By: Anonymous

Anonymous
Thu, 01 Jan 2015 21:08:54 +0000

The article states “Drinking is different at Ohio State now but it’s a different Ohio State than it was — back then you had a 2.0 and you got in,” he said. “It’s different now.”

Back then, quite a few students who got in with a 2.0 or somewhat higher didn’t stay in long! I did my undergrad at OSU in the 1980s and the grade point to get in was lower than it is now; however, the course loads, coursework, and academic expectations were just as stringent then as they are now.

Plus, we had demanding professors teaching almost all of our undergrad courses with TAs only assisting (unlike now where TAs do most the main undergrad teaching). Not to say TAs aren’t as demanding as our 1980’s professors, but as a Ph.D. student and candidate at OSU over the past decade, I saw the difference. Back in the 1980s, I knew many students who couldn’t cut OSU’s academics (not just because of partying), so they transferred to other schools or just dropped out of college completely.

Therefore, just because one thinks that OSU was easy to get into back then doesn’t mean it was easy to stay in. Or, it doesn’t mean that those who stayed in had it easy and got a less-than-quality education. We didn’t. We worked hard (balancing demanding course loads, coursework, work study or outside jobs, social activities, and/or partying). I feel I got a high-quality undergrad education at OSU in the 1980s, which led to a great career. Most of my OSU roommates and friends who graduated from OSU in the 1980s also feel the same way.