The University of Oklahoma - Norman

Date: Oct 02 2015
Major: Other (This Major's Salary over time)
Older family members of mine graduated from OU and loved it so I believed that I was making a great choice by coming here. Don't get me wrong, many people love this school; there are great colleges within OU, football season is a blast, the campus is beautiful, and greek life here is strong. That being said 1) DO NOT come here if you don't like sports or football. The campus compensates for its lack of activities by throwing OU sports in your face 24/7. 2) Do not come here to get a liberal arts degree. The career services caters to the business college, oil & energy students, journalism college (PR, communications, journalism), meteorology, and a few select others. I majored in international studies and post-grad life has been extremely tough for my peers and I to find jobs. 3) [This is a dramatic statement] There is nothing to do in Norman except drink. Which is hilarious since this is a "dry" campus. There are rarely any music festivals, concerts (unless you go to OKC, but those are still rare), great outdoors, or public parks to explore nearby). Thankfully I was greek, so I was able to drink undeterred by the rules. 4) While on the topic of Greek life, I will say that had I not gone Greek, I probably would have left OU after freshman year and transferred elsewhere. Greek life served as a alcohol induced distraction from the malaise and monotony of Norman/OU life. 5) If you are Greek, you are at a major advantage in terms of campus involvement. It was a revolving door of appointments and nominations for Campus Activites Council and Student Government. 6) Freshmen and Sophomores will feel the greatest divide in regards to greek and non-greek, especially if you are non-greek and of color. There is definitely segregation and innate hostilities between these cleavages of the OU student body. However, most of us in Greek life get over the "prestige" and become more immersed in the greater OU student body by Junior and Senior year due to campus involvement and not giving a shit about Greek life. 7) Lastly, get ready for a major religious presence on campus. I'm surprised the comments don't chime in on this more. People here are VERY religious (mostly Protestant [Baptist specifically]) and will not hesitate to judge you or separate themselves for you if you do not match their beliefs.