[CaseySimplified]

Hello everyone! I currently live near Baltimore, Maryland. I am thinking about attending Oklahoma State University to major in Computer Science and join the Air Force ROTC Detachment there. The only thing is is that I have lived in Maryland all of my life and have never visited Oklahoma in my life. So if anyone could tell me what Oklahoma or more specifically Stillwater and Oklahoma State University are like that would be great! Cheers!

Casey

[BAGuy]

I am pretty sure you would be very happy at OSU. They have a very nice campus and there is quite a lot of school spirit in that town. I believe there are approx. 50,000 people in Stillwater. Even though it is an average size town, you are not far away from Tulsa or Oklahoma City.

Best of luck and we hope to see you in OK.

[CaseySimplified]

Is there much to do in Stillwater or do you have to drive to Tulsa or Oklahoma City to find entertainment when I'm not studying or cramming for a test?

Also if I live on campus would it be best for me to buy a car so that I'm not completely trapped in Stillwater?

No offense to any Southern people or Oklahomans (if that's what you call yourself) but what are the people like there? Friendly? Mean? Religious? Cowboys? Again no offense I've just lived in Maryland all my life so all I know is people that think they are gansters and stuck up rich people.

Last, does the term "Okies" come from Oklahoma?

Cheers!
Casey

[muppetkiller]

My first exposure to the term "okie" was a Merle Haggard song. Second was Steinbeck in reference to "Okies" moving to CA after the dust bowl. I think it used to be derogatory, now it's common-place.

I grew up in DFW Texas, moved around and landed in the OK outback, a few years ago. I think of Stillwater as a suburb of OKC. I drive to OKC for my city "fix". Stillwater is a college town, outside OKC. You could prolly go without a car and be fine.

Big cities in Oklahoma are not the old West. Most people are very friendly and helpful. They have gangs and bad neighborhoods, shopping malls, convenience stores, highways, and some mass transportation. We don't ride horses, wear big hats, holsters and carry six-shooters, on a daily basis. Indians don't live in tepees, wear feathers or attack new people.

OKC is like many cities. Lot's of fun stuff downtown, including a ballpark and river walk. My kids love to come visit and we go to OKC. We walked around Bricktown and they told me it felt safer than many areas of downtown Ft. Worth and Dallas. They also said it was clean.

I think you could make friends easily at school and explore the area. Stillwater isn't far from OKC. OKC has sports, museums, concerts, zoo, botanical gardens, OMNI theaters, regattas, bike trails, outdoor groups and amusement parks.

Most of the cowboys and Bible-thumpers live in the western part of the state. They descend on OKC for the State Fair and conducting business. Tulsa and OKC have many rich people, they're newer money. Some like to think they're important but it's not as bad as Dallas, or Houston. They don't try to cut in line, just because they're talking on the phone, or own a Hummer, Benz, or whatever.

I encourage you to give OK a shot. It's not a bad place to live. Some of the schools are top-notch and you'll learn a great deal. By the way, we also have the remnants of one of the world's oldest mountain ranges. C'mon out! We'll share some secrets.

[CaseySimplified]

The more I think about going to college at OSU the more I like the thought of it. I was originally planning on going to San Diego State University but once I got my scholarship from the Air Force it wasn't going to cover as much as a thought. Which means that I would be over $40,000 in debt after I graduate! Then someone from the Air Force ROTC Detachment at OSU emailed me and told me they would give me a much better deal. Plus housing in Oklahoma is so much cheaper then Baltimore (where I live now) or San Diego. But when I first got the email about Oklahoma I was thinking "what the hell is in Oklahoma?!" but that's just my east coast mentality coming out. After doing some research I think it wouldn't be a bad thing to live and go to college in a somewhat smaller midwest / southern city. Besides all the people that I have dealt with over the phone about college in Oklahoma have all been really nice and helpful unlike the stuck up people I have talked to from San Diego. Just a random thought here: is it wrong for me to have the image of a Oklahoma girl like Daisy Duke from Dukes of Hazard? And do most people in Oklahoma has a southern accent? Well thanks to the two people that have already posted in my thread and the more about Oklahoma, Stillwater, or Oklahoma State University the better! Cheers and have a great weekend everyone!

Casey

[_redbird_]

I think you should ask for the good, bad, and the ugly. I wouldn't want anyone moving ~anywhere~ w/o a good idea of what they are getting into. I am sure someone will be more than willing to give you the inside info on OSU. At Kansas State University, I had a lot of friends who had never been to KS before, and we always called the locals, "townies". Their worldview is very different from someone from either the east or west coast.

Case in point. I had a friend who had never seen an african american until he was 20 years old. Then his parents drove him into Manhattan, KS to see one! That sounds funny to most of us who grew up in major metropolitan areas, but there are people who have never been exposed to various cultures other than their own.

I have relocated based on school and career. And my thoughts are when you are young and alone in a strange place, your friends become like your family. That is not to say, you are closing the door on your family, it just means, for me anyways, I made some very close friends in my college years.

I think you ought to spend a few hundred bucks and take a look see for yourself. Four of five years is a long time to be someplace you aren't happy.

I have only visited OSU and I had a few friends attend OSU, but their perspective is entirely their own, and I don't like to make any broad generalizations about anyplace based on someone else's opinion.

Good luck on your move.

[CaseySimplified]

I'm planning on taking a trip out to Stillwater to scope out the place and the college. And the plane tickets there are actually pretty cheap (usually under $200) compared to San Diego. Unfortunately since I have had my eye on San Diego for sometime now that I bought tickets in January to fly down there in March and I can't refund them! So I guess I'm going to just spend that time as a good vacation rather then a college trip.

I find that quite funny that someone had not seen an african american until they were 20 years old but again thats coming from living in Baltimore all my life.

I mean how bad can Stillwater and OSU be when I'm getting free tuition, $900 for books, $300 spending money all from good Ol' Uncle Sam. The only thing that I have to pay for is the $6,000 room and board which sounds so much better compared to the over $10,000 room and board at San Diego.

I've lived most of my life in Baltimore (which between all the posts in my thread I've probably said 100 times now) so I don't really know anything other than here. But I think that I could totally dig the whole "country" thing.

Is it sad that I have posted after each reply on the thread? I have no life.

Casey

[eddie gein]

Stillwater is a little prairie college town. It will take some adjusting for someone from Baltimore but I'm sure other than the seafood you will adapt quite well.

Obviously SDSU would be a completely different experience, however, at OSU you will get a traditional college experience instead of a Cal State commuter college experience.

Don't get me wrong on this. Spending time in San Diego would be incredible but it wouldn't revolve around your experience at the University. It would revolve around living in San Diego.

In Stillwater you will make your own fun. Whether it be big ball games with OU and Texas or spending time at Eskimo Joe's or on the strip, or road trips to Tulsa, OKC and Dallas with your pals, you will get a real college experience.

And don't fret about the women. They will knock your socks off. There are lookers all over that campus. And unlike San Diego where the girls will come to class and drive back to Poway or El Cajon or wherever, the girls in Stillwater are right there on campus or just off campus.

[CaseySimplified]

I'm thinking that the OSU atmosphere will be better then the SDSU atmosphere, different but better. (even though I haven't been to either one yet) My friends and family think I'm crazy for wanting to go to OSU instead of San Diego but I think it will be an enlightening experience. I think I could do the whole "Simple Life" type of thing. Making my own fun and appreciated the simple things in life. Instead of worrying if I'm wearing the right clothing and driving the right car which is what I'm sure would happen at SDSU to some degree, I could be having fun at football games and enjoying the great outdoors. I'm not saying everyone in Southern California or San Diego or SDSU are like that but I've been in touch with one girl that lives in Los Angeles and is going to SDSU next year. She's a sweet girl but very superficial. I would so rather go for the nice welcoming southern hospitality and the "yall come back now ya hear" rather then the "Oh my god you're wearing clothes from Wal-Mart!?" or "My daddy bought me a BMW. What type of car do you have Casey?" (sorry I know I'm probably stereotyping but its making me laugh). While doing my research on OSU and Oklahoma (and when I say "research" I mean just googling OSU, Oklahoma etc.) I have come across Eskimo Joe's. What is it? Is it just a restaurant or something more? Also what's the strip? I assume its something to the degree of the Las Vegas strip but Oklahoma style. (without all the prostitutes and casinos probably). Maybe I'm the only one but I can't wait to get out of high school and live on my own, go to OSU and start college. I've out grown high school and want to get out of Maryland!

And yes Maryland prides itself on it's excellence sea food!! (the crabs here are to die for!) And I'm not talking about the crab cakes (even though they are good) I'm talking about the full huge crabs that you take and break all there little legs off and eat the insides! Yum!! Now I want some crabs...

Casey

[mkfarnam]

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