That’s one of the biggest changes for this year Golden rock. On last year’s offer it was it 100% tuition waiver. This year it’s a 100% waiver of the difference between in the state and out state tuition. They then offer $10,000 over five years to help pay for tuition. The five-year component actually hurts you there in that most students don’t take five years to graduate. I think the budget cuts really hurt OU this year. I’m not blaming them. I’m blaming the legislature that didn’t give the funding necessary for a decent budget for the university. When I take your figures of $7500 for the first year add on the deduction of 4200 in housing allowance and then another 2800 intuition that’s almost $15,000 right there. And that’s without adding in books The funny thing is even with that we’re going to try very hard to get my D to the university. I just think a lot of people will take other options. It’s shortsighted on the part of the state legislature.
@Phlipper Thanks for the clarification. Then it is a real bummer for OOS. That component itself have an impact of $10k per year.
The other 3 reductions are minor or work around is there. For example for $4200 1st year dorm, currently it comes to $9700 for room and meal and with this aid it comes to $5500. But in future then students don’t have to necessarily live in dorm in the 1st year, rather go for an apartment and have a basic meal plan and can contain the cost close to $6-8k.
The other $500 reductions are minor.
But the decision to give IS fees for OOS students is real impact and that is one of the main attractions for OOS NMS scholars to come to OU and they will see the impact in the NMS from 2018.
@GoldenRock OU requires freshmen to live in the dorms and I doubt they’ll change that since they have just built those uppper class dorms that they are having a hard time filling
Agree, there are some rules and it can be found in
http://www.ou.edu/housingandfood/residence_halls/housing_policy.html
“EXCEPT for those who have earned 24 or more hours of college credit in residence.”
What is not clear is college credit in residence, does it mean 24 hours done in OU or it could be in credits but done in a college (and not AP or CLEP).
The “in residence” part means classes at OU only. AP / CLEP / DE won’t count.
I was encouraging my S18 to apply to Okla over Bama as his NMF scholarship option, due to both the Okla scholarship and Okla may be better for his intended major. Not so interested in pushing Okla now.
Us, too. OU has gone from (an admittedly distant) third to off the list entirely. I’m really bummed for everyone who was considering it, especially those for whom it is / was a first choice. 
@DiotimaDM Thanks for the clarification. I am aware that AP/CLEP are not considerd. But what was not clear is, if a student does some course in HS which may have some tie-up with local community college and they also award few credits and also some other times students would have done some college level course in local university during summer and may have some credits. Those credits if they are allowed for this housing policy, then students can stay just 1 semester in dorm and move to apartment during second semester to save some $. Since now you clarified that even it has to be courses in OU, then pretty much most of the freshman have to stay in dorm.
We’ll keep OU on our list, but plummeted down for sure. Trouble is finding something to replace it with! Wants residential feel and not too huge so a lot of other automatic options are out.
My daughter will be a freshman at OU this fall. Although the reduction in NM package doesn’t affect us financially, I’m still saddened. One of the biggest reasons that my D chose OU was the very strong sense of community for NM students. Now there may be fewer NM students choosing OU in the future, and the community may not be as strong.
Those numbers will fall, certainly. It is interesting to wonder whether they are attempting to find the equilibrium line balancing lowest cost while still maintaining the #1 (public) National Scholar enrollment spot.
@Mommertons yes: same concern here
Booajo what state do u live in ?
as a parent of an OU sophomore NMF kid, this is somewhat disappointing for future classes. However, it would not have altered my D’s choice. The other benefits of the program are significant- dorm floor for scholars builds a very strong sense of community; the honors program provides great classes, many opportunities for networking, and the support for research engagement is strong. The NMscholars office is always there to mentor and support these students and goes beyond services found at most universities (private or public.) While I realize that the financial difference may make OU out of reach to some, I would encourage all students to keep it ‘on the list’ for consideration.
So true, @oneundecided
The cuts do amount to more $$$ needing to be shelled out by parents (or via other scholarships) but parents need to consider the non-school costs, too, if they’re looking at schools further away geographically than OU: travel, airfare costs, shipping stuff for dorms, apartments, etc. Those things add up, too. We are in-state for OU, and even though other schools may offer true full rides, those other costs must be considered.
@HeliMom74 “true full rides” like Texas Tech NM include transportatation and a stipend for living expenses. I’m very greatful that OU’s NM scholarship worked for my D but with the new package ** and ** the increased fees I don’t think don’t think we could have made it work.
Interesting! I did not know that.
Has anyone visited Bama? What did you think of the honors program there? I am talking to my D about going for a visit.
We visited Alabama, thinking it would be our front-runner. You hear so much good about Alabama on CC! Ultimately, my daughter thought it would be okay, but did not meet our maybe-too-high expectations because:
- Found out that the amazing dorms are really only available for Freshman. After that, you almost have to live off-campus. We wanted to avoid needing a car, etc.
- The Honors community wasn’t as tightly-knit as hoped. The CBH kids are awesome! This is my daughter’s “tribe”, and she would only want to attend Alabama if she were accepted to CBH.
- There are many beautiful new buildings on campus, but the classrooms where my daughter would be spending most of her time (Math major) were older, crowded hallways, musty.
- The math advisor was a nice guy, but the business advisor would only show us checklists of recommended class sequences for various majors/minors. It was really just a job for him; get the kids through the classes.
But when we visited Oklahoma, EVERY SINGLE advisor we met (Math, Business, Econ, Physics, Honors, National Schoalrs) was super enthusiastic about their program, and shared lots of information about the various opportunities. They knocked it out of the park. All of students we talked to had at least one professor that they “gushed” about. My daughter will be a freshman this year, so we don’t really know how it will all work out. But so far we have been really impressed with how they’ve handled registration question, scheduling conflicts, issues with credit transfers and prerequisites, etc. So helpful… everything is handled quickly and easily, even if it means pulling strings to get things done. Having advising staff just for the National Scholars kids is awesome.
@Mommertons We had the same experience you described on our visits to OU. Our D will be a sophomore this year. Her first year far exceeded our hopes. The acts of kindness, thoughtfulness and helpfulness we continue to experience at OU are amazing. Best wishes to your D!