I had a great experience at Ohio University. The biggest highlight was the professors: with rare exception, everyone I studied with was not only a devoted and insightful scholar but also extremely understanding and kind. This was especially true during the pandemic years, and I ended up feeling like I really knew these professors, and that they really cared about me. With their steadfast commitment to their students and their down-to-earth attitudes, they are easily the best part of the university.

Student life at OU was generally good. There are plenty of clubs, student organizations, and other ways to get involved. And while the student body is not very international or diverse in general, those communities do exist in Athens, and the school does a decent job of providing outlets/connections for them (Ohio has a large international graduate student community in particular). The school also does a decent job with career prospects as well.

If there is one thing about the school I didn’t like, it would be the administration. It’s been an open secret for a few years that the people running the university have skewed priorities at best, investing money in only the facilities that will be the most profitable, and at the expense of paying faculty and staff adequately. Now, depending on your program, this may not affect you very much, and OU is not unique in this department: it’s a few years ahead of other universities of its size (and all colleges, really) because of administrative and financial mismanagement. But it’s something to be aware of.