Howdy! I am an Aggie Mom to the Loudest and Proudest Fighting Texas Aggie Class of ‘23! WHOOP! If you are an Aggie, Aggie Mom, Aggie Wife, or any other affiliation with Texas A&M University, you understand.
I am a member of the Brazos County Texas A&M Mothers’ Club. I am an Aggie Mom. We are an organization under the umbrella of The Federation of Texas A&M Mothers’ Club. We raise money for scholarships for students, we donate money toward many student organizations, but most of all, we support the students of Texas A&M University. We have clubs nationwide.
While I have a senior at Texas A&M University, I have another daughter who is on her journey of college applications. She has applied to several colleges, Texas A&M University included, and now we wait to see where the offers land. She has received two acceptances already–Northern Illinois University and Loyola University New Orleans. Upon acceptance, I have tried to research the offerings to parents of students. Do other universities and colleges have something like Aggie Mom organizations?
I think you will get a lot of parents to say parents are generally not involved once the kids are off to college.
I was a very involved parent when my kids were growing up, but once they were off to college I took the back seat.
My kids both went to Pitt so also a large public. There is a parents organization that I get occasional emails from but I basically skim and delete. There are parents Facebook groups that share info about housing, upcoming events, etc, but it is just more of a chatty type of thing. There is nothing like what you describe that I am aware of.
NIU is a regional so they won’t have the spirit. Loyola is private so while they’ll ask for donations it won’t be as often.
We get hit up by both our kids public schools but I think the size and energy of A&M likely are second to none. They have the resources for this type of infrastructure that others likely don’t. And parents that truly are invested in the brand vs other schools. It’s a machine.
No matter which school she attends though, someone will be seeking $$.
There isn’t anything like a college PTA, if that’s what you are looking for. Some colleges have a parent page on their website. As mentioned, others have parent FB pages.
We were very involved with our kids’ schools through 12th grade, but like @oldfort, we took a huge back seat once they were in college.
I don’t want to seem like I’m a helicopter parent wanting to be involved in my child’s college experience. I did not sign up for that!! I gave up PTA when my kids were in middle school. We are a non-profit organization that has the Aggie student in common but we are a group that hosts a tailgate at football games, donate scholarships, have dinners with speakers, and we even stuff goody bags and distribute to the students right before finals. I would describe it more as a social club for parents that have students at the same school. The only time we invite the student to a function is when we have the graduates recognized at the end of the year banquet.
The coolest thing about our organization is that as moms, if a student is in need and several hours away from home or family, we are contacted and we step in to assist. One mother reached out when her daughter was sick with Delta variant of COVID last year. Aggie Moms made soup and delivered to student’s apartment. If a student needs medicine and parents can’t get it to the student, a local Aggie Mom has gone to get meds and take to the student. If a student needs a hug or just some feel for home, a local Aggie Mom has gone to hug the student and provide support as a surrogate until they can get to their own mother.
I will admit that I found my local friends through Aggie Moms when I moved from San Antonio, TX to Bryan, TX. I have found some of the best friends a girl can ask for! I also found a few more friends at Aggie Mom Camp last year who were from Illinois, California, and other parts of Texas. We try to get together when we are in the general area of each other and share the hospitality that Aggie Moms know!
Purdue has a parent and family organization that do the things you described. I believe it is under the umbrella of the alumni association.
They also have the “Townie Moms” who help out sick kids and in emergencies (and give great advice on everything from restaurants to doctors to mechanics).
The USC parents Facebook page has parents who volunteer to bring soup and medicine when others’ kids are sick, or who volunteer to take someone to dinner or bring their (local) family dog for kids to hug if they are lonely.
I have two kids in college and have never heard of such a thing.
Michigan does have a group that helps kids who are sick on campus. The aMaizeing Blue crew was prompted by Covid and is now in its third year of helping kids who need support through an injury or illness. It is narrowly focused, though, and not at all what you are describing.
I’m on a couple of very active fb parent pages for my son’s college, Binghamton U. At my daughter’s college, Bates, I know parents are involved in fundraising.
Tons of parents at both colleges wear the college gear and attend parent weekends. I think there’s plenty of parent enthusiasm for both schools. I suspect that at some public schools similar to Bing, it’s more likely that parents are involved simply because they are in the area. At Bates, kids come from all over the country. It’s harder to physically meet people and I doubt that apart from alumni, there is much “adult” turn out for sports events.
ND has very involved parent groups for each class and dorm on Facebook. I think having big time football allows for parents to become friends and be more involved with the university as sport fans.
There is a Clemson mom Facebook page, local Clemson moms will do anything for students in need, food, rides, they have events on campus involving treats and dogs. Stuck at the airport with nowhere to sleep? Need a ride to the hospital? It’s very sweet.