The student at the University of Mississippi who posted a TikTok about her grievances with the school received widespread attention online. She later revealed in a second TikTok that her stated change of heart was an April Fools’ joke.
Maggie Recco is a student at Ole Miss who transferred there from Arizona before ultimately attending the University of Miami. She posted a TikTok about why she was leaving Ole Miss. The video was widely viewed and sparked a conversation about life in a small-town college.
In the first TikTok, Recco voiced her grievances about life in Oxford. She complained about the lack of dining options, the nightlife scene being overpriced and over-policed, and the inauthenticity of the social scene with the people around her.
“There’s literally nothing to do in Oxford. There’s no Target. The only grocery store is Walmart, which you can’t go to without running into everyone you know.”
She complained about the nightlife in Oxford as well.
“After 10 p.m., the only places open were fast-food joints. And at the fast-food joints, the drive-thru was an hour-long wait.”
She complained about the bar scene as well.
“You’re paying 20 bucks minimum to get into the bar. And on game days, it’s a lot more. One time, it was 200 bucks to get in.”
She recalled an instance when she and her friends arrived at the bar near closing time. “We got to this bar, they were asking 80 dollars to get in, with the bar closing in 30 minutes.”
Another factor she criticized was the high number of police patrolling the entertainment zone. “The square is flooded with police,” she explained. “Police on horses are riding around, literally looking for underage students.”
Another frustration was transportation. Since the Memphis airport is about 80 miles away, she claimed that ride-sharing costs were high. “If you’re gonna get an Uber, it’s gonna be like $150 just to go to the airport.”
She also ranted about the school’s parking enforcement. She claimed she had over $1,000 in tickets from the school’s parking enforcers. Furthermore, she claimed, “They actually hate you.”
Another factor she criticized was the social scene at school. “Everyone’s just a little fake and spoiled and not used to being told no,” she explained. “You’d think, because it’s a Southern school, but a lot of it feels like fake hospitality.”
Her overall assessment of the school was candid. “The school is a summer camp for people who are 19 to 23. It’s not real. It’s fake.”
She claimed she had been warned about the school before she started attending. “They were right,” she explained. “And now I’m going to move to Miami, so I’ll be in a city I like.”
@maggiereccoo it sounds like im complaining but i cant w this place anymore #foru #olemiss
♬ original sound – maggie
In a second video posted several days after the initial one, Recco appeared to have had a change of heart.
“So, yeah, a lot of people know me as the Ole Miss girl, the one transferring.” She said she had taken the past five days to reflect on her future, read through comments, and come to understand that “college is for an education. It’s not for a party. And to go to Target.”
She said she had also sought advice from those close to her. “I’ve just talked to my parents, talked to my friends, tried to get advice from everybody about what I should do moving forward.”
She said she had taken to heart what she had read from viewers’ comments. “I’ve seen a lot of comments saying Miami is always going to be there, and you’re never going to be able to be a 19- or 20-year-old in a college town, like, ever again in your life.”
She said she had come to appreciate Oxford even more since she got home. “I’ve really been driving around, hanging out with my friends every day, and just kind of appreciating the town for what it is.”
She also made it clear that she hadn’t committed to leaving. “I haven’t told them I’m leaving. I still pay everything. I haven’t agreed to commit to UF Online,” she said. “So I still have an opportunity to not do that.”
And then she seemed to make an official announcement about her decision. “I think I’m going to give Ole Miss one more chance,” she said. This seemed to suggest that she might be returning to Ole Miss to complete her junior year or finish her college life. “Miami is always going to be there, and you’re never going to be able to be a 19- or 20-year-old in a college town ever again in your life.”
@maggiereccoo one more chance #olemiss #fypシ
♬ original sound – maggie
She then thanked everyone for their comments before making the punchline. “I just want to thank everybody for the nice comments that they left on my previous videos,” she said. “I’m just kidding, guys. I’m not staying here. April Fools.”
