Students have access to scholarships, but some still take out loans to help to pay for OCU’s tuition.
The university was recognized earlier this semester on a list of 150 private colleges with the least average student debt.
LendEDU, a company that provides advising services for various financial products, ranked OCU 89th in the U.S. in a Jan. 25 article. It listed $26,329 as the average amount of debt per borrower with 57 percent of OCU students graduating with debt. The data was based on the class of 2016.
OCU also was referenced in a Jan. 25 BuzzFeed article in which Alumna Bonnie Porter said she regrets not going to a “more affordable school.” Porter said she got a good education but graduated with $20,000 in debt, an amount she is unable to pay off with her current job, according to the article.
Paying for school
One semester of tuition as a full-time undergraduate student at OCU costs $13,638 for the academic year.
When fees, housing, meal plans, and other expenses are added, the total semester cost reaches between $30,000 and $43,000 without scholarship, depending on each student’s major and situation, according to okcu.edu.
The estimated cost of attending college as an undergraduate full-time student ranges from $11,000 to $20,000 for resident students and $16,000 to $35,000 for non-resident students at public universities, according to okcollegestart.org.
Scholarships are available to help students manage the cost. Incoming students are guaranteed at least $1,700 in academic scholarship per semester if they maintain at least a 3.0 GPA in college. Students also can apply or audition for talent and departmental scholarships based on their major.
Some students afford costs through the United Methodist Church, Reserve Officer Training Corps, athletics, or one of the other scholarships available to all majors.
More than 90 percent of students are awarded financial aid, according to okcu.edu. A full list of scholarships is available at okcu.edu/financialaid/types-of-assistance/scholarships.
Beth Woodall, vocal performance senior, said she will graduate with debt despite having several scholarships.
“OCU does charge a lot, but if they raised the amount of academic and talent scholarship for vocalists, it wouldn’t be as bad,” Woodall said.
Tuition reduction
Anna Wade, early childhood education junior, said scholarships made OCU a financially smart choice for her.
“My dad is a Methodist pastor, which means that I’m on the clergy dependent tuition waiver,” Wade said. “Plus, being an RA and other general scholarships, I’m never paying more than a couple thousand dollars a semester.”
Resident assistants are students who are trained and chosen to be peer leaders in campus residence halls. RAs receive free university housing.
Pricing education
Tomorrow Denton, cell and molecular biology senior, said the residence halls are reasonably priced, but the university still overcharges students.
“It’s private, and it is a good university, but the tuition rate and the fees are both really high,” Denton said.
Wade said the university’s cost is a better deal for certain majors.
“Comparatively, I think OCU is overpriced depending on what your major is,” she said. “For performance majors, I feel like they get more out of their money than other majors.”
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