My son has been admitted to several colleges which include Purdue, Penn State, Ohio State, Saint Louis University, and several others, but as many with things, the final decision comes down to affordability, security and convenience. After scholarships, grants, financial aid, and loans Marquette University and Ohio University (not Ohio State) have become our 2 top options. The final direct cost bill at Marquette is still a little over $13K with a chance of access to a Jesuit High School Scholarship of half tuition that will bring it down to $7500. Ohio University’s bill comes down to a little under $5K.
At Marquette he’s been admitted to Biomedical Engineering (which is his major of choice) and into the Honors Program. At Ohio University he’s been admitted to Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Both universities offer a 4+1 Biomedical Engineering Master Degree Program but only Marquette offers the BS. Ultimately he interested in in doing a Masters and I’ve heard and read that Biomedical Engineering Baccalaureates are not a big thing on their own and that you will probably be better off with a Chem Eng BS and a BME Masters than with a BME BS and Master…this I really don’t know, just read somewhere.
I know Marquette is not much of a party college and heard the complete opposite about Ohio University, same goes for Greek life. Safety is a big issue and we’ve read lots of comments and posts about Marquette being in a “not so good” neighborhood and having many robbery reports. I’m a bit concern about the party scene at Ohio not because of the extremes amounts of alcohol and craziness, but because often these party scenes can get ugly and/or aggressive.
At the end, Marquette is an option only if the Jesuit high school scholarship becomes available, which will put Marquette at a $3K difference, which is not much of a hardship to cover.
The common opinion is that to really work as a biomedical engineer you need an advanced degree (check out the myriad of topics on this in the Engineering forum). Many will tell you to get a degree in Chemical Engineering (which you are more likely to find employment with an undergrad degree) and if you wish to pursue BiomedE then do so as a masters degree. Others can weigh in, however, seeing as how your son would leave OU with a ChemE degree and a Biomed Masters if he chose, that might be the wiser course especially since it is the cheaper school to begin with.
It sounds like maybe your family is from Ohio. So am I. What I have heard about OU is that, yes, it is a party school but never heard about any violence. Ohio State, on the other hand, from time to time has riots which occasionally include impromptu and illegal bonfires.
My understanding is that… how shall I say this?.. the partying at Ohio University often includes smoking a substance which is now legal in Alaska, Colorado. Oregon, and Washington State but still illegal elsewhere. Not a good thing, obviously, except… from what I hear… this substance has the exact opposite effect from violence. People who use it regularly are called “stoners” and tend to be harmless (although they might need to get bailed out of jail). :-"
Frankly, I would not worry too much about either college, but your son probably would be slightly safer at OU than at Marquette.
Thanks for your comment. Actually don’t have any family in Ohio, never even visited the state. We’re from Puerto Rico, so there’s gonna be a lot of changes, specially in the weather. I have visited Marquette and was quite impressed with the facilities. Haven’t visit OU yet and don’t think I will. Traveling from here can get really expensive and that money is best invested in college expenses.
The campus at Ohio University is very nice. Much nicer, in my opinion, than OSU. The small town of Athens is rather charming and is a classic “college town.”
Thank you very much. When you say college town is it like Boston, just too many colleges around, or more like Penn State area; fewer colleges lots of party. Is it a safe place and is the University good academically?
The engineering departments at both schools are reputable, though it is my impression that there’s more research going on at Ohio U. Athens, Ohio is a perfectly safe place for students, whom say that they are quite happy with their education and life on the campus.
No, not like Boston. Ohio University is the only college in Athens. When I say “college town” that means the the college dominates the town. OU is more like Penn State. Good question.
The college is good academically, but Marquette is probably better in most respects. Ohio University is the oldest college in Ohio, and is very respected. I consider it to be a standard, solid, state university.
The town is pretty safe. Mainly because it is an extension of the college. It is pretty because it is in a hilly area with lots of trees, but also because the campus is fairly well maintained.
Since I live in Ohio, I know and meet lots of graduates of Ohio State as well as Ohio.U. The people who went to OSU tend to speak as though their degree is naturally beyond reproach. On the other hand, graduates of Ohio.U just get a big smile on their face when talking about their college. They love OU, while OSU grads are merely proud of their school.
So what you describe is basically like Purdue University. I have family that attended OSU but transferred from there. They hold it in high standing but have never mentioned OU. Seems to be a considerably big campus, though not as OSU. He got admitted to OSU as well but they were to frugal when it came to financial aid. They actually offered nothing, $0… OU offered him $14500 in grants, plus the Pell Grant, the FSEOG and loans of course. That’s the only way the poor can afford college this days. Still the offer is very generous that’s exactly why it is in this list.
Thanks for the comments NROTCgrad and LakeWashington. I’m feeling OU could be a very nice alternative and one I can actually afford
Yes, kind of like Purdue but smaller (and not as good for engineering). I have never visited Purdue, but have heard that it is not considered as pretty as OU.
OU is what many perceive to be the quintessential college campus. Red brick, very colonial feeling architecture, overall very bucolic. Like Penn State and Purdue it is a college town. The surrounding areas economy exists primarily to serve the university. It’s about half the size of either of the others, however, it’s impact on the surrounding area is probably larger. Since Athens is such a small town most of the things to do are going to be either university based or in the local college downtown area (thus the party reputation). The nearest city is Columbus is about an hour and a half away. One exception to this is if your son enjoys outdoor activities. OU is in a very poor but pretty part of Ohio. There are a lot of state parks and because of the university it has a lot of folk art in the area. As was mentioned before OU also has a reputation of being a place that students enjoy their educational experience at. Good luck in your decision.
Purdue might be better but was just like OSU, frugal to the extreme and made him a $500 scholarship offer but included around $40K in loans. On the other side they made one of my son’s schoolmates an extremely generous offer.