<p>For most of high school, I wouldn't even consider A&M or UT because the huge sizes of the schools intimidated me. I loved the idea of going to a small, enclosed campus, where most students live in on-campus housing. My dad has always tried to push A&M because he is a former student, but I would have none of it. How could I get the community feel I was looking for at such a big place? Besides, I don't even like football.
But I'm about to start my senior year, and A&M is back on the table. This is because I did pretty darn well on the PSAT, and the National Merit scholarships are looking pretty sweet. I was invited to SHIP, and I went because it was free. I was struck by just how friendly the students who led the program were, as well as the other random students around campus. Now I've found that I really like the honors program, and I also got a taste of the Aggie traditions, and I really enjoyed it. The spirit there truly is something incredible.
Still, they described classes of well over 100 students, and the campus really is a huge place to traverse. And while I like College Station because I personally don't like crowded cities, I am concerned that there are more opportunities somewhere else.
At any rate, thanks to the top 10% law, I could call any state school a safety, and A&M has won. So I'm just wondering if y'all think I could love it there as much as at the kind of schools I'd been set on before: smaller, very academic-focused private schools.</p>
<p>Also, I’m concerned about A&M’s extremely conservative reputation. I identify very middle-of-the-road, and I really like to have people around me with the whole spectrum of ideas and beliefs.</p>
<p>what would your first choice major want to be?
your class size would really depend on your major. Are you bringing in basics from dual classes and AP credits? again, a lot of the huge classes are the basics.
You would be assured of a dorm on campus if you apply early and since you are an automatic.<br>
Never think that A&M is not academically focused
the spirit of Aggieland is simply amazing
I am a former student, and have a daughter there now. She came from a small high school, we live in a “small college” town. She had no problems going to A&M - super huge as it is. She is in environmental design - architecture. She has very small classes, most top out at 15. Her Physics and Political Science classes were large.
My daughter is a Jr this year and has had all but 3 classes in the Langford complex. Her biggest gripe is that she can’t seem to get a parking pass to lot 50. It is a long walk from the parking lots and bus stops to Langford.
I was in engineering, all my classes were large.
I think you can easily find middle-of-the-road people at A&M. IMO - most are middle of the road, the vocal conservative aside.
It isn’t all about football… but it is fun!
Visit your small colleges you are interested in, and visit A&M again during Fall. You have plenty of time to make your decision. And you will know.</p>
<p>Thanks so much!
I’ll probably be majoring in biochemistry, and I’m pre-med. I’m giving some thought to Biomedical Engineering as well.
Should I choose A&M, I hope to live in the honors housing, because I’m told they form their own community.
Also, I’ll be coming in with quite a bit of AP credit, though some of it will be science classes that I’ll probably choose to re-take to make sure I have a good foundation and keep up my grades for medical school admission.
By the way, although I’m not a big football person, and in fact have a very difficult time keeping the rules straight, I would always enthusiastically cheer on my school.</p>
<p>Just to clarify the politics, nobody I know there seems to care.</p>
<p>My son and his friends are WAY too occupied with their classes and their social lives to even consider their political views. While DS1 was visiting UT a speaker said something like: “If you’re in a large auditorium and you’re bothered by the class size, sit in the front row and then you’re in a class of 30.” Good advice!</p>
<p>I would not be worried about the number of students with any particular political views. I would worry about students being close minded and intolerant. I have never heard this expressed about Aggieland.</p>
<p>If you can find ECs that will make the school seem smaller. The honors kids do form their own community, especially if you live in the honors dorms; this really helped me my freshman year. Nevertheless, it is still very easy to feel de-personalized at such a huge school.</p>
<p>You can find people of all political views, especially in the honors program. However, the people you meet do indeed tend to be more conservative than say, on a campus on the east or west coast, and student organizations such as the YCT tend to thrive here, whereas they would have a harder time in a more liberal part of the country.</p>
<p>Personally, I would not bother with re-taking the classes you already have AP credit for. First, they are huge and impersonal, and the amount of new material you learn will be minimal. Second, moving straight to sophomore level classes will give you more options academically, some of these being A) graduate a semester or year early, B) take upper-level electives that are really interesting, or C) double major. Finally, if you are so concerned about grades solely for the sake of grades (such a stereotypical pre-med thing to do!), you can find upper level classes, like 485 or 491s (research) that are typically easy to get As in as long as you do OK. It’s not what you’re supposed to do, but no one’s stopping you. These will be more interesting to take than freshman level classes if all you are interested in is padding your GPA.</p>
<p>Lol, IneedaMascot, are you sure you’re not my son? He could have written every single word you wrote in your first two posts. His father being a grad, him not being too hot on it, the big place, the football, the NMF, the SHIP, the middle-of-the-road. EVERYTHING. </p>
<p>And in the end, he chose to attend Texas A&M. It’s too early to comment a whole lot – he’s just started his freshman year. But so far, he has absolutely loved everything about the school!</p>
<p>He’s in the honors dorms and loves that. He attended an honors program over the summer and loved that. He attended Fish Camp (ONLY because absolutely everybody he knows told him he shouldn’t miss it – the kids dressed up like clowns at drop-off made him sure that he made a mistake!) but he loved that! He loved NSC, despite the horror stories we heard about a lack of organization (not true in our case). He got all the classes he wanted. So far, he loves every class and his teachers (okay, fact is, he’s only on day 3!). He loved Gig 'em Week (the week prior to the start of classes). He’s already made tons of friends there, plus 6 of his high school friends chose the same school! (That’s something I really hadn’t considered when he was looking at colleges – the fact that if he chose a state school, a lot of his high school friends would naturally be attending as well.) He’s just happy as a clam there. It now seems like THE perfect fit! </p>
<p>Texas A&M began as kind of a safety. I required him to choose at least one state school. But as his senior year unfolded, despite 9 other college acceptances, with lots of scholarship and grant money from each, Texas A&M turned out to really win him over. The closer he looked, the more he liked it.</p>
<p>In terms of size … As an incoming freshman, he has only one large class, and it’s quite large. I think there are a couple hundred kids in there. But all of his other classes are small. That’s because, like you, he had a bunch of AP credits that eliminated the need for all the other huge core classes. So, there’s one way to reduce A&M size.</p>
<p>Also, as you already mentioned, living in the honors dorm helps. From the time we moved him in, it felt like he was amongst family. The upperclass kids were so friendly and helpful! I would imagine that he would have felt the same way had he moved into the engineering dorms, which was his other choice.</p>
<p>In sum, yes, I think someone who always wanted a small college could be happy at A&M. Especially somebody in your circumstances. With your credentials, you’re poised to accept all the best that A&M has to offer!</p>
<p>I think davidmigl gave really great advice. You should follow it.</p>
<p>Good luck in your college search! :)</p>