University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Top Questions

What I wish I had know most is the quality of the departments here and how important that is to not only my education, but also to my enjoyment of my time here. Some of the departments here are not so strong, with teachers who probably shouldn't be teaching, but other departments probably deserve greater praise than they get. The Honors College here is, sadly, very poorly underestimated. The faculty of that college are some of the most intelligent and truly helpful and caring people I have ever met.

I wish that I had known more about the many different organizations on campus. It seems that a day doesn't go by that I don't hear about another activity being hosted by another group. The many activities students can partake in, are numerous and eclectic, there literally is something for everyone. Unfortunately, I feel that many of the smaller organizations go by the wayside and the average student is blind to what doors those groups are capable of opening. By simply helping students find clubs and organizations to join, less students would get overwhelmed and more would join.

I wish I had known that class sizes were huge (up to 500 in one classroom). I wish I knew that most professors just do not care and some do not even speak English very well.

Before attending the University of Oklahoma, I wish I would have known how to better handle the number of scholarship, service, and other types of on and off campus activities that are offered on a daily basis. However, I believe this sort of knowledge cannot be attained before coming to college, but must be experienced for one's own self.

College is only what you make of it. If you don't apply yourself you won't succeed. If you don't put yourself outside of your comfort zone, you will not experience what is awaiting you. If you aren't open to meeting new people, you will be lonely. College is a new world that is at your disposal. If you don't put an effort forward to make it a good experience, it will only drag you down.

Although I realized some of the classes at OU would be large, I did not realize how it would feel walking in to a class with 2-3 hundred students. I also didn't realize how competitive things would be to get into some extra curricular activities. When you go from competing against 3-4 hundred people to competing against 20,000, it is very different!

I wish I had known how importan it is to apply for all the scholarships one can to avoid unwanted stress on you or your family. The imprtance of studying consistently instead of cramming the few days or nights before tests would have been a good thing to know as well.

That I could have gotten credt for my advanced high school classes-I am in the honors program and I didn't receive alot of information about what of my advanced placement classes in high school would transfer and I am still searching to find if it is too late to test out of some of the basic general education classes that I know were college level in high school. Also I wish I could have met with my advisor over the summer and had a definite plan for classes and time to look over the fall offerings .

I came from a small school, so entering college was a big step in many aspects. I was bombarded with so much information from different colleges, including the one I am attending, that I was unable to absorb all the details. I wish I would have gotten my parents and teachers involved more, since they understand the whole process. The process in itself is overwhelming--down to the basics, like where I will live and how much I will need for food. I think I would have chosen to be more organized and prepared .

I wish I had known better study skills. It is very hard to find an effective way to study.Also learning how to manange my time would have been useful to know because college has so many distractions and you have to learn when to priortize.Another thing I wish I would have known is how to handle the financial aid part of college. The expenses would have not been so shocking if I had understoof how it all worked.