<p>1.What do you guys think about the dorms? Which do you recommend,on campus or off campus housing? </p>
<p>2.Is it possible to live there without having a car?</p>
<p>3.Is the campus and nearby community safe? I've heard that it is fairly safe, but I am not sure about it yet since I've visited the school. And is there some bad area where crime rate is significantly higher?</p>
<p>4.How about the food there?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>Very safe environment. It was my alma mater, and one of my dd goes there. The dorms are fine. Nothing to write home about but fine. You certainly don't need a car. The buses run all over College Station, to the mall, grocery stores,etc. There are many off campus apartments, cheap and less so. My dd is living off campus this year, has her own room and pays 350/month, which was cheaper than dorm. She's on the bus route, has a vehicle, but only uses it to get to work as a pharmacy tech. She would not try to drive to campus as there is no good parking. There are many options for food on campus. The only problem is that even if you have 50 meals left at the end of the semester they don't move them to the next semester. Kids go use them up, buying junk at the convenience stores on campus. Hope this helps.</p>
<p>Off campus is usually cheaper and more comfortable, but it's easier to make friends when you live in the dorms for awhile.</p>
<p>One nice safety feature is that you can call the Corps duty office anytime and a cadet will come and walk you to your car or where ever.</p>
<p>Thank you guys! Although I've not visited the campus yet, but I have every reason to believe aggieland is the kind of community that I want.</p>
<p>The reason why I am reluctant to apply dorms is that I'm afraid it can be very noise in the night maybe? I'm not sure.</p>
<p>They have several types of dorms there. The modulars have their own bathrooms, look into those! Why do you think A&M's dorms would be any noisier than anywhere else?</p>
<p>I didn't assure A&M's dorms would be noiser actually. I found dorms in many or most schools could be noisy. I just want to make sure how noise it is in A&M's dorms.</p>
<p>You need a car if at all possible. The transportation is abysmal. The buses only run full routes till 5 p.m. after which they run on a very limited schedule. On weekends, they only run 3 routes, 1 at a time. Most routes are meant to get people to and from their apartments. Getting to the grocery store or the pharmacy can take upwards of 30 minutes because of the indirect routes. And if you're going somewehre like a pharmacy or an off campus tutoring service, you could end up waiting at the bus stop for 30 minutes or more. Because its a rural town, there's not a lot of exciting stuff within walking distance. There's also no Wal Mart in college station at all, and the buses don't run to Bryan. There's no rapid transit, and a lot of times the bus stop will be across the street from where you need to go, and you'll have to cross a busy street to get there.</p>
<p>Vyse, do you actually go to A&M? There is every chain known to mankind on Texas Ave. including a Walmart, Target, Barnes and Noble and the BIGGEST Half Price Books I have ever seen! I actually thought the number of stores and chains made it look more like a small Plano than a middle of nowhere town!</p>
<p>Bandnerd is right. Super Wal-mart is on University and Super Target is on Texas Ave. You are absolutely right about the buses though, vyse. Bring a car.</p>
<p>
[quote]
Texas A&M sucks according to my cousin. It's in the middle of nowhere and most people are ignorant hicks.
[/quote]
Well, your cousin must be quite the sophisticate. It's odd that Texas A&M would be ranked at about the 75th percentile of national universities in the U.S. News rankings and yet have students who are mostly ignorant hicks.</p>
<p>Few things:</p>
<p>Yes, I go to Texas A&M, and I don't have a car. I've walked 1.6 miles to the pharmacy and jaywalked busy streets to get medication, and walked back 2.2 miles from off campus tutoring at 1 a.m. I know what I'm talking about. The Wal-Mart off University isn't a super wal mart. Its a hole in the wall store; the super wal mart is in bryan, and the buses dont go there.</p>
<p>Another thing you guys aren't taking into account is that the bus stop isnt in front of your dorm. Good luck trying to carry a ton of groceries or a television set all the way from the bus stop to your dorm complex, and up 3 flights of stairs. In fact, good luck walking from one side of campus to another when there's inclement weather. A 20 minute walk from the business school back to your dorm may not seem like a tall order for a fit college student on a nice day, but good luck trying to do it at 3 a.m. in December when its 35 degrees outside, or good luck trying to do it when it's raining.</p>
<p>Not having a car in college station isn't like not having a car in New York City. This is a cow town, not a pedestrian city. Texas Ave. doesn't even have walk signals at the traffic lights anymore; the only way to get across is to stand at the edge of the construction cones, and sprint across the street when there's a lull in the traffic.</p>
<p>And bandnerd, you haven't seen the Half Price Books in Dallas off NorthWest Highway. You could fit the one in CS inside the Dallas one 3 times over.</p>
<p>I love Texas A&M, but had I known how awful this place is with public transportation, I probably would have gone elsewhere. If I can't figure out a way to finance a cheap car next year, I'm going to get a motorcycle, because honestly, it's not worth putting up with the hassle of trying to get around in rural East Texas without personal transportation. "You don't need a car in college" may be true if you go to college in Austin, New York, Boston, or Los Angeles, but its not true here. Having anything that runs reasonably well is worthwhile.</p>
<p>Some freshman friends of mine don't have a car, but so many kids in the dorms do, they rarely have trouble finding a ride. I guess you just have to be flexible if you can. Nope, have not seen the Dallas HPB, but the one on Texas is THE biggest one of the five I have been in.
And I have to laugh when TX kids complain about walking in 35 degree weather. We lived in the midwest for many years and 35 is warm! All in all, I think that A&M is typical of most flagship universities in the ways of town, transportation, etc. Most are not in the big cities. Except tu....and Austin is not really a big city, either!</p>
<p>well,I think I'll have great difficulty in finding a ride because I'm not a social person and I am doomed to live without many friends who can give me a favor.</p>
<p>I am thinking of buying a car instead now.</p>
<p>Q1) 2nd son Honor Engineering freshman 08. Should he sign up for freshman orientation until he receive all his AP plus college calculus grade?
Q2) Is Fish Camp worth it? His HS won't be out until 3rd week of June. Probably looking at July sessions. Do student stay on their sign up dorm like Lehren Hall during Orientation?
Q3) What is the fastest and the best fare to fly from Orange County CA to College Station? Web shown, AA fare is slightly better then Continental. Any fellow CA attending this U? Is there shuttle or bus available from College Station airport to campus during move in week, end of semester, Thankgiving, Christmas etc during the heavy travel period?</p>
<p>"Texas a&M sucks according to my cousin. It's in the middle of nowhere and most people are ignorant hicks. Have fun!"</p>
<p>i believe you are mistaken..</p>
<p>i think the reason that many people in Texas go to TAMU is because of the community atmosphere and easy going lifestyle.</p>
<p>I’ve been a longhorn all my life, but there is no way that the UT atmosphere compares to TAMU.</p>
<p>Hick town or not its a great community and place to go to school...</p>
<p>ucla, he won't get his AP info until July-ish, right? I think they have experience in signing kids up for the right classes based upon prior AP grades. Also, EVERYONE says that Fish Camp is the BEST experience, not to miss it. And yes, it is the camraderie and spirit that attracted me to TAMU. College Station may not be Austin, but Austin is not for everyone. Not bad, just different....</p>
<p>yup yup yup...</p>
<p>def. spirit and alot of tradition at TAMU</p>
<p>Do u need a bicycle on campus?</p>
<p>nawwwww i dont think so..</p>
<p>We saw a lot of bicycles on campus during our visit? Why? Is that due to the size of the campus? Or due to the limitation of the bus schedule (on and off campus)? Somebody posted earlier about the poor off campus public transportation. My S won't have a car and we need to get the bike right at the beginning before we fly off and leave him.</p>
<p>We were told over 80% of the students living on campus have a bicycle. Now, from my visits, I don't think things are THAT far from each other, but there must be a reason everyone has one....maybe there are freshman classes in outlying buildings? Can a current freshman help us out here? I hear you DO need a heavy duty lock, though!!!</p>