Oklahoma State University - Oklahoma City

Date: Oct 09 2003
Major: Undecided (This Major's Salary over time)
I am going to be straightforward and blatant as I can about this school… about both its good qualities and its bad qualities. I hope that you will find this useful.

I will start off with what I consider good about this school. First, the professors and teachers are all, for the most part, very friendly and helpful. Especially noteworthy are Doug Baker (History before/since 1865, Religions of Mankind), and Timothy Faltyn (American Government, Head of Arts and Sciences). I highly recommend taking both of their courses (especially Timothy Faltyn's American Government course… he makes it interesting and funny at the same time). The school itself is, in my opinion, very nice looking (especially the Learning Resource Center, which is at the center), easy to navigate, properly maintained and cleaned (practically no litter, cafeteria clean, bathrooms clean). It also has a workout area (weight lifting, cycling, treadmills, etc) open for free to all current students. The cafeteria, which is located in the Student Center, is "okay"… the food and beverages (Coke, Coffee, Cappuccino, etc) are decent, but please do not expect to much variety (especially if you happen to be vegetarian or vegan ahem). The cafeteria also happens to be the main center of student activity on campus. This is where a large portion of students will congregate while waiting in between classes. It used to have various entertainment (arcade machines, pinball), but all it has now is a solitary pool table. The classes offered at this school are for the most part, basic courses. There are a few cool and interesting classes (I personally recommend "Religions of Mankind", and "Psychology of Abnormal Behavior"), but for the most part, they are pretty simple and… bland. The quality of the courses themselves vary. I've had courses that I have absolutely loved, and some that I absolutely loathed… it pretty much depends upon the instructor of the course. I've had teachers (Timothy Faltyn, Doug Baker, Nancy Shuman-Miller) that absolutely had their act together and actually taught me things, and I've had teachers that seemed to not know what they were doing and had no sense of responsibility (oversleeping, unprepared, even apathy to the course in one case). Just remember if you drop the course early enough, you can get a full refund.

Now I will get to what I consider bad about this school. The student life on campus is for the most part, non-existent. Sure, there are clubs and groups you can join, but to be quite honest, the majority of students going here are just taking care of their basic courses so they can transfer to a bigger school. They could honestly care less about the clubs or groups here (which isn't really a bad thing… afterall, we can't expect everyone to sit at the school all day now can we?). This, in turn, can make it quite difficult to meet new people and make friends… don't get me wrong, it is possible, but it can be quite difficult. The people on the campus also appear to be, for the most part, what I will call close-minded and arrogant. They all (well not all… but most) also seem to have the "too-cool-for-school" thing going on… which is okay (no one should be too committed to any one thing in my opinion), but it does tend to give them a somewhat unfriendly appearance. A large portion of the student body also appear to have a "drone" and "unquestioning" mentality to them… but, again, that is just my perception. Also, the learning resources from the Library, while acceptable, could use some bulking up. If you are going to do extensive research over a topic, don't expect to find too much here. You can however, sign up for and OKSHARE card, which allows you to borrown books from practically any university in the state.

I will summarize everything I just said. If you are expecting to finish off your basic courses (or perhaps even graduate from here), this school is very effective and efficient. The staff, like I mentioned before, is for the most part helpful and friendly, despite a few rough spots here and there. If you are expecting to have this school be the center of your social life, you may find that to be a frustrating endeavor. It is possible (meet people while working out, join a group, talk in class), but it is difficult. I apologize if this next statement sounds arrogant or higher-than-thou, but please do not expect too much from the students here. It seems all they care about is barely passing their courses, and drinking and smoking (which isn't bad… I've indulged in these pleasures before, but it seems to be their main focus… but what do you expect… that is all there is to do in Oklahoma for the most part). There are a few cool free-thinking individuals here and there though… you just gotta look for them.

I hope this helped. I tried to be as objective (for the most part) and truthful as possible.