Old Dominion University (ODU)

Virginia’s Old Dominion University is a progressive, metropolitan research university that offers its 19,000 undergraduate students more than 120 majors, state-of-the-art facilities, and millions of dollars in annual funding for ongoing projects. Online and night courses provide the flexibility needed by the wide-ranging student body and the “focus on internships and gaining experience” and “serviced-based learning” is valued for a group that is ready to enter (if not already in) the workforce. Technology is king here, and the school caters to all types of learners and is adaptable about “using programs like WebEx to have distance students participate in the actual lecture.” The “lab facilities are excellent,” ODU’s trading floor has the most Bloomberg terminals in the state, and there are many different types of classrooms to best serve the swatch of majors, including “typical lecture halls, classrooms, [and] open floor plan rooms with whiteboards covering the tables and walls.”

Most of the professors “have designed informative lectures and study materials, and gear their classes not just towards theoretical knowledge, but real world application.” Students readily admit there are weak teachers in the bunch, but most are “absolutely wonderful,” “have many office hours available and are open to appointments,” and appreciate “the amount of effort professors put in to make sure everyone is successful.” “I’ve had numerous professors help me outside of the classroom with projects that did not even pertain to their class,” says a student. The school is “very research oriented,” and offers many services to students, such as “counseling, health care, [and] accessibility,” as well as a writing center that “allows students to bring in papers to have them reviewed by a professional” so they can receive tips that will help to strengthen their writing.

With such a large student population, ODU is home to students of all ages and backgrounds, and the diversity of the student body “makes for more interesting student interactions” and “freedom of expression is always encouraged.” This “very chill and inclusive” group includes a large military and international quotient, and “all of the students seem to respect and are truly interested in learning about each other.” The diversity is apparent “culturally and also politically,” and there are many liberal and conservative people and “rarely has [there] been any issues.” “You’ll never have to worry about finding where you fit in,” says one student.

This is a residential campus, with fourteen current residential buildings and “new housing areas and a lot of new buildings being built.” The compactness of campus makes the distance between classes manageable, and during the day (and early evening) students are in class or in the library. In the summer, fall and spring, you'll “find lots of students on the quad playing football or skateboarding,” and nearby beaches are easy to get to. ODU has “a dynamic environment where something is either happening on-campus or there are many events just down the way;” the school is right near downtown Norfolk where there are “a lot of shopping opportunities” as well as dining destinations, and there are “two popular bars that are right across the street…that a lot of people go to.”