Oglethorpe University

Date: Jan 08 2014
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
Community: For such a small school, the student body is rather shy. In comparison to other Atlanta programs, I've felt Oglethorpe to be one of the most exclusive groups. That said, Oglethorpe really is what you make of it. Many students leave complaining the university is not worth their money or time, but I can't help but wonder the amount of effort these students actually put in. Resources for financial aid are available and because of the school's size, internships and work study opportunities come up quite often. Upon admittance, apply! Apply! Apply! Get a position on campus and/or find something to fill your time with, be it volunteering, sports, Greek life, or simply collecting "petrel points" (points earned on your student ID card you can get by attending on and off-campus events sponsored by Oglethorpe—great way to meet people and learn your way around campus).

As for competitiveness, Oglethorpe is a good reflection of the job market—in order to get what you want, you're going to have to step out of your dorm room and work for it. Grades won't get things handed to you—like anything else in life, connections and a strong resume will get you places here—and that emphasis on individual growth is something I felt lacked during my time at Georgia State. The university itself isn't difficult to get into but in order to stay you'll have to work, possibly a little harder than you would expect.

Clubs and organizations tend to pop up every once and a while but few stick around. The Black and Gold club (Alumni relations/events) and SMASH (healthy lifestyle) are pretty well known around campus but most others rely on student interest (and seeing how there are just over 1000 students, attendance can get iffy year to year). Greek life holds a large influence on campus but freshman are limited to around 3-4 choices, something I found uncomfortably tight having came from a 20+ frat school.

Faculty and staff: As for the professors, most are caring enough to sit down with you and sort out any problems you may have (be they about the university, your area of study, or those "big life questions"). I can't say I've ever had a "bad" professor but Oglethorpe has an odd habit of bringing in a large pool of adjuncts for such a small school so ask around before registering for certain courses. It's easy to get in touch with people here as there's just not that many of us (students and faculty included), so communication is rarely an issue.

Programs: When it comes to the actual course work, busy work isn't too common outside your basic mathematics classes. Difficulty really depends on your major and what kind of work you prefer, as some are more essay-intensive than others. I can honestly say I've spent more time prepping for presentations and class-wide debates than I have on any sort of worksheet or paper assignment.

Major-wise, make sure to visit the university and talk to actual students before assuming a certain major or minor is offered here. Early on, I struggled to find certain classes they had listen on their website because many are considered "special topics".

Study abroad, on the other hand, is definitely in student's reach. Oglethorpe has partner schools around the world and for such a small school it sees many international students pass through each semester. My advice, get involved with their welcoming program and it might just be you who'll ship off next.

Res-life: Campus safety here is pretty lazy but because of the location of the school (and the fact they built a giant gate around the whole thing), there isn't really a need for them to patrol 24/7. Ordering take out and having visitors is never a big issue. But as for the dorms, PLEASE tour your options before deciding to live on campus/picking a residence hall. Dorm life isn't for everyone and the atmosphere varies from campus to campus. On the same note, VISIT THE UNIVERSITY. That will help more than any review can. Oglethorpe is an older campus and although it's a castle on the outside, the insides of some buildings are not exempt from age. The newly built campus center looks like it came straight out of a magazine but some classrooms have the same wallpaper from the 80s. On a side note, the campus isn't exactly wheel-chair friendly in that the elevators are old and parts of the campus are so hilly they become inaccessible (don't get me wrong, all of the buildings can be accessed, but in areas such as the library, there are "lifts" instead of ramps, which require an extra hand and some time to work).

Like any other university, Oglethorpe is the right place for some and the wrong place for others—it's not the type to show of what it doesn't have, but it's worth checking out (especially if it turns out to be "the one")—trust me, I've transferred twice and it wasn't until I came here did everything finally fall into place. My advice: get in contact with current students, apply early, and seek out financial aid (visit their office as often as possible; it's rare I meet a student who is paying the full tuition amount). Good luck!