<p>My D has just completed her FR year @ OCU. Let me start by saying i knew nothing about OCU before our campus visit during D’s junior year (Spring Break). I am a very loyal University of Texas alum and cherish the depth of the education i got there and the wealth of contacts I have to this day. For certain I thought she would go to a large school for the same reasons. Instead, she chose this small (4400 students) school with no football stadium and no football team… she was screaming on the phone when she got the admission letter so i opted to supress my unsolicited wisdom and support her choice. I was very impressed by the facilities, but kept wondering what in the world she would do at this small college. Also felt the tuition was relatively high, particularly to the In State schools she got in.</p>
<p>I have now had a year to observe and reflect. Executive Summary: OCU DOES IT RIGHT!<br>
I started sensing this at the Matriculation Service during her Orientation Week. Didn’t want to take a 3rd day off work… would NOT have missed it, even crammed with my fellow “bill paying parents” in the balcony. The objectives for their 4 years are articulated. It was beautifully organized and I believed they could and would “make it happen” for every student.</p>
<p>my D pledged a sorority. i had counselled her to wait until she graduated and become an adult initiate of 1 of 2 sororities a dozen of her friends are in at other schools. Even on this tiny campus, there are activities practically every weekend… and importantly, they are not KEG PARTIES. It’s paintball, Remington Park horse racing, Watermelon Wars between the other Greeks, dances, date nights. I feel SO GOOD that my D is not wasting weekend nights getting totally soused, as I did in college. These kids have a rocking good time together without the “party hearty” mentality. Has made me rethink how i spent my college weekends…</p>
<p>Fast forward to the parents weekend the first weekend in December. At the President’s House. very nicely done (crowded!) with the president and the dept. heads informally mingling. Performances that weekend by the choirs/orchestra (Vespers), dance (Rockettes type show) and acting (Dickens) were nothing short of amazing, given that they were college-level performances. </p>
<p>Living in Dallas, my D and I frequent the travelling Musicals, SMU productions (theater + dance), Dallas Symphony, Dallas Theater Center and many many 2nd and 3rd tier performances. My D says she has seen more productions in 8 months of school than with me combined through the years. hard to believe, until she explained that there is SOMETHING going on on campus all the time – not just weekends. Student recitals, performances, lectures, CEO visits. I am so sad that i did not avail myself of these when i was in college. Apparently they all attend in “packs”, then drive somewhere nearby for coffee/dessert/pizza and fun.</p>
<p>The other thing i have grown to LOVE about OCU is that there is only one place everyone eats… either “The Caf” (full plate meal) or “Alvins” (soups sandwiches coffee to go)–same building. Every other school she considered had all kinds of food offerings, as did UT in my day. But this is a far better way to REALLY get to know students studying everything else… this system doesn’t nurture cliques (Greek vs independent; one major versus another major; jocks versus academics). they ALL eat 1-2 meals together EVERY day. My D eats with the gals on crew, the nursing majors, the guys from the B-school, the kids majoring in religious studies, her sorority sisters from whatever major. She can’t even tell me what her friends are majoring in…which, i believe, is great because it hasn’t been a criteria in her selection of friends.</p>
<p>Do i wish my D would throttle down on all her Greek activities…yes. Do i wish she would learn to study in the hall when she’s not on stage in a production… yes. Do i wish she would spend a LOT more time practicing her vocal and piano works… yes. But am I pleased with the values she is learning in college… that fun can be had with kids majoring in non-related fields…that a great weekend doesn’t entail “drying out”…that she must work HARD HARD HARD to do well in college and her subsequent career. you better believe it.</p>
<p>The “powers that be” seem to impress upon the students to thrive in diversity, to work 200% harder than you thought, to support each other in ALL campus activities (athletics, performances, fundraisers), and to worship their Creator (beautiful chapel right on campus – NO classes scheduled from 1-2 weekdays other than Bible studies and Thursday Chapel run by the students).</p>
<p>I am so moved by my D’s college experience so far that I have really re-thought what college years SHOULD be about. As a parent, i feel so very fortunate that my D is at OCU.</p>