Disclaimer: I am not an Oregon State CCVM student, but I do live in the area, have been in the hospital a few times, and know graduates and current students.
Corvallis is a small town of 60k, but go north or south an hour on I-5 and you get to Salem/Eugene which will have any bigger shopping you might need. COL here will be less than SOCAL, but not as cheap as the midwest (maybe). It's rained pretty much every day for the past week, and is overcast most of the time in spring, but summers are very nice here, falls are spectacular with warm days and crisp nights, and the winters are pretty mild. I will say however, that a lot of Corvallis is very outdoorsy-focused, lots of people do things outdoors here, but we have a fairly healthy art and music scene for being smallish.
The general public can get tours of the hospital at OSU, so if you get the chance I would recommend doing so, it is quite large and has lots of space dedicated to student learning. I know first year vet students do get some hands-on experience during foaling season, but I'm not sure about other opportunities. From what I've both seen and been told, it's still a pretty traditional learning style for the school, lots of lectures with tough classes and labs. The doctors and students I've spoken to both enjoyed their experience at the school and spoke highly of it, but that's about all I can really say.
Sorry I can't help more, but I don't often see OSU students on here so I thought I'd give you my small amount of experience from the area. Congratulations on your acceptances!