<p>I'm a high school senior, considering both UT and A&M. What is life like on both these campuses? Which offers a more personal leanrning environment? Is College Station a nice place to live? I would like to major in either Psychology or Pre-Med. Which of these schools offers better academics? Any help would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>I lived in College Station when I was 8, and from what I can remember, it was great for a small town (I'm a city girl). I can't help you with anything else though.</p>
<p>UT is more liberal than A&M and is located in Austin...there is a lot more to do around UT than A&M. I went to A&M for graduation and it's basically the college surrounded by fast food restaurants and maybe a mall. </p>
<p>I doubt you'll get a very personal environment at either school unless you go into the honors program. </p>
<p>College Station may be nice, but I'd say Austin kicks its ass. Austin is like the Boston of the south and you should definitely go visit it before you ever decided on A&M.</p>
<p>I don't know a/b your majors in particular at the schools...I hear UT Austin is not too good for Pre-Med but the UTDallas campus is good. Not so sure though. Overall, UT is the better school and is generally considered the 2nd best school in Texas (behind Rice) with A&M being a good leap down to 3rd. You'll notice on these forums that when people on CC do refer to any schools in Texas besides Rice, it's almost always UTA. I dunno how much that says, but in the rest of the country UTA gets a lot more respect than A&M. UT is considered a "public ivy" (though not one of the best) while I've never heard A&M grouped with the best. </p>
<p>If you plan on staying in Texas, I don't think it really matters as both are well respected. It comes down to personal preference really. A&M is focused strongly on traditions and is much more conservative than UT, where people are a little wilder. If you plan on going out of state to find work at some point, the best choice would obviously be Rice, but a degree from UT will go farther than one from A&M.</p>
<p>Both schools are well-respected (UT more so academically) and very large. They are completely different in terms of atmosphere. It will be very important for you to spend time on both campuses- including overnights. Austin is a beautiful, fun city, but UT can feel impersonal and the traffic is terrible. A&M has a unique culture and one of the largest and most loyal alumni networks in the country. If you plan to stay in Texas, either school will serve you well. Both are well-respected outside of Texas (Aggie jokes notwithstanding) but the network thins out a little the further you roam from TX.</p>
<p>How many Aggies does it take to screw in a lightbulb?</p>
<p>It takes 4</p>
<p>2 to figure out how to do it</p>
<p>1 to yell about it </p>
<p>and 1 to make it a tradition</p>
<p>Just today, I've been researching the UTD website and I was stunned to see that it offers all the majors I am considering, including neuroscience, psychology, criminology AND pre-med. I am serisouly considering UTD. Does anyone know how good the aformentioned programs are?</p>
<p>danfromcanada - lol...</p>
<p>olivemaker - UTD is basically one of the best around for medical...especially in Texas. UTD is also a bit easier to get into than UTA. But I think I may be mistaken in talkin a/b UTD...see this link as this is the school that is amazing in the medical field.</p>
<p>Isn't UT Southwestern a Medical School, not a college? Haha, I'm not that far yet.</p>
<p>lol that's what I was thinking...I think it's graduate school only.</p>
<p>I dunno then a/b UTD...Maybe someone with more knowledge a/b medical school and pre-med will come along, but the Southwestern campus is the one I always hear a/b as being one of the best in the nation.</p>
<p>One thing I'll say for A&M: the school spirit is incredible. I'm from College Station, so if you have any specific questions about the area, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>me.duh, I didn't realize you used to live in College Station. That's my hometown. In fact I'm here right now for the summer working at Texas A&M in the physics department. I return to Rice soon, though.</p>
<p>I would have gone to UT over A&M any day though. But that is just me. I didn't like the cult-like appearance that A&M had. I wanted to get out of town, plus the university as a whole was way to conservative. And I hate seeing huge trucks be the majority of vehicles.</p>
<p>UT is a lot more liberal and Austin is a lot more fun. College Station isn't that bad, but Austin still wins.</p>
<p>Academically, UT will win at just about anything.</p>
<p>I used to see the two schools as about equal, but as soon as I got into studying colleges, I realized UT was vastly superior to A&M. That being said, depending on one's personality, both schools can be great fits.</p>
<p>That's right misterme...I'm glad you had that epiphany. I only wish my friends that go to A&M could realize that, but everyone is too consumed with the so called "rivalry" between the schools - as if A&M can rival UT.</p>
<p>I thought this was pretty dang funny:</p>
<p>Under the leadership of university president Dr. Robert M. Gates, former director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the university has continued progress under the "Vision 2020" plan. Vision 2020 serves as an aggressive financial focus on four areas of improvement, namely 1) student diversity, 2) faculty reinvestment, 3) space allocation, and 4) improving the undergraduate and graduate education experience.[8] Vision 2020's overall goal is to make Texas A&M one of the top 10 public universities in the United States by the year 2020.</p>
<p>Basically to do that they'll have to overtake UT, which will never happen. Why? Endowment is a pretty big deal. The A&M system has a/b $5 billion statewide. The UT system has a/b $15 billion statewide, with $5 billion at the flagship alone. I just don't see UT ever being surpassed by A&M...especially not in football ;) . </p>
<p>But I digress...it's all about fit. Most of my friends went to A&M b/c it was close to home and they ended up not really getting the entire college experience. I even know several ppl that live at home and commute. I just don't think that's what the college experience should be about, and it may not be universal, but at UT you'll generally find the people that wanted to venture out on their own and have freedom. A&M is very homogeneous...</p>
<p>I see, I see. Thanks for the insight. So, then, what about UTD, you all? Anyone know about the pre-med/neuroscience/psychology programs there?</p>
<p>Get the terminology right first......
UT = Austin (undergrad)
UTA = Arlington (ug)
UTD = Dallas (ug)
Southwestern Med = Dallas medical school (grad), not connected to UTD other than being part of the UT system)
TAMU = College Station
TAMU-C = Commerce
Baylor Med = Houston (not connected to Baylor University)
etc,etc,etc</p>
<p>thanks for that bandit i always forget about arlington b/c it's such a crappy school.</p>