TAMU Blinn-TEAM : Fall 2017 parent perspective

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
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I just wanted to bump up this thread since the buzz on CC is that TAMU BLINN-TEAM offers have started coming out today!! I’m SOOOO excited for you!

CONGRATULATIONS TO EVERYONE RECEIVING TAMU BLINN-TEAM OFFERS!! Whooooop! :slight_smile: Here’s to living the AGGIE LIFE IN AGGIELAND!!

It is a great program! Hard to believe that it has been exactly 2 years to the day since my Dear Daughter received her TAMU Blinn-TEAM offer! She is currently a Sophomore on Blinn-TEAM and is LOVING living the Aggie life in Aggieland!

I can mainly address the questions of the perception of Blinn-TEAM in Aggieland: you are a FULL Aggie except that you can’t play an NCAA sport for TAMU and you take some classes in a different building. NO ONE cares who takes classes at Blinn or for what reason! Being on Blinn-TEAM does not matter if you plan to go Greek. It really doesn’t matter at all. But just be aware that the classes at Blinn are NOT fluff “easy A classes”! Quite often the profs also teach at TAMU. And of course TAMU wants all of the classes to prepare you for the rigor of TAMU so they aren’t going to want the rigor level to be lower either.

Since my daughter is a Sophomore, (Freshman Class Fall 2017), she is in the last group to take classes at the Blinn Bryan campus, as all of the Blinn-TEAM students beginning with Freshman Fall 2018 take their Blinn Classes at the Rellis facility, so I can’t answer any questions about that facility. BUT there is also a CC thread by someone who is currently (Spring 2019) on Blinn-TEAM and taking classes at Rellis who has a lot of great info.

Please be very proud of your/your son or daughter’s accomplishment and know that a Blinn-TEAM offer was made because TAMU admissions thinks that you/they have all of the academic preparation and potential to THRIVE at TAMU, it is simply a space issue. There is just not enough space to accommodate everyone who wants to be an Aggie. TAMU Admissions REALLY WANTS YOU!! Just think of Blinn-TEAM as simply taking classes in a different building. No one in Aggieland thinks that Blinn-TEAM is a “less than” offer. The only people who think that are not in Aggieland and do not have all of the info. And therefore, WHO CARES what “THEY” think! :slight_smile: If you want to be an AGGIE, don’t let anyone who is so uninformed distract you from your goal!

The Blinn-TEAM of today is not the same Blinn-TEAM that it was even 7 years ago when my older Aggie daughter’s roommate at Callaway was on Blinn-TEAM. Back then, there were some restrictions which have been changed, so that now, the ONLY differences between Full and Blinn-TEAM admits are that Blinn-TEAM students can’t play an NCAA sport and they take some of their classes in a different building. That is it!

Look at all of the official current info available online from TAMU about Blinn-TEAM, ask questions on CC and hopefully you will decide that AGGIELAND is where you want to be!

Congratulations to all! =D> :D/ =D>

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The question has been asked on another thread:

Does Blinn-TEAM receive the “I’m going to be a Aggie” banner?

YES!! Blinn-TEAM receives the SAME banner as full admits! :slight_smile:

:slight_smile: ;:wink: :x =D> :D/

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Thanks for all the good information. My daughter was accepted to Blinn Team yesterday and is very excited! Can someone tell me when we will be able to register for a New Student Conference. Also, will she register for her Blinn classes at that time, too? Trying to figure out how all of this works.

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My son, who has done very well in high school, did not get into A&M and has been offered a spot in the Blinn Team. I gather since he didn’t get his application in early enough he got shut out of the Mays Business school, to which he had applied. He also got CAPped at UT, and does not have an attractive (to him) option for in state tuition at this point. THe idea of working as hard as he has and doing as well as he has and going to a community college and what he sees as a second class education is hard for him to swallow. Is the instruction at Blinn on a par with the regular A&M courses? Will he be getting an inferior education if he chooses the Blinn Team?

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I read over the Blinn TEAM information and quite honestly, I’m a bit concerned by this…

“Students who complete the academic requirements transition into degree-granting majors through a change of curriculum process (no external application is required), but entering students are not guaranteed entry to a particular college or major in advance.”

A&M reports their retention rate as 91%. Are recent Blinn TEAM admits actually making the transition to the major of their choice? Because the last thing I want is to have my student accept Blinn TEAM then later be denied admittance into the major of choice when other schools have already offered full admission plus money.

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@grumpydad and @NotanAggie
First… congrats. Team this year has been extremely competitive. Go on the Class of 2023 thread on this site and see the corresponding stats. We’re talking high test scores and Q1 ranks. So your students are among the best.

With Team, they will take 2 classes at the TAMU main campus. Typically in the field they want to study or core classes as well. Then they take remaining classes that semester at the Rellis campus (new campus/building with only Team or Engineering academy students). They will be among their people.

Blinn education is no joke. It’s not easy, but maybe easier than TAMU in some subjects. They prepare the students well for transfer, but be your students advocate and make sure they are taking the correct courses to help transition/transfer.

Keep in mind a lot of students don’t fulfill the 2 years (60 credits) requirements on Team. Many apply as a transfer into their desired major at TAMU after just 1 year or 1 semester (meaning apply in the spring for the following summer or fall). Mays is really hard to get into because automatic admits and academic admits make up a huge percentage. It had nothing to do with when your son applied. Mine applied July 1st by noon and got his second choice major of econ (class of 2022 so not this year). You are admitted first then if major is open you are put into it. So major is irrelevant when applying as a freshman. Your major is EVERYTHING when applying as a transfer.

@notanaggie what is your son’s intended major?

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Biology

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My sophomore daughter got Engineering Academy at Blinn Bryan. I also have a freshman Engineering daughter who is a full admit to A&M. I have to say that all the Math and Science classes were more rigorous at Blinn. Actual professors taught her.The classes were smaller and she could interact with the profs right there in class most of the times instead of going for office hours. My younger daughter’s classes are larger,less rigorous and doubts are generally handled by the TAs or she has to go for office hours to meet the profs. My elder daughter who has now transferred to A&M since she got into her major has a graduate student teaching one Electrical Engineering class. Maybe business related classes might be different. But I just wanted you to get a better picture since even I had these doubts. But now I sometimes wish even my younger daughter had also gone the Blinn route.

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@grumpydad

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@aggiefamof4: Whoop! Congratulations! Welcome to Aggieland!

I think that TAMU offers NSC dates which cover the admission (Blinn-TEAM) offer and or intended major that are applicable to that particular student. My daughter was in an NSC which had students of several Full Admit different majors as well as Blinn-TEAM. The info which is specific to the major, etc. is covered in break out sessions and is only given to those specific students. They covered how to make up a schedule and my daughter signed up for all of her classes for Fall 2017 at one scheduling session, so there were people who helped her with both the Blinn campus and TAMU campus class scheduling. For the following Semesters, I believe that she had to register for classes separately for each campus. But things can change so please contact the Blinn-TEAM advisors to get the current year, up to date scoop on how they will structure the NSC and class scheduling for your daughter’s class. And then post that info on CC for everyone’s benefit! :slight_smile:

@Grumpy Dad and NotanAggie: I understand that you and your students are disappointed in receiving a Blinn-TEAM offer instead of a full admit offer. Please read over all of the info on this thread and I hope that you will come to understand that it is simply a space issue, there simply isn’t enough room for everyone who is qualified to be a full admit. The ONLY people who think that a Blinn-TEAM offer is “less than” are NOT in Aggieland. The perception of Blinn-TEAM offer in the general public is incorrect and based on outdated or completely wrong info. It is getting harder and harder to get into TAMU because each year, even more thousands of highly qualified students are competing for the same number of Freshman seats. And as @AggieMomHelp said, this year, students in Q1 and with high test scores are being offered Blinn-TEAM. Because TAMU wants them!

The Blinn CC classes of 20-30 years ago may have been average CC classes, I don’t know, I am not from Texas. But Blinn-TEAM is not straight Blinn CC and on top of that, Blinn-TEAM itself has changed over the years. It has changed from even 7 years ago when we knew someone on Blinn-TEAM. The classes your student will take on Blinn-TEAM will not be “easy A” classes or inferior classes and they will be taught by someone who might also teach on the TAMU campus.

If your student accepts the Blinn-TEAM offer, they will be living the Aggie life in Aggieland. They will be taking 2 classes on the TAMU campus and the other classes at the Rellis facility, and I think that means ALL of the students in the room will be Blinn-TEAM students no Blinn CC only students. I am not sure of this since my daughter is in the last class to take classes at the Blinn Bryan campus. But how is taking some classes in a different building considered an inferior education?

Your Blinn-TEAM student will be an Aggie. They will get the banner, they will have a TAMU ID, can live on campus, join a frat/sorority, buy Sports Pass, buy a Dining Plan, join the Corps, join any activity or group. The ONLY things that are different from a Full Admit is that on Blinn-TEAM, a student cannot play an NCAA sport for TAMU and some of their classes will be a the TAMU campus and some classes will be at the Rellis facility. They will earn the prestige and honor of a diploma from TAMU, their ring will be Aggie Gold and they will have the backing of the incredible Aggie Network.

Many full admit Aggies also take classes at Blinn Bryan because of scheduling issues, the lower cost per hour, etc. No one in Aggieland cares who is taking what class where. It simply isn’t an issue.

Nothing in life is guaranteed, and TAMU understandably cannot guarantee anything in advance. If your student makes all As, then that would make it much more likely that they will be able to enter the major of their choice. If they don’t make the grades because they aren’t taking this opportunity seriously, then they may not be allowed to enter the major of their choice. College classes in general are MUCH MUCH harder than any HS classes and excellent time management skills are needed to juggle the sudden amount of “free time” with no parental supervision vs classroom time and studying & homework vs socializing. Not everyone is well prepared and everyone matures at different rates. My daughter knows Aggies who were the top of their class in HS who struggled on Blinn-TEAM and some who struggled as full admit Aggies. And we also know someone who graduated a Semester early who started on Blinn-TEAM in Fall 2013. It is up to the individual.

I can’t speak about any specific situation other than my own daughter’s so I don’t know how many students were successful in achieving their target major. Some majors have a limited number of seats, including Mays Business School and the College of Engineering, but I know nothing specific to those majors. You can find current info online. Some majors have specific pathways that Blinn-TEAM students have to follow to be considered for their major. Please find the info for your students target major on the official Blinn-TEAM website.

My daughter applied as an English major, but she was unsure what she wanted to do with it, she only knows she really doesn’t want to teach. She decided to stay on Blinn-TEAM in General Studies for 2 years while she explored possibly changing her major. She decided to stick with English and is planning on a graduate degree.

AND sometimes, a student has chosen a major when they are still in HS, and they know nothing about what the major entails, it just sounded good, they thought it paid well, etc. Perhaps they take classes in that target major and don’t like the major once they get a taste of it. Perhaps they take a class in something else and unexpectedly find their niche.I think that sometimes students are rushed into making a decision about what they will do in the “big wide world” when, at their young age, they have only seen a tiny slice and don’t even know what they DON’T KNOW yet.

I have heard in past years of students turning down a Blinn-TEAM offer in favor of an OOS school which offered scholarship money. They were afraid to take the risk of "no guarantees’ and insulted at not receiving a full admissions offer. They spent a year at the school OOS, decided that their “target major” wasn’t what they really wanted to do/they didn’t like the area/travel expenses were high, etc. and they ended up transferring back into a TX school. But they could have been living the Aggie life in Aggieland while on Blinn-TEAM.

It isn’t where you start out that matters, it is where you finish. If you and your students actively research all of the info provided by TAMU on Blinn-TEAM and decide that it isn’t for your student, I wish y’all all the best. Just don’t make a snap decision based on hurt feelings or what their friends (or their friends parents or the people down the street, etc) are saying. Blinn-TEAM was offered to your student because TAMU thinks that your student is well prepared and capable of thriving at TAMU. There are simply not enough seats for everyone. The Blinn-TEAM of today is NOT the same Blinn-TEAM of even 10 years ago. Blinn-TEAM is an offer of admissions from TAMU so how can it be inferior? I repeat, they will be living the Aggie life in Aggieland.

Good luck. Keep us posted on the decisions that you make.

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Excellent info from AggieMomAgain. I wanted to share our family’s experience as all this gets very confusing fast. My son in now in his 2nd semester in the Blinn Engineering program (TEAB). He is the 1st class commuting to Rellis from A&M. His only complaint at this time is driving 20 minutes to his Blinn classes. He managed a 4.0 his 1st semester and is on his way to applying for his major in April. Just to reiterate, all engineering students at Blinn, Galveston, and A&M full admits apply for their major the EXACT same way. Your student does not have an advantage because they are “a full admit”. The application for the Engineering Entry to Major is the same for all engineering students and on Howdy. They really made it very easy to transition. That is for engineering.

Now for nursing, it is a completely different story because A&M’s College of Nursing has approximately 100 seats. Think about that in such a massive college as A&M. The competition to being accepted to the program regardless if your are Blinn or full admit will be tough and your student’s GPA must be near perfect. So, if you are a nursing major, that may be a factor in your decision. My daughter was a Blinn student with a 3.72 GPA after 2 years of college and was not accepted into A&M’s College of Nursing. We do not believe being a Blinn team student had any adverse affect on her being denied entrance to the college of nursing.

My oldest was accepted to the College of Pharmacy as a transfer student from UT after 2 years. They accepted only 100 students, as well. The reason why I am even talking about this is every program A&M has is very competitive. Your son/daughter will realize how different and difficult college can be. It’s not high school as all mine have said. In the end, they have to be comfortable at a school where they will excel and learn to be independent and learn to critically think. I guess my point is that each major has different factors when deciding on which college to go to.

Take your time and do your research. A&M is an awesome school with so many opportunities! One of the reasons I am on this forum to provide just yet another view of a daunting decision. Best of luck!

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Thank you @maverik for your response. You’ve provided information my student really needs to chew on.

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My son got the Blinn Team offer, and got CAPped at UT. We want a good in-state tuition option, and aren’t sure he’s got one. He applied to the Mays Business School around Thanksgiving. He is attending a very competitive college prep private school, and on the surface going to a community college is not at all appealing, particularly when he’s been accepted at other excellent schools with significant money attached (still more expensive that in-state). My concern with Blinn is the quality of the instruction and a concern that it is A&M Lite. Can you speak to whether the caliber of the teaching?. I’m also concerned that going this route is risky, particularly if he were to hit a rough patch and got stuck at Blinn. I think the Blinn Team is an imaginative approach to overcrowding at the too-few top tier state schools, but with the other choices he has, we’re not sure this is it.

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@grumpydad
I would do BlinnTeam over any other offers like that. Most of the instructors are also A&M profs. Excellent quality teaching. The classes are just smaller. A participant in Blinn Team is still an A&M student that takes some classes at A&M and some at Blinn. So your student will get to see both perspectives. They still get the A&M ID, sports pass and can live on campus. We are still waiting on a decision from A&M and have researched and discussed the possibility of being BlinnTeamed and have come to the conclusion that it’s a great alternative if he’s not fully accepted to A&M right off the bat.

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@grumpydad : The caliber of teachers anywhere can vary, but the instructors at Blinn may also teach on the TAMU campus. Just as at every school, there are good teachers and not-so good teachers, but there are websites where the professors past classes have been rated so you can get a good idea when scheduling the class. Nothing in life is guaranteed, and one of the skill sets that students acquire is learning to deal with the teaching styles of all of the teachers.

Have you contacted the Blinn-TEAM advisors? They were pretty quick to answer emails back in early 2017. And they may also be available by phone. I am sure that they have a lot more info than we parents on CC have. And you can ask questions specific to the Business Pathway on Blinn-TEAM and how long you can take to consider the offer.

My daughter is planning on Majoring in English and there is no Blinn-TEAM Pathway for her, so she is working from a different set of course requirements. Back when she enrolled, there were pathways for several majors which detail which classes have to be taken and on which campus. Please look at the official Blinn-TEAM website to get the current info. It is my understanding that the pathway for Business requires a very high gpa, and that the Business classes are specifically taken on the TAMU campus. I don’t personally know anyone who has ever taken the Business Pathway on Blinn-TEAM and therefor can’t speak as to its rigor or the success rate.

Now that all Freshmen on Blinn-TEAM take classes in the Rellis facility, it would be likely that ALL of the students in the classrooms will be Blinn-TEAM students and that Blinn-TEAM will have more control over who is teaching those classes, unlike when Blinn-TEAM and Blinn CC students were in mixed classes on the Blinn-Bryan CC campus. A benefit is that those Blinn-TEAM classes may be smaller and therefore students will have a closer connection to the profs.

I have mentioned that taking classes a Rellis is just taking classes in another building, this is not taking classes at an inferior school. Another way to look at Blinn-TEAM is that the classes off of the TAMU campus could be analogous to a student having taken those classes as AP classes in HS. Taking credit for AP classes is acceptable to the general public. If a student is taking Blinn-TEAM classes which fulfill core requirements, are they really any different than having taken them as AP classes? In reality, Blinn-TEAM classes will be harder than a HS AP class. And on Blinn-TEAM, a student is living the Aggie life in Aggieland.

Again, Blinn-TEAM is NOT a like attending a regular CC. And the Blinn-TEAM of today is not what it was years ago, public perception is based on out-dated and incorrect info. In Aggieland, it simply doesn’t matter. As one parent on this CC said, she showed her Aggie gold ring to someone considering Blinn-TEAM and asked them if they could tell how many hours she took at Blinn back in her day. An Aggie ring is an Aggie Ring and is highly valued in TX. Students who transfer in from other colleges and earn enough TAMU hours also earn their Aggie ring with their TAMU diploma. Blinn-TEAM is a huge step ahead of coming in as a transfer student and not everyone receives that opportunity.

Y’all have to make the decision based on what is best for him, and what is best financially for the whole family. If he has scholarships that cover all or most of the costs of a degree at a comparable school, that can be a factor. If he plans on a graduate degree (MBA for example) and needs to save money on the undergrad degree, that is a factor. Acquiring a crushing amount of Student Loan Debt will set him back when it comes to purchasing a house, etc. and any debt parents incur will affect their retirement. Also, every campus is different, every student is different and finding a place where they “fit in” is vital. Being an Aggie doesn’t appeal to everyone. If you haven’t visited all of the campuses, I would do so. Schedule meetings with advisors, ask questions where you can get official answers. This is a big decision and affects the direction of his life.

Please contact the official Blinn-TEAM advisors concerning the Business Pathway and how long you can take to make the decision to accept/decline the offer.

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BlinnTEAM is too risky for business. I wouldn’t recommend that pathway. 3.8 required to have a chance at Mays.

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Mays is incredibly competitive to get in to. My daughter’s room mate was in Blinn Team and did get accepted into Mays and graduated with her Aggie Ring and a great paying job. Every Student has to look into their perspective major and study all their options. If you want to graduate from A&M bad enough you will find a way. There are so many options available to all of us Aggies! Please do not get discouraged.

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@grumpydad: Another thought: Would your son be interested in Majoring in Economics or Ag Business at TAMU? Those majors are easier to get into than Mays Business school but I think that going on for an MBA from either major is possible. This is just info that I have gleaned from other parents on CC and locally, neither of my Aggie daughters were interested in Business so I have no actual info. Not sure if he could sign up for the Blinn-TEAM Mays Business Pathway with the back up idea of switching to either Econ or Ag Business as his TAMU Major if the rigor of a 3.8 gpa for the Mays Pathway is too stressful. That would be a question for the Blinn-TEAM advisors.

And also, The University of Houston has the fantastic Bauer School of Business and it is in state tuition rates. Even if your son hasn’t already applied there, I think the regular UH deadline is still a few months away. Not sure if their Honors or Scholarship deadlines have passed.

UH Bauer School of Business also offers Masters and PhD programs.

This is another school which is sometimes underrated. But UH Bauer School of Business grads are highly valued in the Houston area in particular. I personally know of a highly paid CFO who was a UH grad in the '80’s.

Take a tour if of UH you have the time. It is a different feel from Aggieland, but it might be a solution for him.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

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@grumpydad My son soooo badly wanted Mays. Settled on Econ but is loving it. Applying for the MS in Finance program in September. It’s not a 5 year program per se, but allow you to take extra courses during the summer and a few in the semesters of junior/senior year PLUS 3 summers of internships in coveted locations like NY, Dallas, international, etc. So lots of options if not accepted into Mays.

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@grumpydad I feel like we are in a similar situation. Daughter at a competitive prep school and got TEAM this morning but with other offers OOS-where she feels wanted. We would like to have her in-state but she is not sold on TEAM philosophy as she feels like she is more than ready to handle college courses and confused as to why she should be in junior college level courses. Did y’all make a decision yet?