I recently became very interested in the University of Tulsa (in Tulsa, Oklahoma) after reading about the full scholarship offered to National Merit Finalists and their excellent Petroleum Engineering program.
I poked around and was disappointed to see that the university is not that well known. It seems to be a great fit for me (I'm just a high school sophomore with high hopes!) with its small student body, proximity to home (I live in TX, so not too far or too close to home) and my interest in the Petroleum Engineering field. Also, it does seem to be "up-and-coming" as it's selectivity rate dropped about 25% last year, and their rank jumped quite a bit, as well. (83, ranked tier one from US News)
So what do y'all think of University of Tulsa as a whole? Please tell me all you know about it, especially about the Petroleum Engineering Program (is it hard to get into, etc.) How is the university viewed within Oklahoma? Will TU become an extremely good school in the near future so that my degree will have more value after graduation? (ie, ranked in 50's of tier one ranking?) How difficult is it to gain admission for an out of state TX student who is Asian? Will my ethnicity or out of state status aid me?
Also, how is the Petroleum Engineering field doing overall? I have heard that they are on a hiring spree because of the average of a Petroleum Engineer is about 50, so close to retiring and lots of $$$ in the field...
Thanks for all of your responses!
(Sorry for the long post!)
On a related note, WHY IS TU NOT LISTED IN THE INDIVIDUAL INDEX FOR COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES? gah!
I'm from Tulsa (and a longtime fan of TU athletics) and have nothing but great things to say about TU. It's an amazing education. Trust me, do not worry about getting a sub-par education at the University of Tulsa, especially in a field like petroleum engineering.
Instead of worrying about the school's academic reputation, I'd be more concerned about less academic aspects of the University. I know some people who have been very unhappy at TU because of what they describe as a limited social scene and a student body dominated by kids from the immediate area. As far as the social scene goes, I get the impression that the party scene is relatively sterile unless you join the right frat. Off campus really isn't all that happenin' until you're 21 so almost everything revolves around the tiny (yet beautiful) campus.
Seems to be a good fit for me since I probably wouldn't party or do much outside of my studies anyways
One more question: How is the diversity there? I saw a photograph of the graduating Honors Program class from TU and found that >90% were white! I'm Asian Indian and just don't want to feel out of place...
I mean, it's Oklahoma lol. We're not exactly a melting pot..
With that said, however, I don't think you'll feel "tokenized" at TU. College is a lot different from high school in the sense that you can find a group of people you identify with if you seek them out. Although TU has less than half the number of undergrads as my school, I think that same general rule of thumb applies. I know a diverse array of people who have gone there and I don't get the impression that their ability to fit in there was any more difficult than it would have been anywhere else.
Perhaps with the social stuff I put too much emphasis on drinking/partying. What I was trying to say is that I feel like there's just general lack of social events in general on campus. Students don't seem that politically active, the school's very respectable football and basketball programs draw few students to games, etc.
TU is the best university in Oklahoma, and it's pet. eng. program is a great one. It is the smallest DI-A university though, and it's not exactly in the most cosmopolitan of places either, so you may be bored? Either way it's a pretty good school.
Tulsa is a great school for PE, as well as the 16-17 other schools.
For petroleum engineering, it doesen't matter where you go; it just matters the quality and how many internships you get, really. Excluding UT, A&M, and Stanford, the rest are equal for placement.
I'm a National Merit Scholar at TU, and I absolutely love it. I can honestly say that I can't believe I even looked anywhere else. TU is very diverse. There are students from all over. I sit next to a guy from Angola in my Spanish class. We even have a mosque on campus. I'm part of the Honors program, and I find it very stimulating. Last semester, my honors class was "Greek History, Philosophy, and Drama." We read the Iliad, Medea, Oedipus, Plato's Apology, Laches, Plato's Symposion, Nichomachian Ethics, the Handbook of Epictetus, and lots more. It was the most amazing and enjoyable class that I've ever taken in my life. This semster, my honors class is "Medieval Culture." We're just getting started, but it's already looking amazing. It's these type of courses that make up your general electives. While your friends are stuck in Geography 101, you'll be having a lot more fun!
What I love the most about the University of Tulsa is the professors and the class size. Last semester, I had a professor who knew my name by the second class of the semester! Whenever I see a professor from last semester, they always stop and chat. The professors are truly interested in your life, and are willing to help you achieve your dreams. Most of my classes have around 15 people in them. I know upperclassmen who have classes of 4-5 people. If you don't want to be a number, come to TU. TU definitely knows how to treat their students, especially their Presidential Scholars!
I know several people in the PE department, and they love it. I'm actually a math major here at TU.
I can tell you that there are a lot of people here (myself included) that aren't into the party scene, and we still manage to have tons of fun.
Jenny Lin is the director of Presidential Scholar (National Merit) recruitment here at TU. Let me tell you, she is one awesome person! She answered all of my questions, and she'd love to hear from you if you have any more questions!
If you (or anyone else interested in TU) have any specific questions, send me an e-mail at sarah-hagan@utulsa.edu. I'd love to answer them!
My son if a freshman at TU and absolutely loves it. He didn't join a frat, but has quite a few friends who did. D-1 sports and a winning football team have been a lot of fun for him. There are quite a few "locals" who attend TU, but those students tend to be among some of Oklahoma's best and brightest. The generous financial aid and the fact that there are no other top 100 comprehensive universities within about a 200 mile radius (not counting big state schools like OU, OSU, UofA, KU) of Tulsa makes it a good choice for "locals". Still, about 50% of the student body is from outside the state of Oklahoma.
I have absolutely no idea why this school isn't even in the index of CC. That's a moderator question I guess.
My Son is NMF and looked at Tulsa, Nebraska-Lincoln, Wash U - Stl, and Bradley. Our experience is that Wash U was the most stuck-up, unfriendly, ladder-climbing, politically correct of the schools. Tulsa and Bradley were the friendliest and most helpful. Nebraska tries, but it is big and the impersonal nature comes through. All the schools sent us multiple mailings that didn't apply like "consider our school" after he was accepted, that was a common interesting thread with all of them.
By far the schools that called and emailed and checked up on my son (and replied timely to our questions) were Tulsa and Bradley, in that order.
We actually applied BEFORE he knew he was even a Merit Seminfinalist and again Tulsa and Bradley were extremely responsive and friendly the whole way.
We visited all the schools and he just had his 2nd Tulsa visit and it clinched it for him. He stayed overnight in the dorms and had a great time. He has a friend who goes there and it is his freshman year and this friend goes on and on about how great this school is. He loves his classes and professors. He is a Physics major. He says his classes are challenging, but that since they are so small and the professors are so helpful that they are not as hard as if he was at a big school with 100 people being taught by a TA and struggling to find help. So that may clear up some of the differences of opinion on the board. Regarding social life my son's friend actually said he is VERY involved in lots of campus groups, very busy, making LOTS of friends and none of this involves drinking. So again, I guess you get out of any school what you put into it.
My son visited classes and had several meetings with the Chairman of Arts & Sciences as well as the Chairman of the English dept (what was supposed to be a 30 min meeting ended up being a 1.5 hr meeting) and my son talked literature and philosophy with them and the conversations were spirited with a lot a back and forth, not just dull, "tell me about yourself". He was floored and as we left he said, "That's what I am looking for".
So, he has finally decided to go to Tulsa in computer science and minor in English. Does the money play a part? Sure. He will be getting the equivalent of $140K and a good education. However, he told me that apart from the money he would rather go to Tulsa than the other schools, including Wash U (ranked # 12, he just really didn't like Wash U). His second choice would be Bradley.
We have researched Tulsa extensively, visited twice, know someone who goes there and feel, that while it definitely has areas of improvement, that overall it is what it claims to be and that fits what my son is looking for.
Also, I went to what is now known as Missouri University of Science and Technology (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla) and it is a top engineering school. Problem is that outside of engineering, not a whole lot of people know about it. That is kind of like how it is with Pet Eng at Tulsa. Let me tell you that within Pet Eng, Tulsa is well known and respected. Williams companies (oil and gas) hires from 10 schools and Tulsa and my old school - MST-Rolla are two of them.
I am graduating high school this year and am attending The University of Tulsa in the fall to study Petroleum Engineering. Currently I am looking into buying a computer and was wondering if there are any students (Preferably engineers in perticular if possible) that could give me some advice. I am considerign a few options, A. Buy a fairly good laptop around $2000, B. Buy a desktop which of course will always beat a laptop in performance for a comparable price and then to have the protability buy a Netbook or cheap laptop to go along with it. C.(any other sugestions?). I am leaning towards B but want to know if there is any input, Ex. would i lose to much mobility that would be otherwise very convienient?
Hey, get a desktop and buy a cheap laptop. 99% of your computing will be on your desktop. You will only need a laptop for study groups or if you need to escape your room. I'm studying PE now at Tulsa.
