Texas A&M University--College Station | Student Reviews | Best College

Student Profile

Katelyn

Class: Sophomore
Major: English
Gender: F

High School: Cypress Falls High School
Transfer Student: N

Big Picture

The best thing about TAMU is the student life; there are countless groups, programs, organizations, etc. for students to take part in, and the social scene is full of opportunities to meet fellow students and have a great time together. I would change the racial diversity, however, for it seems TAMU is full of an almost entirely White student body, with the only Blacks being athletes, and the only Asians or Middle Easterners representing the most difficult majors, like Engineering, Biology, or Chemistry. I'd say our school size is just right, or if anything maybe a bit too large, but TAMU is definitely far from the small side. When I told people I was planning on attending TAMU, and even now, when I travel and meet people that have heard about TAMU and its notoriety for unique traditions, the reaction is usually the same: TAMU's spirit is contagious - am I one of the 98% or the 2%? (98% refers to the majority that gets "caught up" in the Aggie Spirit, while the 2% refers to the few students that withhold from such behavior and remain unaltered after entry to the university). I spend most of my time on campus either in class or in the library (Evans Library is the one on campus.) Occasionally, I'll head to campus to get a bite to eat, though the best places to find lunch are all on Northgate, which turns into a bar scene by night. TAMU is definitely a College town, and the name College Station originates from the train that runs through campus, for "College Station" describes the stop it made at TAMU along its track. TAMU's administrations is good, but there are more distinguished or experienced faculty members in specific departments. Engineering, for instance, is a program that represents an extremely knowledgeable and well-renowned faculty. The biggest controversy on campus that has occurred lately would have to be last year, when a video turned up online depicting White students discriminating against Blacks; the White students were obviously making fun of and attempting to degrade the image of a Black student, and our campus was in an uproar. The administration reacted immediately to the hateful action, and tons of minority students flooded the MSC to protest the occurence. Obviously school pride is something Aggies are known for, and the notoriety of our traditions and customs isn't a secret. One can definitely expect a unique college experience at TAMU!

Academic Life

Some professors will learn your name, while other won't even attempt; it really depends on the size of the class. Classes are generally either immensely huge (300-ish students) or relatively small (30-40 students). My favorite classes are the interactive ones, where copying notes and simply listening to boring lectures day after day isn't the norm. Students study almost every day, usually taking breaks Thursday, Friday or Saturday nights to get out and have some fun. Class participation is common, as are intellectual conversations outside of class, though the intellectual conversations are usually begun with a purpose, such as understanding subject matter for a final, or finishing homework. Students aren't agressively competitve, and it's common to see students working or discussing in groups to help each other out. The most unique classes I have taken revolve around languages, like Latin or Spanish, or random subjects, such as Herbology or Music. I have not spent time with professors outside of class, though I have heard of T.A.'s occasionally meeting with students. The academic requirements are pretty basic and they seem to reflect a student's need to procure a legitimate job post-college.

Student Body

There are multiple groups on campus that are racially, religiously or socio-economically oriented, ranging from that of the ethnic orientation, like the Latina Aggies, to the dominantly Republican, or the Christian based student organizations. The campus is primarily white, however, and anyone else can pretty much count on being a minority at TAMU. If there were four main tables dividing a dining hall of TAMU students, black athletes might occupy one, Greek fraternity and sorority members another, "redneck" or "hick" students a third, and nerdy Asian engineer or biology majors a fourth, thought many of these groups can be found overlapping in their social stereotypes. A sorority girl might be pre-med, or an athlete might be studying something agriculturally based. Most students wear comfortable clothes to classes; jeans and sperry's, nike running shorts and running shoes, or shorts and flip flops, coordinated with t-shirts, tank tops, and sweatshirts. Most TAMU students seem to be from the Houston or Dallas/Fort Worth area, though the student body has a great mix of Texans, ranging from far East Texas to the obselete Northern regions, along with out of staters and a handful of international students. Many students are political aware and active. It's common to see the sidewalk chalked with support for presidential candidates, or the MSC taken over with student groups promoting for a specific person or cause. Most students seem to originate from the middle or middle-upper class, and future salaries are a topic of discussion near graduation, but not something that comes up in everyday conversation.