OU National Scholars Program visit - (National Merit Finalist Edition)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Oklahoma
1

Hello All,

My son, wife and I just came back from a day visit to OU regarding their National Scholars Program. I thought I’d share our visit and my subjective observations.

DS Stats
2310 SAT
36 ACT
228 PSAT (Texas)
4.0 UW GPA
interested in chemical engineering

After contacting OU’s National Scholars office (http://www.ou.edu/go2/connect/nationalmerit.html) 2 weeks ahead of time, we received a prompt reply from LeeAnn V. Burns, Director of National Scholars Programs who handed us off to Tyler Nunley, the Assistant Director. After confirming some details and asking if we had any specific areas we wanted to explore, Tyler setup a custom itinerary for our son.

The Visit

8:15am - we park out in front of visitor’s center, get a free parking pass. The office had a student escort us to our first meeting so we didn’t get lost. Umbrellas were provided in case it rained, this is well oiled program!

8:30am - early start (thank you coffee!) with Dr. Laura Brunson, PhD with the College of International Studies (http://www.ou.edu/content/cis.html) regarding the various study abroad programs that OU offers. There is a pretty amazing wall of pictures featuring their students and the all the places they have studied. Fun fact: 1 in 3 students will study abroad at OU. National Scholars get 5 years of free tuition, including summer, so if you plan it right, you can take several summer programs in addition to the more traditional semester, or year abroad. Dr. Brunson was fun and engaging and a wonderful way to start the day.

9:15am - campus tour. Our tour guide, a 5th generation Sooner, gave an amazing tour (he should - he has been doing it for 4 years!). We got a great feel for the size and scope of the campus. It is hard to describe if you haven’t been, it feels like a small, hometown campus, yet it seemed very expansive at times. It was dominated by the old “Cherokee Gothic” architecture, yet it boasted some pretty hi-tech, new buildings. Like Texas A&M, you can feel a sense of history and proud tradition. The famous reading room was closed for repair (much sadness).

11:15am - after the tour, our son received a goodie bag with an awesome OU shirt (with a “class of 2020” on the back, nice touch!) And we were led into a small conference room to meet with Vicki J. Schaeffer, D.M.A., Director of Recruitment for the Honors College (http://catalog.ou.edu/current/Honors_College.htm). She is one amazing woman. After asking each student in the room about their academic interests and hobbies (there were only 3 students, so we had plenty of time) Ms. Schaeffer discussed what the honors program is looking for, and what the students should be looking for. I cannot stress how great she was with each student and the group as a whole. If she is any indication of the rest of the Honor College’s faculty, this is one special group of people.

Noon - the group of three students and accompanying families were escorted across the street to Louie’s Grill & Bar, where there was a reserved table held for us. A current National Scholar student joined the group and discussed her experience with OU, yhe National Scholars Program and studying abroad. Poised and well spoken, the OU student was an excellent representative of her school and program. After paying for our meal (thank you), we returned to the campus for our individual sessions.

1:30pm - a one on one meeting with Tyler Nunley, the Assistant Director of the National Scholars Program. After discussing the often confusing National Merit process with us, Tyler went over OU’s package and explained all the benefits. Tyler is interesting and humorous, and clearly passionate about the program and OU. He just returned from a study abroad trip to Brasil with 20 students. After recapping the incredible benefits of the program, he reiterated that he and the other advisers are here to help the student in any way they can, and if there are any problems, that the students should come to him first. From early registration to graduate level library privileges, you get the feeling OU has pulled out all the stops to go after these students.

2:00pm - Chemical, Biological and Materials Engineering with Dr. Lance Lobban. The professor was kind enough to meet with our son and one other student (this was an anomaly - as it should have been one on one, but two kids with Chemical Engineering intentions happening to pick the same day to visit). Still, it was a great opportunity to have an hour talk with the professor about the program in a very small session. The professor had a cheat-sheet with my son’s stats and interests, so he was able to really provide the specific information my son was seeking.

2:30 / 3:00pm - we ran late with Professor Lobban, so we missed out on a chance to get more in-depth information from a current Chemical Engineering student. The 10 minutes we did get with Spencer was very well spent, and we learned about his studies and his co-op / internship experience (in Spencer’s case, with Exxon Mobil). Spencer was bright and articulate, a great spokesperson for the Chemical Engineering Program.

3:01pm - Dr. John Antonio, Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. Again this should have been one on one, but it is still such a rare opportunity for 2 students to get an hour of a Dean’s time. Dr. Antonio’s took the time to discuss the program in general and OU’s many fine qualities. Dr. Antonio is a young, easy-going professional, not what I was expecting at all. Again, he had a cheat-sheet on my son and dove right into what makes OU and the National Scholar’s Program special and how my son could fit right in. Dr. Antonio was honest and thoughtful, discussing the student’s many opportunities besides OU, comparing and contrasting various programs. In the end, after answering numerous questions, Dr. Antonio wished us well and made himself available if we had further questions after our visit. He is truly a class act.

4pm - Done. Whew!

4:15pm - quick tour of the surrounding area, Norman has a nice, small town feel. How cow! The fraternities and sororities have some seriously impressive houses.

5pm - early dinner @ Scratch Kitchen & Cocktails. This restaurant on Main Street makes everything form scratch each day. I had a coffee-encrusted pork loin that was truly astounding. What a fantastic way to end a great day.

As someone unfamiliar with OU (we live in “enemy territory” near UT) I must confess I was seriously impressed with everyone we met and talked to. We felt like our son was being given the red carpet treatment. My son, apprehensive at first, really seemed to embrace the school and now it is a serious consideration for him. If you have a potential National Merit Finalist in your family, I highly recommend you take a day (or two) to tour OU and get the same, personalized experience we had.

Please let me know if you have any questions, it was a great experience and I would love to share it with you.

-psy

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@psywar Did they mention any changes to the current NM scholarship for 2016 high school grads?

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@3scoutsmom It appears unchanged, what we were shown was the same non-resident package (we are from Austin, TX) listed here: http://www.ou.edu/content/go2/connect/nationalmerit/nmscholarship.html

Basically, once you are named NMSF you really start coordinating with the National Scholars Program. They are happy to chat, just email them or call.

Phone: (405) 325-1290
Email: natlscholars@ou.edu

In two weeks our family will be heading to the University of Alabama to check out their Nation Merit Package. Look for our trip report a few days afterwards. OU has set a pretty high bar, it will be interesting to see UA’s program, so excited!

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@psywar
Sounds great!

Almost identical to my son’s customized visit at Alabama last Fall.

You should visit Bama too.

It’s nice to feel wanted.

EDIT - I see you posted just before I did. You will like Bama!

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Yes, it has been wonderful being the “pretty girl at the dance” for once. I told my son to soak it up, as it is a rare experience to have such amazing opportunities.

Any tips from your the Bama visit? @mom2collegekids has been a great resource, but I would love even more feedback or thoughts. I think it is a great service to CC users to compare and contrast these two opportunities.

-psy

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You shared an amazing recap…please share your view of the Alabama visit!

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Hi, I’m a NMF who’s about to be a junior here at OU. Myself and two friends whom I live with both had OU and Alabama as our final two schools. We all have pretty similar views.

In general, we feel that both schools are fairly similar. We all believe that we would have been happy at either school. Both schools have a tremendous wealth of opportunities and treat National Merit students very well. We feel that the academics are relatively even across the board and that the campuses are both equally gorgeous.

For me, two factors made OU my choice. The first was the National Merit Floor and the second was the culture of the school. The National Merit Floor was amazing and what really enticed me to come. Living with students who you know have a similar situation to you is great. You have a large amount of diversity that you definitely wouldn’t find anywhere else. OU is mostly comprised of students from Texas and Oklahoma. The National Merit floor had a much wider spread of locations. This is where I met all of my best friends here and it’s who I live with. This past year (our sophomore year) we got two four person apartments together so the eight of us could live together like the dorms but with the advantages of apartment living. My roommates were a pre-med/comp sci student from CO, a pre-med/pre-law student from Ohio, comp sci from Ohio, performance percussion/math from South Dakota, business from Washington, a math/econ from Minnesota, and another comp sci from Texas. Since we all came from so far, we really bonded in a way that I’m not sure would have happened if we hadn’t all lived on the same floor. I wasn’t positive I would get that kind of experience at Alabama.

In terms of the cultural fit, I’m from St. Louis. Alabama felt very southern and Oklahoma felt a little more midwestern. That was more what I was looking for so it was a great fit. Plus I gelled much better with the (extremely small sample size) of students I met on my visit to OU than I did at any other school.

I have a good friend from high school who goes to Bama (not NMF though) who loves it. Again, I don’t think you can really go wrong with either school.

I’ll be happy to answer any questions about either school.

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S1 had a similar experience to Woolscarves. His biggest turnoff from Alabama was more about diversity of the structures on campus. He, like most NMS types is very smart. In his case, his weakness is navigation. He felt Alabama was too much of the ‘same building’ and it would have been more difficult for him to get his bearings. I am sure he would have adapted.

He and his friends from Walker 10 are also heading into a 4 person apartment so they can continue to hang out. These kids are fairly unique and while most of them would find their way in the general population of students, the opportunity to bond with kids who have similar life experience (vis-a-vis academics) has been great for our son’s personal growth. We could not be happier with his choice.

The 8 hour difference in driving time was a bonus!

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@psywar @woolscarves Thank you for all the insight. I am confused on the “full ride” at OU. On their website it says that out of state students could potentially be paying $7300 year to cover ALL costs. Are these costs misc spending money type costs or actual money paid to OU for tuition/room and board/fees etc? We have been seriously considering OU because of the NMF package if not for the wording below. Do you know if there are other scholarships at OU to make up the difference that could be stacked? ie for engineering/pre-med major? Do you have any insight on this?

"While OU’s National Merit scholarship is a wonderful financial package, it will not cover all expenses. However, if your student receives outside scholarships, those cash awards will reduce their out-of-pocket expense. In addition to our National Merit scholarship, we will allow your student to “stack” cash awards or federal financial aid that they receive.

If OU’s National Merit scholarship is the only financial assistance your student receives, their annual out-of-pocket expense is estimated as the following:

Oklahoma Residents:
$3,100 for the first year
$4,800 for each of the following three years

Non-Oklahoma Residents:
$5,500 for the first year
$7,300 for each of the following three years

These annual cost estimates include 30 credit hours, along with all fees, books and room and board. The room and board estimate is calculated on the average room and board rate for a double-occupancy room in one of our freshman Towers. The room and board rate for the following years is estimated based on the cost of OU’s university owned apartments, Traditions Square, and an upperclassman meal plan. These cost estimates do not include miscellaneous costs (i.e., student parking permit, personal spending allowance, transportation allowance, etc.). All costs subject to change.

OU’s National Merit scholarship includes a full tuition waiver for five years, and your student may use their National Merit scholarship to study abroad while at OU. For further details about OU’s National Merit scholarship, click here. For further details about the estimated cost to attend OU, click here."

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@hsmomof3 OU is very clear that they are full tuition plus. They do offer some additional scholarship money that is not guaranteed, you need to write the optional essays on the application. One is for departmental consideration and the other is based on history of community service and leadership. I contacted the National Scholars office and asked if National Merit Scholars where eligible for these as well and was told yes.

the $7,300 a year for the next three years is based on living on campus, it’s my understanding that many students mover off campus which is much cheaper.

Our plan, fwiw, is for D to apply for as many private/local scholarships as she is eligible for. We think she may be able to cover most of the cost of the first year this way. She has her own savings to cover spending money the first semester and will look for a part time job second semester, maybe tutoring. One of the private scholarships she is going for is actually a two year scholarship so that may help. There seems to be more departmental and major specific scholarships open to upperclassman. Of course her dream is to be an RA which would allow her to graduate with money in the bank but we aren’t counting on that.

One thing to keep in mind when comparing scholarship offers is to look at the requirements to maintain the scholarship. OU’s requirements are very reasonable you only have to maintain a 2.8 for the tuition waiver and a 3.25 for the $2,750 per semester. Most schools in that I’ve looked at in Texas require a 3.5 to maintain their scholarships, this can be tough for an engineering major.

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Thank you for the info @3scoutsmom I was not aware of having to maintain such a high GPA in Texas! I think our son is leaning towards OU.

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Wow, thank you for such a wonderful write up! We’re just starting to dip our toes in these waters, and this was great to read.

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@psywar
Did you ever write up your Alabama visit?

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@jiggymom You can find psywar’s write up [url=<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1789529-a-visit-to-the-university-of-alabama-cbh-and-honors-college-p1.html%5Dhere.%5B/url”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/1789529-a-visit-to-the-university-of-alabama-cbh-and-honors-college-p1.html]here.[/url]

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@WoolScarves and @Torveaux

Any minority students on the NM floor?

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There are.

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@nw2this Yep.

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Sorry, I have been busy in real world of late…whenhen gave the short answer…the students on the NM floor last year were from many backgrounds. The common denominator is that they are nearly all smart (remember, it is possible for a non-NMS student to be on the floor as a roommate to an NMS student).

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Thanks for the great write up, @psywar ! I know it’s been quite a while since your original post, but do you remember if the campus tour included the residence halls?

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Campus tour includes a tour of the tower dorms they have a room set up as a model just for tours.