ohio university...student life?

<p>just would like to know about a normal day at ohio u. Are finals tough and taken seriously? Are most people there for an education? How many drop out? Is there stuff to do outside of the college walls? How is the homework and final exam?</p>

<p>I’m interested in this too. I heard OU is a huge party school and I just wondered how true that was?</p>

<p>I’m a sophomore at Ohio University, I joined the forums simply to respond to this thread, I’d hate to see a question like this go unanswered.</p>

<p>First off: Finals. The difficulty of the final and midterms default back to the actual class and teacher itself. Throughout all three quarters, I took between 4-5 classes. When finals came around, I found myself studying diligently for two classes, and the others would be rather easy and less stressful. People do take them seriously here, and it’s not hard to find a small group of people within the same class and meet somewhere and hit it together.</p>

<p>The question “Are most people there for an education?” it’s a rather complicated matter. While most other people that I ran into here are indeed intelligent and committed to keeping a firm grip on their GPA, I have seen A LOT of people who have chosen OU merely for it’s ‘party school’ reputation. When it comes to people taking their classes seriously, I would divide it about 50-50. Some people have their sights set forward, while others seem to look forward to the weekends and toss their studies out almost altogether.</p>

<p>In terms of drop out rates, I can’t give you an actual statistic, but there were a small handful of people, maybe 5-6 that I knew personally who transferred out or dropped out altogether. Usually, they weren’t very interested in the education.</p>

<p>Things to do outside of campus: Plenty. Court Street is absolutely filled with things to do. Plenty of amazing restaurants, both popular chains and awesome local eateries. Almost an overabundance of bars (Again, a commodity we can’t check out for a few more years), sporting events are enjoyable to go to. A lot of social clubs, the amazing Ping Rec Center. The campus is absolutely beautiful, and there is plenty to see. Usually walking in one direction down Court Street will yield plenty of places to check out. I would venture up to that area at least once a day. I would enjoy myself each time.</p>

<p>Homework was rather light for me throughout most of my freshman year. Usually, homework is divided into either reading a select amount of pages from a textbook, or writing a paper of some kind. Usually, a week is given to complete paper assignments, and reading is usually due the next class period. I took a few classes that would have a large reading portion and then an online quiz; both of which were do before the next class. Compared to my high school, I had less homework. But the content within each assignment was more difficult.</p>

<p>I’m within the Media Arts College. So, this is coming from my personal experience within that section of the school. If anyone else as any other questions, feel free to send me a PM. I’ll gladly answer any question you have.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for answering this question. It really helped get rid of some of my concerns about OU!</p>

<p>Our son went to OU for one quarter last year. He was well aware of the “party reputation” but knew the school had a great reputation for the academic area he was interested in. He isn’t a partier but isn’t real preachy about his friends who do indulge. Well…he unfortunately had at least one roommate who was drunk/high most of the time, selling drugs out of the room and generally a real ass when it came to being any kind of considerate roommate. He tried to switch rooms but couldn’t. His RA was aware of the situation and did nothing to help. I called the dorm advisor (first time in 5 years I’ve EVER called my kids’ college to intervene about anything) and he also did nothing. My son transferred to another school. And, yes, students party there but he said it just isn’t a big deal. He felt if you didn’t party at OU you were a social outcast. All I can say is try to find other outlets. It’s a beautiful school in the middle of nowhere, which I think is part of the reason so many students end up drinking/doing drugs for entertainment. I’m not naive. I know it goes on everywhere. I just felt the school did nothing to try and curb it. Oh, as a side note: he liked his classes and professors but says the school wasn’t as academically challenging as his current college.</p>

<p>So kids party at college… go to OSU on a game day, go to Miami on “Green Beer Day” or go to OU on Halloween. COLLEGE KIDS DRINK</p>

<p>Athens Ohio is a unique place, located in the most beautiful part of Ohio. The campus is perfect, the people are friendly, and the opportunities to get involved are endless. I wanted to list some things I did at school besides “partied”… yes, I drank in college (even before I was 21)</p>

<p>Spent a spring break rebuilding houses in New Orleans
Started a non-profit to send Orphans to school in Uganda (<a href=“http://www.empowercampaign.org%5B/url%5D”>www.empowercampaign.org</a>)
Spent 2 summers working with entrepreneurs in Hungary ([SIMONYI</a> CENTER | Home](<a href=“http://www.simonyicenter.com%5DSIMONYI”>http://www.simonyicenter.com))
Met with high level corporate executives and entrepreneurs for weekly leadership discussions
Worked at regional economic development center consulting with local businesses
Was trained at the top ranked sales education program in the country </p>

<p>[YouTube</a> - The Sales Centre at O.U](<a href=“http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E1E-QhTGkI]YouTube”>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E1E-QhTGkI)</p>

<p>My son just graduated from OU/HTC (Media Arts), so that might have been a slightly different experience, but I think it was the perfect place for him. Yes, there were plenty of parties (he enjoyed that aspect as well), but the other experiences he had were incredible. I’m only a parent - looking in from the outside - but the thing that impressed me about OU was that the students there are incredibly friendly. I would think it would be easy to find a peer group and fit right in. The roommate experience is one you don’t have any control over and might be an issue. My son was in a private room as a freshman and soph, but then moved off-campus, just off Court Street. If you can, I would opt for an honors dorm or at least a substance-free one.</p>

<p>It appears to me (again, I’m an outsider) that OU is what you make it. The opportunities are there if you want to take advantage of them. And keep in mind that the overall reputation of a university is one thing, but the department reputation is what will be important to you. The Scripps School of Communication (includes journalism as well as the Media Arts program) is top-ranked.</p>

<p>My son wanted to make films, and OU gave him the opportunity to do that. He was involved (various roles - he tended toward the technical aspects: editing/visual effects) in over 50 productions, including The Dying Western, which won several film festival awards, and Trailerpark, a feature-length film (unique experience at a student level) which is about to hit the festival circuit.</p>

<p>ps - it is “in the middle of nowhere” but the campus is large and there are so many activities to get involved in (see the post above by MBTIguy that’s just a sliver of the possibilities).</p>