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<p>^^ agree. And over the years some of the best posters here have indicated they write for the lurkers. And I, for one, really appreciate they take the time to do that.</p>
<p>^Sounds like you are describing the forums that tell how to use hotwire and such, frazzled. Tough crowd over there!! And I posted some information once in a city forum (another forum) about how to find discount tickets to Cirque du soleil, and it got pulled as an ad!! LOL</p>
<p>What also happens around here is that the thread meanders way off topic, and then some new poster happens to read the thread title, and responds back on topic. Imagine that.</p>
<p>After reading all FOURTEEN pages of this thread, my main conclusion is that limbwalker really likes being the center of attention. Gee. You’ve said about ten times that your daughter is going to do what SHE wants to do, anyway, so I don’t know why you’re prolonging this thread. You seem to stir up each thread you post in, whether you started it or not.</p>
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<p>That’s not a bug, it’s a feature. :D</p>
<p>No, wait! That’s not a moon, it’s a space station.</p>
<p>Sorry, where were we? Toto, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore.</p>
<p>Hmmm, what college would have been a good fit for Dorothy? </p>
<p><chortles off=“” into=“” the=“” sunset=“”></chortles></p>
<p>Maine, </p>
<p>There is a difference between enjoying dialogue with others and needing to be the center of attention. Here, as in person, I enjoy a good conversation. Especially with those that have different points of view and make me go “Hmmm.” </p>
<p>Frazzled, I’m not sure what I’m looking for. I have no idea what other parents or students at TSU may have figured out before us…</p>
<p>dorm advice? Is it really necessary for her to have a car on that campus? Any things a new student needs to know or needs to avoid? Any good places for a student to work near campus? Worthwhile student activities/clubs? </p>
<p>I don’t know. What sort of things do you wish YOU knew about a school before you decided to send your child there?</p>
<p>John.</p>
<p>Since I’m not interested in getting involved in some ideological debate about internet message board philosophy and because I’m a bit bored with people on the internet trying relentlessly to “one-up” each other even if it means resorting to petty name-calling, I’ll get right to the point and address the original post - my cousin was in your daughter’s position and ended up at TSU. She was near the top of her class, had excellent SAT/ACT scores and had a very “intellectual” personality, but she ultimately decided on TSU for a variety of reasons, probably the most prominent of those being that she was offered good money. Also, she said that they had an excellent geography program (she went in as an English (?) major, but took a geography class and fell in love with the subject). </p>
<p>She also said that she got a surprising amount of personal attention from her professors, and that they seemed very interested in talking with her after class. Also, she says that the San Marcos area is a beautiful place to live and that she frequently went on weekend expeditions with her friends to Austin. </p>
<p>Anyway, I can assume from what she’s told me (yes, I called her up today because I saw this post, and we had a nice talk about the whole college experience) that she had a generally good experience there. She isn’t a partier at all, and she said she met many like-minded friends. She did admit, though, that sometimes she felt like the proverbial “big fish” and that part of her enjoyment was being able to help people understand the topics that she felt so passionate about. She said that there was a rather large Greek presence, but it was easy enough to be a “GDI” without feeling pressured to join a sorority. BTW, she’s now in graduate school at UMich - Ann Arbor. </p>
<p>So, I hope that helped - good luck to you and your daughter.</p>
<p>Burie, that’s great help. Thanks!</p>
<p>So far, I’ve only heard good things about TSU from those that have first-hand experience. That is comforting as a parent…</p>
<p>Of course, there will be those that say the good experiences come from those that “don’t know what they don’t know…” ;)</p>
<p>John.</p>
<p>Assuming this thread really is about TSU and not anyone’s ego 
I’m a lifelong Texan and I would rank Texas colleges thusly:</p>
<p>For the intellectual:</p>
<p>1)UT Plan II and UT Honors
2)Rice
3)Trinity</p>
<p>For the Artistic:
1)North Texas
2)UT
3)TSU (drama is pretty good there)</p>
<p>For the Partiers
1)TCU
2)SMU
3)UT
4)TSU</p>
<p>I don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but I really don’t think of TSU as a hard core academic school. To me, it’s a back up to Texas CAP for those who don’t want to deal with CAP and don’t want to pay for TCU.</p>
<p>To be fair, though, if someone offered my kid a 4 year full ride at TSU, I’d seriously consider it. It’s a perfectly acceptable school.</p>
<p>This thread is kinda like that MVA that you just can’t look away from. I just saw this thread, read some, got annoyed, and skipped to the end. Don’t know whether to feel sorry for most of you people or just shake my head. Yes, I am a SWT (TSU) grad. Thought it was a good school then, likely better now. It does not compete with MIT. Limbwalkers daughter is a bright girl who will grow where she is planted.
Now, on to the stereotypes that TSU grads are a bunch of nitwits…maybe I just wont go there.
Im obviously not nearly as smart as any of my non-TSU neighbors on this board. All I do at my paltry little job as a command evaluator pilot in your Air Force is daily make split second life or death decisions while traveling some 700 miles per hour, up to 9 g’s, at 500 feet above the ground in a multi-million dollar aircraft. I think TSU prepared me well to think, react, and problem solve in an environment that 99.99% of readers of this thread never will. I, however, do not have my Phd and am not published. I instruct youngsters these days from all kinds of schools from all over the country. In a program of type A exceptionally high achievers, I have no idea, nor do I care, what college a young pilot may be from. They are all amazing, much smarter than me, because they challenge themselves and have made a conscience decision to be the best at what they do, no matter what that is. They, frankly, do not allow limits or offer excuses for how good they are.
Stereotyping can be a very dangerous business.</p>
<p>Brack, wow- I couldn’t do what you do, to be sure.</p>
<p>As I said before, in my opinion, which is worth what you’re paying for it TSU is a perfectly good school, but in no way an academic powerhouse. We are walking a fine line between stereotyping and giving opinions.</p>
<p>I never said that TSU grads are ‘nitwits’. Where did that come from?</p>
<p>There’s no shame in a college not being an academic powerhouse but just being a decent college where students go and learn and go from there.</p>
<p>“I, however, do not have my Phd and am not published…”</p>
<p>That’s okay Brackettallens, my SWTS-grad sister-in-law has you covered on both counts there, in addition to being on tenure-track at an “elite” 
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<p>I appreciate your perspective. Hope things are going well for you “way out there” too ;)</p>
<p>mimi, the “nitwits” statement was actually an interpretation of “idiots” mentioned earlier in the thread…</p>
<p>I sometimes think that anyone who would label college students at any school as “idiots” is so far removed from reality that their opinions simply cannot be taken into consideration…</p>
<p>John.</p>
<p>Wasn’t it your dau who called the students idiots? :rolleyes:</p>
<p>Yes, “idiot” was limbwalker’s word.</p>
<p>Ooooh, I just love seeing so many “hidden messages” like that.</p>
<p>Makes me feel like I have “secret admirers” or something. </p>
<p>I just sit back and imagine the possibilities… :D</p>
<p>John.</p>
<p>Funny, MOWC, he only makes those comments when the posts are written about him. A little too transparent.</p>
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<p>OK, this is the gist of what I was trying to say, without coming out myself and saying she’s not emotionally ready to leave the nest, so this is the closest thing she can manage for now. You alluded to some maturity issues, but never came out and said she might not be ready emotionally. You’ve also shared that you’ve done a lot of moving around… this may be why she is hesitant to go too far from home (you also asked about having a car, and as I mentioned in an earlier post, the campus pretty much empties out on weekends, so prepare for her to come home a lot, and will be easier if she has a car). </p>
<p>It definitely sounds like she has made her emotional/social needs a higher priority than her academic needs. She has a right to do that; besides, who’s going to push a kid who is so vulnerable. However, as she matures over the next few months/years, she will have to decide if she still wants location to trump academic challenge. </p>
<p>If I were the parent, I’d encourage my kid to call the admission office and ask them for names of current students with similar stats as your daughter who would be willing to correspond with her. If she does this, and still has her heart set on TSU, then there’s nothing else you can do. I, too, would find out what the opportunities are for undergraduate research.</p>
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<p>My ex-boyfriend used to drive that shuttle bus. Tell her to stay away from those drivers!</p>
<p>Teriwtt, thanks.</p>
<p>I’ll definitely tell her to watch out for the shuttle drivers! ha, ha.</p>
<p>And it won’t surprise me at all if she is there for a year and either changes majors, or wants to change schools altogether. She’s been so quiet about all this that I’m prepared for just about any eventuality. </p>
<p>She’s always been the type that is reluctant to make her own decisions, but once a decision is made for her, she makes the most of it. I am trying not to make the decision for her. I’d really like her to be a LOT more involved at this point. I can’t seem to get her nose out of her favorite book long enough to get very far though…</p>
<p>I can’t decide if it’s insecurity, or just apathy. </p>
<p>John.</p>
<p>A good friend of mine’s son attended TSU. She says he liked it okay, as in “meh”, okay. He is finding it hard to find a job (as are many college grads) that he likes, and she has mentioned to me that he feels like employers are more interested in the the UT and A&M grads. We have a plethora of them around -
I do know that TSU has a good reputation in GIS, and I know two people on the faculty there that are very talented.</p>