Which school has a better alumni network A&M or UT-Austin?

<p>Even though UT-Austin is supposed to be the better school it's also a school that has a reputation for being dog-eat-dog. A&M seems more like a united school where students help each other out. I cannot decide between these two good schools.</p>

<p>I want the best education and the higher ranked school which is UT-Austin BUT I would also like some job security when I leave. I keep hearing horror stories about UT Austin grads not finding jobs but I RARELY hear about Aggies being unemployed.</p>

<p>So which school should I choose?</p>

<p>Glad to see you posted this on both the UT and A&M board, as you'll probably get a lot of bias both ways. However, I'm going to try and give you an unbiased-as-possible opinion. </p>

<p>The truth is, people from both schools have trouble after graduation with the economy doing as badly as it is. A big part of being hired also heavily depends on your major though, and if you could find statistics they'd probably be pretty even on job placement between the two schools. But the thing is... UT doesn't have an agriculture school. Ag. right now is doing pretty horrible, (usually does in recessions though) and I know friends with degrees from A&M in Ag. who have recently had trouble. I honestly think and have heard from both longhorns and aggies, that A&M has a better alumni network that tends to hire Aggie-grads over others...something UT-exes don't really practice. The Aggie Ring is a very strong symbol to employers looking to hire recent grads, and is something that at least in the state of Texas, has no competitor in terms of respect for potential future hires.</p>

<p>So... you can't go wrong with either school. Visit both and see which one is a better fit for you. I, myself, chose A&M over UT after being accepted to both.</p>

<p>gsteins post was very true id say it has alot to do with your major. When i was a junior in high school i ran into a guy at Taco C who was an aggie and he ran his own engineering firm and i told him i wanted to go into engineering and how i wanted to go to UT. he said that he would only hire engineers from a&m though because he felt that in engineering that a&m better prepared their students for what engineerings really like. That doesnt help me anymore because im an econ major but i did end up choosing to go to a&m over ut because of the people. you really should go where you feel most comfortable.</p>

<p>I didn't go to either college(went OOS), so my advice should hopefully have less bias. </p>

<p>Texas A&M CLEARLY has the better alumni network. It's not even close. In matter of fact, it's the difference is light years away. And I must also add that A&M has a higher employment rate due to its network (highest in whole nation for the business school, not sure about the others). </p>

<p>And yes, UT does have the higher rank and greater prestige(ranked in the mid 30s in the international rank), but at the same time, UT is a notorious party school and have enormous classes. Those 2 factors will not help you get a "better education" than you would at A&M. Yes, UT does have better professors and greater prestige, but I highly doubt you'll get the better education(IMHO). If you go to UT, it's for its superior prestige that may land you more opportunities out of the state. If you go to A&M, your out of state prospects is inferior, but I'll be surprised to see you having trouble finding a job within Texas.</p>