My decision

After nearly eight months of researching schools, preparing for the GRE, applying for schools and evaluating my offers, I have made a grad school decision. I have decided to attend The Ohio State University, and I will be studying in the School of Communication Master’s program. Starting in the fall of 2012, I am going to be a Buckeye!

I have decided to go to graduate school
 at The Ohio State University.

Although I thought this would be a difficult decision to make, I was sure of where I wanted to study once I visited Ohio State.

The School of Communication invited me to visit this past weekend, along with 19 other students. The school booked us each a hotel room, took us out to a wonderful dinner (where I had a $9 martini and $17 meal), funded our night out at a bar and reimbursed me for the gas I used to drive to and from Columbus. How could I say no to that?



Every year, Ohio State students jump in Mirror Lake
during November before the Michigan game.

However, the program itself and the people I met were the real reason I chose Ohio State. I met with the director of the communication program, many communication professors and current MA and Ph.D. students. All of them were extremely welcoming and willing to answer any questions I had. The students were truthful and explained both their likes and dislikes of the program, but many had wonderful things to say about studying communication at Ohio State.

The communication program Ohio State offers is a top-rated program. But, my biggest fear about studying at Ohio State was the number of students. In terms of population, Ohio State is the third largest university in the country, with 65,000 students.

Luckily, the communication master’s program only accepts about 25 students each year and maintains approximately 25 master’s students each year including both first and second-year students. This means I will be in a very tight-knit program where I will know all of my fellow students. In fact, during my first semester, I will take all of my classes with next year’s incoming students. This will really help me get to know the students in my cohort.



The communication department offices are located in Derby Hall.

I’m also excited about my decision to study at Ohio State because I love Ohio State sports, and the city of Columbus is great. The director of communication at Ohio State pointed out some cool facts about Columbus:

1.       Columbus is the 15^th largest city in terms of population (2010 U.S. Census)

2.       It is the most affordable big city in the U.S. (2011 Relocate America corp)

3.      It is the 4^th best shopping city in the U.S. (2010 Forbes)

4.      It is the 9^th best City for new college grads (2010 Bloomberg)

5. It is a top rated city to raise a family (2009 Business Week)

Because of the program, the people, the school, the sports and the city, I am so happy with my decision, and I can’t wait to be a Buckeye!