What do freshman students do for fun after classes? I would really like to attend kickbacks and parties because we are too young to drink in the bars. I am concerned about my social life should I accept admission at TAMU. I don’t like country music/dancing. I consider myself more of a liberal and would like to know if I would fit in.
@bfdgirl you have to remember how big the student population is at TAMU. There’s bound to be a variety of students, including those that are less conservative as well as some that love to kick-back/party. TAMU is such a big school the only way you couldn’t have a social life is if you locked yourself up in your room 24/7. I’m entering as a transfer this fall, and like you I’m more of a liberal. I probably fit better in Austin but I love the vibe TAMU puts off and I’m so excited to be there! You’ll find your group of friends. 
@bfdgirl also, as far as music goes, I go to shows a lot. Anything from EDM to bands you’d see at warped tour. Remember college station isn’t that far from Austin or Houston, so if there’s ever a show you wanna go to on a weekend, you could easily do so!
@kitty11, did you look on Howdy at the financial aid link? That’s where the scholarships show up, but in my sons’ cases, they got a letter, an email or a call telling them about a scholarship before it showed up on Howdy.
How did you find out housing had closed?
If a student applied for housing before it closed (September), would they have heard anything yet at all?
What specific BIMS classes have you taken? I’m coming in the fall with all of my cores done.
@Barfly you don’t hear anything from housing once you have applied until about mid summer-ish. Then they give you the information about your room/roommate. It is a long wait from application until the next communication. @kitty11, scholarships eventually all show up under my financial aid portal. Between my two kids, we’ve been notified by snail mail, email, phone call, and no notice… it just showed up on the portal. Regarding stats - they’re not published since most scholarships have individual criteria that are merit based. They also are generated from many sources, meaning other than a few generic ones (like opportunity scholarship for ex) they are from individual donors - so you would be awarded the ‘J. Doe’ scholarship and J Doe sets the criteria for obtaining that scholarship ( GPA, major, involvement, whatever they want). You actually write required thank you’s to your donors.
@amymyah0 Hi! How is the course load and difficulty of classes at A&M? If possible, as a petroleum engineering future student
I don’t know if anyone can answer this, but if I join a sorority at A&M, do I have to live in the house?
@shopsouthern, yes and no… The houses aren’t big enough to accommodate everyone for starters. Sororities are running around 200 members at the moment and growing every year with bigger and bigger pledge classes. Most houses ask that you be available to live in, but don’t necessarily require it. Your freshman year you do not live in - the houses are already full. Many houses require their executive board to live in the house, but those decisions are chapter based not panhellenic rules. Each house has their own rules regarding living in and you will hear about them during recruitment. My daughter did live in for two years - she loved it. She also has friends who never got the opportunity to live in. So, yes and no. Clear as mud, right?! 
@AGmomx2 I got my scholarship stuff in the mail and it said I needed to claim them on howdy, yet I went to the financial aid portal and there aren’t any there.
@BlakeGryhmes The financial aid portal for next year hasn’t updated yet (at least my son’s hasn’t). Eventually they will be entered and you will click on them to say ‘accept’. This is the way it works every year, don’t panic. The same is true of multiple year scholarships, they don’t show up until the system updates that portion of scholarships - I was told that is due to grade checks at the end of the semester. If you are notified you have gotten a scholarship, it will be processed - the system isn’t linked to immediately add to FA portal. They also don’t add all on the same day once they start (mine have had multiple sources: FA, College, Private, Award), so keep checking the portal - you have to accept prior to paying for tuition…you have lots of time!
@BlakeGryhmes, be sure you click on the correct academic year. When you open the portal, it may be on 2014-15, You have to click 2015-16 to see your scholarships. Then look at “awards”, not “status”. If you were notified to claim then on Howdy, then they are probably there or will be soon. National Merit scholarships won’t show until after the school is notified by NMSC that it was the student’s first choice, Departmental scholarships seem slow to show up on Howdy. Hope that helps.
@AGmomx2, my current Aggie’s portal isn’t updated yet either. But my current applicant’s portal is.
Thanks @Barfly for the update and congrats on the scholarship
One more thought on scholarships… look on status to see if they have your FAFSA (if you’ve already filed). If they are need based scholarships they require that to be filed before they will process the aid. Your official numbers are generated from that form, not your application.
I submitted my FAFSA on January 1st. I was also notified my FAFSA was received before I got my scholarship package in the mail. Still nothing on my financial aid portal.
Howdy is scheduled to be down over the weekend… bet it shows up on Monday. They seem to do that before loading lots of information, so try again Monday. Don’t worry though… it will show up eventually
@AGmomx2 this is such a late reply but thanks so much…You are so helpful! How much time a week do you think your daughter spent on her sorority? I hear it’s a huge time commitment 
Time commitments 1st semester include pledge meetings 1-2 hours, maybe an hour of Monday night meetings (normally you’re not allowed to stay for the whole meeting), social time getting to know other girls & get togethers-up to you, & most have mandatory study hours. Second semester onwards, you only have the longer monday night meetings & study hours which sometimes can be waived with a high GPA. You can pick & choose your activities, but there will be social ones & philanthropic ones too - some houses require you to attend so many of each type. Grades & organizational skills are both important - so you just need to stay organized & not get behind. FYI - average GPA of sororities is above the general university average. There is a huge range of time commitment depending on what you choose to participate in-- opportunities include leadership, event planning,athletics, dance, singing, skits, volunteering, fund raising, etc. Most girls find time to do both a sorority and another activity while still keeping their grades up. Hope that helps
@AGmomx2 yes thanks so much!