Being an older student -mid 20's- my assessment of NEO is going to differ from the opinion of a new high school grad
attending NEO for the first time.
NEO is somewhere between high school and college. The student body consists of people from Ottawa county and the surrounding counties. Given that the college is in a small town,in rural Ok, a lot of the students have lived sheltered lives and seem to focus on trying to be with the 'in' crowd. Most students went to high school with each other and carry their cliques to the college. They have not severed the umbilical cord to their parents. Anyone looking for diversity at NEO will be disappointed. Most students are commuters; the few who do live on campus in the dorms and apartments find themselves having to drive to Joplin,Mo or Pittsburgh,Ks to do anything.
There are student activites during the school year and there are clubs. It seemed that most people would rather do something else than become involved with school activites. Some clubs have great participation, though.
Sports and agricultural studies are the dominant themes. Many people are drawn to NEO to play football -to increase their GPAs- then transfer to Div I colleges.
Despite the student body, the school's faculty makes NEO a good college. It has cheap tuition and low student-to-teacher ratios. The majority of the teachers will work with you if you are having difficulty, i.e., tutoring. They want you to succeed. This is the benefit of having a small student body: increased interaction between student and teacher. I think most students do not appreciate this benefit. As for my major, engineering, most of my teachers were helpful and went out of their way to help me. If you can survive in a small town atmosphere and with puerile students, then I would recommend NEO.
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