Hi, I was wondering how a student would react to studying in Texas. I am a student from the North East and am applying at a couple schools from Texas (Baylor, TCU, UT). I was wondering if anyone had any opinions on the different cultures between the two areas. Would I deal with culture shock and if so how much does it affect you?
I am also a fairly strong Christian if that makes a difference
I went the other direction - Texas to Maine. I think you will find Texans very friendly and welcoming. I think the biggest difference is that strangers are friendlier with each other. Every time I go home to Austin, I’m struck by the difference.
That’s what I’d hoped! People from the Northeast tend to not be as outgoing and I would imagine it would be nice to experience a slightly more outgoing crowd.
Anyone else have any similar culture shock experiences?
I went to high school on Long Island and went to college at SMU. That college was a little more “stuck up” than I was used to. The girls all dressed up a lot more than I had. The sororities judged me and my accent by that. However, I met my husband there and have never left TX since. My kids are native Texans.
That school was different from the ones you are interested in. I think you will find people friendlier in general. One thing I still notice is that girls up north let you know how they fell about you. If they hate you, you will know. In TX lots of girls will be nice to your face and you think they are your best friend but may totally dislike you. That took me the longest to get used to. That is not true with the guys. Overall I have found the guys in TX very open and friendly. Of course these are generalization. The big cities are total melting pots from all over the world. I’m sitting in my office with people from Pennsylvania, New York and Minnesota.
I think you will do well at any of your choices.
I had to give up saying “y’all” after I moved to the northeast. People laughed at me! Geez, it sure sounds better than, “Let’s go to you guyses [two syllables] house.”
UT Austin has a very different environment from TCU and Baylor.
Baylor is a Southern Baptist school, there are not many Southern Baptists in the Northeast.
You named your options as UT, TCU and Baylor. Some people truly don’t realize just how huge Texas really is. As a result, different regions will have a completely different feel to it. The heat in Texas will be brutal, so that aspect will be shocking to you. But people in Texas are very friendly. I’ve found that people up North tend to be a bit more cold, and not just because it snows lol.
-With UT, you’d be in Austin. Austin is a really cool place. Lots of music festivals, chill people, amazing food and an artsy vibe.
-With TCU, you’d be in Fort Worth. I always classify Fort Worth as Dallas. Dallas gets snow every once in awhile, but it’s never a lot.
-With Baylor, you’d be in Waco. Very conservative and Christian. I would say that Waco would be more dead, just because the city isn’t as lively as Austin or Dallas.
Also, Texans LOVE our football. So each school will be pretty hyped during football season.
I’m from Texas and I go to college in the Northeast. Honestly, there isn’t too much of a culture shock. People will find you more interesting because you attend college out of state. It’s a nice conversation starter 
@GreenTeaFanatic I thought you went to school in the Midwest?
@GreenTeaFanatic nailed the descriptions. UT students seem to be more free and their activism techniques are “unique”. I can’t see their methods flying at Baylor or TCU, since they are private schools. Plus Austin is a great city. UT and Rice are my first choice schools for my childeren.
I know people from the northeast who have been happy and successful at UT Austin and SMU. I’d suggest that you visit if possible and see if you feel comfortable.
@LBad96 Ehh, technically yes. But I go to college in Cleveland Ohio, which I consider to be part of the Northeast. Just from conversations I’ve had with other Ohio residents and from my experience visiting the Northeast, I’ve always felt like Cleveland has a vibe that is more Northeast, rather than Rustbelt Midwest. Although something else to consider is I’m living in the newly renovated/updated Cleveland, so it isn’t as run down as it was years ago.
I would say that Cleveland is pretty solidly Midwestern, although it’s proximity to the East Coast might give it an interesting hybrid culture.
As a child I moved from the Northeast to the South, and then as an adult I moved back to the Northeast. There is a marked difference but I wouldn’t say you’d experience culture shock, so to speak. Southerners are far less direct and straightforward with their language and mannerisms, but even that is going to differ across different parts of the South (Atlanta, for example, has a lot of Northeastern transplants so it has an interesting culture. Austin’s also a pretty hippie liberal city, while the rest of Texas is really neither). The food’s different, too, and so are the kinds of people you can see - most parts of the Northeast are, on average, more racially/ethnically diverse than most parts of the South. That’s changing too, though, especially in the South’s big cities. You’d see more diversity in Austin or Fort Worth than Waco.