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OIT Strengths: - The profs know what they're doing, and if they don't then students give them bad term reviews and the profs potentially get fired. - For the most part most of the profs (with a few exceptions) really care about getting students through the coursework and having them understand the material. - The campus is pretty safe. Campus Safety is on duty 24/7 365 patrolling etc. Campus Safety is also friendly. - There are a lot of student jobs to be had while you're working (I know, I've worked 7 of them). Student jobs are good because they work around your class and test schedule. - Career Services will help you find a job, work on your resume, etc, even years after you've graduated. They basically say "OIT for life," and they mean it. - OIT has a super high hiring rate of graduating seniors. A lot of juniors even in the tech/computer programs get offered jobs at big companies before they graduate. - The dorms are pretty nice. You have a choice between traditional style dorms or the new apartment style dorms in the three new buildings. - OIT has updated most of their old buildings and continues to build brand new classroom buildings. The school is definitely growing and improving. It's a pretty place to go to school. - Klamath Falls is a smaller city so there's not a lot of horrendous traffic to get through to school if you live off campus. Off campus living is also fairly cheap compared to larger cities like the Portland Metro area. The city sits on two lakes and two rivers. There's a ski-resort in every direction, Lava Beds National Monument an hour south (600 caves to climb through), Crater Lake an hour and a half north, and 40+ lakes to drive to or hike into within an hour and a half of the school. It's definitely a school to go to if you like the outdoors in your free time. - Parking at OIT is the cheapest of any of the universities in Oregon and it's not terribly far to walk from off campus if you still don't want to pay for the yearly parking permit. - OIT and KCC have an agreement where most of the KCC classes transfer right to OIT. If you want to pay less money to take an English class or math or science class then you can do it at KCC. The bus runs right between the two schools hourly. - OIT has CFLAT (Center For Learning And Teaching) where they proctor tests you've missed and assign free tutors for any OIT student having trouble in any class. It's a great way to get help ahead of time (not last minute) if you're having trouble understanding coursework. - There are free workout facilities and equipment for students to use throughout the day and into the evening. OIT Weaknesses - - Despite the campus being a relatively safe campus with extra campus safety patrols and student safety patrols through the parking lots, there have been a recent rash of car thefts and break ins, although it is getting better. - You must learn to drive in the snow. Some winters we can get up to 2 feet of snow. Having a four-wheel drive option on your car/truck and having a vehicle with good ground clearance is a good idea if you're going to have a car at school. - There are a few professors at OIT that you will want to avoid if you can because they are ruthless any way you look at it. You can ask older students who have been there longer who these professors are and they will tell you. It will save you a headache (and a bad grade) for sure. - When it comes to your Senior year you must take charge of your petition to graduate and stay on top of it. The Registrar's office has been known many many times to screw students up with their petition to graduate. Several times they have told students "you're good to go, you're done with your degree," only to have them walk in graduation and then tell them later that they're missing a single credit and must then stay for another term to take another class. You MUST take care to keep yourself on track and not trust what the Registrar says 100% even if they tell you repeatedly that you're good to go. Look for yourself and trust your program adviser. - The school and town are basketball crazy. So during basketball season on Friday nights you can expect half the city to turn up on campus to watch the games. - The school website says OIT has a swimming pool for student use. Currently they do but they are looking at closing it down permanently for lack of funding to keep it open. - Don't expect anything special for food if you're living on campus. You can choose from Sub-Way or the Marketplace (cafeteria). In the past the Marketplace has been known to give students food poisoning and send them to the hospital (seriously). Recently it's been outsourced to another company however, and I do not know if the food service has improved any. There have still been recent bouts of food poisoning however amongst student residents. Most students living on campus choose to have a small fridge in their room instead and cook for themselves in the residence hall kitchens. The bus runs from OIT to Wal-mart (open 24/7) and several other stores, so it's fairly easy for students to get groceries and cook for themselves. - The Financial Aid office is notorious for making it hard for some students to get their aid in every term. Other students haven't had any issues, but many are unhappy. I suppose this is the case with all schools however. It's good to apply for the FAFSA and get what you can from them, but also be vigilant in applying for scholarships through Fast-Web as you go through school to get some money that way. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall I'm glad I got my education at OIT despite a few hiccups along the way. I graduated in June and it took me the entire summer to find employment, but I'm now making $15/hour so I can't complain. The staff are friendly (aside from about 5 people), the students are friendly and studious (this is not a party school), the city is fine, the school extracurricular activities are fun, the outdoor sports and other possibilities in the area are tremendous. I give OIT a 4/5 stars overall.
