The Ohio State University -- Columbus
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Business Administration with a specialization in Finance – in Fisher College of Business
Minors: Economics and International Economic and Social Development
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Female
Summary
Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship, Hillel, Undergraduate Business Women’s Association, and Greek life.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public School in Marlton, New Jersey with about 500 students in the graduating class.
First Generation College Student: No
Major: Business Administration with a specialization in Finance – in Fisher College of Business
Minors: Economics and International Economic and Social Development
Extracurricular Activities: Alleviating Poverty Through Entrepreneurship, Hillel, Undergraduate Business Women’s Association, and Greek life.
Did any of those have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Greek life did because of the friends that I have made and it has allowed me to take leadership roles.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
As a business student, you do a lot of case studies and work mostly with Excel. We have lectures every week, which take a lot of time, and then the lectures break down into smaller recitations. There are about 20 or 30 students in the smaller classes and that’s more of the hands-on learning where they’ll give you a problem or to use Top Hat or MyLab for statistics classes to work with it.
What are your major graded assignments?
Ohio State has a lot of multiple-choice tests in giant lecture halls, and everyone has a different version of the test. In my Finance courses, we were able to do more written exams. In Human Resources classes, you learn how to publicly speak in the business school but that’s not specific to finance.
Is there anything that you feel your major’s department does especially well or especially poorly?
It is good that we study the basics of every subject in the business school. I had classes in Accounting, Human Resources, and Logistics Management, which is great. On the other hand, I have found that being from New Jersey has made it more difficult to find an internship. At the career fair, the focus is generally on Ohio, Michigan, and Indiana. It seems more difficult to network in my home state while at Ohio State.
Can you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
At the business school, it’s collaborative. Everyone seems to be willing to help each other and they don’t like to put students against each other. Over the past few years, I’ve had a group of ten study friends who I collaborate with.
What has been your favorite class in your major or minor?
Investment Management is my favorite Finance course. My teacher was great and had many years of field experience from working on Wall Street.
What has been your least favorite class in your major or minor?
I don’t have a least favorite course in the business school. There are different ways of teaching. Some of the classes give you unnecessary or unchallenging work, but there is not a specific course that is my least favorite.
How accessible are your professors?
For being a big school, they are really accessible. They want you to reach out to them. They want you to come to office hours, and every teacher has office hours at least twice a week. If you can’t get there at that time and need to talk to them, you are able to email them and set up appointments. You can also talk to the professors before and after class, so they are really accessible.
What made you choose your major? And are you happy with your choice?
When I went to college I applied for Fisher College of Business and I didn’t know that I wanted to do Finance. I’m math-minded and when I was there I thought, “What could I do in the business school that applies math?” and I found Finance and Accounting. I chose Finance because it is a broader subject. You can work for any company and are able to do multiple things. I learned during my internship that you don’t need to stick to one process or one-way of doing things after college.
Reasons to Attend
1. It is a big school, but it also a small school feeling where you can be in a lot of clubs and organizations and work your way up. It has something for everybody. If you want to make your classes smaller you can make them smaller, and if you like big lectures you can have big lectures. [There is a 19:1 student-to-faculty ratio.]
2. The all-around social aspect. There is something for everybody if you like sitting in your room, reading books or like going out.
3. The campus itself is pretty.
Reasons Not to Attend
1. If you don’t apply yourself it might be easy for you to get lost in the crowd. Professors don’t care if you don’t come to lectures, if you’re not going to pay attention, or do your assignments, so if you’re not going to do that then you’re not going do well. They’re not going to hold your hand.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: I lived in Park-Stradley Hall, which is a dorm on campus and I had one roommate.
Sophomore: I lived in a sorority house and I had one roommate
Junior & Senior: I lived in an apartment with five of my friends and my five other friends lived in the same apartment complex but in another apartment. I’ll live in the same apartment senior year.
What was your favorite place to live?
Last year in the apartment because I had more freedom. I had my own room and I was living with my friends who I love to live with.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I feel pretty safe, but there are instances of robbing, armed robberies and people getting stalked walking because you are in the city. I’ve never experienced any of that. [The overall crime rate in Columbus is 62% higher than the national average, but when it comes to violent crimes it is 34% higher than the national average.]
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
Forno, it is an Italian restaurant and they have good happy hour specials.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
Going to the trails for a run.
How was the transitioning from New Jersey to Ohio?
At first, I was anxious, but when I was there for a week it was fine. I grew up going to sleep-away camps every summer, so I was already used to be away from home for a while. I think I do adjust to things pretty well.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I go to bars and fraternity parties. We don’t have house parties, or at least the people I hang out with don’t have them. There are 18+ bars that you can go to, you just get an X on your hand.
What nights of the week do you regularly go out? And are there certain things you do on certain nights?
I don’t go out that often on Wednesday, but there is Karaoke Wednesday and Wine Wednesday. Thursday is a big night out and everyone goes downtown in Columbus. If you’re in a sorority, frats will arrange buses or Ubers to pick you up and take you to the bars. Saturday is gameday and you go to fraternity parties and bars on campus.
What have been some of your favorite times at Ohio State?
My favorite time was walking into the stadium in my freshman year. I was never been in a stadium that big and got goose-bumps walking in a stadium with 110,000 people. I also love to run and they have a nice trail in the back of campus that goes on for miles
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
You don’t need to be in a fraternity or sorority to go out or have a social life, especially if you are a woman. We are not a school where if you are not in a fraternity you can’t go to a fraternity party. It’s also easy to go to the bars and I’m sure there are house parties if you look for them.
What is a typical night going out in freshman year?
During my first semester, we weren’t in sororities. On Thursdays, my roommate and I would hang out in our room and take the bus downtown. There was only one freshman bar where everyone would go. Saturday’s were game days but we wouldn’t wake up that early to start the day because we didn’t know any better and we didn’t have any older friends. We would still go to a fraternity party and go out. Our second semester, we joined sororities and started doing things with them. We would pair with fraternities and learn more about what everyone else does.
How happy are you with the nightlife at Ohio State? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’m happy with it. It is nice and we are well rounded with everything. There is something for everybody.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
My closest friend is my roommate from freshman year and she is also from around the New Jersey area. I met her through a mutual friend before going to school. My other friends from freshman year I met on the floor. At Ohio State, it’s great that we rush second semester, so I have a bunch of friends from my floor who are not in my sorority. The people who I live with now are also my best friends and they’re from my sorority. It’s possible to meet people other than through Greek life.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Ohio State?
It is well rounded and good. There’s something for everyone, there are bars, fraternity parties, and house parties if you look for them.
How would you describe the student body?
Everybody is friendly. For me, going to school in Ohio was a bit of a culture shock because people were willing to talk and willing to help you. It is not that competitive, at least in my school. It is a good place to be.
Do you think people are generally happy with their choice of Ohio State? Do you think people love Ohio State after they graduate?
Yes, all my friends are absolutely obsessed with Ohio State. I talk about Ohio State and I love it so much that my brother is attending here next year. I only had one friend who transferred and I hear a lot of people transferring to Ohio State and not from, so I think everyone is happy here. [In 2017, the first-year retention rate is 94.5%.]
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientation mix socially?
People mix pretty well. In my friend groups and sorority, we have different types of people in terms of sexual orientation and race. I can only speak for myself but I have zero problems with anybody. I’m pretty open and my friends are too, so it is generally not a problem.
Careers
Has the alumni network helps you find internships or jobs?
I haven’t used it much, but I recently reached out to somebody who is the head of the networking in Philadelphia and she put me in contact with a few other people. Hopefully, it will lead to something for next year.
To what extent have you used the career office? How helpful have they been?
I found it hard to find jobs in Philadelphia, New York, and the east coast area. When I had interviews, I used them to go to practice questions the company may ask me during the interview.
Did you learn any computer programs that will be especially helpful for you professionally or for your course work?
I learned how to use Excel. I have used it in my internships and can work well with Excel.