In a 2008 national ranking based on academics, athletic opportunity and overall performance, Oregon State was chosen as one of the "premier" universities in America. This ranking, performed by STACK magazine, places Oregon State 29th in the nation's "Elite 50" universities and uncontested within the state that year. Since then, the University of Oregon has joined Oregon State in the STACK rankings.

The history of Oregon State athletics dates back to 1893, when "Jimmie the Coyote" was chosen as the college's mascot.This was replaced by the beaver in 1910; it has remained the school's mascot. In 1915, the college became one of the four charter members of the Pacific Coast (Athletic) Conference.

Football is played in Reser Stadium. The current costumed mascot Benny the Beaver made his first appearance in 1952. The next year, 1953, saw the opening of the football facility, Parker Stadium (now named Reser Stadium). The Raising Reser campaign expanded the stadium from 35,000 seats to 46,200 throughout 2006–07. A time lapse video recording of the expansion is viewable on the internet.1962 saw OSU's (and the west coast's) first Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback Terry Baker. The University of Oregon is often seen as the school's key athletic rival, with the annual Civil War football game between the two teams being one of the nation's longest-lived rivalries.

Trysting Tree is the name of Oregon State's golf course, dedicated in 1988, the tournament level course has been recognized by Golfweek magazine as one of the top five collegiate golf courses on the West Coast.Its name is traced to a tree near Benton Hall where student couples would meet and make dates. Basketball is held in Gill Coliseum, named after former Beavers coach Slats Gill, also home to the University's Collegiate wrestling team. The Civil War is one of the most contested rivalries in the nation. Baseball is held in Goss Stadium at Coleman Field. The OSU baseball team, managed by Pat Casey, won back-to-back NCAA Division I Baseball Championships in 2006 and 2007. Softball is held in the OSU Softball Complex. Opened in April 2001, the $1.5 million OSU Softball Complex seats 750. Oregon State hosted a Regional and Super Regional tournament in the 2006 NCAA tournament, winning both and moving on to the Women's College World Series.

Oregon State has a total of three NCAA championships. In addition to the two baseball titles, the Beavers won the 1961 NCAA Men's Cross Country Championship. In 1975, the men's rowing Varsity-4 with coxswain team won the Intercollegiate Rowing Association National Collegiate Rowing Championships in Syracuse, New York, establishing a course record which stood for 15 years.In 2006 and 2008, the Oregon State racquetball team won the USA racquetball intercollegiate championship.

Corvallis is the tenth largest city in the state. Still, it is a relatively small community and many of the local events have a strong connection to the university. Oregon State has over 300 active student organizations and groups, the most of any university in the Oregon University System. The campus is located only a few hours driving distance from any number of outdoor recreation opportunities. Several federal and state natural forests and parks make up popular student destinations. These include the Cascade Range, a rugged coastline, several large forests, the high desert and numerous rivers and lakes. Portland, Oregon's largest city, is 85 miles (137 km) north of the campus.

From 1930 until 1968, Oregon State University was home to the Gamma chapter of Phrateres, a philanthropic-social organization for female college students. Gamma was the third chapter of the organization, which eventually had over 20 chapters in Canada and the United States.

The majority of older students at Oregon State University live off-campus, but on-campus housing is available and typically home to incoming freshmen. There are 14 residence halls on campus, which are organized into individual Hall Councils. Residents make up the membership and each council holds their own elections to select management over the hall government. All of the councils are managed by the Residence Hall Association (RHA).

The LaSells Stewart Center is the conference and performing arts center for the campus. Many famous speakers have graced the stage of the campus' main auditorium, Austin Auditorium, while the Corvallis-OSU Symphony plays there frequently. The OSU Office of Conferences and Special Events is located within the auditorium.

The University is host to a radio station, KBVR 88.7 FM, a television station, KBVR TV 26, and an award-winning student newspaper, The Daily Barometer.

Two Oregon State students are members of the Oregon Student Association Board of Directors.

Notable among a number of songs commonly played and sung at various events such as commencement, convocation, and athletic games are: Hail to Old OSU and the Alma Mater.

OSU has more majors, minors, and special programs than any other university or college in Oregon.

Other recent recognition includes a 2007 ranking by STACK magazine, in which OSU was selected as one of the nation's top 50 universities in "academics, athletic opportunity, and overall performance." The school ranked 29th overall, making it one of only two Northwest schools in the top 30 and the only university from the state to receive a ranking.

As a top tier forestry school, OSU is widely considered the nation's leader in the subject. Of the 53 forestry programs at North American universities; OSU's College of Forestry was ranked first by a 2006 survey "in the total number of professional publications, first in the number of citations to those publications, and is perceived by academic colleagues as the leading forestry program in North America."

In its 2013 edition, U.S. News & World Report ranked Oregon State University 142nd nationally and as the 73rd Top Public University. The 2010 edition of Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) ranked Oregon State in the "101 to 150" tier for universities worldwide.

Its Department of Geosciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, College of Pharmacy, Public Health, Nuclear Engineering as well as many other programs and departments are among the top ranked in the nation. The school itself is also ranked by the EPA as one of the greenest schools for using renewable energy and for its recycling programs.

In 2012, ECONorthwest conducted an economic impact analysis that found that each year OSU has a $2.06 billion economic footprint. $1.93 billion of this total was in the state of Oregon.

In the department of DHE, the major of merchandising management (fashion schools.org) ranked on the top 4th out of 75.

Several independent publications and websites rank Oregon State as one of the nation's best online colleges. OSU Ecampus, which delivers the university's academic programs and courses online, has been honored as one of America's top-ranked providers of online education.