<p>I am a current student at Texas A&M University, and my experience has been that if you are even remotely outgoing at Texas A&M, you will meet so many people and make so many friends you won't even have time for all of them. I was homeschooled, so I certainly didn't have a high school clique, but I've never been excluded from anything. Aggies are friendly and sociable as a general rule, and most of us have grown up enough to leave behind dumb high school social games.
Most people here don't know very many people when they come here. Even the ones who do usually end up with a new set of friends (for the most part.) To summarize, I've had absolutely no problems making loads of friends and have not experienced any cliquishness.</p>
<p>I have never heard of anyone putting manure on anyone here, but I have heard of Aggies going to Austin and having beer bottles thrown at their cars and rude gestures and comments made. But that's just hearsay. </p>
<p>I'm not in Mays Business School, but I haven't had any bad experiences with the business students. (I've also never met anyone who came here because their parents pressured them into it. Most people came here for the money or because they loved the atmosphere of the college.)</p>
<p>I'm a National Merit Scholar who came to A&M because she loved the Aggie spirit, the traditions, and the atmosphere. I've had people (non-Aggies) tell me it's a cult, I've had people (non-Aggies) tell me it's stupid, and I've had people (non-Aggies) tell me lots of other very rude things about my university. But in my experience, A&M is something very special. It's an indescribable bond between Aggies. People diss it because they don't understand it. (Of course, it's almost impossible to understand it if you've never come to school here, and of course, not everyone can come to A&M.) But one person's opinion (or a lot of peoples' opinions) cannot change the fact that being an Aggie is something very special.
As for our opinion of UT: most of us will hiss (the Aggie equivalent of booing) Longhorns or Longhorn stuff and will sing "Saw varsity's horns off" with the best of them, but in the end, we'd stop and help a Longhorn in trouble. We'd be polite to one if we met him on the street. Fans of other teams who come here for football games tell me that everyone is very polite and friendly to them. We'll hiss you during Midnight Yell and root against you at the game, but most of us have more class than to be truly rude or mean.
I remember that the traffic in College Station was awful during move-in week. Nobody would let you in, and people were driving badly and being generally crazy. But then (sorry, but it's true) the parents left, and now people will let you into their lane and drive very considerately. The traffic really only gets bad when non-Aggies are in town for the game. Part of it is that there's just more traffic, but part of it's not.</p>
<p>Academically, we're very well respected, and A&M gains more and more prestige all the time. Our honors students receive the same special treatment the athletes and faculty do. And the money is good, too. (The equivalent of a full ride for National Merit kids.)
Socially, A&M is a very friendly, good-natured sort of place. Most people here are very, very happy. Sure, we get stressed about tests and stuff, but overall, most people I've met are very excited to be here, and that makes for a wonderful place to live. Of course there are a few bad eggs, but it's nice to go about your business and see evidence of the good character of the Aggies all around. People will leave stuff places, and it will still be there when they get back. You can ask a total stranger to keep an eye on your laptop while you go get something, and they will. There are literally hundreds of opportunities to serve in various ways, and I've only been here a few weeks. The Aggie honor code ('An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do') pervades everything here. To the vast majority of Aggies, it's not just words; it's a binding statement of how an Aggie should go through life.
My advice to prospective students: don't let anyone tell you that this is some sort of magical place where nothing bad ever happens and that it's the only place you could go and be happy. But this is an almost magical place, and so many good things happen here, and it's the only place you can go to be an Aggie.</p>