Columbus State Community College

Date: Mar 21 2008
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
Ohio State is huge. It is difficult to truly express just how big the school is, other than to make it clear that it is THE BIGGEST school in the nation. As a result, if you go there as a freshman you will be stuck in enormous lecture halls with up to 400 students in them, and good luck getting your professor to answer your question, let alone know just who you are.

Yet, this enormity is not without its benefits. In my time at Ohio State I made many friends and found the camaraderie of the student body to be fantastic. Everyone is a student and although there are the inevitable arrogant rich kids, the gangstas and plenty of other selective groups, by and large the community is good. The selection of activities is as big as the University itself, and there are plenty of activities, job fairs and [insert whatever else goes on at any university here] to spare.

Ohio State was not for me. The curriculum was stimulating, but even for someone like me who learns on his own and needs minimal help from professors, the inability to interact with the highly-qualified instructors you are paying thousands of dollars to be educated by is frustrating to say the least. Most gen-ed classes (of which MANY are required) are taught by TAs (Teaching Assistants—mostly grad school students) and many are taught by professors with accents so thick it is really difficult to understand what is going on. Again, I will clarify that I am NOT a needy student; however, even I would like some interaction with an actual professional instructor every once in a while. You simply do not get it in the early years at OSU.

Another aspect of the monstrosity of the University is that it is hard to know where to go to get questions answered. Walk into University Hall to talk to the Humanities Department, get sent to Morrill Tower to talk to Financial Aid, and have them send you to the South Oval to talk to Admissions once and you will get the picture. I do not imagine that a University that really does not know who I am would be terribly helpful in assisting me with my career after graduation, an important point to consider when choosing a college.

In the end, Ohio State is good for students who don't mind being lost in the crowd and thrive on an active social life full of late weekend (and weeknight) nights and partying. If you can deal with huge lectures and being taught by TAs and barely-intelligible foreigners—which are not absolute negatives by any means—and you are going to school more to revel in the nightlife and camaraderie of being a college student, go to OSU. If you are more like me and you enjoy the "school" part of school, and interacting intellectually while still having fun developing friendships with fellow students, try looking at a smaller college.