Social Life?

<p>how's the social scene here? is it true that social scene revolves around greek life mainly? are there other things to do besides that? What's Norman like and Oklahoma City?</p>

<p>I’ll reply with the warning that my knowledge is all second-hand. We live in OKC and my D will be a freshman at OU this fall. Greek life and football are big at OU, but I think I read that less than half of the student body are members of a sorority or fraternity. There are many non-Greek organizations. Norman has a nice area, Campus Corner, with shops and restaurants adjacent to the campus. My D and her friends like to hang out there. It sounds as if there are a variety of activities and events on campus. OKC is not the most exciting city in the world, but there are things to do there. It largely depends on what you are interested in and what you are accustomed to. My D has several good friends headed to OU, also. They are a more studious group, fun and very nice kids, just not wild party people or inclined to Greek life. I think you will find that OU is a pretty friendly place where it’s not difficult to meet people. I hope this helps some. </p>

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Good and varied. In one weekend you can do everything from go to huge college parties, to quiet dinner gatherings, to sober coffee shop music presentations. OU is a big school. Trying to summarize the social scene of a school with more than 21,000 undergrads is a bit futile. </p>

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No, but owing to the drinking age and lack of getting invited to apartment parties, Greek life is often the only way freshmen have access to alcohol and non dorm parties meaning that it often plays an outsized role in their lives compared to when they’re upperclassmen. Additionally, Greek rush happens before school starts (an incredibly dumb idea IMO) meaning that when non affiliated students arrive on campus, it seems that the only students who’ve already formed friend groups and know what the campus looks like are those in Greek life organizations. In actuality, only about a third of OU students are affiliated with any greek organization, including honors and volunteering fraternities. </p>

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Yes. Again, there are 21,000 undergrads who attend OU. Here’s a list of clubs the school offers <a href=“https://www.ou.edu/content/studentlife/get_involved/student_organizations/rsos.html”>https://www.ou.edu/content/studentlife/get_involved/student_organizations/rsos.html&lt;/a&gt;. Note that these are just registered student organizations and excludes things that friends do together such as go to Bricktown in Oklahoma City to chill on Campus Corner to backpack in some of the Oklahoma State Parks (highly recommend Black Mesa), to just sit in their dorm and watch a movie on a laptop. There’s always something to do at OU on the weekends. </p>

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Norman is a relatively spread out city with a central student area called Campus Corner that has a variety of boutique shops, bars, and restaurants. Decent place, especially if you have a car or are willing to bike a few miles. I don’t spend enough time in Oklahoma City to comment on the social scene. </p>