Univ of Texas vs Texas A&M Political Atmosphere

I have been accepted to both UT Austin and Texas A&M for chemical engineering, but I am torn between the two. I’m a white, Protestant, conservative male from an Aggie family. I may seem like the choice is clear, but not quite! I prefer to live in city (not a college town) and be farther away (I live in Houston, so Austin is farther). I also think the academics at UT are slightly better (though not too much). Perhaps most importantly, I’ve practically grown up with everything A&M, and I am ready for something different.

My biggest problem (really my only problem) with UT is what I’ve heard about politics there. I know I shouldn’t base my entire decision on this, but it’s important to me. Most of them are going to UT or schools like Berkeley, whereas most of my conservative friends are going to TAMU. I have a reputation among my friends of being very conservative. That said, I go to a high school with a large minority population. Many of my close friends are openly liberal. They are accepting of my views, just as I am of theirs. What I am concerned about is whether or not this will happen if I choose to go to UT.

Following the inauguration of Donald Trump yesterday, I saw mass protests on the news at UT (and elsewhere, but that’s besides the point here). It’s certainly people’s right to protest, but it makes me question whether or not I could fit in in a place like Austin. What do y’all think? I understand that the general atmosphere at A&M is more accommodating to my views, but can someone with a more conservative mindset find a place at UT. Also, PLEASE note that I mention the inauguration to give context to my story, not to incite political argument. :slight_smile:

I live in Austin and went to UT a bajillion years ago. Although UT has a rep for being very liberal, keep in mind that there are 51,000 students enrolled there. Not all of them are liberal. Not all of them are conservative. Some of them don’t even give a flying leap about politics at all. The population is big enough that you will be able to find a group to fit in with.

Good luck with whatever you decide!

There are a lot of liberal schools out there. You just have to ignore the crazies. Most liberals are perfectly nice and like the things that you like (music, food sports), they just differ on political stuff. Visit UT, if Austin feels like a fit, go for it. Best of luck.

@logb98 congratulations on being already accepted to both Universities. Our family is having exactly same dilemma as you, even though my son was only accept to Chemical Engineering honor classes at A&M, and we still waiting the reply from UT. Not sure what is taking them to long. I am assuming your scores were amazing. Would you be willing to share with me so I can compare and see if we got any chance? Did you apply for honor classes too? Thanks.