Ohio University Main Campus Visit Report by StitchInTime

Visit Activities:

Admissions Interview: No - Not a formal interview, but an assistant dean of admissions met with us for one hour after the information session and took us on a tour of the arts residential learning community.

Information Session: Yes - Good historical overview of the university along with details on the various colleges and programs.

Campus Tour: Yes - Be sure to visit facilities in the major your interested in. For example, the art facilities are a much older than others, though the level of work put out by the students is outstanding.

Classroom Visit: Yes - We peaked in on several classes and independent work sessions. A high level of scholarship is at work in the Fine Arts college. They have high GPA requirements to stay in the major.

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Campus:

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Couldn't ask for more. Daughters even had a senior ambassador assigned to them to keep in touch over the coming year as they make their final decision.

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Can't say enough about the 'we want you here' attitude of everyone we met. We easily had at least 3 hours of dedicated time with college administrators and teachers to answer every que

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This is a beautiful school. It would be nice to see a 'keep our beautiful school clean' campaign initiated to make sure cigarette butts were properly disposed of.

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Again, be sure to visit facilities in you major. The Fine Arts building is overdue for some internal renovations.

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Dorm facilities are undergoing renovations. Some are nicer than others. Be sure to check these out for yourself as well.

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There were some areas in the Fine Arts building which didn't look that safe. I would caution a young lady against working in the studios alone late at night without a 'buddy' student.

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The art facilities keeps this from being scored at a 5. The student center and athletic facilities are nothing short of outstanding.

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Off-Campus:

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Campus transitions nicely to the surrounding college town...though some of the local bars seemed a bit seedy. Students in search of body art don't have far to go with a tatoo shop in the college

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Didn't go beyond the college town to make a proper assessment of the greater Athens community.

Campus Visit Notes for Ohio University Main Campus

Visit Description:

While the facilities for the College of Fine Arts are not the best we've seen and are in need of renovation, the quality of instruction and student scholarship is very high. This is a program that has a proven track record of nurturing and developing creativity and craftmanship.

Some of the undergraduate student work we saw easily rivaled that of graduates from other programs. Undergrads have gone on to top graduate schools including the ivys.

The College of Fine Arts prides itself on its minimum 2.75 GPA to stay in the some majors and they're very strict about it (see: College Standards for Performance at http://www.finearts.ohio.edu/pages/curstudent/undergrad/academic-probation.htm) . The 'no easy A's' is a proud motto of the faculty.

Collaboration amongst the art disciplines and across other college majors is highly encouraged (see: The Aesthetic Technologies Lab at http://www.ohio.edu/atlab/about.html). Ohio University also promotes 'Art for Ohio' (see: http://www.finearts.ohio.edu/artsforohio/index.htm) where any student can attend any art event for free; just like they can attend any sporting event for free. This has significantly increased student support for the arts.

Other Comments (Transportation, local attractions, parking, etc.):

Parking can be an issue. Be sure to print out a parking pass if you're planning a visit.