Ohio University pros and cons

Now that I've looked at the pros and cons of Kent State University, I'm going to list and explain my pros and cons about going to grad school at Ohio University.


I had visited Ohio University when deciding on undergrad and loved the campus and school itself. I chose to apply to OU because the school is well known for its Scripps School of Journalism. In fact, according to Wikipedia, The Scripps School "is considered one of the best journalism schools in the country."


Here is a look at my pros and cons for the Ohio University Scripps College of Communication master's of science Journalism program.

Ohio University has one of the top
journalism programs in the country.

Ohio University Pros:

1. The school is well known for its journalism program. I know that if I went there I would receive a quality education.
2. The campus is beautiful and is located in a "real" college town. I would be on a campus similar to the one I am now, just on a much larger scale.  

Ohio University Cons:    

1. The graduate program Ohio University offers is a master's of science in journalism. Since I'm more focused on teaching communication at the college level, I would rather enter a broader communication program than a more specific journalism one.
2. Ohio University expected me to make a decision on whether or not I would enroll in the fall by April 15. However prior to this date, the school never informed me of my stipend rate or what jobs my graduate assistantship would entail. In order to make an informed decision, I needed to have both of these details clearly explained.
3. Ohio University is about four hours away from home. I know this isn't extremely far, but I wanted to choose a school that was a little closer to home.

      It probably looks bad that I could only think of two reasons to go to Ohio University, but it just wasn't my top choice for grad schools. I applied there in case I didn't receive the offers I was looking for from Kent State or Ohio State. It's not that Ohio University is a poor grad school, it is just that it isn't the right school for me.

      For help finding a school that is right for you, visit PhDs.org. This site allows you to search for grad schools based on your field of study, and then you can rank the programs based on location, placement, size, diversity, and cost.

Kent State University pros and cons

Once I received my grad school acceptance letters, I had to seriously think about each offer. There were many differences between each school and offer, but several factors were the same for the three schools I applied to.

I received a graduate assistantship with stipend at all three schools, and I would be required to work about 20 hours a week at each one. I also received free tuition from all three schools.

 I considered all of the pros and cons of each school in order to make my decision. Here is a look at my pros and cons for the master’s of communication program at Kent State University.



Kent State was one of my top choices for graduate school.



Kent State University Pros:

1.  I really like the communication studies program. It is broad, so I would be able to study a variety of topics within communication. I would be able to focus my degree into one or two areas consisting of: health communication, interpersonal communication and mediated/mass communication.
2. One of the required courses for the program is titled Teaching of College Communication. This class sounds perfect for what I want to do with my degree, which is teaching communication at the college level.
3. Kent is close to home; it is only about an hour away. Distance is important to me because I love having the option to go home if I need to. Mercyhurst is only about one hour and 15 minutes away, which I think has been a good distance because I have always been able to go home when I wanted to.   

Kent State University Cons:    

1.  Kent’s stipend was the lowest amount I was offered. It was a little more than half of what Ohio State offered. In fact, the stipend was the same amount as when one of my professors received her master’s degree from there in 1998.
2. I would only receive tuition remission for nine credits each semester. If I took more than nine credits, I would have to pay for each additional credit.
3. The offer letter I received from Kent did not explain what my job requirements would entail. I was not told whether I would be a teaching assistant, research assistant or graduate assistant. I emailed a communication professor at Kent and asked questions, but she only alluded to the fact that I might be required to teach. I was never told exactly what I would be required to do.