Ohio University—Athens (OU)

Students at Ohio University-Athens can't get enough of its "great research opportunities, a wide array of majors, [a] beautiful campus and installations, and friendly professors." The security of the OHIO Guarantee+ which states that "scholarships and tuition price will not change [during] your four years here" helps to ensure they can remain enrolled. Students also benefit from the school's excellent reputation, which "creates great connections for the job world post college." One business student points to how their school "focuses a lot on experiential learning so we do a lot of roleplays, simulations, and interact with professionals in industry as part of our classwork." Students of other majors share similar experiences with classes that do "an amazing job at correlating new and innovative approaches" and also point to how the school "offers a lot of resources to its students, staff, and the local Athens residents, whether it's counseling, study abroad, academic guidance, and so much more." Professors are "very open with office hours and are more than happy to work with you outside of class, [and] there are also many tutoring opportunities and [Supplemental Instruction] sessions that are available." These teachers "encourage learning outside the classroom by promoting arts, activities, and other opportunities on and off campus" and "You can tell they want to be here, want to be teaching and imparting their knowledge." Many classes "utilize a lot of discussion so that everyone can hear each other's opinions and feel heard, and it allows for great ideas to be spread." Across the board, OU excels at "making everyone feel like they are a part of something."

Ohio University has "a very diverse campus and the individuals here are very friendly and involved," with "many opportunities to learn from classmates from all over America and the world." Ohio "is a very liberal school," and most students "tend to be very engaging in class and open to sharing and hearing each other's ideas and opinions." Students feel that "you can approach anyone on the street and be able to have a conversation with them," and "if you get down and start to doubt yourself, they are always there to help you get your head back up and back in the game." In addition, "the students and faculty have created a closely connected community that feels judgment free." A student sums up their peers with the statement, "Whether you are a jock, in Greek life, into volunteering, very school focused, or just looking to hang out there really is someone for everyone."

There are a lot of events to keep the student body involved, which is good, because students are said to "heavily look forward to the weekend." Athletics (particularly football and hockey) are popular, and "OU makes it easy for everyone to be able to do something fun [that includes] sports, whether or not you are on a team or not." School spirit flows throughout the campus, "whether that be attending sports games, or wearing university merchandise daily" and everyone "genuinely seems to like being Bobcats and...[is] proud of our university." And with more than 550 student organizations (and the university's encouragement to start new ones), "many students are involved in clubs." Students also "spend as much time outside being social as they can" thanks to a campus that features "lots of historic buildings as well as beautiful nature and scenery" to say nothing of proximity to the Southeast Ohio foothills, where "hiking, camping, fishing, [and] hunting opportunities abound." Add in the way in which students say that "Uptown is integrated with campus and many students go shopping or hang out in the cafes there" and Athens is the quintessential college town with "a great live music scene and outdoor recreation scene all stemming from the student population."