By Andrew Golden
Fall 2023
The story of why Andrew came to OSU is simple: money. Not because he adored the campus (he found it quite large and cumbersome), nor for the educational programs (which had peers across the nation), and certainly not for the people; in fact, he didn’t think he would like many of them at all. The only reason he chose Oklahoma State University was because they happened to offer him a share of very lucrative scholarships (for what he honestly thought were very average grades). As petty or boring or simple as it sounds, the financial side was the only one Andrew put value into.
Although, thinking back on it, that might not be entirely true. If it was solely money that enticed Andrew, then how did he settle upon OSU in the first place? Surely, there were cheaper schools closer to home? Coincidentally, he had thought the same thing (while sitting in his dorm on campus, perhaps too late to rescind his application). Was his draw seriously one only of financial incentivization? Of course not. I’ll get to that later. For now, I’ll tell you why OK State was on the table in the first place. You see, Andrew was a third-generation college student, meaning that both his parents and grandparents had gone to college. Naturally, he and his family would look to those places, see if lightning strikes twice. His dad went to Baylor, which would’ve been an option, had it not been a cool $50,000 a year. His mom’s school wasn’t far behind. That left his grandparent’s schools. All four went to OSU. In terms of lightning striking, the place was a lightning rod. As if that wasn’t enough, two cousins, two close friends, and his older brother were also at the school. All of those things made Oklahoma State University a frontrunner, made Andrew make sure to send them a copy of his SAT scores, made him decide to visit one day during the school year. Stuff like that. Thinking back, there were probably plenty of schools that I- sorry, Andrew- could’ve easily gotten in that might’ve been a better fit for him. Places like Ole Miss, LSU, TCU, and OU come to mind. There must’ve been something, some club or building or professor or something that really sealed the deal, right?… Kinda? While Andrew didn’t much care about why a university had its doors open, (he guessed it was similar to his main deciding factor: money) when he learned about the land grant system, he was pleasantly surprised.
When it was created, the land grant system had a pretty simple goal: bring higher education to the peasantry in America, via lower costs from state funding (NASULGC 1). (Andrew wasn’t wrong. The reason really was money.) It goes beyond that. These land grant colleges were offering degrees with practical benefits like agriculture and mechanics, so students could get good jobs when they got out, unlike colleges of the past which offered less than practical degrees because its students had empires to inherit (Shrum, “We are Land-Grant” 3:00-3:08). The idea resonated with Andrew. He wasn’t really an “Eat The Rich” guy or anything (at the time), but bringing something with as much value as education and better jobs to everybody seemed like a noble mission.
Andrew sat at his desk, remembering what happened next. Months prior when he opened up a bright orange letter in the mail that played a tinny rendition of the OSU theme informing him of his acceptance, he was slightly surprised to find himself filled with a mild feeling of complacency rather than bliss or deep satiety. Looking back to the present, however, is pretty much the same thing. He’s glad he chose it and he had good (enough) reasons, but he’s sure he would probably feel something similar over at OU.
Works Cited
The Land-Grant Tradition. National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, 2005.
“We Are Land-Grant: Uncommon Preeminence for the Common Good.” YouTube, uploaded by Oklahoma State University, 12 Oct. 2022
archiveoklahoma.com 