Big-name campus living in a smaller university environment. Extensive landscaping makes activity walks highly enjoyable. Provides opportunities not easily found elsewhere in between the metropolitan areas of Texas and Oklahoma..
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Be sure to look into financial aid like a federal Pell Grant or Cameron University's General Scholarship. You can cut your fees almost in half this way. Be sure to apply for the general scholarship early! The initial deadline tends to be in the spring, around February. They only consider applicants after this point if they still have money left to award.
Do you find there’s enough academic rigor at your school?
As of this review I am taking five courses this semester (one with an additional lab meeting time). This isn't something I've ever been able to do before in the previous college I'd studied at before graduating and transferring to Cameron, mainly due to constraints of not living near or on the campus there. Taking five courses is rather demanding and I'm definitely feeling the pressure to stay on top of the combined course load. I'd definitely say Cameron's rigorious in the academic side of things.
Describe the dorm life at your college.
Cameron presently offers two forms of student housing: the Shepler Center, which is a traditional dorm environment (two high-rises, one for male students and one for females), and Cameron Village, a small apartment complex. There's several options for both; in Shepler, there is a dedicated floor for freshmen students, with everyone else up on the higher floors. Most dorm rooms are two-bed setups, requiring you to live with a roommate but some of them have been converted to single bed dorms meant for only one person. Showers and bathrooms are communal.
Cameron VIllage apartments have four and two-bedroom setups. Here, the bedrooms have their own locks, which provides an added measure of privacy and security. Each pair of bedrooms shares a bathroom (with two vanity sinks, one for each person). While you can still hear doors opening and closing and people shouting outside the apartments, the bedrooms doesn't seem to carry sounds outside too well; I've been able to crank my speakers up to a reasonable volume and not hear a thing while standing outside until I open the door, which is good for not disturbing others. Both the four and two-bedroom variants have a dedicated kitchen with a stove, oven, microwave, sink and dishwasher, adjacent to a common room. Essentially, all the furnishings of an apartment; but the housing fees are much, much less expensive than any of the local apartments in Lawton!
One thing to note: For both Cameron Village and Shepler, you have to use communal laundromats to do your laundry. These aren't coin-operated; you have to get a laundry card and load money onto it periodically. You can expect to spend anywhere from $3 to $9 a week doing laundry, depending on the load.
Describe the food and dining at your college.
Cameron offers two on-site places to eat: the dining hall at Shepler Center, and the food court at the MCC Student Union building. Both are supplied by Sodexo. With both places, it's possible to pay with cash or credit/debit cards, but Cameron offers various meal plans that allow you to pay at the food court with flex cash and visit the dining hall a set number of times per week (depending on the meal plan).
The dining hall is only open at certain hours of the day (breakfast/lunch/dinner on weekdays, brunch/dinner on weekends) and is an all-you-can-eat style buffet. At all times the dining hall provides certain kinds of food, such as pizza (usually of two or three varieties), waffles (at a self-serve counter containing random flavors), salad and a counter for making sandwiches. There is also an Exhibition counter that serves varying meals depending on the time of day (for example, in the morning the staff makes omelets on request, and during lunch there is usually barbecue and brisket available). During lunch hours a Deli counter is open for those who would prefer deli-style sandwiches, and in the lunch and dinner hours a second Entree counter is open providing an alternative to the Exhibition counter.
The food court at the Student Union is roughly the size of a gas station convenience store, providing many of the same kinds of snacks and drinks you'd expect to find in one, but it also has restaurant kiosks like you'd expect to find at a mall. Presently these include Pizza Hut, Freshens (a yogurt and Starbuck's coffee shop), Sub Connection (providing sub sandwiches, salads, and soups) and Pick Axe Grill (a number of grilled foods including hamburgers and quesodillas).
What’s there to do for fun at your college?
On campus, Cameron University is always hosting social functions, including parties and outdoor events. The Aggie RecCenter has an indoor heated swimming pool and facilities for weightlifting, cardiovascular workouts, racquetball, basketball, and other physical activity. As for off-campus attractions, depending on your tastes there's more to do in the Lawton area than there is than in the rest of the land between Dallas and OKC. Nearby Lawton is the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, which hosts a number of activities throughout the year and is a great place for all sorts of outdoor recreation. Also nearby is Medicine Park, a small resort town-like community that features a variety of shops, restaurants, and come spring 2014 will also host an aquarium and natural sciences center. Lawton (and Medicine Park) are adjacent to Lake Lawtonka, which provides opportunities for fishing, boating, swimming and the like. If museums are more your thing, there's a few in the area; the Museum of the Great Plains, the Ft. Sill Museum, and the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
Speaking as someone who would have to have moved to opposite ends of the country just to find a campus that offers the kind of degree that would offer me the skills and career opportunities I'd need to pursue my goals, Cameron has been worth the price of tuition so far.
Share any unusual traditions or locations on campus
In the past decade, Cameron University has put a lot of effort into remodeling the campus grounds. It's now host to several gardens and plenty of beautiful landscaping that makes the daily trek from class to class much more enjoyable. As a transfer student who already holds a degree, and who looked at several other colleges before enrolling, I can say that Cameron has the most scenic campus for its size that I've personally seen.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
There's a decent amount of student organizations available through Cameron, aside from the honor and Greek societies. There are also a number of clubs dedicated to special interests, especially in connecting minority and international students. Clubs focusing on academic topics also exist, like the Art Club, Biology Club, and Chemistry Club.
Are you involved in any clubs or activities?
I'm not much into the frat boy scene, but from what I've been told the fraternity and sorority on campus are more like after-school clubs than what you'd likely find in the larger universities. Sorry, Animal House fans.
How would you describe campus safety? Do you feel safe on campus?
Although Lawton has a reputation for a high crime rate (to the point where it's said you have to worry about getting shot if you go to off-campus parties), Cameron University is rather safe and quiet. The campus has its own police force, who can be contacted immediately through emergency kiosks located all throughout the campus grounds in case you don't have access to a phone.
Speaking of access, getting in to any part of student housing requires a keycard, and the keycard system will only grant access to people who live in the relevant buildings. You can't, for example, be a resident of Cameron Village's C building and expect to get into the A building with your keycard. The same keycard will also only grant access into that person's specific dorm room or apartment. Therefore, the only people that can get into either the dorm rooms or the apartments are only the ones whom you or your roomate(s) let in. As I mentioned in the dorm life section, the Cameron Village apartments have a lock for every bedroom, so even if your roomies bring in unwanted guests, you can ensure they won't mess with you or your belongings.
Big-name campus living in a smaller university environment. Extensive landscaping makes activity walks highly enjoyable. Provides opportunities not easily found elsewhere in between the metropolitan areas of Texas and Oklahoma..
Be sure to look into financial aid like a federal Pell Grant or Cameron University's General Scholarship. You can cut your fees almost in half this way. Be sure to apply for the general scholarship early! The initial deadline tends to be in the spring, around February. They only consider applicants after this point if they still have money left to award.
As of this review I am taking five courses this semester (one with an additional lab meeting time). This isn't something I've ever been able to do before in the previous college I'd studied at before graduating and transferring to Cameron, mainly due to constraints of not living near or on the campus there. Taking five courses is rather demanding and I'm definitely feeling the pressure to stay on top of the combined course load. I'd definitely say Cameron's rigorious in the academic side of things.
Cameron presently offers two forms of student housing: the Shepler Center, which is a traditional dorm environment (two high-rises, one for male students and one for females), and Cameron Village, a small apartment complex. There's several options for both; in Shepler, there is a dedicated floor for freshmen students, with everyone else up on the higher floors. Most dorm rooms are two-bed setups, requiring you to live with a roommate but some of them have been converted to single bed dorms meant for only one person. Showers and bathrooms are communal. Cameron VIllage apartments have four and two-bedroom setups. Here, the bedrooms have their own locks, which provides an added measure of privacy and security. Each pair of bedrooms shares a bathroom (with two vanity sinks, one for each person). While you can still hear doors opening and closing and people shouting outside the apartments, the bedrooms doesn't seem to carry sounds outside too well; I've been able to crank my speakers up to a reasonable volume and not hear a thing while standing outside until I open the door, which is good for not disturbing others. Both the four and two-bedroom variants have a dedicated kitchen with a stove, oven, microwave, sink and dishwasher, adjacent to a common room. Essentially, all the furnishings of an apartment; but the housing fees are much, much less expensive than any of the local apartments in Lawton! One thing to note: For both Cameron Village and Shepler, you have to use communal laundromats to do your laundry. These aren't coin-operated; you have to get a laundry card and load money onto it periodically. You can expect to spend anywhere from $3 to $9 a week doing laundry, depending on the load.
Cameron offers two on-site places to eat: the dining hall at Shepler Center, and the food court at the MCC Student Union building. Both are supplied by Sodexo. With both places, it's possible to pay with cash or credit/debit cards, but Cameron offers various meal plans that allow you to pay at the food court with flex cash and visit the dining hall a set number of times per week (depending on the meal plan). The dining hall is only open at certain hours of the day (breakfast/lunch/dinner on weekdays, brunch/dinner on weekends) and is an all-you-can-eat style buffet. At all times the dining hall provides certain kinds of food, such as pizza (usually of two or three varieties), waffles (at a self-serve counter containing random flavors), salad and a counter for making sandwiches. There is also an Exhibition counter that serves varying meals depending on the time of day (for example, in the morning the staff makes omelets on request, and during lunch there is usually barbecue and brisket available). During lunch hours a Deli counter is open for those who would prefer deli-style sandwiches, and in the lunch and dinner hours a second Entree counter is open providing an alternative to the Exhibition counter. The food court at the Student Union is roughly the size of a gas station convenience store, providing many of the same kinds of snacks and drinks you'd expect to find in one, but it also has restaurant kiosks like you'd expect to find at a mall. Presently these include Pizza Hut, Freshens (a yogurt and Starbuck's coffee shop), Sub Connection (providing sub sandwiches, salads, and soups) and Pick Axe Grill (a number of grilled foods including hamburgers and quesodillas).
On campus, Cameron University is always hosting social functions, including parties and outdoor events. The Aggie RecCenter has an indoor heated swimming pool and facilities for weightlifting, cardiovascular workouts, racquetball, basketball, and other physical activity. As for off-campus attractions, depending on your tastes there's more to do in the Lawton area than there is than in the rest of the land between Dallas and OKC. Nearby Lawton is the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, which hosts a number of activities throughout the year and is a great place for all sorts of outdoor recreation. Also nearby is Medicine Park, a small resort town-like community that features a variety of shops, restaurants, and come spring 2014 will also host an aquarium and natural sciences center. Lawton (and Medicine Park) are adjacent to Lake Lawtonka, which provides opportunities for fishing, boating, swimming and the like. If museums are more your thing, there's a few in the area; the Museum of the Great Plains, the Ft. Sill Museum, and the Comanche National Museum and Cultural Center.
Speaking as someone who would have to have moved to opposite ends of the country just to find a campus that offers the kind of degree that would offer me the skills and career opportunities I'd need to pursue my goals, Cameron has been worth the price of tuition so far.
In the past decade, Cameron University has put a lot of effort into remodeling the campus grounds. It's now host to several gardens and plenty of beautiful landscaping that makes the daily trek from class to class much more enjoyable. As a transfer student who already holds a degree, and who looked at several other colleges before enrolling, I can say that Cameron has the most scenic campus for its size that I've personally seen.
There's a decent amount of student organizations available through Cameron, aside from the honor and Greek societies. There are also a number of clubs dedicated to special interests, especially in connecting minority and international students. Clubs focusing on academic topics also exist, like the Art Club, Biology Club, and Chemistry Club.
I'm not much into the frat boy scene, but from what I've been told the fraternity and sorority on campus are more like after-school clubs than what you'd likely find in the larger universities. Sorry, Animal House fans.
Although Lawton has a reputation for a high crime rate (to the point where it's said you have to worry about getting shot if you go to off-campus parties), Cameron University is rather safe and quiet. The campus has its own police force, who can be contacted immediately through emergency kiosks located all throughout the campus grounds in case you don't have access to a phone. Speaking of access, getting in to any part of student housing requires a keycard, and the keycard system will only grant access to people who live in the relevant buildings. You can't, for example, be a resident of Cameron Village's C building and expect to get into the A building with your keycard. The same keycard will also only grant access into that person's specific dorm room or apartment. Therefore, the only people that can get into either the dorm rooms or the apartments are only the ones whom you or your roomate(s) let in. As I mentioned in the dorm life section, the Cameron Village apartments have a lock for every bedroom, so even if your roomies bring in unwanted guests, you can ensure they won't mess with you or your belongings.