There is a link to each PSA page for each school on the first post. also, here is some info about them. If you have not read through the whole thread, there is a lot of info on here.
Tarleton, Corpus Christi, and West Texas A&M are the most popular followed by Commerce (formerly East Tx State University and joint the A&M system in 1996).
Texarkana (started out as a branch campus of East Tx State University est. 1971. With the merging of ETSU into the A&M system, Texarkana was absorbed as well and reopened as a separate university in the A&M system. Kingsville became part of A&M system in 1989 and is not far from Corpus Christi. Prairie View, which is Texasâ first Historic Black College/University in Prairie View, between Houston and Brenham. A&M International is in Laredo.
Thanks, @Scotsfi , for making that call and sharing the info. It takes a village! Tarleton and Commerce both had their big days Saturday. #-o But Corpusâ Island Day is April 6 (youâll need to register).
Thinking my son will likely select both Tarleton and Commerce, then we will visit and choose between the two. FYI, those two and West Texas all have a requirement for Freshmen to live on campus. Corpus does not, and I canât speak to the other five as I did not research those.
@daleNchip@CMR1997@Thelma2. @2xAggieMom The PSA advisor at Tarleton I spoke with this morning did say that unfortunately right now there is a âglitchâ at the A&M end for getting application paperwork sent over to the system schools - sounded a technical issue which A&M is aware of & working on - so this will delay temporarily any system school being able to receive/process and then send out letters of acceptance. Her name is Molly Stewart (254 968 9752). She was incredibly patient as I asked ALL my questions and of course more come to mind as she shares info with you. I was encouraged when she said at every Orientation Session, PSA students attending will have a session as a group with her or someone from her team to go over specifics/make sure they are registering for the correct classes and that they will meet as group a couple of times throughout the year. This has to be great for finding other like minded newbies on campus! She shared that this school year they started with 161 PSA students & now there are 107 in the prog; - reasons included - liking Tarleton & wishing to stay on there; students changing their minds on staying in the PSA prog; not getting paperwork completed/handed in on time; grade issues and just natural wastage that any school encounters. When I asked about dwindling time and dorm availability she said students will need to put down several dorm options and be prepared for perhaps not getting their first choice but they havenât yet been in a situation where theyâve run out completely. She spoke with much pride & passion about Tarleton. As a parent I felt reassured and enthused.
@Thelma2 We found an issue with the majors listed in AIS not matching the ones on the PSA website. Once you accept PSA and then go to the page to select your schools and major, Communications is available as a selection. However, on the PSA website, if you look under Liberal Arts, Communications is not listed as a participating major. None of the business school majors are available to choose from in AIS since they do not participate.
So I am confused, does Communications participate in PSA or not?
I would like to add that I have experience with both Corpus Christi and Tarleton PSA programs and both do a good job of being available for students for answering questions, registering for classes and getting out information. A&M and both of these schools are great about sending out emails about deadlines, etc as they approach. They can not do it for your child and, unfortunately, some students miss those deadlines. It is not from lack of information. Every time my child or I had a question, they were extremely patient and thorough. They do a lot to be a safety net for these kiddos. When my son got to Tarleton for his New Student Conference, they had already placed him in his bold printed classes to assure that he got the classes that were vital for the program. He could have changed the times but since many of the students were âforcedâ into already full classes, they recommended not changing. I never felt like they would let him slip through the cracks through any actions on their part. I canât speak for any other system schools but I would imagine that they are similar.
@Scotsfi It also occurred to me this morning that during Spring Break some of the workstaff will be off and that could possibly cause more delays. I know that last year I called and had to wait until the next day to talk to the person I was requesting. I believe that they do not shut the offices but they do allow the staff some days off.
@wwd9191 What @BlueBayouAZ said. The drop down menu will have the most current list of majors to select from for the coming fall vs the ones still showing online.
@Jasperlady
Hi
My son is also looking at the KINE BEP major. I spoke with the KINE dept and they informed me to choose Exercise Science through the PSA for Kine. When he moves into to College Station and completes the PSA requirements successfully he will be admitted to the KINE major and can change his option from Exercise Science to the BEP option. I confirmed that with Theresa Schmitz who is an PSA advisor at College Station. Hope this helps
iâm curious if anyone noticed the two academic year requirement for housing at Tarleton? iâll be calling in the morning to make sure it doesnât apply to PSA kids. please let me know if iâve misunderstood their housing policy.
@tisulli I have a copy of the housing agreement and it says that âany enrolled studentâ is required to live on campus for 2 years. Once our students move on to A&M, they are no longer enrolled. The contract is for an âacademicâ school year and ends 24 hours after your last final of the spring semester. If our students move on to A&M, they just donât sign that second contract.
@daleNchip - My son emailed the residential housing Mirimar at Corpus and gave the floor plans that he is interested in. I too, would want him in a true residence hall rather than apartment. Here is their response:
Good Afternoon
We have quite a few of the residence hall floor plans open as of right now. We will start to become limited in the floor plans in the next month or so, so I suggest you put in an application as soon as possible. You can do this by going to https://www.islanderhousing.com/student-apartments/tx/corpuschristi/islander-housing and clicking âApply Onlineâ in the top right hand corner.
Please reach out with any more questions you may have. Have a great day!
I also spoke with admissions at Corpus and explained my concerns over housing. They said that it usually takes about 5-7 business days to get your student number. But to keep checking and if we haven't received anything by next week to call. As of yesterday morning, my son wasn't in the system yet. The poor girl was panicking until I told her that he literally had just pushed the accept PSA button the night prior.
If he were going OOS the apartment would be a complete deal breaker. However, we are 3.5 hours away, so if he gets in an apartment pinch, we are close enough to help. I did tell my son that if all the on campus housing (apartments and residences) are full he will need to go with plan B. I donât want off campus non-school housing his first year. The floorplans for some of the apartments are similar to what he chose at TTU for housing, so he is okay with that too.
@toughdecision22 , PSA is for one year. If you stay at your PSA institution any longer than the Spring semester, youâll have to go the transfer route.
From Tarletonâs PSA page (which I find way more helpful than the TAMU page): [emphasis with *** mine]
PSA Admission Requirements
Candidate must choose and complete specific course requirements from one of the approved Texas A&M University - College Station program specific degree plans
Complete at least 24 transferable hours in residency at a single Texas A&M University System Institution after high school graduation and by the end of the spring semester of their first year of college*
Maintain a minimum 3.0 cumulative grade point average and a minimum 3.0 GPA for all courses attempted from the approved Texas A&M University - College Station program specific degree plan
Submit the transfer application along with all the required documents by the March 1 deadline
It does indeed take a village. Everyone learns from each other. The application process is just the beginning of things to find out the information for and I want to say Well Done and Thank You to all of you who are reaching out first hand to find the information from the system schools and reporting it back here for others. I too, am learning from you! All of the information you are sharing on this thread will help the applicants next year. You are all very much appreciated.
Can we come up with a To Do list for the students accepting PSA, please? My kid works best with a defined list he can check off and I want to make sure everything is on that list.
âPSA Checklistâ
If you want to add/delete/reorder, please copy this list to your post so the latest version is complete.
On TAMU AIS, complete the process of accepting the PSA offer. THIS DOES NOT COMMIT YOU, but it does tell TAMU you wish to move forward and consider PSA as an option at these schools for Fall 2019. You will have until May 1 to decide if PSA at the selected college is the path you wish to pursue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPYC6rwDXU
Add school(s) to FAFSA.
Wait for selected schools to get student into system--watch for emails about IDs and logins!
I got offered PSA. Doesnât seem too bad honestly, but I have to read more into it. Is there a way I can see the school offered without âRequest Participation in PSAâ on the my letters section or do I have to? Also the PSA system doesnât have business majors? Thatâs what I have down.
For those of you wanting to schedule a visit to Corpus next week, they are available Monday-Wednesday. Son and I are going to tour on Monday morning and then he (on his own-yay!) booked an appointment with the PSA advisor. He also reached out to housing to see if they are open for tours on Monday, but hasnât heard back yet. Hoping after we go and he meets with the PSA advisor, if his documents havenât gotten pushed through, they will by then.
On TAMU AIS, complete the process of accepting the PSA offer. THIS DOES NOT COMMIT YOU, but it does tell TAMU you wish to move forward and consider PSA as an option at these schools for Fall 2019. You will have until May 1 to decide if PSA at the selected college is the path you wish to pursue. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfPYC6rwDXU
Add school(s) to FAFSA.
Wait for selected schools to get student into system--watch for emails about IDs and logins!
Should we add ?.. 9. Get bacterial Meningitis shot. Maybe it needs to higher up the list as I donât think prospective students can register for orientation without proof of this??
