<p>I never considered even applying to A&M until I was offered a day trip there back in November... I just took it to get out of school but ended up putting it on my list of considered colleges.</p>
<p>Now that I can't afford my dream school in Colorado and have been put on the wait list for UT, I seriously consider going to A&M. I think it's a pretty good school and wouldn't really mind going there anymore (at first I did but now I'm okay with the idea). I think the people there are nicer than UT and the people there are more helpful and after graduation they help you get a job better.</p>
<p>But my family seems to prefer that I try to get in to UT through the wait list or do the CAP program if I don't get off the wait list. My brother's a sophomore there and tells me I've been brainwashed if I think engineering at A&M is as good as UT's. I don't have any legacy there (except my 1 brother there now)... My mom says she doesn't want me to go to A&M because she "just doesn't like it" (though cannot tell me why nor has she ever even visited there). And my dad seems kind of disappointed that I didn't get into UT. He calls A&M a "Teacher's College". A lot of my friends also don't seem to like A&M either...</p>
<p>I'm still going to do what I want and probably go to A&M but why do people seem to be so against it?</p>
<p><em>by the way I'm sure there's some die-hard aggie fans on here and I don't mean to insult anyone or A&M... I'm just curious...</em></p>
<p>Because you've been brainwashed by all of the longhorn trash out there. I would know, my UT alum parents like to act the same way even though they know my career opportunities are better at A&M than they would be at UT. Doing CAP is like doing another year of highschool, UTSA is really a joke of a college and very easy to get a 4.0 (I have many not so bright friends who have done so, and then transferred to Austin). Look at job placement statistics, A&M is right there with UT, and may even exceed it. A&M certainly isn't a "Teacher's College", if anything it's an "Engineer's College", as the College of Engineering is the most populous and arguably the best at A&M. Sure maybe A&M's football team isn't as good as UT's, but that certainly doesn't make it a bad school. And that's what I think most people in this state judge it on.</p>
<p>I'm sorry, but ignorant people like your family make me disgusted.</p>
<p>I've grown up around Aggies my entire life, so I am a little biased. I think it's a great school with an awesome reputation, and my mom wanted me to go there. I think that people might not like it because they are die-hard longhorns. The campus is beautiful, and I think that you must be a great student if you got in. Good luck with your choice!</p>
<p>I believe it is where you live too. Some areas of Texas just seem to lean more UT, some more A&M. </p>
<p>I honestly believe that some equate the football team as the worth of a university.
There has to be some reason why a ton of kids are interested in going to Tech lately!</p>
<p>Aggies can take it- We know who we are. And we are Proud.</p>
<p>You need to take your parents there and take them on the Visitor's Center Campus Tour.
They have no idea.... </p>
<hr>
<p>Oh, oh, oh,.... you could get the cute window sticker for your parents I saw at the MSC bookstore...
It says "House divided" with UT on one side and A&M on the other side....</p>
<p>Aggies and Longhorns never get it right. Both schools need to stop trashing each other and respect each other. Both are ranked in the top 20 for chemical engineering, and honestly, after MIT and Caltech, almost any school in that area will give you a top notch education. Sure a bit of competition is good, but really, this trash talking is insanity. </p>
<p>Texas A&M is NOT a teacher school. When I visited campus, I spoke with the head of the Chemical Engineering dept. and he gave me a very good description of the program. </p>
<p>So don't listen to what others say. Texas A&M is a good school, as is UT</p>
<p>A&M has just a really different atmosphere than UT, and a lot of it is based off the traditions and culture of the school. So I mean, you probably will want to visit A&M at least once or twice, get to see some kind of tradition (whether a sport game or something like that) and then think about if you like it or not.</p>
<p>I attend UT. Of course my school is better. :)</p>
<p>Seriously, A&M doesn't get the respect it deserves. Engineering is top notch, the business school isn't far behind. The university overall is quite strong, those are just two exceptional colleges at A&M. The people who put it down are either ignorant of the true quality of A&M or are just trash talking it to get a reaction from Aggies. </p>
<p>Finally, don't let other people make your decisions for you. Study it out and do what is best for you.</p>
<p>AT A&M all that corp and yelling stuff is a bit hard to understand for the New England Prep school crowd. Not negative - more like visiting a foreign country.</p>
<p>Toadstool, the Corps. is only 2,000 members on a 45,000 student campus. Not a large segment of the population. I LOVE A&M. It has a great engineering school and the people are all so friendly. You really do have to like school spirit to come here, though. To be honest, if you don't like all the fun that comes with school spirit and tradition, TAMU is probably not for you. You will get a great education at either TAMU or ut, you just have to find the better fit for you!</p>
<p>I am a graduate from UT as are my husband and a lot of my relatives. I for one, have a lot of respect for Texas A&M. My S will probably attend UT because he got into a great honors program there and because even though Texas A&M would have given him more money, it just isn't a good fit for him or our family. </p>
<p>But I'll be the first to admit that Texas A&M is a much more level-headed and conservative university than UT (and most others) and it is the thing I admire most about them. But A&M has a VERY different culture and environment from most colleges of its caliber. If their philosophy and traditions work for you, it's a great place for you to go to school. If they don't, you will not fit in and shouldn't try to force it. </p>
<p>So if you are considering Texas A&M and are uneasy about it, be confident that you will get a fine education there and have a loyal network of people to rely on when you graduate. Just make sure that you understand the school's culture before you enroll. It may or may not be for you. Invest the time and money in an overnight visit to check it out for yourself. </p>
<p>That's my two cents, for whatever it's worth from a T-sip on an Aggie forum.</p>
<p>i got denied to UT. i'm an oos student, and at first i was really bummed.
However, I have been accepted into A&M, and I'm so excited now!
I think it'll be an excellent match for me, and I'm looking forward to being an Aggie next year :)
It seems like such a close-knit school, like everyone is treated as family. Everyone is so welcoming. I love it.</p>
<p>cdkmom - I agree, but will add that as more and more UT denied students head to A&M, the atmosphere is getting less and less like the A&M from back in our day. I know many kids there who are "longhorn born and bred" who are now proud Aggies. The increasing popularity of the greek system vrs. the Corps is a good indication of what I'm saying. </p>
<p>(Please Aggies - don't take this as a knock - I'm not saying that A&M is a school for UT rejects - just that alot of kids are choosing A&M rather than going OOS or another Texas college - but, A&M is next to be damaged by the top 10% rule if it doesn't get tweaked :))</p>
<p>TAMU will soon become the official UT reject school... </p>
<p>although this might increase the caliber of the students at TAMU because the next best choice is TAMU (generally) in Texas...we all know RICE only takes valedictorians >_></p>
<p>That's exactly the type of post I was NOT wanting to provoke!</p>
<p>A&M is a great school with a wonderful history and reputation! They don't need UT denied kids to make it better - it's already a great place. I'm just saying the atmosphere has changed from the A&M of the 80's to what it is now due in some part to the types of kids who are choosing to attend...</p>
<p>Don't be jerky just to flame people - it's not nice and certainly it's not productive to discourse.</p>
<p>Left and right coast people and some in between fear TAMU because:
Small town in Texas
Even though Corps is just a small number of students it has a BIG presence on campus
Their parents' outdated opinion of A&M
Fanatical spirit and traditions scary to those coming from high schools without a big football or sports culture</p>
<p>My OOS S was accepted to Rice as well as UT (BTW, he was not valedictorian or even salutatorian). I personally thought he would have been more suited to UT; he is not conservative (unless we're talking about his own money ;)). Also, from his previous visits, some of the traditions at TAMU kind of overwhelmed him. He chose TAMU because they gave him the most money (full ride) and since he plans to go to grad school he decided it was the smartest thing to do.</p>
<p>Well I can tell you from first-hand experience, he absolutely LOVES it. He has made loads of friends, his professors are great, and he is being academically challenged. He says it was the best decision he has ever made.</p>