Texas A & M University - College Station

Let me start off by saying that Texas A&M is a top notch university in terms of education I am very pleased how hard the instructors push you. If you are interested in the Economics Dept. it is also far more structured and demanding than comparable schools. The problem with this school is the extremely conservative views but of course this school is know for that. You have the student group called the “Young Conservative Texans” which are one step above the KKK and the students whose general attitude is if they wanted diversity they would have gone to another school. As far as entertainment there is none in this town so unless you want to hang out at places like the Dixie Chicken (cowboy boots and hat) than you are looking at a 1 ½ hour drive to Houston or Austin. This is a country town where people actually drive under the speed limit and 70% of vehicles have a George “W” sticker on it (don’t know what’s worse) so if this is your cup of tea then HOWDY!

3rd Year Male -- Class 2005

Education Quality: A+, Social Life: F

Texas A&M University is honestly a great academic institution, but do not confuse this with education or culture. The students here can handle subjects, such as Mathematics and Science, very well, but when it comes to their ability to try to adapt or learn to another culture they more than shy away they run. Most people are from the litle towns of Texas where they have not had the benefits of experiencing the real world, which unfortunately makes them extremely close-minded and conservative. I am a devoted Catholic, but they take their religious beliefs way too far for me. Although some are hypocrites, for instance the same guys or girls that are preaching to you during the day that not having a strong faith in God will send you on a one way trip to hell are the same people at night who are getting drunk or having pre-marital sex. Also, the entire mentality of the school is to beat The University of Texas at Austin (even the fight is about beating UT or t.u. as the hardcore Aggies like to call it). UT is not only a better academic school but also a better academic and cultural diverse school with more open minded people. And though TAMU swears that they are better than UT in engineering, they are not. If you do not believe me then go look at the national rankings for engineering universities and UT is better overall. Now you are probably wondering why I chose TAMU, well my family and I moved down to Texas my senior year of high school and all my friends told me that TAMU was such a great school with great traditions, so I bought into that propaganda. But do not confuse the people with the academics. This is a very good school for academic learning. Also, not all the people here are so right-winged, there are people who are willing to meet and associate with other cultures. And just because these are my feelings about the school it does not mean that I am a minority, I am a white, Catholic male who is just open-minded and willing to welcome other cultures unlike the majority of Aggies.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2005

Collaboration/Competitive: A-, Surrounding City: C-