<p>Tsherman, you have made multiple posts on College Confidential complaining about how TCU chooses to raise funds and improve its campus. I’m not sure why you are so angry about that, since your son chose a different school. Flgirlmom has asked about issues that are important to her and her daughter, and they are the same concerns that we worked through at our house a year ago. While the quality of education is a top priority for almost all parents, it is also important that a student feel a connection to the school, classmates and the nearby community. It doesn’t matter how highly regarded a school is on the academic side if a student feels isolated, disconnected or unfulfilled. Your response did absolutely nothing to help answer her questions, which is the whole point of this thread.</p>
<p>My daughter will be a sophomore at TCU. She was also accepted to SMU and received a very generous scholarship offer, which is why we studied both schools very closely. I truly believe she would have done well and been happy at either school, but I do think she chose the one that better fits her personality. She is a pre-business and modern language double major who has been very challenged by her classes to date. Like a lot of her Honors College classmates, because of AP/IB credit she was able to skip a lot of the typical core freshman classes and go straight into lower level business classes. Like any college, she has some teachers that she has enjoyed more than others. However, she says that all have been responsive and helpful, and seem to want their students to enjoy and truly understand the subject they teach. She feels very comfortable e-mailing or stopping by to visit with a teacher, more so than I ever did during my college days. She has three advisors, one each for business, foreign language and Honors College, and all have been very helpful in choosing classes and planning for the long-term.</p>
<p>My daughter went through fall rush last August and is very happy with her sorority. SMU does spring rush, which has good and bad aspects. It gives you more time to get to know the sororities, but January seems a very long way away when you’re a freshman away from home for the first time and don’t yet know a lot of your classmates. D watched a very close friend go through SMU rush this spring, and while her friend is very happy with her sorority now, on more than one occasion her friend noted that fall rush gives you an immediate social life at TCU, whereas she floundered somewhat her first semester at SMU because she didn’t have that immediate connection. This fall, her friend is moving into a off-campus apartment and not her sorority house, but I’m not sure why. My daughter will be moving into her sorority house, which is really just a dorm with first floor common areas, but she is very excited about living with the girls she has grown to know this past year. While the Greek houses do not have dining facilities, and each resident has to purchase a meal plan for the campus cafeteria, I don’t think that aspect will really diminish her Greek experience.</p>
<p>The laid-back atmosphere of Ft. Worth is a real draw to a lot of students and their families. We always have a great time when we take the younger kids and go visit her. Last year D and her roommate made the most of the opportunities that Ft. Worth offers, but they also made a couple of visits to Dallas to visit SMU friends and had a great time there. The two campuses have a very different feel, but that doesn’t mean one is better than the other. Sometimes different is just different, not better or worse. Whichever school your daughter chooses, she will have the opportunity to make great friends and be part of a great college community. Best wishes for her freshman year!</p>