Good news! Jason got the call today, he has been invited to attend BOTH schools- The Ohio State and Southern College of Optometry!!! Now the big decision has to be made, where to go? I think I will list the pros and cons, and would love to hear your comments!
OSU pros:
1. Big public school, lots of amenities and things to do
2. Only four hours from family!!
3. Great football (for Jason)
4. Well-known for all academic programs
5. Incorporates a business management program into its 4 year curriculum (this is the biggest draw for us)
OSU cons:
1. Big public school, less friendly
2. We HATE Columbus, ick
3. Facilities are somewhat old, in need of updating
4. More expensive, less opportunity for scholarships
SCO pros:
1. Great, new, state-of-the-art facilities
2. Small, private school, very friendly, people know your name
3. We like Memphis, Tennessee is beautiful and warm
4. Good, southern cooking!!
5. All the college does is optometry, very specialized
6. Cheaper tuition, more opportunity for scholarships
7. Financial aid is more flexible
SCO cons:
1. Far from family (11.5 hours away)
2. No business classes, only online resources for help
After much fasting and prayer, we'll make our decision. It may help to wait until after the OSU vs. UofM game this weekend, as well! :)
3 comments:
What you should probably focus on for your decision is which school will give Jason a better education and opportunities for his career. If you think the newer facilities and specialized curriculum at SCO will get Jason to a higher level, go there. The tuition and scholarship points are a bonus.
Sometimes schools will offer reports giving average starting salaries of new graduates from their various programs, or the employment rate of their graduates. If you can get some information like that, it will give you an idea of what kind of demand you can expect for a job after graduating.
The other things like how nice the city is, or how far from family aren't that important since you'll probably be moving after Jason graduates. You'll only be there for a few years.
(P.S. Memphis is not that great. Joe and Michele lived there for a year, and we visited a few times. It's pretty run-down, and during summer it's like living in a boiler room. I would definitely try to find a place as far from the city as you're comfortable commuting.)
I agree with lots of Kurt's points. Except I would add that finding the right fit for a school is also important. I ended up choosing a much less prestigous school because of the small classes and each advisor only had 2-3 students. Which faculty seemed more supportive? At which school did the students look less frazzled? Did either of them stand out as more student focused rather than research focused?
I agree with Kurt as well about the city being neither here nor there. It is only for a couple years. Trust me, Greenville is not gem but the college was the right fit.
Kurt is right. I spent two weeks with Michele when they first moved to Memphis. We spent a lot of time exploring the city. Beale Street is nice, completely fake but nice, but go a couple blocks and you are in the slums. Lots of homeless people, lots of crime problems. While I was there the convenience store down the street was robbed by somebody who went in and tied a rope around the ATM and then attached the rope to their truck and drove off. It was the second time someone had done the same thing at the same store. Also, a prisoner broke out of the city jail by climbing up through a crack in the ceiling. Also the second time this had happened and nothing had been done to prevent it. Just a couple examples from my stay. As for cost of living, I know they looked for more reasonable apartments but they were only in really bad neighborhoods. The apartment they ended up in was quite expensive. There are nice places to live but you have to get pretty far out of the city proper.
Thanks for your ideas and suggestions. We really feel like Memphis is a better fit for us. Jason is very interested in eye disease, and because of the city slums you're describing, they get a lot of practice on all kinds of disease, and there is never a lull in patients! In Ohio, we understand their clinics are not as full, so you don't actually get to work on as many patients there, so your experience isn't as high at graduation. (While we were touring SCO facilities they brought in an inmate in handcuffs with a guard to offer eye care!)
OSU has a smaller entering class, only 65 students, while SCO has 120. That is a small deterent. However, the faculty and staff are definitely not as helpful and friendly as they are at Memphis.
Another bonus is that Jason is not interested in doing research. OSU, as you know, is a prestigious university and likes to be shown off in journals and such. While they said they don't require research, it was fairly obvious that they certainly appreciate students who go the extra mile. SCO flat out says they are NOT interested in research. While there are opportunities to do it, it's not their focus. Another bonus.
And for me, the location is fairly important. We'll be starting to raise our family and will need to feel comfortable and safe wherever we are- but neither Columbus nor Memphis really fits this need. Thus, moving outside of town is a must. The suburbs really aren't too far from Memphis, but the safety concerns go down considerably. We talked to several married students there that have actually bought decent houses outside of town and enjoyed the area.
We're 95% sure we're going to SCO at this point. We both feel very good about the decision. We don't have to tell either school for several weeks, so we have time to think and pray about it, and then come to the final decision. I'm glad I was able to attend both interviews with him and help make this decision. Thanks for your comments, all are welcome for this huge decision!
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