<p>My dtr. has focused her search on small LACs, primarily in the south and midwest (such as Sewanee, Centre, Denison,etc) until we recently visited Tulsa, largely because of the great package for National Merit kids. </p>
<p>She was very impressed with the people we met who seemed genuinely interested in her; the campus was nice and of course the $$ is great. It seems that most schools that offer strong scholarships for National Merit are large univesities and dtr. wants a small school. We are finding it hard to compare Tulsa to other potential choices, although it seems to be a school on the rise in terms of academics. We would sure appreciate any insight from the group concerning Tulsa and its place in the academic world.</p>
<p>I've looked into this school before. From the looks of the website, the academics seem solid, but I haven't seen much good OR bad from any sources besides the school itself.</p>
<p>My high school's pom squad did UDA dance camp there this past summer, and the campus was GORGEOUS. The dorms also seemed pretty nice, at least as far as dorms go.</p>
<p>Tulsa is a rising star that not too many people have noticed - yet. They offer some really great programs/opportunities. My H & S were duly impressed when they visited last year. They particularly liked the research opportunities afforded to undergrad students. While we are public school folks, I hear the private school counselors in the area really like Tulsa and recommend it highly to their students.</p>
<p>Yeah, Tulsa is looking awesome. I really want to go there, but my friends keep saying "Go to some place more prestigious". I mean, Tulsa has better campus life (from the looks of it) than some of these Ivy schools. And its friggin' cheap and has better programs than a lot of other schools. Excellent business and OC, I've heard. It just seems like the /perfect/ place for me! I am impressed and I haven't even BEEN there yet. I hope by the time I graduate Tulsa will not be so ignored because its just looking completely awesome. The only other place I'd even think to go is Stanford (like I'll even get into that) and /maybe/ Emory. </p>
<p>Plus, I am IB. That is a lot of credits right there. And if it has a great package for National Merit kids, well then I guess its official. I'm going to Tulsa. Hehe.</p>
<p>The University of Tulsa (or TU as the locals call it) is genuinely a relatively "hidden gem". TU was my son's second choice behind a state university honor's college in Texas where he is a freshman this year. As noted on TU's website, some of the facts that speak of a solid academic program include: more Goldwater Scholars (science/math national scholarships) since 1998 than any university in the country (along with Duke and Princeton) and two Truman Scholars in 1995 (national scholarships for those interested in government service). And this was accomplished with only 2700 undergraduates. Then take having a tuition that is second cheapest among the private universities in the top 100 per U.S. News (only Brigham Young is less); the "10th happiest" students (or thereabouts) per a national survey; the dynamic and diverse city of Tulsa at its doorstep; and a handsome campus and you have a very appealing combination. Again, like many universities and colleges in the country who don't have the name brand recognition, TU can give many CC kids interested in an exciting urban locale a huge bang for their college dollars. Continue to give TU a serious look; the facts don't lie.</p>
<p>Last year when people posted about U. of Tulsa I browsed the Web pages of its math courses. Pretty awful. That would drag down the sciences there, and anything else related to math. Somebody with a National Merit Scholarship qualification could do better, in my humble opinion, with which you are welcome to disagree.</p>
<p>i live in oklahoma. from my experience, it's a great school. many people haven't heard of it, but it's definitely on the rise. great campus, curriculum, etc. they are great about giving financial aid as well. also, a common misconception for out of state people is that tulsa is a small town. it's not- very fun city, i like it MUCH better than ok. city, where i live. great place to go to school. good luck!</p>