<p>My daughter who is very bright and terribly undermotivated finally received her first scholarship offer - to Texas State University in San Marcos. I am not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but I think she could have done better with her grades and test scores. </p>
<p>Regardless, what can anyone tell me about Texas State? We liked the campus and the town. Mom and I grew up in Texas and her Aunt graduated there with her BS and is now is a PhD cancer researcher at Emory Univ., so we know it's just a first step if she wants to continue...</p>
<p>Her interests are anthropology and linquistics, although I suspect that will change once she finally gets to college - which is one reason I'm not too worried about where she goes for her undergrad. degre...</p>
<p>My D attended a summer theatre program at TSU a couple of years ago and really enjoyed the experience. She has lots of friends who are current students or TSU graduates. Her friends are all in theatre so that’s the perspective we know. Several recent graduates are living and working in NYC while many are working successfully in the theatre world across the country. The students we know who attend/attended have really positive things to say about their experiences there. And these kids are no slackers!!! </p>
<p>From what I have seen, TSU is really working to shed the old “party school” image and beef up their academic offerings. The theatre/musical theatre departments are really exciting places to be right now. My D is still in contention for a spot in their BFA Acting program and she is thrilled about that.</p>
<p>Is your D excited about the school/program?</p>
<p>austinmtmom, I wish she was excited about ANYTHING! She makes perfect grades without even working at it (never, ever see her doing homework) and she did wonderful on the SAT’s. But when it comes to planning for college, I just get a blank stare and excuses. I think she’s scared to death to leave home. </p>
<p>So, maybe a school like TSU will be a good first step. We’re only 90 minutes away and she’s already said she likes the town a lot. I was just hoping for a little more engagement and participation on her part.</p>
<p>Her HS Freshman brother on the other hand is already planning for a career path and applying for scholarships. He wants to go to Cornell. At the rate he’s going, he just might.</p>
<p>I have two friends with freshmen there. Both seem to be thriving, to their parents’ delight. Academically challenging? Not really, at least not after the first semester, but their biggest concerns were socially, and it’s been great for both of the kids in that regard. PM me if you want details.</p>
<p>First of all, its great to see that you’re involved enough in your daughter’s future to even be concerned enough to ask about where you’re sending her. I wish my parents had taken a bother when I was doing my college search in high school.
I will tell you one thing, don’t look at Texas State University as a place she went to when “she could’ve done better”. I’m not simply stating that as a student here, but believe me, I had sort of the same approach to it.
In high school, you name the extracurricular activity- I was the head of it. AP classes? All mine. SAT scores were excellent and I was a National Merit Finalist.
I knew however, that I hate really trying at my classes. All through high school I’d get A’s without really putting much effort, and I’d never do my homework until my teachers were basically begging my parents for help because they knew I was smart enough to handle it all.
Knowing the way I was about school work, I figured I’d go to Texas State just at first, before I transferred into UT or A&M, schools that I’d been accepted to and my parents loved, but I felt I wasn’t ready to jump into those schools just yet.
And I’ll tell you what- This is my third year here now, and the only thing I’m going to bummed about come graduating is that I’m going to have to leave this school and town behind.
The teachers just need a quick checkup on ratemyprofessor before signing up, and you can have some truly engaging classes. I feel if I had gone to a bigger school, I wouldn’t get the awesome environment I get here.
We constantly laugh at how small our world is sometimes, because it seems like a ‘How many steps to Kevin Bacon’ type net we have socially, but honestly, it makes you feel more at home, because you know no matter where you turn, you’re going to have another friendly Bobcat behind you. Maybe it’s just because I grew up in a rude and snobby high school in Houston, but I have never met more friendly and helpful people than here in San Marcos.
Just make sure your daughter doesn’t let the scholarship slip away…the hidden gem that is Texas State tends to make kids want to spend more time down by the river than studying. So if she wants to go to the river, encourage her to read while tanning or before she goes and plays with Frisbee Dan (Yall will get who he is soon after enrolling;) )
Best of luck to your daughter, and your search for a University. But I can tell you, there will be no place like the home she’ll find at Texas State. </p>
<p>What a great post! It’s nice to hear from a student at a school that generally doesn’t get much “play” on this forum. You didn’t mention the awesome outlet mall, though! I don’t think I could afford to live near that thing!</p>
<p>Yea, thanks for the great report. So far, I’ve heard nothing but good things. And that’s very refreshing.</p>
<p>I’ve been interested in helping her decide where she will attend college, but NOTHING compared to some of the parents on this forum. But then, I hope I’m not compared to some of the parents on this forum either (You know the type I’m referring to!)…</p>
<p>We had a nice couple of weekends last spring/summer traveling around SE Texas to all the major universities. It was a lot of fun, and I enjoy spending time with my daughter. She’s introverted, but very bright and witty when it’s just her and I. I had no idea how she would do on her SAT’s, so I didn’t even bother worrying about schools until I saw those. We knew she was bright (still has never made a B in her life) but you just never know - esp. when you never see her doing any homework. She just seems to “produce” A’s without any effort at all. Once her SAT scores came back, all the major universities seemed to be in play. She did very well, and she had the major FLU the day she took the test.</p>
<p>We visited Rice, U of H, A&M, SFA, Sam Houston, UT, Trinity and Texas State. She really liked the campus and the environment around TSU. I have to admit her mom and I liked it too. Kinda reminded us of Nacogdoches, where we went to shool. She also liked UT, but was concerned about the size of the school. Once TSU came through with the scholarship offer, it was all but decided. She is very loyal, and for a school to make her an offer and express that kind of interest in her, it immediately won her over.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for the positive input. </p>
<p>I’d still love to hear from anyone else. Just starting down the information pathway…</p>
<p>Well, I don’t think I have to worry about that… My daughter neither knows or cares that there’s an outlet mall nearby. She’s just not the “shopping” type. She’d rather kill an entire day with a good book by herself, in her room, than worry once about whether a shirt looks good on her… ha, ha.</p>
<p>Actually, I’d be glad if she showed more of a “girly” side on occasion. I want grandkids someday! ha, ha.</p>
<p>Aha, the outlet mall can be dangerous when you love spending money
Luckily I had my first two years of school paid for by Texas State with scholarship money and it gave me a little room to get my shopping bug taken care of.
Tip from a native- The oulets hike up the prices before they have those real BIG sales…so you basically end up paying the same price if you were to go on a normal day of the week, despite the discounts they claim to offer on their stores!
And honestly, as introverted as your daughter may be, as far as any schools go that I had looked at, there will be comfort in this school. We have basically every type of person that could walk the earth here, despite it being a “small” school. I spent my first semester here mildly scared to go out because honestly, I was a bit of a slowpoke on getting social,haha.
Also, Texas State is growing exponentially, so try to secure a spot quick if you want her to live in the dorms her first year, which if she’s under a certain amount of hours going in, will be required. I do not joke when I say our school is growing faster than anyone could imagine…I’ve even seen the change in the years I’ve been here.
By the way, I was a fan of Rice, but after two of my best friends going there and hating the environment, I’ve never really looked into it again. Still though, its an amazing school.</p>
<p>OH! I almost forgot. With your daughter going into Anthropology, tell her to try and take prof Ana Juarez. She is EXCELLENT, and involves her students in discussion even if the class is 200 kids. And especially going into college with my sort of “cruiser” attitude from high school, if you fall behind at all on work, she is awesome to work with to keep you on track and even provides make up exams if you’re like me and find a way to slide and skid up your arms and legs after trying to longboard to class in time for the exam, only to miss it in the end :)</p>
<p>She didn’t care for Rice at all. She thought the “Mob” band was interesting, but the school itself was too “innner city” for her. </p>
<p>I was invited there as a guest lecturer a few months ago. Spoke for 3 hours and left feeling like it was a pretty stuffy joint… Sorry, but that was my impression. Out of a class of about 20, I saw 3 or 4 kids worth teaching and the rest were trust fund kids that hardly stayed awake. </p>
<p>Thanks for the tip on the Anthro prof. I’ll pass that along to her. </p>
<p>Sorry your brief, few hour experience on Rice’s campus left you with such the wrong impression of the school and the students. It is full of bright, passionate, clever, creative, driven (if not a little nerdy kids) who are there to learn. Is it possible that the topic or the presentation might have been less than engaging and/or snooze-worthy? Just wondering…</p>
<p>Why was my impression automatically “wrong” jym? Perhaps it was “right” and the kids who where not respectful enough to pay attention were just as I described? </p>
<p>Did you post on this thread to contribute something about Texas State, or were you just stalking me from the other threads? </p>
<p>Sure, my presentation could have been less engaging than they were used to, but considering that the prof. and about 5 kids stuck around and asked me questions and invited me back, I think it was more a reflection on the disrespectful students…</p>
<p>Places like Rice make me wonder why so many people need marble and expensive art on the walls to get a decent education… It’s a little gimmicky, don’t you think?</p>
<p>Whats with the attitude, LW? We had a lovely discussion about Rice in the spring, when you first posted on CC, and you were, for the mostpart respectful back then, at least at the outset. Then you go quiet for 7 months, and all of a sudden, out of nowhere, return like a bull that broke out of its cage, with your guns blaring, smacking at posters right and left in several threads. Hmmmm. Whats up with that? Just suggesting it is not a good idea to form snap judgements and make snarky overgeneralizations (trust fund kids? Rice has a huge scholarship program) about a place you have spent only a few hours experiencing. If you found them stuffy, maybe they felt the same way about you. Just sayin…</p>
<p>Yea, you’re right. I was having a bad day yesterday and I shouldn’t have posted anything at all…</p>
<p>First impressions are tough. I guess my modest upbringing makes me question why some folks feel the need to be surrounded by expensive things. That’s one thing I noticed during my visit ( was there for 1/2 day and went through 4 different buildings and several offices). All I could think about was the money they spent on those facilities. Kids don’t need all that stuff to learn. Why should so much money be spent on creating fancy buildings and furnishing offices with expensive things? I don’t get that. I don’t buy into that game.</p>
<p>In fact, I guess you could say that turns me off. It makes me wonder what the real goal or focus of a facility is when they spend 10X as much as necessary on their buildings and grounds. And when some people act as if they are entitled to those things, it really burns me up. It’s the inequalities I see every day that frustrate me to death…</p>
<p>I’ve been a guest speaker at many institutions now. Rarely have I had a class that was so disengaged. And I did my dead level best to get them involved and keep them involved. Maybe my topic just wasn’t right for the class, but it’s what I was invited to speak about, so…?</p>
<p>My experience on these forums for the past 10 years is if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all or you will get flamed. Well, I don’t believe that helps anyone. We need to report our findings as truthfully as possible, and truthfully, as much of an honor as it always is to be invited to speak at a university, Rice was a bit of a turn off to me. </p>
<p>Sorry if that dissapoints anyone…</p>
<p>But Jym, why are we talking about Rice? Do you have anything constructive to add about Texas State? I’m really wondering why you even posted on this thread… I think that’s a fair question.</p>
<p>Glad to see that you and your D have found a real safety in TSU–close to home, a seemingly good social fit and free money coming in the door! That should take a lot of pressure off the whole family. I wasn’t ready to move away from home when it came time for college. [Don’t worry, I was ready to leave the nest and move out after college…:)]</p>
(You know the type I’m referring to!)…</p>