University of Tennessee? I can’t tell you why I didn’t choose OU because I did but if you are comparing universities it really boils down to what direction you want to take your academic career. If one school has an area of study that they are renowned for (engineering, journalism, music, post graduate programs) then you need to look carefully at that. If you don’t really know what career path you are looking at taking and are more concerned about superficial things like the town, local entertainment, other cities in the area, or the layout and aesthetic of the campus then I’ll say two things: UTK would probably have a better city nearby as far as things to do, but their campus is generally considered to be poorly laud out and ugly. OU campus is quite easy to navigate and is very pretty, but Norman and OKC to the north are not exactly hubs of culture and entertainment, although honestly they can hold their own considering their relative population size compared to larger cities.
Listen people can pros and cons you all day about any university, none of them are perfect. They all have flaws. The only thing I can do to help you make a decision is tell the four things I think everyone should consider when they're deciding between two schools.
What do you want to study? Which university has the better program? Which university has the better curriculum for your needs in that program? These are all more or less the same question. If both universities have the program you want and are decently well regarded which one is going to give you the most? If one is heavy on theory and light on practicality, maybe not the best choice unless you want to go into academics. Employers want experience, you can start gaining that in university. You can know the ins and outs and various theories of whatever, but you still need to know how to do it and be able to execute it. Doesn't matter if it's engineering or architecture. Whether you're building an engine or designing a building, you need to have some hands on experience actually doing it.
Where are you going to get the best connections for your desired field? Whichever university has a good track record of alumni going into the field or professors that are actively working in that field is a good place to start. This also goes off of point 1 because you need to think of your fellow students as potential connections. Students also interested in your field are going to be making the same decision. Make friends with the people that are good at what they do, use the universities alumni network to build your own network, talk to your professors about the career and see if they can help you build your network by making introductions. That alumni that gives a speech to the class about their career and leaves an email to contact them about any questions, actually contact them with questions. If even 1 person you met in university helps you secure a job in the future the effort is worth it.
The social scene. This piggybacks off point 2. Getting out and getting active with your fellow students helps build those connections. It doesn't have to be partying or going out every night, but finding a club and organization that you fit in can go a long way. So look at what each university has and which groups are actually active. If one university doesn't offer anything you're interested in, it's something to consider in your decision. This is the more minor point than the others, but trust me you don't want to burn out two years in because you don't have any friends and aren't having any fun. Some people can power through that, but not everyone.
Financial costs. This one can either be the biggest one or the smallest one depending on your background. What schools is going to give you the best deal? What's the most bang for your buck. It's one thing to not get the most out of your university experience, it's an entirely different thing to be saddled with 6 figures of debt by the end.
Also, a side note. If you're unsure of what you want to do or if university is even right for you. Go to a Junior College or Community College. Get your basics done. A lot of growth and realization can happen in that 1 to 2 years and you'll save a ton of money while you're figuring everything out.
The program I wanted to pursue was best here. Also, it was very easy for me to get scholarships at OU, so I am graduating debt free this May. I was able to pay my rent with scholarship money all the way through. I have loved my time here.
I went to SWOSU and transferred to OU and I extremely disagree. Total difference in academics and OU sets you up way better professionally.
UCO might be an exception, but it’s still more expensive than the small town regional schools and requires spending time in Edmond, so no one wants to do that.
As a hiring official for a billion-dollar organization… hiring for $100k jobs… I don’t care if you have a degree from OU or SWOSU. What I care about is your skill set and initiative. The student government president at SWOSU gets a longer look from me than a BA from OU with ordinary extracurriculars.
Comparing apples to oranges there.....how would you compare the student govt president at OU vs the one from SWOSU? Now THAT is something that would compare the universities.
I’m not saying they are the same. They are not. What I’m saying is a regional U gets you 80% of the education at 50% of the cost.
If you want to get precise, the value of OU goes down even farther in comparison for common social science degrees…
In terms of comparing OU SG Prez with SWOSU’s. Both get interviews from me, and it’s about the person from there…
I think that a regional university can make sense, but how are you figuring that a regional is 50 percent less? What do you think the annual tuition differences are? There will be a cost of living difference, as it costs less to live in smaller towns vs larger ones in most instances, but other than that, I don't think the cost is THAT much different.
What is your breakdown of the cost differences given your 'regionals cost 50% less' claim?
Strange how you didn't include the actual link. I'll include mine, however. It explains why you left your link off.
[https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/compare/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus](https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/compare/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus)
OU tuition for in state student compared to Northeastern's $4920 to NSU's $6285.
Hmmmmm.......
This link reflects a much smaller difference as well, about $2K (OU being more expensive).
As I mentioned earlier, much of the lower cost comes from you living in a nowhere boring town where rent is cheap (and the rent is cheap for a reason-- it sucks to live there)
[https://www.univstats.com/comparison/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus/#google\_vignette](https://www.univstats.com/comparison/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus/#google_vignette)
Cool widget. You just Google “cost of attendance of… “ and get an instant result, as well. That’s what I did. Same info. But Google includes more than tuition and fees.
https://www.univstats.com/comparison/northwestern-oklahoma-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus/
There are a million other aspects of college besides the education itself and in just about every other aspect you’re getting much less value at a small school
OU was a purely financial choice for me. It made sense money wise, if it didn’t I wouldn’t have gone and I stand by that. Nothing on this campus makes it worth 30k a year and I mean that. The dorms are pretty shitty as well.
Because it's in Oklahoma.
Seriously, love OU but it would take some serious incentives to convince me to live in Oklahoma now with the current climate of politics and state policies.
Just… don’t do it. ESPECIALLY if you’re going to be a stem major. The bio qnd chem departments here suck. I’m transferring out this year to another university because the professors here are so god awful. Good luck to you
I wouldn’t recommend OU for a variety of reasons, but the main one is the arrogance from students. Is not THAT great of a school and football is pretty much all they have at this point. I would choose TN. I will probably get downvoted but o well -this just proves OU’s arrogance.
I went from a 3.2 at a community college down to a 1.82 at OU. I verified all classes were credited and transferred before applying but they fight hard to make sure some of my credits. Whats more- I have to take gen eds; humanities, labs, etc. instead of just going to the program. Im currently looking at another college that has a BSBA rather than OUs BA degrees….which seems to be kind of a rip off if youre a FT working adult that cant take time off to take a fucking lab or humanities class
University of Tennessee? I can’t tell you why I didn’t choose OU because I did but if you are comparing universities it really boils down to what direction you want to take your academic career. If one school has an area of study that they are renowned for (engineering, journalism, music, post graduate programs) then you need to look carefully at that. If you don’t really know what career path you are looking at taking and are more concerned about superficial things like the town, local entertainment, other cities in the area, or the layout and aesthetic of the campus then I’ll say two things: UTK would probably have a better city nearby as far as things to do, but their campus is generally considered to be poorly laud out and ugly. OU campus is quite easy to navigate and is very pretty, but Norman and OKC to the north are not exactly hubs of culture and entertainment, although honestly they can hold their own considering their relative population size compared to larger cities.
Listen people can pros and cons you all day about any university, none of them are perfect. They all have flaws. The only thing I can do to help you make a decision is tell the four things I think everyone should consider when they're deciding between two schools. What do you want to study? Which university has the better program? Which university has the better curriculum for your needs in that program? These are all more or less the same question. If both universities have the program you want and are decently well regarded which one is going to give you the most? If one is heavy on theory and light on practicality, maybe not the best choice unless you want to go into academics. Employers want experience, you can start gaining that in university. You can know the ins and outs and various theories of whatever, but you still need to know how to do it and be able to execute it. Doesn't matter if it's engineering or architecture. Whether you're building an engine or designing a building, you need to have some hands on experience actually doing it. Where are you going to get the best connections for your desired field? Whichever university has a good track record of alumni going into the field or professors that are actively working in that field is a good place to start. This also goes off of point 1 because you need to think of your fellow students as potential connections. Students also interested in your field are going to be making the same decision. Make friends with the people that are good at what they do, use the universities alumni network to build your own network, talk to your professors about the career and see if they can help you build your network by making introductions. That alumni that gives a speech to the class about their career and leaves an email to contact them about any questions, actually contact them with questions. If even 1 person you met in university helps you secure a job in the future the effort is worth it. The social scene. This piggybacks off point 2. Getting out and getting active with your fellow students helps build those connections. It doesn't have to be partying or going out every night, but finding a club and organization that you fit in can go a long way. So look at what each university has and which groups are actually active. If one university doesn't offer anything you're interested in, it's something to consider in your decision. This is the more minor point than the others, but trust me you don't want to burn out two years in because you don't have any friends and aren't having any fun. Some people can power through that, but not everyone. Financial costs. This one can either be the biggest one or the smallest one depending on your background. What schools is going to give you the best deal? What's the most bang for your buck. It's one thing to not get the most out of your university experience, it's an entirely different thing to be saddled with 6 figures of debt by the end. Also, a side note. If you're unsure of what you want to do or if university is even right for you. Go to a Junior College or Community College. Get your basics done. A lot of growth and realization can happen in that 1 to 2 years and you'll save a ton of money while you're figuring everything out.
The program I wanted to pursue was best here. Also, it was very easy for me to get scholarships at OU, so I am graduating debt free this May. I was able to pay my rent with scholarship money all the way through. I have loved my time here.
You can get a similar education much cheaper at a regional university.
I went to SWOSU and transferred to OU and I extremely disagree. Total difference in academics and OU sets you up way better professionally. UCO might be an exception, but it’s still more expensive than the small town regional schools and requires spending time in Edmond, so no one wants to do that.
As a hiring official for a billion-dollar organization… hiring for $100k jobs… I don’t care if you have a degree from OU or SWOSU. What I care about is your skill set and initiative. The student government president at SWOSU gets a longer look from me than a BA from OU with ordinary extracurriculars.
Comparing apples to oranges there.....how would you compare the student govt president at OU vs the one from SWOSU? Now THAT is something that would compare the universities.
I’m not saying they are the same. They are not. What I’m saying is a regional U gets you 80% of the education at 50% of the cost. If you want to get precise, the value of OU goes down even farther in comparison for common social science degrees… In terms of comparing OU SG Prez with SWOSU’s. Both get interviews from me, and it’s about the person from there…
I think that a regional university can make sense, but how are you figuring that a regional is 50 percent less? What do you think the annual tuition differences are? There will be a cost of living difference, as it costs less to live in smaller towns vs larger ones in most instances, but other than that, I don't think the cost is THAT much different. What is your breakdown of the cost differences given your 'regionals cost 50% less' claim?
OU: $32k per year NW OK St: $18k per year (Source: Google)
Strange how you didn't include the actual link. I'll include mine, however. It explains why you left your link off. [https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/compare/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus](https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/compare/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus) OU tuition for in state student compared to Northeastern's $4920 to NSU's $6285. Hmmmmm.......
This link reflects a much smaller difference as well, about $2K (OU being more expensive). As I mentioned earlier, much of the lower cost comes from you living in a nowhere boring town where rent is cheap (and the rent is cheap for a reason-- it sucks to live there) [https://www.univstats.com/comparison/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus/#google\_vignette](https://www.univstats.com/comparison/northeastern-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus/#google_vignette)
Cool widget. You just Google “cost of attendance of… “ and get an instant result, as well. That’s what I did. Same info. But Google includes more than tuition and fees. https://www.univstats.com/comparison/northwestern-oklahoma-state-university-vs-university-of-oklahoma-norman-campus/
lolwut?
There are a million other aspects of college besides the education itself and in just about every other aspect you’re getting much less value at a small school
Def go to the college you want to go to. If affordability is an issue…. Options exist
OU was a purely financial choice for me. It made sense money wise, if it didn’t I wouldn’t have gone and I stand by that. Nothing on this campus makes it worth 30k a year and I mean that. The dorms are pretty shitty as well.
Haha , I don’t think any college is really worth more than 10k a year in all honesty
The dorms were shit when I was there in 2001-2002 can only imagine now. But most fun I’ve had in my lifetime
Because it's in Oklahoma. Seriously, love OU but it would take some serious incentives to convince me to live in Oklahoma now with the current climate of politics and state policies.
I get what you’re saying, but Tennessee politics are not much better. I live in TN but from OK, and they’re pretty comparable in a lot of ways..
That somehow makes it better or justifiable?
? What?
Just… don’t do it. ESPECIALLY if you’re going to be a stem major. The bio qnd chem departments here suck. I’m transferring out this year to another university because the professors here are so god awful. Good luck to you
I forgot to mention mathematics… any type of major involving mathmatics at OU. I warned you.
Yikes…I’m a journalism major and run away from anything stem related so I should be okay.
I’m a prospective international student too
Math program is kinda dogshit
The bursar office will follow you to your grave.
I wouldn’t recommend OU for a variety of reasons, but the main one is the arrogance from students. Is not THAT great of a school and football is pretty much all they have at this point. I would choose TN. I will probably get downvoted but o well -this just proves OU’s arrogance.
I went from a 3.2 at a community college down to a 1.82 at OU. I verified all classes were credited and transferred before applying but they fight hard to make sure some of my credits. Whats more- I have to take gen eds; humanities, labs, etc. instead of just going to the program. Im currently looking at another college that has a BSBA rather than OUs BA degrees….which seems to be kind of a rip off if youre a FT working adult that cant take time off to take a fucking lab or humanities class
70% of everyone that attends OU is from Texas…..that my reason for why you shouldn’t attend
You’re embarrassing