Current Student

<p>I just wanted to post that if anyone has any questions about OU and wants to talk to a current student, feel free to message me or reply to this thread. I used this site last year to learn more about different colleges and found it hard to learn much about OU because it's so small. I would be happy to answer questions regarding anything from academics to the social scene.</p>

<p>We have a few students from my school applying to Oglethorpe and I'm also considering it.</p>

<p>I've heard it referred to as "snobby" and therefore have my reservations. But I am curious to learn about it's social life and what the student body are like, is it diverse, do they like to party, where do you go for fun etc?</p>

<p>I have to admit that I've never heard Oglethorpe described as "snobby". This of course could have something to do with the fact that nearly nobody that I know had heard of Oglethorpe before I told them I was going to attend OU. Personally though, I feel like OU as a whole is far too accepting and diverse to be described as snobby. Especially in a rich/poor sense, there are far too many kids here on scholarship for financial status to be a big deal.</p>

<p>Diversity wise, I feel like OU has a diverse campus, not only racially, but also in regards to nationality, political viewpoint, sexual orientation, socioeconomic background, and religion. I would find it hard to to fit in at OU because there is such a variety of personalities and worldviews. </p>

<p>The party scene at OU is not huge. I mean, we do have a greek row, and you see drunk kids most weekends, but it's easy to avoid the party scene if you want to. I've heard from friends at state schools that it can be hard to find people to socialize with if alcohol isn't involved, but that definitely is not the case here at OU. I've got friends who like to party, and those who don't, and it's not a big deal if some weekends I want to party and others I don't. </p>

<p>Social life wise, the Oglethorpe Student Association Programming Board does a good job of organizing fun activities about every other weekend or so. We've had events such as Quad Fest which featured, free to all students, funnel cakes, a climbing wall, a blow up attractions such as a mechanical surfboard and obstacle/race course and bumper cars. Oh, and henna tattoos, you saw a ton of henna tattoos around campus for a couple weeks following that. OU does kinda empty out on weekends, owing mostly I think to how many kids live super close to campus and go home to do laundry and whatnot, but there are also plenty of out of state kids and international kids that rarely go home, like myself.</p>

<p>For fun, Atlanta offers more concerts, movies, and shops than I have the money or time to visit. I really like Little Five Points, so my friends and I usually go there about twice a month to score super cheap but really awesome used clothes from Rag O Rama or attend events like the Little Five Points Halloween Parade. Also, there is currently a shopping/living/eating complex type thing being constructed practically adjacent to OU’s campus. My friends and I are excited about the job and shopping opportunities this will provide for OU students.</p>

<p>I hope this answered your questions and gave you a better sense of what OU has to offer. If you have any more specific questions, ask away.</p>

<p>Is everyone from Georgia?</p>

<p>Well, yes, the majority of students at Oglethorpe are from Georgia, but it is not a huge majority. In my group of friends there is a girl from North Carolina, a girl from Missouri, a girl from Lousiana and pretty much everyone else is from Georgia. This is just outa the like, 8 people or so that I'm close to and talk to every day. I am from Alabama, so I think that may result in me hanging out with my out of state kids like myself, but I definitely don't feel like the only one here who is far away from home.<br>
I will admit though that I wish there were more out of state kids, because then more people would stay on campus on the weekends, and it wouldn't seem so dead at times.</p>

<p>Thanks for answering my questions-speaking of the weekend what do you do on weekend? Do many people go into the city? Do you ever hang with people from other colleges?</p>

<p>Thought I would provide some info. as a parent of kids who did look at Oglethorpe. One of the major reasons our kids chose to go elsewhere was because we live in the Atlanta area-however, OU is a great LAC environment for students who want a metropolitan experience but small class sizes with good professors. </p>

<p>The merit scholarship program is very generous and OU has several academic departments that are nationally ranked. The campus, while small, is pretty and located in Buckhead, one of the nicest areas in metropolitan Atlanta. Having seen a number of college dorms, OU dorms seem really nice. The art gallery at OU has a fabulous permanent collection and the school is home to an annual Shakespeare Festival. Definitely take a look at Oglethorpe. BTW, if you play a varsity sport in HS, contact the relevant OU coach-it's a D3 school in a strong conference and students get some great experiences.</p>

<p>Thanks! Any advice is helpful. I'll definitely visit.</p>

<p>Post #5 above suggests that not only are most students from GA, but that many of the OOS students are from neighboring southern states, is this correct? Is there a "visible" presence of students from the mid-atlantic or tri-state area?</p>

<p>Do most/many of the students head home for the weekend? </p>

<p>I notice a very limted number of course offerings in some academic depts, does Oglethorpe have exchange/reciprocity agreements permiting its students to enroll in classes at the other Atlanta area schools?</p>

<p>We do not have a visible presence of kids from the tri-state area. I do however know that in my class there is a guy from Maryland, a girl from New Hampshire, a girl from Boston, and that's all I can think of for now. I actually am not even sure what constitues the mid-atlantic, so you will definitely be in the minority, but probably not alone. Oglethorpe is not a good place to come to if you are concerned about there being a large number of in-state kids, because there is. But if you are satisfied with a visible international and out of state population that is not the majority, then you might be very happy here. </p>

<p>Yes, many students do seem to head home for the weekend. I think this is common for tiny private colleges. The campus can seem dead at times on the weekend, but I know it helps to make friends with other kids that hail from out of state, that way you still have someone to hang with on the weekends. It also helps to be in a big city to make up for the slowdown on campus every weekend. </p>

<p>And yes, OU is part of ARCHE, which is the acronym for the group of Atlanta colleges that allow cross-registration with one another. Here is one link that describes the process Oglethorpe</a> University : Administrative : Registrar : Cross Registration. Here is the official website: ARCHE</a> Member Institutions. It is super easy to cross-register, I am actually taking a class at Agnes Scott this semester. All that is required is that the class you wish to take at another institution not be offered at your current institution. You also do not find out if you got into the class until about a week before class starts because home institution students get first dibs, and only after all of them have been placed will you be considered. You of course have to find a way to class, but it does not cost any extra money.</p>

<p>Thanks pumawal, not the response I was hoping for (D would not be happy so far from home on a "dead" campus), but still very informative and very much appreciated.</p>

<p>HI there. I am a junior in high school. I currently have a 26 on the ACT. Do you think that will be enough to get me into Oglethorpe and even perhaps some scholarships? I really love Oglethorpe. I recently went to a Saturday SnapShot and I absolutely fell in love with the campus.</p>

<p>My D liked it too when we visited. She has been acc and invited next month for sch weekend</p>

<p>I’m a high school junior in Texas, but I’m interested in Oglethorpe as I’d like to go to college in the Atlanta area. I don’t think I’d much mind the quiet atmosphere, I’m not extremely extroverted. However I’m very into theatre, always participating in it now in high school. From what I’ve seen, Oglethorpe seems to have those kind of opportunities, but do you as a student there see theatre having a presence there?</p>

<p>Oglethorpe’s theater is great. They focus on Shakespear - really quality stuff.</p>

<p>We have a very active theatre department. I am not personally involved so cannot give a true insider’s account of theatre life, but from friends and acquaintance’s I can tell you that theatre takes up the life of some students here. I would guesstimate that they put on two or three full productions per semester. Last semester featured Stop Kiss (a touching play about lesbians and hate crimes) and Women Beware Women (which I did not see but was described as very Desperate Housewives-esque). Other play’s I personally include Proof, Batboy, The Collected Works of Shakespeare Abridged and probably some others that escape me now. In addition to an active campus theatre department, we have the Conant center on campus in no small part due to the fact that we host Georgia Shakespeare every summer, a connection that provides numerous networking opportunities for OU students</p>

<p>We have also recently been nationally ranked for a number of factors, including theatre, detailed in this link: <a href=“http://www.oglethorpe.edu/newsroom/archivednewsreleases/2010-11/documents/081710_USNewsRankings_Oglethorpe.pdf[/url]”>http://www.oglethorpe.edu/newsroom/archivednewsreleases/2010-11/documents/081710_USNewsRankings_Oglethorpe.pdf&lt;/a&gt; .</p>

<p>Finally, OU does offer two full ride theatre scholarships that can be won at JEO/Scholarship weekend, so aspiring thespian’s should def check that out.</p>