whats the best college town in oklahoma?

[kwash]

school is around the corner and i wanna know from all oklahomans what they think is the best college town in oklahoma? What town in oklahoma just overfills college atmosphere?

[Spartan]

Norman of course. Any other answer, like Sillywater, would just be silly.

[circuitboard]

Norman of course. Any other answer, like Sillywater, would just be silly.

Agree.

[soonerguru]

Norman all the way, although Stillwater is pretty good, too. For a small college town, I've always liked Tahlequah.

[Andrew4OU]

Norman. I'm not being biased, I swear. I miss college!

[metro]

Norman of course. Any other answer, like Sillywater, would just be silly.

That's something I can agree with Spartan on.

[bluedogok]

I went to OU but Norman is no longer a "college town", it is more like Lawrence, Lincoln or Boulder which are no longer college towns, as they have become burbs of larger cities. Stillwater, College Station, Columbia, Manhattan, Ames are college towns, far enough away from a bigger city for the town to still be centered around the college. Then there is Austin or Columbus, Ohio, they have outgrown the college town environment and are now cities with colleges in them, having the state capitol located there probably had much to do with it as well. Lubbock and Waco...are just Lubbock and Waco, not really either of those classifications.

[Pete]

Although Norman has grown a lot, that's been mainly on the west side of town where most students never venture.

The campus just keeps getting better and Campus Corner is really thriving.

The key is to live on or near campus and if you do, the setting is fantastic.

[lasomeday]

It is definitely Stillwater, having gone to both OU and OSU. Norman has become a suburb and all the students go home in the middle of the week and on weekends, except the abnoxious kids from Texas.

[BG918]

It is definitely Stillwater, having gone to both OU and OSU. Norman has become a suburb and all the students go home in the middle of the week and on weekends, except the abnoxious kids from Texas.

Kids from Texas, specifically DFW, now make up half of each freshman class. Drive through the campus area and you will see more Texas license plates than Oklahoma.

And yes I agree Norman is very much a suburb of OKC and an integral part of the OKC Metro. Yet the area around OU is still very much a small college town environment even though the rest of the city with 100,000+ people around it may not be.

[Architect2010]

Norman is not a merely a suburb. It is above the likes of Moore, Yukon, or whatever. I agree it has become more of a suburban setting as it grows past it's college-dependent past, but it's roots and center are soley college oriented, even if it's outskirts are comprised of typical cookie cutter houses and strip malls.

Norman hands down.

[Andrew4OU]

It is definitely Stillwater, having gone to both OU and OSU. Norman has become a suburb and all the students go home in the middle of the week and on weekends, except the abnoxious kids from Texas.

That's funny because my OSU friends were the ones who would always go home because there wasn't anything to do in Stoolwater. There would be many times they'd venture down to OKC and Norman to hang out with their OU counterparts.

And as for "going home in the middle of the week and on weekends," I find that hard to believe. I guess it's due to the fact that most of my friends and I were from out of state. Going home wasn't really an option unless it was during Thanksgiving or Christmas breaks.

I agree with Pete on this. As a student, I never really ventured off into the burb-y/Westside areas of Norman. The area around campus definitely has a great, college feel to it. You can't really say that about Lubbock or Waco.

[feconi]

Kids from Texas, specifically DFW, now make up half of each freshman class. Drive through the campus area and you will see more Texas license plates than Oklahoma.

Half of each freshman class? Where'd you get that figure from? OU's "campus profile" pdf that I have from 2008 claims 5,490 non-resident undergraduates and 13,177 Oklahoma residents--by those figures, OOS students make up about 29% of the undergraduate population. Collegeview claims 25% for OU, 23% for OSU. I realize Texans have a presence at both universities, but be realistic here...

[Bunty]

That's funny because my OSU friends were the ones who would always go home because there wasn't anything to do in Stoolwater. There would be many times they'd venture down to OKC and Norman to hang out with their OU counterparts.

So lower the drinking age back to 18 and there will be more bars springing up in Stillwater than the average person could bar hop to in a night. After all, didn't Playboy magazine name OSU one of the most partying college campuses back when drinking in bars was legal at 18?

[Andrew4OU]

Half of each freshman class? Where'd you get that figure from? OU's "campus profile" pdf that I have from 2008 claims 5,490 non-resident undergraduates and 13,177 Oklahoma residents--by those figures, OOS students make up about 29% of the undergraduate population. Collegeview claims 25% for OU, 23% for OSU. I realize Texans have a presence at both universities, but be realistic here...

Yeah, half is a bit much per OU Factbook 2009

According to the OU factbook, Fall 2008 enrollment included 3,848 students from Texas.

[Bunty]

Norman of course. Any other answer, like Sillywater, would just be silly.

Ha, I bet Stillwater would be the state's favorite college town, if only it was OSU rather than OU doing pretty good at football and basketball after all these years. If that was so, then T. Boone Pickens Stadium could seat 100,000 or more, rather than 60,000.

[onthestrip]

I have a feeling this thread is moving towards an osu vs ou thing.

But I kind of think that Norman being the third biggest city in the state keeps it out of the college town debate.

[okyeah]

It is definitely Stillwater, having gone to both OU and OSU. Norman has become a suburb and all the students go home in the middle of the week and on weekends, except the abnoxious kids from Texas.

actually the middle of the week, Wednesday, especially during the summer is a huge party night. during the schoolyear it's Thursday night that is party night.

[soonerguru]

I have a feeling this thread is moving towards an osu vs ou thing.

But I kind of think that Norman being the third biggest city in the state keeps it out of the college town debate.

What the f*&^?

That is asinine. Norman is the ultimate college town. It's no bigger than Madison, Wisconsin (also a capital) or Ann Arbor, Michigan, or all of the great college towns in this country.

It is a college town, period. One of my associates was there on business last week and tons of businesses were closed, "awaiting the students."

The North and West sides of town are clearly bedroom community, but most of the town revolves around OU.

[HVAC Instructor]

UCO Edmond!!

[Doug Loudenback]

I've also been to both OU & OSU, getting a degree at both. When comparing Norman and Stillwater, it's like compariing apples & oranges. Merely for the reason that Stillwater is by itself in the plains, OSU/Stillwater are much more of a cloistered and tight-knit of a community than are OU/Norman. So, that makes OSU/Stillwater more of a college town than OU/Norman. Both are good, but they are different.

[Bunty]

Yeah, in comparing apples and oranges, unlike Norman, Stillwater can be referred to as a blue collar college town, due to its industrial plants. For instance, I bet very few people know that Stillwater is where Rolling Stone and ESPN magazines are printed and distributed throughout the nation. A lot of people who think Stillwater is so pitifully small that it can only possibly be oriented around OSU may never get around to knowing that there's another side to Stillwater. If that happens to distract from Stillwater as the best college town, compared to Norman, than that's tough.

[the_Mont]

For instance, I bet very few people know that Stillwater is where Rolling Stone and ESPN magazines are printed.

I just read about that last week. I had no idea!

[OKCMallen]

The area around campus definitely has a great, college feel to it. You can't really say that about Lubbock.

Yes you can.

[adaniel]

Although I will confess I'm a recent May grad from OU, I've been in both extensively and can say that Norman wins out. Yes Norman is big and shows no signs of slowing down, but I think its a plus for the city. In Stillwater, if your not from a small town or into drinking beer and red dirt music your not going to like it. I didn't say that, but I heard those words from several other OSU grads. You could probably say the same about OU and football, but the size of the town puts a check on this. I know frat boys, jocks, artsy liberal arts types, intellectuals, and others who thrive in Norman. Its that level of diversity that defines a college town. I will say Stillwater however is probably more close knit and authentic. Also, the distance to OKC is a plus in my favor. I can tell you by indirect experience that is much easier to lure top staff and faculty to a college if there is a big city nearby. Another college town that shouldn't be overlooked is Tahlequah. I would rank it a close second to Norman.

And for what its worth, I'm one of those snooty Dallas kids who came up to Norman, and is now gladly living in OKC with a good paying job in my field. Just had to add that