Ohio State University - Main Campus Reviews

  • 246 Reviews
  • Columbus (OH)
  • Annual Tuition: $36,722
94% of 246 students said this degree improved their career prospects
95% of 246 students said they would recommend this school to others
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Student & Graduate Reviews

TYLER FORD
  • Reviewed: 1/7/2014
  • Degree: MBA
"The Full-Time MBA program at Ohio State has been very rewarding half way through my first semester. The cooperation with the different students as well as the faculty and staff have been beneficial to my internship search. The program prides itself with assisting students' internship and full time job searches. In addition, the small class sizes provide a great atmosphere and enable you to really know your classmates and professors. The small class sizes also enable many students to receive tuition assistance through graduate assistant positions. The program needs to make a concentrated effort to improve the diversity of the program. Many more African-American and Hispanic students are needed to provide different perspectives and enrich the program. Also, more women are needed to help in this regard as well."
Eun Hye Kim
  • Reviewed: 1/6/2014
  • Degree: Health Sciences
"Cooperative environment; awesome peers with lots of opportunities to get involved on campus. Faculty are always willing to help; excellent facility and academic support."
Rachel Hawkins
  • Reviewed: 12/28/2013
  • Degree: Social Work
"Teachers are often community members working in the field picking up a part time job. This is fine and they have experience to share, but they may need more guidance in teaching."
Merideth Cooper
  • Reviewed: 12/28/2013
  • Degree: Chemical Engineering
"The Columbus area has a lot to offer both academically and socially. With the diverse Ohio State community, the Columbus area has a diverse culture not too different from the California bay area that I moved from. The professors really push and challenge you, but they are also available to work with you if needed."
Jeaniene Leis
  • Reviewed: 12/28/2013
  • Degree: Veterinary Science
"Pros are the location of the campus. It is separate from the rest of the huge undergraduate campus, but close enough that you can use the facilities or be a part of activities on the main campus if you want to. There is no campus housing, but the areas close to the school are very affordable and nice for young professionals. There is a lot to do close by, which is good because as a vet student you don't have much free time so it is good to be close to things when you do have some free time. Overall I have loved my program. I think I have received a lot of great support academically as well through my program."
Lori Critcher
  • Reviewed: 12/27/2013
  • Degree: Anthropology
"This program is very strong in providing a theoretical background and practical academic skills (grant writing, teaching, etc.). These strengths have led to great success for former students because they give our graduates a strong advantage on the job market. The only weakness is the lack of methodological training. Overall it is an excellent program."
Jessie Wallace
  • Reviewed: 11/11/2013
  • Degree: Biology
"Ohio State has a very healthy research atmosphere. They have done a good job at creating "an ark" of scientists- at least one or two in every discipline so I can always find someone with the expertise I need if I need help. The major downside to my program is that we are fragmented between two buildings that are 1 mile+ apart so accessing important resources (like there herbarium, insect collection) can be a hassle. Another minus in my book is that because faculty are more focused on research there is a low selection and frequency of grad-level courses offered (on average 1 grad-level course per semester in department), so I take most of my coursework from other departments."
Kay Clopton
  • Reviewed: 11/10/2013
  • Degree: Liberal Arts
"The pros of my program are that there are knowledgeable faculty members who are willing to work with you. The flexibility to work with other departments to be able to better complete one's studies is a definite plus. Also having the library facilities for specific programs is useful. The cons are that when it comes to getting set up to do some of the benchmarks for graduate work, not everyone is helpful in getting people knowledgeable enough to know what their responsibilities are (but I see that as a minor issue). A larger issue is that financial aid is woefully inadequate. The Graduate School does not really provide resources for fellowships and other aid that is available outside of the university, and the application process for the Grad Plus loan is still an offline, paper document where they do not notify you if there are any problems with the application. There is also a lack of Graduate Associate positions that are research or administrative for people who are looking for an alternative to teaching; when these jobs are available, information is hard to come by and it makes it that much more difficult to navigate. When you are a person with a family, the financial aid that is calculated for a student does not reflect the needs of someone who has multiple people to care for, and while that is not the fault of any university, it would be helpful if there was more assistance on offer from either the Graduate School or the department that processes applications for aid."
Catherine Mlay
  • Reviewed: 11/3/2013
  • Degree: Social Work
"We are not prepared for work on main campus while doing work at regional campus. At regional campus, taught by LSW or MSW off the street and not professors. Must travel to main campus for a lot of classes (travel expense, weather.)"
Danielle Fletcher
  • Reviewed: 10/24/2013
  • Degree: Communications (Speech Pathology)
"This graduate program is lead by a number of experienced speech-language pathologists with varying backgrounds. I feel that I have already learned quite a bit from them after only being in this program for half a semester. A lot of time is required for this program. It is not easy to have an outside job in addition to being in this program."
Emily Proctor
  • Reviewed: 10/15/2013
  • Degree: Public Administration
"I work full time and am in school at about 3/4 time (somewhere between part time and full time). I am finding it a lot easier to manage than I had anticipated. I am also very impressed with the accessibility of staff. I can get in to see an advisor usually the same week and so far, all of my professors and lecturers have been very helpful and willing to provide feedback. I am loving graduate school so much more than undergrad. If I must list a con, I would say that it is a relatively new program so I am not sure how it ranks among other programs in the country. That said, the program is growing quickly and for good reason-it's great!"
Xuan Shi
  • Reviewed: 10/13/2013
  • Degree: Mathematics
"Our department is like a big family, with responsible professors who help us with our study and career."
Stephen Tadlock
  • Reviewed: 10/10/2013
  • Degree: History
"The main pro of the program is that the support that you receive from the department. They are very flexible and willing to work with you if you have unusual situation (such as older students with small children). The overall graduate school has made some choices that do make like more difficult like continued enrollment, but the department tries to mitigate that. The main con has to do with its location in Columbus. Quite frankly, the city sucks: it is unsafe, congested, and a generally unpleasant place to live."
William Feest
  • Reviewed: 10/10/2013
  • Degree: MBA
"Fantastic program and one of the best values of all top MBA programs in the U.S."
Tansol Park
  • Reviewed: 10/10/2013
  • Degree: Animal Science
"Columbus looks great even though I still have not gone through the winter of Ohio. And my professor is really nice. Discussion with him about my research every week encourages me. And working with other friends is also very grateful for me to improve myself in various aspect. Actually still my English is not enough to have a sufficient conversation with my colleagues, I believe I will enhance my speaking and writing ability with classes and presentation. And the relationships with professors in Animal science looks really great. Because I had strict relationship with my professor in South Korea. So, it will be better to study more intensively through discussion with them freely."
Chad Berry
  • Reviewed: 10/10/2013
  • Degree: Cultural Studies
"The OSU East Asian Studies program emphasizes interdisciplinary study across a variety of fields within your concentration. This experience has been good preparation for me, whether I decide to continue my academic studies or go directly into the workforce with my M.A. The program is quite rigorous, but in the long run, that's a good thing. The professors demand excellence, but they are also approachable and have always been willing to help when asked. Although OSU is not an Ivy League school, it IS a "Public Ivy" and the quality of education is excellent."
Lauren Bates
  • Reviewed: 9/22/2013
  • Degree: Environmental Science
"The School of Environment and Natural Resources is a very multidisciplinary department with experts from many different backgrounds. They all work together to solve specific problems. I like that because it's more tangible and it really connects what we are learning to the real world; it's not just theoretical. But the need for more classes to help students become experts capable of solving complex problems is great. This department is rapidly expanding to meet that need."
Allie Wollner
  • Reviewed: 9/16/2013
  • Degree: Creative Writing
"I just began my MFA in creative nonfiction and am very grateful for the vastly resourced program I'm now a part of. Every student in the program is fully funded, and those who teach (some are awarded a first year fellowship and don't teach until their 2nd year) are thoroughly prepared and supported to act as instructors for the University-wide 1st year composition course. The fact that every student is funded makes the difference to me--it means there's little competition, resentment, insecurity, anxiety, and jealousy that the tiered-funding MFA programs seem to breed. I'm also deeply grateful to be studying creative nonfiction with Lee Martin, who does a masterful job of teaching structure and helping students learn the techniques that will allow them to become adept and compelling writers of creative nonfiction. I'm also very impressed by the use and integration of technology in the classroom at OSU. The Digital Media Studies program, housed within the English Dept, offers classes in Digital Media literacy and teaches future teachers how to incorporate digital media tools in their classrooms. OSU offered me everything I wanted--full funding, a generous stipend, the opportunity to teach (but not too much--only 1 course per semester), and excellent instruction and mentorship in creative writing."
Colleen Kennedy
  • Reviewed: 9/16/2013
  • Degree: English
"Pros: Large, diverse program with faculty covering almost any area, field, concentration, etc. one can think of. Despite that, the department still feels tight and friendly. Good financial support (low cost of living in Columbus, which is decidedly a cooler city than one would imagine); good teacher-training and ability to teach an array of courses, not just freshman composition; a lot of underutilized funds for travel, research, and conferences; strong academic market support and job placement rate. Cons: Lack of academic vigor (many grad courses feel like upper-level undergrad courses); a general bumpiness as the university switches from quarters to semesters and as the department moves toward a MA/PhD direct track rather than separate MA & PhD programs. These latter two should probably be smoothed over in the next few years."
Brittany Warman
  • Reviewed: 9/16/2013
  • Degree: English
"Excellent program, I'm so happy here. They really go above and beyond to help you be the best you can be."