Oregon State University

Statistics

Students Say - Academics
"With "a solid backbone of scholarly scientists that provide an exceptional research environment for students," Oregon State University is "a space, land, and sea grant institute" that is "very focused on the sciences, especially agriculture and engineering." This makes OSU "a great place to learn about the environment and outdoors: the nurseries run by the agriculture students, the animals born and raised in veterinary sciences, the trees planted and studied by the forestry department, the wave energy buoys developed by the electrical engineering department and wave research center." The list goes on to include "so many awesome projects and new scientific developments. It seems each science college has its own set of world-renowned scientists that are all there to learn themselves, but who also help us learn and experience new things as well." And yet the school is also large enough to "offer a wide variety of other major options, including a ‘design your own major' called Liberal Studies, in which you design your major centered on a theme and take classes in liberal arts subjects.""

Students Say - Campus Life
""Too many students think there's nothing to do" at Oregon State, "but there are great local places to see independent movies, live music, and lots of parks and outdoor activities" such as "backpacking, hiking, and fishing." The recently completed campus rec center "is amazing, with enough room for one to find his own niche. You can play basketball, run track, swim, and then relax in the sauna, all in the same place." Intercollegiate sports are big, inspiring ‘Beaver pride.' On a football Saturday "the whole town gets into it, displaying Beaver flags and wearing their black and orange. Our amazing baseball team has brought in a lot of support and students. They are expanding the stadium because it has become so popular!!!" OSU has an active party scene, making it "easy for the people who want to drink or do drugs to do them, but it is just as easy to avoid…. There are always things to do for fun that the school funds and doesn't involve alcohol. From a carnival in the quad, Vegas Night, Arts in the MU or a variety of other things, there is something for everyone.""

Students Say - Student Body
""We have a broad range of students" at OSU, as one might expect at a school with over 12,000 undergraduates. There are "a lot of non-traditional students and just normal everyday students as well, but no matter what type of student you are, there is somewhere for you to fit in….There are offices for minority students and nontraditional students, as well as LBGTQ students." The "three most common types of students," we're told, "are the math-focused engineering students; the science-based students, many of whom are pre-med; and finally the agriculture students, who are in a different category altogether. The rest of us kind of fit all around them." The "vast majority" of students "are white and come from Oregon, usually Portland," but "there are a lot of out-of-state students as well as internationals, and multi-ethnic students are not uncommon.""

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