Collegeorelse: great questions, I'll try to hit them all.
1) The honors program was definitely beneficial in most aspects. Within Fisher itself, I took 4 quarters worth of classes with everyone in the Honors contract program. These classes were different because they were mainly project/case study based, a bit different than the other typical classes. It was a great way to get more of a 'real world' perceptive on things; we worked with a non-profit company one quarter and my group worked with Goodyear another quarter for a social media based project. Beyond those, the student will also have to take non-fisher honors courses (which are typically more discussion / involvement based) along with a minor.
Priority scheduling for honors was AMAZING. You pick scheduling based on certain ranks, and honors was rank 1 along with athletes. I typically scheduled 3-4 weeks ahead of my non-honors friends, so it was never an issue to get into a class that I needed.
While I don't think the honors program specifically provided networking opportunities, it was definitely easier to get internships/jobs because of being in honors--the program was a great point to have on a resume and was always a conversation starter during interviews where you could then go on to talk about your various experiences with the program. Study abroad programs should be available regardless of honors status.
2) I was happy with my education at Fisher and I do believe that it gave me the tools to find a job in a business related field; the school is nationally ranked quite high and employers know that, coming from Fisher, the students receive a top education. However, as at all schools, there were still definitely some classes that seemed less useful than others. I found that a few of my "Intro to..." courses, especially international business and human resources, were not as beneficial as I had hoped. However, I found that all of my specialization courses were very well organized and geared towards real world application.
3) The career center at Fisher is probably the best at Ohio State. The student has to "become QUIC" as it's called, and in this they go through a mock interview, resume reviews, etc. before being allowed to actually interview with companies--the best part. There are tons of companies that post jobs/internships on the website called Fisher Connect, something that all Fisher students can use after passing their mock interview. You simply submit your resume and then can sign up for interviews if accepted; all of the interviews (first round at least) take place at Fisher, so the location is incredibly convenient. I accepted an offer for a full time job that I interviewed for through Fisher Connect.
4) I would definitely come to Ohio State all over again if possible, and my experience would definitely be made better by hind-sight (it's 20/20!). I would have taken more AP tests and tried testing out of more courses once at Ohio State through the office of testing; I did test out of Intro to Marketing, which greatly helped. Had I not switched majors (computer sci to Fisher) and minors (spanish to economics) I would have probably graduated early, my only regret. However, the people here are great and my college experience was excellent. Getting a job on campus for students is incredibly easy if you put the effort in, and Ohio State's online services are very advanced.
5) I am not currently aware of a fellow student from Fisher going to law school, but a few friends through the honors program are going to get their Masters of Accounting. I considered law school at one point, however the market for lawyers is currently very saturated and I believe that it would be quite difficult to obtain a job.
Feel free to message me or respond to this post again with ANY questions/concerns!
Thanks for your very thoughtful, thorough response! This will be very beneficial to my D as she makes her decision. Next step is the Honors admitted students program next Friday. The info that you gave us will help us get the most out of that day. Also thanks for your offer to answer additional questions, there may be some down the road!
No problem! One more thing regarding Honors at Fisher:
If you get into Honors at Ohio State, you will be in it for the first two years. However, once admitted into Fisher, you have to apply for either Honors Contract/Cohort/Accounting. Fisher is the only program (that I know of) at Ohio State that makes you basically re-apply to honors--not everyone that was previously in honors will stay in. While this seems like a pain / unfair, one positive aspect of it is that it makes the honors program that much more prestigious/selective.
Just an important thing for the first couple years--if Ohio State is chosen, make sure to take honors/upper level courses during Freshmen year, stay involved on campus, and keep a good GPA (3.5 min) to ensure admittance into one of Fisher's honors programs!
Hi, I have a question. I'm out of state and I'm just wondering if there are a lot of out of state people at OSU and if they interact a lot with people in-state. I don't know how to phrase it better, but it's just that I don't want to feel left out if I go to OSU and most people there know each other already cause they came from similar high schools.
Great question---while there are definitely more people from in-state, there are still plenty from out of state. However, people are spread out all over from the state of Ohio. There are people from Columbus, sure, but lots from Northeast/Southern/other parts of Ohio, so it really doesn't matter where you are from.
I think two of my friends are from high school (I'm not from Columbus) but the rest are not...don't worry, lots of people here!
Well, assuming I get accepted, I will be transferring as a Junior, potentially. Do most transfer students adjust rather easily, if you have an idea at least. OSU is much much much larger than my current school.
Also, what would you say the best dorms on South are?
Oh, and is not being able to get into classes a huge problem or lots of people? Never had to worry about that here (Honors early scheduling).
My roommate transferred from the University of Akron and he had no trouble adjusting at all--even though campus is big, it's still segmented between campus (North/South/West), Dorms, and majors...so although there are 50,000 people here, you will still make your own community.
The 'best' is definitely an opinion...I'm not sure which are open next year because of construction, but I know that the Freshman 5 (Siebert, Park, Steeb, Smith, and Stradley) are all basically the same just slightly different location wise. Some will be closer to the union/high street, some closer to campus dining/classes.
I never had the problem getting into classes w/ honors scheduling, but you shouldn't have an issue since you are a junior and class rank (specifically hours) is a major factor on when you get to schedule.
On North Campus, I lived in Drackett Tower as a Sophomore/Junior and it was great AS A SUPER DOUBLE. I'm not sure if that's an option still, because I think they converted a lot to quads and they would be highly uncomfortable as quads. I would make your #1 priority getting a super double, regardless of building or location.
But Drackett was great because it's super close to Business/Engineering classes and is the absolute closest you can be to North Campus dining.
Can you briefly talk about nightlife and weekends at OSU? Are parties dependent on greek life? Do you need to be a part of greek life to party at OSU? Thank you in advance
