publicized thing, party school rankings.
I'll also say that so far in my young carrer, my OU degree has not held me back at all. I had an internship at one of the largest advertising agencies in the world. I had a job lined up a month before I graduated, a job doing exactly what I want to do with my career. My girlfriend was accepted to every grad school she applied to, and also found a job in her field before graduating. Sure, the party school reputation comes up occasionally at work, but it's always in a fun, not negative way. For example, last week I was out to lunch with one of our vendors, and he asked us where we went to school. When I said Ohio he responded with "I heard that's a fun place." And he's exactly right. Athens is a fun place, and a lot of students, myself included had a "work hard, play hard" mentality that allowed us to be successful in the classroom and with our extracurricular activities while still having an amazing time. I'm so proud to be a Bobcat, and I would never feel ashamed to tell people I am an Ohio University alumnus.
Yes, I do know people who went to OU for a year, but had to drop out/transfer because they got too caught up in partying and couldn't handle it. But at the same time, I know people who graduated in four years, had a great time, and never had a sip of alcohol. College is whatever you make of it. Athens is an amazing place, and there are always plenty of non-alcohol related activities to partake in. There's a beautiful bike path on campus and a state park up the street with hiking trails as well as a lake for canoeing. There's an awesome independent movie theater Uptown that shows great indie movies. There's a thriving local music scene with concerts all across town, as well as open mic nights for musicians, poets and comedians. Our fine arts school is excellent, and they put on great concerts and plays. Our football and basketball teams are continuing to rise, and their games are increasingly becoming must-see events.
Sorry for the rant. I just have so much pride in my school, and I would hate to see a potential student walk away because they think the school's reputation will prevent them from having a successful career.
If you are concerned about costs, check out Ohio Wesleyan. They have a fantastic merit scholarship program.
OWU is a small school with an excellent science department, among others. It has a large percentage of foreign students. The faculty and staff are very caring.
Our daughter graduated from OWU in 2009. She had a presidential scholarship as well as some others and was able to graduate debt free. She went to a summer institute sponsored by Notre Dame in between her junior and senior year, and the field trip for one of her senior classes was to Costa Rica.
Check out Ohio Wesleyan in the ratings magazines and you will find it's always rated very well.
Ohio University - Excellent for journalism, solid engineering programs, and Honors Tutorial College
Miami University - Excellent for all types of business programs, paper science, education, psychology. One of the few colleges to have a gerontology program and also offers some cool, unique programs like the forestry degree with Duke, 3-2 engineering with Columbia, and excellent pre-med
Ohio State University - Excellent for the undecided. If they don't have the degree, the world doesn't need it. Also has many programs of excellence, including their athletics and the 2nd best business school in the state (Miami's Farmer School of Business is of course the best).
Kent State University - Excellent for Fashion, pre-med (the only school on the list which has a curriculum designed for completion at NEOUCOM), and pre-law
Bowling Green State University - Excellent for Education. Also has a very good Supply Chain Management program
I was born on OSU campus to two Buckeye alumnus. My dad still lives in Cbus and I hung out around campus a bit when I was in college. I'm not a fan of the area (it's pretty rough right around campus) and I can't stand their athletics so I'm biased against OSU which admittedly have nothing to do with academics.
Can't help you with not liking the sports, but the area around OSU is definitely improving. Granted it has its issues, but all the development from the Short North is gradually moving up High Street in that direction. OSU is spending a lot of money trying to fix up the local neighborhoods and Weinland Park nearby is also seeing significant revitalization. Also, all sophomores will eventually have to live on Campus, which is going to change the neighborhoods a bit as well, probably for the better. Most of the neighborhoods surrounding OSU are growing in population.
The worst areas, though, are east of the railroad tracks past N. 4th Street, which isn't the campus area or even an adjacent neighborhood.
Ohio University - Excellent for journalism, solid engineering programs, and Honors Tutorial College
Miami University - Excellent for all types of business programs, paper science, education, psychology. One of the few colleges to have a gerontology program and also offers some cool, unique programs like the forestry degree with Duke, 3-2 engineering with Columbia, and excellent pre-med
Ohio State University - Excellent for the undecided. If they don't have the degree, the world doesn't need it. Also has many programs of excellence, including their athletics and the 2nd best business school in the state (Miami's Farmer School of Business is of course the best).
Kent State University - Excellent for Fashion, pre-med (the only school on the list which has a curriculum designed for completion at NEOUCOM), and pre-law
Bowling Green State University - Excellent for Education. Also has a very good Supply Chain Management program
Ohio State is not just good for the undecided or the business student, but also for pretty much all STEM majors (some are even better than the programs at Case Western Reserve, including the top astronomy department in the country), and any health related major that somehow doesn't fall into the STEM category. It's also has one of the best schools of public policy.
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