<p>hey... everybody.. I got into A&M and UT and had almost settled over UT. However, I was recently on the A&M board where loadsa people are like they prefer A&M over UT coz the Aggie spirit is there, people are more friendly and blah blah. They were like students at UT are arrogant and dont give a damn bout anything..
Please tell me this isnt true!!!</p>
<p>Ofcourse an aggie is going to tell you that A&M is better.. they are just bitter they didn't get into UT :).</p>
<p>I got into both UT and A&M, and after visiting both I really liked A&M a lot better. To me the Austin area seemed like the ideal place to live after college - but for my undergraduate studies I definitely prefer A&M. I also liked the BMEN/Pre-Med program they had to offer. However, it's up to you - if you had made up your mind about UT, go there. Don't let others sway your decision. I don't know about Longhorns being arrogant, that's a huge generalization, but I have heard that as well.</p>
<p>I went to both schools, A&M undergrad, UT grad; my spouse did the reverse, and I lived in College Station while he was in grad school, so I feel like somewhat of an expert (although this was a few years back) A&M is big on school spirit and the folks are friendly, but if you don't have the same mind-set, it can be a tough nut to crack; it is conservative, religious (Christian) and at times close-minded. It has more of a college town feel than UT-Austin. Both are great academically--but different fields. UT is better for liberal arts than A&M- but the Aggies are superb for engineering, agriculture, and Medicine. ( A&M has med school , UT doesn't at this time. Both are equal for pre-med I would say)
UT has Law school and probably the top Pharmacy program in the nation. UT is bigger on the Greek system, and the Greeks are friendly. It has a wonderful social atmosphere, with Sixth Street, the clubs and the awesome live music scene. It also will have its share of geeks who don't leave the librairy. My heart is in College Station, but I am glad I went to UT also--</p>
<p>ok guys... wow.. thats a bit of relief...</p>
<p>just for the record, UT has multiple med schools across the state as well as an elite engineering program.</p>
<p>There are multiple med schools in the University of Texas system--but none actually at the University of Texas @ Austin. UTMB @ Galveston, UT-Health Science Center at San Antonio,etc. TAMU College of Medicine is actually located at College Station, and there is talk of its expansion. ( Presently 2 yrs core sciences at TAMU, then clinical years at Scott&White-Temple) TAMU is now affiliated w/a pharmacy program, but it is at a southern Texas location --not the flagship school location. Still no law school at TAMU in B/CS Didn't mean to slight the UT-Austin engineering program.</p>
<p>I think that Aggiemom hit the nail on the head. Both schools are great, but have different atmospheres. The one that is "best" depends on what's "best" to you. :) </p>
<p>One thing that I'll point out is that it seems like the rivalry between UT and A&M is a much bigger part of the culture at A&M than at UT. For example, when I worked at a summer camp with students from A&M, they always called UT "t.u.". They also both had anti-UT t-shirts. Also, I frequently see "Saw 'Em Off" stickers and t-shirts. On the other side, you rarely see people at UT with anti-A&M t-shirts or stickers. UT students just don't seem as consumed with the rivalry as A&M students do. I applied to grad school at both UT and A&M and attended open houses at both schools. The students and staff at A&M mentioned UT several times, including once when a student made a rude comment about it. On the other hand, when I was at the UT open house, which was after the A&M open house so I was specifically listening to see if any reference would be made, A&M wasn't mentioned at all. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, it's just different and what's better depends on what you're looking for. :) </p>
<p>I can't really comment on the presence of fraternities and sororities at A&M, but I will say that UT's big enough that it's pretty easy to ignore the Greek system if you want to. I went to plenty of parties at UT, but managed to never go to a frat party. </p>
<p>Also, slightly off topic, I've always found it funny that Texas Tech is the only school in the state to have an undergraduate school, Med School, and Law School on the same campus.</p>
<p>oh okay.. after looking at what u guys have to say.. i believe i made the right choice by picking UT...</p>
<p>just out of curiosity, what are you planning on majoring in skywalker99?</p>
<p>electrical and comp engineering..</p>
<p>For electrical both UTD and UT would be better than A&M.</p>
<p>thanks foxshox..</p>
<p>once again, UTD is not even comparable to A&M. UTD=3rd tier and according to USNEWS, forbid, they are no where to be seen within electrical engineering, in all categories. smh</p>
<p>I try not to get into the rivalry too much either as I'm not from Texas so it doesn't affect me. One observation I will make is that at my school, and even on this forum, there seems to be a ridiculously distorted view of A&M's engineering programs. </p>
<p>I have a friend there now, countless friends going there, and watched people on this forum all claiming A&M is "supreme" as one poster put it as far as engineering is concerned. If you put any faith in rankings (questionable) then UT is by far stronger in almost everything, with the exception of agriculture engineering and depending on your source, petroleum (UT and TAMU are both top 3 anyway). As far as using jobs and starting salary as indicators it still seems like UT has the advantage.</p>
<p>As far as the social scene, I will enjoy Austin much more than CS but it honestly depends on the person.</p>
<p>Both are good academically, but overall UT is higher rated. It really depends on your personality. A&M has a reputation of being closed-minded - for example, gays tend to stay in the closet. How would you feel about being around people who are prejudiced? UT, otoh, is a much more open-minded environment, with much more diversity in areas such as music, politics, religion, etc. </p>
<p>This issue was addressed at length in another thread - sorry, can't find it right now. There are others, though, that address other comparisons...</p>
<p>Rather than repeat myself, I will direct you to the several threads that address the UT vs A&M issue. </p>
<p>Here is one of them:</p>
<p>I picked A&M over UT because I thought that I would like the country atmosphere better than the city. Once I got here, I realized that people are very conservative. Everyone dresses exactly the same. It is so homogeneous. All the guys wear t-shirts and baseball caps. Most have short hair, and they all look alike. There are few that 'stick out' from the crowd (that makes them 'cool' because compared to the rest, they have an IDENTITY). My friends and I feel as if we will look out of place, such as if I wore a pin-striped blouse, because everyone here is so casual and cookie-cutter. Oh well, we're here to learn, aren't we? though the sameness strikes me as bland.</p>
<p>Sounds like the exact opposite of UT - where you will find all sorts of diversity... from body piercings, tattoos, purple or green hair...alongside the frats etc.</p>
<p>I like the atmosphere at A&M a lot better. In terms of academics its basically a toss up.</p>
<p>which schools generally offers better merit based aid?</p>