<p>I am currently a sophomore at Ole Miss. I love the university and would not go any where else. However I do not think that the school is for everyone. It is EXTREMELY Conservative, but the Theatre Department is not very good at all. I have a friend in theatre and she is transferring to UCLA.</p>
<p>I'm looking for a conservative school that's easy to get into for a friend. Friend has low h.s. gpa. This seems to be one of the few my friend has a good shot at, along with Southern Miss. Can someone compare the 2 schools? Dorm life, student body, etc?</p>
<p>tell your friend to GO TO OLE MISS. actually, i’d suggest you really push for Ole Miss. Why would anyone choose Southern Miss over Ole Miss? Ole Miss is beautiful, and although it has a reputation as being a party school with white, rich, stuck-up wasted kids, it’s not. Well, it is a party school, but that’s just part of Southern culture. We’re very social here in the South. And the rich, stuck-up, racist stereotype is just that: a stereotype. Ole Miss is a really great school. It was one of my top 3 choices. I’m going to the University of Florida (I know, Ole Miss and UF hate one another) b/c I’m a FL resident, and it’s cheap, but there’s a part of me that still really loves Ole Miss. Hopefully, one day when I have children, one of them will go there.</p>
<p>I would deffinitely choose Southern Miss over Ole Miss. I have immediate family members who went/go to both. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The steriotype of the Ole Miss student body being rich, white, stuck-up brats is mostly true. My sister is a freshman there and I can already see changes in her. Southern seems to be a much more accepting place with a much more laid back feel.</p></li>
<li><p>Oxford sucks. It’s a nice, quaint little southern town when you visit, but after spending a little time there you realize that it is mostly a front and is a very fake place. There is really nothing to do off-campus. Hattiesburg is a much bigger city and has a vibrant music and arts scene(by Mississippi standards.)</p></li>
<li><p>As far as the conservative thing goes, Ole Miss is definitely more conservative. North Mississippi is considerably more conservative than South Mississippi, but both are much more conservative than Pennsylvania.</p></li>
<li><p>OP, Southern’s theater, and all of it’s fine arts programs, are top notch.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>This is a pathetic post by a MSU bulldog who has nothing better to do than go on a msg board about OLE MISS and trash us. Please ignore MSU fans because they are a bitter, jealous lot.</p>
<p>Visit OLE MISS and I think you will love it. Most people certainly do. And anybody who hates Oxford definitely has issues because it is a wonderful place. But I also suggest visiting USM and then decide. OLE MISS is not afraid of being compared to the competition.</p>
<p>Ole Miss is generally very conservative, but there are some liberals. Just visit and explore your areas of interest as well as the campus and this city. It is a safe, welcoming place that most graduates hate to leave.</p>
<p>My son says the theater *productions *are not all that good, which perhaps suggests that the theater *program *is not all that good. Too bad, since the main theater on campus is brand-new and gorgeous.</p>
<p>Ole Miss is definitely conservative. Not intolerant, just old-school, preppy, and not a place where “artsy types,” gays, geeks, etc., will find as many friends and be as comfortable as they would at many other schools. My son falls into one of those categories and says he’s often bored. Too bad, since it really is a beautiful place full of tradition.</p>
<p>My D wants to major in English secondary education and minor in Theatre. We plan to visit Ole Miss during the upcoming Easter break. I will post our experiences after our visit, but in the meantime, I would love to hear from others…</p>
<p>I am from Oxford and have 3 college children. My oldest attended Ole Miss her freshman year and absolutely hated it. She is not the sorority girl type, so basically, she did not fit in. Ole Miss is centered around Greek Life. My other two children went to two different top tier schools, and the quality of education they got compared to Ole Miss was so much better than Ole Miss it has become a family joke. They both took summer classes at Ole Miss and they said that they were so easy (like high school classes) compared to their Universities.</p>
<p>One more thing-- the Ole Miss Theatre department is terrible.</p>
<p>With all that said-- Oxford is still a wonderful place to live-- I just don’t want my kids to go to college here. I want the best for them (like all parents do) and Ole Miss is not it. If the Greek party life is important for you and not serious studies, then Ole Miss is the place.</p>
<p>Ouch! kherb43’s post reflects a lot of people’s perceptions of Ole Miss, so I’m not surprised that some people really do have that experience, but I think it must depend partly on one’s major, and perhaps the level of courses one takes. My son is a freshman but started in mostly second-year courses due to AP and transfer credit. He reports that his Chinese Flagship classes are very difficult, chemistry and calculus moderately difficult, and psychology easy but interesting. Nothing has been a “joke” to him so far.</p>
<p>kherb43, did your daughter live on-campus or at home? Did they have the Honors College or Residential College then? I can imagine these things making all the difference.</p>
<p>They did not have the residential college when my daughter went, and I agree, it would have made a big difference. She did live on campus in a dorm which contributed to her awful experience.
The Chinese program is a shining star at Ole Miss–I did try to to talk it up to my other children but they wanted to go away to school at that point.
Sorry to sound so bitter in my previous post, but Ole Miss Admin. did nothing to help my daughter want to stay there. Non-sorority girls are practically ignored by them. I suppose it is because they get more alum contributions from Greeks.</p>
<p>kherb43…I hope your daughter has found a good fit at her new school! In the end, that’s what it’s really about.</p>
<p>mantori makes an excellent point…majors and dorms can really make a difference at Ole Miss.</p>
<p>Just returned from an Ole Miss to visit/celebrate with my ds late last night. I have given much thought to Kherb43’s post. Again, firm believer in fit. I can sing the praises of the opportunties that Ole Miss has given to my ds. The Honors College, The Croft Instititue and the Chinese Flagship…but it doesn’t end there. Opportuntites within the general campus are too numerous to list.</p>
<p>I’d really like to open a conversation about (a topic I receive many pms about) Greek Life at Ole Miss. Can’t argue with Kherb43…freshman females commonly believe that a successful sorortity recruitment will make or break their time at Ole Miss. And it isn’t simply about receiving a bid…it has to be a bid to a certain house. IMHO…the late recruitment (typically October) feeds into this frenzy. And the lack of open and honest information on the recruitment process leads to many tears and abrupt departures from the university. The university needs to address this issue. Transparency and factual informaton would go a long way. The point I would like to make is that the importance of sorority affiliation decreases DRAMATICALLY after the freshman year (for most students anyway). By senior year, it is not uncommon to see 50-80% of sorority member go inactive.</p>
<p>I know it is tough for these young women. But somehow, the university needs to get this point across. With all of the opportunities available, it breaks my heart to see the greek dominated view of Ole Miss. Not knocking the greek system…just trying to show that there is so much more to Ole Miss than being greek. Just my two cents.</p>
<p>My son is hoping to get accepted to Alabama or Ole Miss next fall and is hoping to pledge his father’s fraternity. I understand the drama involved in sorority rush but was wondering what it’s like for the boys?</p>
<p>My son will be from a northern state, is preppy, and conservative. Will he have a difficult time being accepted because he isn’t from the South? He is easy to get along with and is looking forward to embracing Southern manners and culture. He certainly won’t have the “I’m superior to you because I grew up in a large, northern, metropolitan area” attitude that would turn off those who are from southern states. </p>
<p>cara93…I understand you are interested in Pol Science/International Studies. When deciding on which university to attend, I encourage you to investigate your chosen departments carefully at each school. The Croft Institute for International Studies is an amazing place at Ole Miss for highly talented and motivated students.</p>
<p>Cara93, I saw your posts on the UA forum and I understand your indecisiveness. This is a big decision, probably the most important one you’ve ever made. </p>
<p>Seekingknowledge gave great advice. Look carefully at what each school has to offer you in regards to your major. And, remember that most freshman change their major during their first two years so it would be wise to look at what each school has to offer in other areas of study that you might be interested in. </p>
<p>From the research that I’ve done I think that both schools will give you a quality education. At this point you need to look at where you think you’ll feel most comfortable, academics, money, and ease of travel from school to your home state. </p>
<p>Thanks to both of you (: And my mom also told me that most people don’t stick to their original majors! But I ended up getting no money from ole miss and I am still waiting to hear from bama. So if they do end up giving me money, that may influence my decision haha. They said I should be getting my financial aid package sometime this week :)</p>
<p>I can see that most people in this thread have NO idea what they are talking about when they call Ole Miss ‘conservative’…unless they completely don’t know the meaning of the word.</p>
<p>My sister graduated from Ole Miss and this fall, i am attending Ole Miss. Ole Miss is as casual as casual gets. 9000 freshman are coming in this fall, and i am included. The preppy look is so out, i barely see anyone dressed that way unless it’s just because I have yet to attend. The atmosphere on campus is okay; i’m a minority. things do get a little rowdy, some of the orientation leaders acted a little TOO enthusiastic, and I think that is what you will mostly see on campus; overly enthusiastic individuals. if you need more advice from a REAL point-of-view, please feel free to PM me.</p>