Whole swaths of the US population would never consider the University of Oklahoma for one reason alone: it’s in Oklahoma. For the high achieving high school student looking for a first-rate research university with a vibrant student life culture and who isn’t swayed by coastal provincialism, this is a good thing. It means fewer competing applicants.
Norman OK is not Trump country. It’s a classic college town with bars, cafes, pride parades, clearly a liberal bastion in the Bible Belt. The introductory video we watched in the group session was narrated by an undergrad in a hijab, And the two African Americans who led the tours made it pretty clear they love their school. Probably not a random sample, and like many colleges Oklahoma has had some ugly racial incidents lately, but it doesn’t take long on this campus to see that it takes the undergraduate experience—in and out of class—very seriously.
Modeling it’s residential life after the Yale/Oxford colleges (a recent president was a Rhodes Scholar) the university has built two Harry Potterish residential facilities for sophomores and juniors, including dark walnut paneling throughout and two huge dining halls with vaulted ceilings. They were gorgeous. Both buildings have faculty families in residence.
Academic facilities were impressive across the board. As expected at a flagship state university, business (the business graduate school is among the most well-regarded anywhere) engineering and STEM programs are excellent. The Severe Climate Studies program (this is tornado country) is perhaps the best in the US, and as expected energy science is big. Oklahoma is also one of the top places to study aviation. Dance is among the best in the country (fine arts in general is big here) and the Native American Studies program teaches a number of native languages. The university’s honors college, with dedicated dorms, faculty, and classes is top notch.
It’s not just the almost over-the-top sports program that builds such bonkers school spirit. Yes, this is Sooner football country, but it’s hard to find a campus with more widely-dispersed school pride than Oklahoma. It’s students seem to ooze with love for their college, and it’s easy to imagine how that permeates the student culture in good ways. Various ratings place Oklahoma among the top 5 for happiest students. In any event, it’s always a good sign when at various times along a tour your guide runs into someone to hug.
With it’s beautiful campus, sterling academic programs, school spirit and location in funky little Norman, The University of Oklahoma has to be one of the best kept secrets in US higher ed. With its $40,000 price tag for out of state students, its also a big-bang-for-your-buck university.
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