After Admitted to TAMU Class of 2026... Whoop!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
801

We personally went during the July Mays session in 2019, which was around 18-23rd (I don’t recall the exact dates). We chose that session, due to conflicts in June. It was far less crowded then the May & June NSC’s, we loved it! My Mays girl, and the rest of the Mays group registering with her, all registered for class in under 3 minutes, getting every class they needed.

They DO open up a certain number of seats in classes at every NSC (except August, you’re not guaranteed during that session, some classes will absolutely be full, or only 8:00 a.m and 5:00 p.m. sections open). So people who tell you, you HAVE to go to the 1st NSC are just wrong. The first couple May & June sessions tend to be crazy hectic, at capacity, unorganized and you can guarantee the system will crash at some point. Those dates work best for some, I get it.

I will say, having a later NSC was nice-for us-it gave us time to totally get past high school stuff, and focus fully on college. She was 110% ready for college at that point. AP scores were back by then, too, so they could discuss & accept/or wait on those.

There is no set date when sessions fill up. But when they’re full, they’re full. I wouldn’t suggest the August NSC , there’s just a lot going on then-Fish Camp, Impact Camp. sorority rush, dorm move-in, Howdy Week. And your schedule could be pretty limited.

I also suggest don’t scheduling the May NSC if your kid hasn’t even graduated or had prom yet. They need to be completely finished with high school.
Don’t bring siblings! It needs to be parent(s) and incoming Aggie only. If both parents are coming, register and pay for both, there are meals and seats in Rudder are limited. There are no refunds, and can be difficult to switch sessions the closer it gets. Schedule the NSC and keep that date, as the focus of your summer, plan around it.

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802

Is there a thread, Facebook page or anything at all that you use to guide yourself in choosing professors? I know they can make or break your success in a class.

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803

The students like to use the Rate My Professor website.

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804

I can’t remember the site but Google Tamu registrar gpa or something like that.

It’ll list by class and prof the percentages of As Bs etc. very useful.

Rate my prof, as mentioned, is great but sometimes outdated.

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805

@Crickett272 join the 2 Aggie Parent FB pages, soo much information. Always use the :mag_right: first, to read older posts (you’ll probably find the answer you’re seeking).
Rate My Professor and Grade Distribution are what many use. For incoming freshman, not sure how helpful either site will be, as most classes will be basics, large classrooms, some taught be TA’s. The Math dept is notorious for changing professors, so don’t even bother to try and plan a schedule around math.
Many feel Grade Distribution is more accurate, as RMP could have slacker students who never studied, got a bad grade, then entered a scathing review. Take it with a grain of salt.

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806

@Crickett272 be sure to join both these pages. You will not get accepted by either, if you don’t answer ALL questions (assuming you’re a parent? They’re definitely ADMITTED Parent Only pages):

Many of the majors have their own pages, too.

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807

Does anyone know TAMU’s practice and policy around matching scholarship offers from other colleges?

808

I assume they wouldn´t care since they´re so big and someone else would happily take the spot. Interested in the answer though

809

I have heard that they will. I don’t know the details, hence the question. But I see so many people say they didn’t get a scholarship from TAMU but did from other schools. It might be helpful information to learn more or for someone in that situation to send their other offer to the scholarship office. I don’t think they match the scholarship dollar amount necessarily but they can match the cost of attendance. For example I wouldn’t expect them to match my daughter’s scholarships from ASU and SMU because the cost of attendance is higher there so our net cost is actually lower at A&M even with a smaller scholarship. But if someone has an offer that makes the cost of attendance lower at another school A&M might increase their scholarship offer to keep the admitted student.

810

I saw the thread you’re referring to. That lady is wrong. TAMU does NOT match scholarships from other schools.
The rest of the thread is correct…the bulk of students who receive the ‘big’ scholarships at A&M are NM (full, semi, some Commended), need based and the 100 identified underperforming high schools in TX. There are hundreds of valedictorians every year who never receive a dime from A&M, thousands of ‘top of their class/high gpa/over achievers’, who never receive a dime.

811

I had seen it somewhere else before today too. But I can’t remember where -again just a vague mention that they match but with no details. So that may indicate it simply isn’t true - or rare. But I’m sure if it was the case of people getting offers “matched” in some manner you would have heard about it! :grin:

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812

A&M might match a full NM scholar, but that’s about it. Every kid we know was offered some kind of scholarship at other schools they applied to…and receive nothing at A&M. That lady is incorrect.

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813

Back in 2016, my daughter received a counter offer from A&M. It came from the recruiting division not financial aid. Received March 15 after submitted other school scholarship information.

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814

So it sounds like if someone wanted to try to reduce their cost of attendance based on another offer they should contact the admissions/recruitment office. I know the two bonus scholarships my daughter has received have come from admissions/recruiting at events designed to obtain commitment and enrollment from targeted admitted students so I guess it makes sense they would be the ones to increase a scholarship package based on a competing offer for a student rather than the scholarship office. When we reached out to the scholarship office to check on the status, since one of her scholarships hadn’t posted yet, they said that scholarship is posted by the admission office and to reach out to our local prospective student center recruiter that had awarded the scholarship. Which we did and they said it was in the pipeline queued to be updated soon and it was.

815

Correct. However, the counter was offered by recruiting office on campus not the regional office. You may want to reach out to their office.

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816

That is helpful information. BTW I’m not really asking for my daughter. She has a good package. I’m not complaining. We are happy. It is her best fit and lowest COA so far so it’s a win-win. She is still waiting for final scholarship package from SMU. She has part of it and is waiting on another part. If that ends up big enough that the cost of attendance at SMU is less than the COA at A&M then we will submit the offer. But this is not likely. Mostly I’m asking for others in this forum because it seems to be a common refrain that they got more scholarship money at other schools but no one seems to mention submitting those offers and trying to get more from A&M. I think this info you provided will be useful to others that if a student has a strong case they can submit another schools scholarship offer to a recruiter in the admissions office for consideration.

817

I can see how you might think this but my understanding and my experience at A&M recruitment events is they actually do care and they want students to apply, particularly their targeted students, and they want their admitted students to accept and enroll. They put time and money into recruiting and enticing accordingly-scholarships, all expense paid visits and events. There are limits to the lengths they are willing to go to of course. They have budgets and constraints. They have limited funds. So they don’t give everyone scholarships and they don’t invite everyone for all expense paid visits. But those they have targeted for one reason or another they do want to enroll and these students are in a position that they may be able to submit another college scholarship offer for consideration and negotiation. No different than the work world I guess.

818

@martinezcs i think you nailed it, when you mention ‘targeted students’. Most students don’t get invited to attend the events your daughter has. She’s very fortunate to have the invites & opportunities…and you are wise to encourage her to attend them all.
The bulk of students won’t get scholarships, certainly not ‘big’ ones. A&M does tend to award them to NM, the targeted Century Scholars schools and need based. And that’s okay…every school can use their $$ as they see fit.
If students are wanting/needing scholarships, they need to go to the schools that have offered it to them, not hold out hope that A&M will…because most likely it won’t happen.

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819

Thank you. And I do want to be clear I’m only sharing and trying to be transparent so that it can help other people who may be reading these forums for tips and advice if it pertains to them. I hope it doesn’t across as braggy. We are all trying to navigate this process however we can with whatever we’ve got to get to gain admissions and scholarships. Someone else had received an invite to the LEAD Summit and wasn’t going to register because they couldn’t find info about it because it isn’t publicized and wasn’t sure if it was worth it or not. So, I have shared this kind of info so that if anyone gets invited to this or similar events they recognize the opportunity that it is and go if they can, etc. Or if someone is in a position that they can negotiate a bigger scholarship package, to go for it. At the same time, I certainly recognize the value of realistic expectations and understanding the typical admissions process.

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820

Not braggy, at all! You have given very wise advice!
I think it’s super important to attend as many things as possible. And clearly your girl has worked super hard, and it’s paying off! A lot of ppl tend to not attend things, their kids don’t accept/attend invitations…that’s not the smartest move.
I’m proud of you & your girl…and I don’t even know y’all! :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:
(but I still stand by what I said…A&M doesn’t match scholarships. Maybe they did in 2016, but they don’t now).

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