<p>As the mom of a rising senior who is hopefully on track to be a National Merit Finalist, I'm looking at many of the schools who offer significant aid to these lucky students (and parents)!</p>
<p>Any thoughts on the University of Oklahoma? The forum on this site is not too active so I hoped this might be a good place to gather any thoughts or experiences from those who are familiar with the school.</p>
<p>We plan to visit campus in the fall, but til then any info is welcome. DS is looking at the sciences, possibly medicine, but also is very interested in languages. Who knows what he'll be interested in next fall!</p>
<p>I’ll be applying next year. The NMF offer is very generous and the school is getting better and better. I’m planning on an engineering or math major, so I don’t know if I can tell you much about the premed/language academics.</p>
<p>As a potential premed, this could be a very good opportunity for your son.</p>
<p>I visited there in the past and recently reviewed it for the same reason that you are. I noticed that of all the national universities in the US News ranking, it appears to be right at the national median. It’s a large, state flagship campus, so you can assume that there’s a wide range of student ability levels and a large variance in the quality of various departments. I liked the campus when I visited - it’s a classic college town but only about 20 minutes from a city of over half a million. Over a quarter of the student body comes from OOS. If you’re from the Denver area, it would be drivable. </p>
<p>Bear in mind that any school which offers a huge package to NMFs is not the type of school that ordinarily attracts students of that ability among their regular applicant pool. For that reason, I’d only encourage my son to consider the major state universities that give big NMF aid if he’s interested in taking generous merit money. At schools such as OU, Arizona, Texas A&M, Alabama, etc., you’ll find talented students and honors programs that you’re not likely to find at the secondary state colleges and private schools that are on the “guaranteed scholarship” list.</p>
<p>We visited with DS#1. He was not NMF, but was admitted to the honors college and got a significant scholarship. But he chose to go elsewhere. DS#2 will also be applying and it’s probably 50/50 that he will attend. </p>
<p>We thought the campus was lovely, the students and staff we met were friendly and welcoming, and it was obvious there was a lot of school spirit and pride.</p>
<p>OU attracts a lot of academically strong TX kids who aren’t in the top 10% and, therefore, can’t be guaranteed to get into UT or A&M (or like my older son…had no interest in those 2 schools).</p>
<p>The scholarship is a big deal for us and the fact that it isn’t super far from home is nice for me, though I think my son would like to get out of the West and and see another part of the country. Oklahoma doesn’t scream excitement and adventure to him, but I figure we need to keep all our options open! Thanks again!</p>