I have to admit that I wasn’t sure how much ‘extra’ the scholars office would really do for the kids past the first week of school but I’m really impressed that they continue to have NM social functions, this week is an event at a 50’s style dinner and the recognition at the football game. They are also keeping up with the honors advising, one of the advisers is going on maternity leave soon so her students are being given early advising sessions with her instead of being passed off to another advisor. I’m really glad she’s at OU.
Hi @3scoutsmom - I know this comment is a few months old now but I thought I’d check in with you. I have a D18 who is likely to be NMF & we will be looking closely at OU. Is your D having a good experience there? Any thoughts on the town of Norman? We will probably visit this summer but it would be nice to have a first-hand perspective. Feel free to PM if you’d rather.
@GertrudeMcFuzz My D is loving it at OU! She did very well academically her first semester, joined several clubs and found her people:-) I’m really impressed with the mentorship program. Her mentor is a professor from the meteorology program (her major) and he’s done a lot of fun stuff with his group like backpacking and dinners out, he and his wife even hosted a Christmas party at his house for his group of mentees. Other than eating out and shopping she doesn’t do much too much off campus, though she did mention going to a roller skating rink and she’s had some good experiences with the bike shop in Campus Corner.
She’s decided that one year of dorm life is enough for her and will be moving to an apartment next year, this will actually save her time and will be cheaper than the dorms. She plays an instrument and the daily trek to the School of Music to practice is very time consuming, she also misses cooking and not waiting to use the washer/dryer! She agrees that a year of dorm living is good for her and is helping get her solidly connected to campus but she’s ready for an apartment next year.
I’m not sure if other departments do this too but the Meteorology building was open 24/7 the week before finals and stocked with free food and drink for students that wanted to study for exams there. I thought that was very nice.
So far her biggest complaint has been parking, especially on game days.
The biggest benefits of being National Merit for her so far (other than the $$) has been early registration, access to honors classes, and the ability to start doing research in her freshman year.
The money thing has worked out surprisingly well. D earned several small outside scholarship, enough so that we owed OU $0 this year. The amount she was awarded over the amount owed 1st semester was refunded directly to her so she has that to use for any balance due for second semester.
Let me know if you have any specific questions!
Thanks so much - all great to hear! I’m sure we will have more questions as we go through the process, but it’s great to know she (fingers crossed!) will have this terrifc option.
Hi @GertrudeMcFuzz! I will add my positive comments to those of @3scoutsmom. Our DD is a freshman at OU on the NM scholarship. It has been a perfect fit for her. We could not be more thrilled with her experience and the opportunities. She is currently living on the NM floor of Walker, but will be moving to an apartment next year. The NM staff and everyone at OU has been incredible to work with. Definitely go for a visit! Good luck on your journey! 
Thanks so much @WImom94 - it’s nice to hear of such positive experiences! I’m excited about OU!
I’m also a parent of a first year OU NM D. She’s an engineering major and so far- having a good time. She’s gotten involved in a few organizations; several volunteering activities; made some great friends (most in the scholars and/or honors program); and gotten involved in an honors engineering research program. Her classes went very well- most were small size (19-35); one was a large lecture (by choice- she could have chosen a smaller class.) She’s looking ahead to 1 or 2 summers for study abroad opportunities that fit with her engineering program. She says Norman is friendly and nice but small. She will be moving off campus for sophomore year with some other NM students…
Very excited to hear that everyone has done well so far!
Parent observation. My D, NMS freshman in Couch is happy so far and made few friends and joined reading clubs. Got a research opportunity for next semester and planning to moderate reading club. Enjoyed most of the classes. Honors classes are small (<20) but 2 generic classes (OChem and Physics) had close to 300 students and she managed. She also wants to move out to apartment and tired of dorm food. Overall she is very happy for joined OU.
@GertrudeMcFuzz I just graduated from OU this semester.
It’s a college town with a number of restaurants, bars, and options for shows of all sorts. However, there were plenty of times when Norman’s size felt suffocating to me, especially during my final year. This may be due to the fact that I’m both a city lover and an outdoorsy person. I was glad to have both a car and bike at OU as they allowed me to escape to either Oklahoma City or nature.
I transferred to OU so I never had the “freshman experience”, but I did live in the dorms my sophomore year. I was not a big fan of the dorms in part because I lived in a building that suffered from serious structural issues and has since been converted to offices because of said issues. I moved to an off campus apartment after returning to school (I took a bit of time off), and was much happier.
Congrats @whenhen! Boomer Sooner!
Congrats as well, @whenhen! Only one more semester for me.
1 Like
My kid is not at OU. I do however know of two other students who went to OU because of the scholarship monies. One kid did not finish. Was terribly miserable at OU because it was just not a good fit for her. The other kid is really trying to make it work. But it’s also not a good fit. So my best advise is to go visit and hang out. Talk to students, go to classes, look at the opportunities for social life and interests. The reason that OU was not a good fit for these two students was it was too large and too conservative. I’m a big believer in really making sure that your school has to fit all the parameters- academic, social and financial. I think if you have a resilient kid a school that falls short on one thing the resilient kid will still succeed but if your kid needs something different it is worthwhile researching to make sure it will work for them.
@goingnutsmom is absolutely right that OU isn’t for everyone. Like she said, it’s important to find a school that works for each student. While I’ve seen a remarkable number of different kinds of students succeed at OU, it’s not a guarantee.
It can take time to settle in and find the groups where you best fit. For example, I really felt like I started to find my social group during my sophomore year and my academic/organizational groups during my junior year. I think there are groups and people here that appeal to a broad range of students and can help them feel at home, but I also understand that it isn’t all-encompassing and that the size and culture aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.
Lastly, please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help that student out. I hate for anyone to be having a bad college experience, especially at OU.
Congratulations, whenhen! And thanks for all of the information you have posted here over the last couple of years.
My D is a 3rd year NMS at OU. It has been a great experience for her and we are very happy with OU. We believe she has received a very good education with amazing advising and support. It was easy for her to become involved in campus life and find her people even though she is not super outgoing. I totally agree with the advice about a visit. D and I visited once together, met with NMS office and toured the campus. D returned for another visit and NMS office arranged for her to spend the night in the dorm with a freshman NMS student and sit in on a class or two. That visit helped her to decide that OU would be a good fit for her. She has had more opportunities, both academic and social, then she had time for. However, OU is a large university and that will not be a good fit for everyone. You might consider spending some time discussing with your D what might be the best fit in terms of size, distance from home, setting (urban, rural, suburban) and any particular social or extra-curricular activities that would be important to her.
My daughter is also a NMS Freshman this year. She had a bit of a rough start (we are far from OK) but has transitioned nicely and is very much enjoying her experience. She’s also on Walker 10 and has made some really good friends that she is planning on moving to an apartment with next year (to have a little more space and privacy which she has realized are important to her :)…). She’s really enjoying the socializing and is lucky that several of her good friends are from OK and have vehicles, so she’s spent time at their houses in OKC and they’ve gone to TX a few times. She’s had a great time with that since she was worried about the “small town” environment.
Like many here I’m sure, she had quite a few AP credits so got to jump in with both feet and her classes have been mostly amazing. She’s only taking one very large, lecture type of class (econ) but otherwise, smaller classes that are more seminar style. She’s excited to be participating in the FYRE program next semester and get some lab experience. She’s also planning to be a double major (can’t officially declare till next year from what I understand) to take advantage of the 5 year program.
While she still really misses home sometimes, it’s just who she is, and overall she’s very happy. The NMO has been very responsive and supporting, which has been great since we are far away (the hardest part for this mama). OU was really an outlier for us when we went on our college tour trip, but once we went and did the NM tour, it all came together and was her top choice.
I’m also the parent of a S18 OOS NMF (expected) looking at this as an option. How is Oklahoma for kids who DO NOT know what they want to study? I fear the big school is better for students who have a more precise direction. Also, how conservative is it really? (S18 would be Bernie Sanders fan for sure.)
@Booajo, great questions.
To answer your first one, OU is completely fine for students that don’t know what they want to study. I changed majors twice before I settled on the one I wanted. I would say it is no different from most schools in that regard. I think very few schools are built to accommodate undecided students, but there are certainly those that penalize it more than OU. There are plenty of support systems in place to help students decide what they want to do (Career Services Office, fellow students, professors, organizations, etc.), but I expect those to be shared at most universities. I think most universities are organized knowing that many students come in and change/switch majors at least once during their freshman/sophomore years. It’s never ideal to not know what you want to major in because then you’re not taking the classes needed to progress through the degree, but I think that’s common at every school.
I don’t think you need to worry at all about your S not knowing what to do. OU or most other schools will help them figure it out in the first year or so.
For your second question, the state is as conservative as you hear. The university is a very different story. I think OU is pretty moderate politically. The Honors College skews heavily liberal, as so many students come from OOS. One of the popular Honors College activities is a group called the “Informed Citizens Discussion Group” (ICDG). These are split into small groups and moderated by (typically) older students. The students then discuss current events. I have avoided these because even though I am fairly liberal, I have heard they are a bit of a liberal echo chamber. Your S will not be ostracized at all for how they identify politically.
@WoolScarves thanks for your input. He is not looking for a homogeneous political view for sure. We are planning on visiting, but that is always an imprecise measure of a university