My son is trying to compare these three programs. What made you choose OUs Honors program over other honors colleges that you were accepted to? My son is not a NMF but that wouldn’t bother him at all to be surrounded by other NMFs as long as it is an awesome program with great opportunities and students excited to learn. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and opinions!
For S1, it was a couple of things. The Honors College allowed him the feel of a small college on a large college campus. OU specifically is very welcoming and helpful to its honor students and NMF. (from what I can tell, they are that way with many students). The other thing that set OU apart for my son was the feel of the campus and the variety of architecture. The support did not end once they got him signed up either. He is approaching graduation and still gets everything he could want in terms of help.
Thanks so much @Torveaux! We just returned from a visit to campus today. We were very impressed by OUs Honors College and the university itself! My son just loved it! Such a beautiful campus and it didn’t hurt that is was gorgeous today. The faculty, advisors, tour guides, and students that we met were all so welcoming and helpful! He’s got it narrowed down to two now. It’s going to be hard for our third college stop to beat this one!
All three of them are going to be great programs. The Texas a&m program is a bit more prestigious than the other two, and if your son stays in the South after college then it should be easier to get a good job with a degree from a&m than the others because it has the best job network. Even though these are big state schools, being a part of the honors program will give it more of a small school feeling because honors classes are smaller and more tight knit. In the end, you can’t go wrong with any of those options.
Thank you @acceptmike! Unfortunately, A&M is the one he likes the least. He was also accepted to Trinity so hoping our visit there helps him make his decision.
IIRC, Trinity is very expensive.
I would not put OU and TxTech in the same class prestige wise. TAMU>OU>Tech. Of course, specific programs will vary that basic formula.
Thank you @Torveaux! Trinity is expensive but thankfully he was offered a scholarship that makes it work. We plan on visiting for admitted students day on Saturday. OU is his favorite by far, of the three we’ve visited. Such a beautiful campus and everyone we’ve met with there has been so helpful & supportive. I know you are right about the prestige thing but I don’t see him changing his mind about A&M. He thinks it’s a great school and a good fit for a lot of people, just not him.
I completely understand. S1 did not ‘feel’ it at TAMU either. That is one reason he is graduating in a month from OU. Wow, literally just sunk in that it is a month away.
@Oldhorn My D visited A&M and OU and is deciding on attending OU. We are Texas residents so we know a lot of proud Aggies. The big difference between OU and A&M for my D was also a “feel”. Not sure how to describe someone else’s feel, but I think it boiled down to a few things:
- The A&M campus just seemed much bigger. During the visit, it felt like we could walk forever to just go from one end of campus to another. Don't get me wrong, OU also is a big public university, but it felt enough smaller than A&M to make a difference to D. She actually loved the feel of Tulsa which is a much smaller
- Although my D will major in chemical engineering, she still has a passion for music and theater. When we asked about those programs at A&M, you could really tell that fine arts aren't the focus like the engineering/business programs are. OU has the feel of a much more "academically" rounded university with strong programs across many different areas. For me 27 years ago, I didn't want to take a single fine arts course so A&M would have been a better fit for me.
- The OU tour guides were all out of state students, which made the campus seem more "geographically diverse". Since we know so many local kids who went to A&M, my D said it would fell like an extension of her high school to go there. Maybe she is also trying to get far enough away from her parents so that we can't drop in on a weekend :)
- Every college we visited has strong traditions, but A&M seemed like theirs were even a little bit "stronger". I've always joked with my Aggie friends about their "cult" in College Station, but when my D was acclimating to all of the traditions during her overnight visit, I think it overwhelmed her a little. She drums to her own beat, has only attended one football game in college, maybe a dance or two (never homecoming), listens to what I consider strange music, and dresses without regard to cultural norms.....so she was worried she wouldn't catch on to the A&M culture. I was actually impressed with the "indoctrination"....and have always been with Aggies even if I do make fun of them. As a whole, them seem like pretty dependable, conservative, straight-shooters who will go to bat for fellow alumni.
So in the end, for my D the scholarship offers would not have mattered. She would have chosen OU honors over A&M.