As autumn approaches and I am stuck in a torrential downpour, my thoughts drift toward the changing of the seasons. I get a little excited when I can smell the change in the air. Pulling out the hoodie makes it all real: Fall is here!  There is nothing more exciting than the change from summer to fall…especially in Norman.

Fall is the season when incoming freshmen at OU find their way around. They meet one another, professors and best friends for the first time. They move into the residence halls and add their personal touches to their rooms. Students attend their first ever college lectures. They walk with trepidation the first week of classes but then gain a confidence that can mean only one thing: OU has become home.

It’s all new. Gone are the days of bells signaling when to change classes and Friday night football.  The student section at home football games is electric and the energy the students generate is spurred on by the Pride of Oklahoma marching band. The 85,000-person crowd adds to it all by cheering “Boomer Sooner.” Even if you don’t like football, it is a sight to behold!

Students scattered through campus sit under trees to cram the last paragraph of reading in before class begins while the squirrels work diligently gathering nuts for the winter.  You see ballerinas carrying their slippers and backpacks off to rehearsal. Other students congregate in the student union to meet for lunch. The campus is buzzing with life. Yes, summer has ended and fall is here.

You, as a prospective student, face a season of change as well. You can’t decide which is more important: to enjoy your senior year or to start looking forward to college. My advice is do both!

Visit us in Norman and feel for yourself the excitement that fall brings. We are happy to show you around. Monday through Friday we host tours at 9am and at 2pm. You can register online at go2.ou.edu or by calling 405.325.2151. While you are here, ask a few students what they think about fall in Norman.

It is important to apply for admission early. Our go2.ou.edu web site has an online application for admission which you can submit now. We will begin admitting students to the fall 2010 class very soon! We would love for you to become a Sooner and don’t worry, your season of change is coming…..experience it at OU!