<p>I am decideing between Texas A&M and Penn State (EE department), really not sure the comparison and life differnce. Anybody from Texas going to Penn State? Would you please share you experience, thought?</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you. I live in the NE and am choosing between TAM and PSU; TAM is probably a bit higher just because of the scholarship money they’re offering. I stayed overnight at TAM and have visited PSU twice, so I’ll just offer what my impressions wre of both.</p>
<p>They’re obviously very similar in that they both are huge schools and offer the classic “college” experience. The school spirit on campus is crazy, for both. TAM probably wins just a bit more. The networking from both schools is great; Aggies hire aggies, and I can’t remember the exact statistic that they told us but it’s something like 1 in every 50 college grads graduated from PSU.</p>
<p>That being said, they’re also very different. Greek life and partying at Penn are big, whereas TAM barely has sororities and frats and from what I’ve been told, people there don’t really drink or party. Penn is the total opposite; it’s a huge party school. TAM people are just all-around friendlier (from my impression), but Penn Staters are more personable and “real”, if that makes any sense. But it really just comes down to a culture thing- having lived in both the northeast and the south, the northeast has much more partying (I was literally shocked to think that kids at TAMU didn’t drink), and people are pretty mean- not in a absolutely horrible way, but people are a bit more, I guess jaded would be the word. The south is much more relaxed and laid-back; more wholesome and quiet. It’s like the difference between living in a city and living on a rural farm, to take it to an extreme. And just FYI I live in the suburbs :P</p>
<p>So yeah, that’s just my 2 cents. I’d be interested in hearing that of other people’s!</p>
<p>people at a&m do party and drink. maybe not as much as some other schools, but there is plenty of drinking and partying.</p>
<p>there are frats and sororities, but they are a small percentage. not a big deal if you are not in one.</p>
<p>There is most definitely partying at TAMU. The difference is that partying is not centered around the Greek system.</p>
<p>Aggies drink and party with the best of them. On my first day in the dorms, both my suitemates were drinking, the guys across the hall were drinking, and pretty soon, my roommate was stocking vodka in our fridge.</p>
<p>i agree with what someone said about TAMU party not being tied up to the greek system…</p>
<p>at schools like Penn State its all about freshman and frats (i was a freshman at cornell)</p>
<p>i think TAMU skips the frat life and just goes straight to the chill socializing that most upperclassmen do at greek schools…</p>
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<p>If he’s going into EE, he’s not going to be partying and drinking that much.</p>
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<p>The Greek life is blowing up exponentially. The administration has really done a ****ty job with overseeing on-campus life lately. The old dorm rivalries are becoming a thing of the past and there’s really no where to go on campus because the university tore town the university center to work on it for three years. As a result, the Greeks are benefitting.</p>
<p>Last year I couldn’t drive anywhere in CS without seeing at least two greek stickers on cars.</p>
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<p>You think wrong… come visit A&M sometime. Greeks are blowing up.</p>
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<p>True, but EVERY house party I went to at A&M consisted of at least a half-dozen people from the same hometown or high school. Even when we purposely tried to get a bunch of random people over for a house party, there always ended up with a bunch of people who grew up with each other.</p>
I am a white male who will be graduating from a public high school in Dallas, Texas this June. I have narrowed my final college decision to between either Texas A&M University or Penn State University. I see the pros and cons to both schools, but I want to get some outside perspectives and opinions on my situation. I am going to be a finance major and will be participating in Naval ROTC next year. I applied for but was not awarded a Naval ROTC 4-year scholarship.
I was accepted into Penn State University Park in January. I was granted admission straight into the Smeal College of Business and was awarded a minor financial aid package. Even with financial aid, it is still about $190,000 over all four years.
The pros I see with Penn State are as follows:
I was accepted straight into Smeal Business (strong school)
Penn State has very strong national networking
It offers a new experience from Texas (where I have lived my entire life)
It offers more career opportunities in East Coast cities for finance
Of lesser importance, the campus and surrounding area looks beautiful
The cons I see with Penn State are as follows:
It will cost about $48,000 next year, even with my financial aid/scholarship package
It is far from home (all of my family lives in Texas, with the exception of my sister and an aunt and uncle who live on the East Coast)
As I am interested in ROTC, Penn State does not have a strong military tradition (as Texas A&M does) and offers a small ROTC unit
Furthermore, I have no family in Pennsylvania and will not know anybody upon entry next fall
I was accepted into Texas A&M’s BlinnTEAM program in March. Texas A&M has a dual-enrollment program called “BlinnTEAM.” Basically, you enroll as a student at both Texas A&M and Blinn College (a community college about 10 minutes from A&M’s campus). You take 1 class per semester at A&M and your remaining classes are taken at Blinn College. After 2 years within this program, you are able to transfer into Texas A&M as a full-enrollment student.
The pros I see with Texas A&M are as follows:
Texas A&M is one of 6 senior military colleges within the U.S. (I will be in ROTC next year)
Corps of Cadets (offers immersive military lifestyle and prepares students for military service as officers following graduation), large NROTC unit
Will cost me a bit over $16,000 next year after financial aid and scholarships
Close to home (I am from Dallas and have family in Houston)
Texas A&M has very strong regional networking in Texas
The cons I see with Texas A&M are as follows:
I have been admitted as a general studies major to BlinnTEAM (I am not guaranteed to Mays Business School)
It is in Texas (I like Texas, but am interested in seeing other places)
Mays Business School is not as nationally-prestigious as Penn State Smeal College of Business
I have visited Texas A&M on several occasions and I like the campus, culture, and military environment. My father went to A&M, so he is pushing me to go there. I will be visiting Penn State’s campus in a couple of weeks and will have to make my final decision by 1 May.
What are your thoughts on my situation?