I want to be a Cowboy! Help!

Hey everyone, I need some help. I'm a senior here at Stillwater High School, and I am stressing out about college! I really want to stay home and go to OSU, but im afraid my grades aren't good enough. I slacked off early in high school and now it's screwing me over. I currently have a 2.2 GPA, but I got a 24 on my ACT. I am taking it one more time though. I played baseball freshmen and sophomore year, which left me no time for homework. I explained this in my essay and how my grades are better now and how I've stepped it up my senior year. I have lived in Stillwater my whole life, how much will that help? I played JV baseball for 2 years, and have now been on the Varsity golf team for 2 years. We are the 2011 6A academic state champs, no help from me but i still put it in my application.. I've been in some clubs such as Leadership, bowling club, and I'm currently a sports editor for the school yearbook. I submitted one essay and I feel like I did really well! My buddy just got accepted with a 3.0 GPA, but only got a 19 on his ACT, and he's not involved in ANYTHING. So what do you guys think? Do you think I have a shot? Thanks!

I recommend the NOC gateway program. You get an OSU I. D. You get student tickets. Other than not being able to be In a frat it's pretty much the same thing. Not positive but I think it might be a cheaper.

Yeah and after a couple semesters of proving yourself at Noc/Stillwater you become a full fledge OSU student. I wouldn't be surprised if you get accepted to OSU anyway. But if not definitely check into NOC.

I would assume a 24 on the ACT would be enough to get you in but I know the requirements change yearly so I'm not sure what they prefer. Extra-curriculars help but that becomes more of an issue when competing for scholarship money.

Does anyone know if they still offer zero level courses? At one time if your H.S. grades or test scores were low in an area like math, science, english you could get accepted on the condition that you took some zero level courses that don't count towards your degree. That may be the NOC route that some of the guys are talking about. If you do have to take Zero level classes I would attempt to take some or all of them that first summer. It may be cheaper to take the basic class at NOC and they may not require you to take a zero level course which means it would transfer to OSU.

Somebody else may know the answer to this but surely there is someone at the school that you can talk to about it and they can give you their best guess. A counselor or academic adviser? Have you already applied?

Yea my counselor just recommends NOC, but I feel like I have enough to get into OSU right away. I just applied yesterday, but the deadline was February 1st for scholarships. But I've been told that it's still harder to get in now sense I applied so late, is it really that big of a deal? But do you think my resume is alright? With my sports, clubs, etc.?

Your counselor or someone at OSU? There is surely someone at OSU that talks to prospective students.

https://admissions.okstate.edu/admission-requirements

according to that you meet option 1 and will likely be accepted provided all your paperwork is correct and you have all the required credits.

That helps me out a bunch! But on option 4, are they talking about the 3 questions that you have to answer with 100 words or less? Do they have a big impact? Because I feel like I did amazing on them! One more question. When you apply do they look at your application once and if you dont cut it do they kind of just throw it out the window? Or do they follow you throughout the rest of high school to see if you make improvement? Like if I get a higher score on my ACT in April, will they see that? Or will I have to apply again?

I'm sure the questions you answered on the application are what they are referring to. However, Option 4 won't matter for you. You only have to meet one of the options and appears you did with the 24 ACT.

Not sure what they do with the denied apps. I'm sure they keep them around for awhile. I don't think you will have apply again if you get a higher score. It's been awhile since I took the ACT but don't you list the schools you want it sent to?

Yea you still can!

If you don't get in definitely go NOC! If you are really interested in joining a fraternity, I am in the process of colonizing here on campus. We wouldn't be able to accept you as a pledge until you were an official Oklahoma State Student, but we would love to talk to you if you are interested.

Apply. It doesn't cost that much and all they can do is tell you no.


Same philosophy as hitting on the wimmins.

Yea basically all of my friends are joining frats:/ I have always wanted to be in one! What frat are you in?

I am a founding father of Delta Kappa Epsilon, I have very strong connections with Kappa Sigma and Pi Kappa Alpha on campus as well, basically if you join a fraternity find one that makes you love your brothers.

Oh so you're pretty high up there. And I will! I just want to get the full college experience, so I feel a frat is a great fit for me. Study all week, party all weekend

Haha I just applied yesyerday! How long does it usually take to get an answer?

I'm not too high up in the community I just know a lot of people because I am very sociable! Just make sure you are a gentlemen to ladies above all else, and most fraternities will have no problem with taking you! Also make sure you keep the partying under control!

Oh of course! Gotta respect the ladies! And I always do, haha.

Depends on how pretty she is and what her other options are.

You should find out pretty soon from OSU, though. Don't be too concerned about your high school grades. Your ACT shows that you're smart enough to handle most of the course load if you apply yourself.

I occupy a pretty unique position in that I made pretty middling grades at OSU, culminating in a semester of 15 hours of 0.00 when I enrolled in a semester and just didn't show up (and as Woody Allen once said, 99% of life is showing up). I was suspended from school and when I went back I had to go through "Academic Assessment" (what I called "dummy classes"). I was fortunate enough to be hooked up with an adviser, Dr. Martha McMillian, who really got me and seemed to care about me. This woman moved mountains for me at times. I finished up with 4 straight semesters of 4.0. I aced the LSAT and got into a top 20 law school, where I made law review.

I would occasionally come back to give talks to her new classes. I would say something like this.

Go to class. This isn't high school any more. You are not forced by law to go there, you are paying a lot of money, both out of pocket and in imputed wages (money you would have earned had you been going to work rather than going to class). If you bought a car for $5,000 dollars, you'd be putting oil in it, checking the tires and water, etc. because you want to protect that investment.

You're paying more than that to go to college. Every year. Protect that investment in yourself. You're worth more than your car.

Meet your professors. Go visit them in their office. They like that. They are smart people who figured out a niche in life that they were good enough at that they could earn a living teaching it. You may not be as interested in it as they are, but they can be pretty cool people, even the math guys. Some of the best parties are thrown by professors, btw.

Study something you're interested in. At first, you probably won't know. Keep an open mind. I ended up with degrees in Economics and Philosophy from OSU. I'm not sure I could even spell either one before going there.

Remember why you're there. You're there to get an education and make a good life for yourself. I'm not against going out to party (I used to DJ on the Strip), but at some point you have to ask yourself what's more important. If something is getting in between you and where you want to be, you need to cut something out. I'm not a moralizer so what you cut out is up to you.

Not all successful people graduated from college. I won't bore you with a list. I know some in Oklahoma. If you have a talent for business, pursue it (I am pretty smart but lack business sense, I respect people with this impulse).

Take a break if you have to. Don't do like I did and have 15 hours of 0.00. Stillwater is a GREAT place to live when you're not going to school.

Chime in, peeps. Did I miss anything?

I applied on a Friday and found out the next Tuesday. I applied very early and had pretty good credentials though, but don't start worrying!

I can't say with complete certainty obviously, but I would think that you are good. It is typically one of the two requirements. You either need to meet the minimum ACT score OR have a high gpa for acceptance. I am pretty sure that I had about the same as you did. 24 on my act and around a 2.5 high school gpa. I was accepted no problem.