University of Oklahoma

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Students Say - Academics
The University of Oklahoma-students prefer the abbreviation OU-"is about academics and football," and in that order, too, although when students start gushing about their Sooners it's hard to be sure. Get them to stop talking football long enough, though, and OU undergrads will fill your ears with praise of their school's "nationally recognized theater department," its "best meteorology program in the nation," and the outstanding programs in engineering, journalism, business, visual communication, aviation, interior design, and a host of other disciplines. Or they'll remind you of the "nearly limitless" opportunities "in course and extracurricular selection" at OU, a school that "has resources for almost anything you want," including "probably the best library in the region" and "exceptional undergraduate research opportunities." Or they'll tell you that OU "is also constantly looking to improve its status, which helps students because it will receive better professors, research programs, new buildings, etc." Or they'll brag about how OU encourages study overseas; "receiving financial aid to study abroad is not difficult," demonstrating the school's commitment to providing "real-world experience. They encourage us to get out of the Bible Belt and experience the real world as much as possible." In the end, though, they usually come back to football; "the athletic department brings fame to the school, and with that, more money for the university as a whole," one student explains.

Students Say - Campus Life
How big is Sooner football? "My parents sent me here so I could buy them Sooner tickets," one student reports, perhaps joking. Undergrads agree that "Sooner football team is very important here at OU. Most everyone gets involved on game days," a full-day commitment that includes pre-game tailgates, the game itself, and post-game celebration (or, rarely, commiseration). Otherwise, students frequent Campus Corner, "the area of town very close to campus with bars, restaurants, and shops. It has a very old-town feel, and it's where most people go on the weekends." The Greek community is also big; "the majority of the campus is involved with Greek life, whether that comes in the form of national sororities and fraternities or in the form of ethic or volunteer-based fraternities," one student tells us. And, as at most large universities, "there is always something to do on campus: theater productions, choir concerts, OU improv, free movies and snacks in the Union, art exhibits....There is truly something for everyone." When students need a big-city escape, "Oklahoma City is only 20 minutes away."

Students Say - Student Body
It is easy to become overwhelmed by the large group of sorority and fraternity members that seem to control the university when you are a freshman, students tell us, but despite the initial perception that this is a "go Greek or go home type of school," undergrads eventually "learn that there is a whole world of students that don't participate" and that OU has "quite a diverse student body nowadays. Just in my hall there are foreign exchange students from Uganda, Peru, China, UK, Nepal, and Palestine....By no means are we just a bunch of white Republicans." Another student agrees: "What makes OU special is our large foreign exchange program and special scholarship opportunities that bring student here from all over the country. It is not unusual to get on a bus and hear at least three different languages." That said, don't expect to encounter East Coast attitudes here; "being in Oklahoma, there are definitely a lot of very conservative Christians. But, out of everywhere in Oklahoma, Norman is the most liberal."

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