fish at Texas A&M

JAGman

5-Year Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2014
Messages
53
Howdy!
I'm currently a member of the Class of 2018 (a fish) at Texas A&M University. I am with an NROTC outfit in the Corps of Cadets and a prospective Civil Engineering major. If anyone has questions about life in the Corps of Cadets or life at Texas A&M, please let me know. I will be more than happy to answer questions about the friendliest, and fittest, university in the nation. Thanks and Gig'em!
 
Hi
Im currently a senior in high school in Illinois and im interested in going to A&M to join the Corps of Cadets. What was the admissions process like getting into the college and what was the process of applying for scholarships?
 
You got a great response on your other thread in regards to the admissions process. It's all on their website. The application is open so I'd get on that immediately. I've sent you a PM.

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I cant send PMs because i just created this account and i apparently dont have enough posts to send messages yet so i'll just ask the questions here. What is daily life like on campus? Do you have free time or is it very regimented like in a traditional military academy. Also for housing, do you live in the regular dorms with the other students or do you live with the other cadets? Thanks so much for your help
 
I cant send PMs because i just created this account and i apparently dont have enough posts to send messages yet so i'll just ask the questions here. What is daily life like on campus? Do you have free time or is it very regimented like in a traditional military academy. Also for housing, do you live in the regular dorms with the other students or do you live with the other cadets? Thanks so much for your help

bob - My son is a senior in the corps, my husband was in the corps and my daughter and I graduated from A&M but we were not in the Corps, so take my opinion for what it is - a mom's. You are required to live on campus with other cadets. Next year they are remodeling the old corps dorms which were built back in the 30s or 40s. My understanding is that the whole corps will move out of the Quad (where the cadets have been housed forever) to the commons which is a group of dorms that were built in the early 80s, but right next to the quad. I am not sure of all the logistics, but it will be a year or two of transition.

You will wear a uniform every day to class. You can choose your major unless you have a ROTC contract which requires a certain degree. Freshman and sophomores take a military course dependent on which service you choose. Your junior year, you can choose to contract or not. If you do not take a contract (D&C) then you don't have to take a military course but you still wear the uniform and participate with your outfit. The outfits all have a different personality. You can choose to go in to any one you are interested in, but do a little research to see which outfit fits your interests and goals. If you go to the Corps website, I think each outfit has their own site and will tell you a little about them. The corps advisers can also help you decide. My son has been in 3 different outfits while he has been there and they have been different with regards to academics, physical training and military training.

I'm a little prejudiced, but I love A&M and I think the corps is a great opportunity for leadership and growth. It is tough. You are in a corps with over 2000 cadets, but in a student body with over 40,000. My son had to deal with the restrictions the corps had - each outfit is different, but his freshman year, they had required call to quarters for study time, the uniform, the shaved head, the 6 a.m. wake up call - while all his friends from high school who went to A&M and didn't join the corps had a lot more freedom and what he perceived as a lot more fun. However he is a senior and will graduate in May and a couple of those high school friends didn't make it that far.

It is a great opportunity. Of course the majority of students are from Texas, but A&M attracts students from all over the world. I think some of the corps scholarships will qualify you to receive in state tuition. Get your application in early and definitely apply for the corps scholarships. You do not have to commit to military in order to apply to the corps scholarship.

Good luck to you!
 
:thumb: Great Post. I currently have two children currently in the Corps and agree with this assessment and description. Bits and parts of the Corps change from year to year but themes remain constant. Talked to our Fish last night and all seemed reasonably well. If you are interested in applying, DO IT NOW ! TAMU fills up quickly. Deciding which school to apply to is a hard decision and I wish you the very best.


bob - My son is a senior in the corps, my husband was in the corps and my daughter and I graduated from A&M but we were not in the Corps, so take my opinion for what it is - a mom's. You are required to live on campus with other cadets. Next year they are remodeling the old corps dorms which were built back in the 30s or 40s. My understanding is that the whole corps will move out of the Quad (where the cadets have been housed forever) to the commons which is a group of dorms that were built in the early 80s, but right next to the quad. I am not sure of all the logistics, but it will be a year or two of transition.

You will wear a uniform every day to class. You can choose your major unless you have a ROTC contract which requires a certain degree. Freshman and sophomores take a military course dependent on which service you choose. Your junior year, you can choose to contract or not. If you do not take a contract (D&C) then you don't have to take a military course but you still wear the uniform and participate with your outfit. The outfits all have a different personality. You can choose to go in to any one you are interested in, but do a little research to see which outfit fits your interests and goals. If you go to the Corps website, I think each outfit has their own site and will tell you a little about them. The corps advisers can also help you decide. My son has been in 3 different outfits while he has been there and they have been different with regards to academics, physical training and military training.

I'm a little prejudiced, but I love A&M and I think the corps is a great opportunity for leadership and growth. It is tough. You are in a corps with over 2000 cadets, but in a student body with over 40,000. My son had to deal with the restrictions the corps had - each outfit is different, but his freshman year, they had required call to quarters for study time, the uniform, the shaved head, the 6 a.m. wake up call - while all his friends from high school who went to A&M and didn't join the corps had a lot more freedom and what he perceived as a lot more fun. However he is a senior and will graduate in May and a couple of those high school friends didn't make it that far.

It is a great opportunity. Of course the majority of students are from Texas, but A&M attracts students from all over the world. I think some of the corps scholarships will qualify you to receive in state tuition. Get your application in early and definitely apply for the corps scholarships. You do not have to commit to military in order to apply to the corps scholarship.

Good luck to you!
 
Hello, Bob - my son is currently in the Corps and not from Texas. The TAMU admissions criteria are here: http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted, but in brief, an out-of-state applicant needs to have a high school class rank in the top 25% and either a 1300 SAT (at least 600 each in Math and Reading) or 30 ACT (at least 27 each in Math and English). That is guaranteed admission, but there are also "review admissions" and other paths like Blinn Team or the Galveston campus.

Once admitted, there are lots of Corps scholarships that trigger a waiver of the out-of-state tuition rates. Texas is probably cheaper than Illinois. My understanding is that most if not all out-of-state cadets get this waiver, so it's a nice benefit.

If you are considering this, it's well worth the cost of a trip to campus for "Spend the Night with the Corps": http://corps.tamu.edu/portfolio-items/spend-the-night/. This program doesn't give a complete picture, but at least gives you some idea of what to expect. It would be terrible to get down there for freshman orientation week, relying on out-of-state tuition, and then realize the Corps is not for you.

Good luck,
 
One more thing ... there is a Thanksgiving Day football game in College Station this year, and the cadets are apparently required to stay on campus for that day and the following one (to help clean the stadium). Two years ago, the Corps allowed cadets who lived more than 250 miles away to skip the game and go home for Thanksgiving, but apparently not this year. This would affect you, living in Illinois. It reflects the fact that the Corps is an important part of TAMU's image, and things like this come up from time to time.
 
That is guaranteed admission, but there are also "review admissions" and other paths like Blinn Team or the Galveston campus.

Could you elaborate more on the Blinn Team and the Galveston Campus options. I have heard about them but I am still unclear on the transfer process. My high school in Illinois does not use class rank (its strange, i know) and i did not get a 30 on the ACT. I'm not giving up hope on getting into TAMU but I just want to know more about Blinn Team and transferring from Galveston Campus
 
According to the admissions website a composite ACT score of at least 30 with at least a 27 in the Math and English components are enough for automatic admission. You must be in the top quarter of your class - if your school doesn't rank, your counselor should still be able to determine a rank for college purposes. You can't possibly be the first student to apply to college where a rank is requested. You must have also fulfilled the high school course requirements for admission. Look here http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted for specifics.

Blinn and Galveston are options if you don't make it directly to A&M. Blinn Team students can live on campus, participate in the corps and even take a class at A&M but they are not officially accepted at A&M until they have completed two years at Blinn - which is a junior college in College Station. After 2 years, if your gradepoint is a 2.75 (I think) you are automatically accepted to A&M. All credits earned at Blinn are transferred to A&M. Texas A&M Galveston is an extended campus of the A&M system. It and Qatar are the only ones where you can receive credit the same as taking classes in College Station. Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Texas A&M San Antonio, for example, don't count towards time at Texas A&M College Station (the main campus) and if you are enrolled at Corpus Christi or San Antonio, you can not just switch over and take classes in College Station. However, if you get accepted at Texas A&M Galveston - their admissions standards are a little lower - then you can switch and take classes at Texas A&M in College Station as long as you are still in good standing (GPA 2.0) after your first year.

But if you really want the true A&M experience and you qualify, go straight into Texas A&M in College Station. You can also apply to Texas A&M Galveston, but A&M has to offer you the Blinn Team option - you can't apply for it. Basically if you aren't accepted to A&M, they don't tell you "No", they don't wait list you, they might offer Blinn Team. You can always apply to Blinn Junior College directly, but it is not the same as Blinn Team that has the automatic admission to A&M and the same privileges of living on campus, etc.

Again, the website or an admissions counselor can answer all these questions more accurately than I can. My knowledge of Blinn Team and Galveston is from a couple of years ago, so don't rely on this as gospel.
 
:thumb: Great post. You can't apply for the Blinn Team, the admissions team make that decision. As I understand the TAMUG option you've gotten pretty good information. My suggestion would be to talk to not only the TAMU admissions folks but also the Corps staff. You'll be a Frog for a semester if you do the TAMUG route. The Corps staff can provide you the most accurate information. Good luck!

According to the admissions website a composite ACT score of at least 30 with at least a 27 in the Math and English components are enough for automatic admission. You must be in the top quarter of your class - if your school doesn't rank, your counselor should still be able to determine a rank for college purposes. You can't possibly be the first student to apply to college where a rank is requested. You must have also fulfilled the high school course requirements for admission. Look here http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted for specifics.

Blinn and Galveston are options if you don't make it directly to A&M. Blinn Team students can live on campus, participate in the corps and even take a class at A&M but they are not officially accepted at A&M until they have completed two years at Blinn - which is a junior college in College Station. After 2 years, if your gradepoint is a 2.75 (I think) you are automatically accepted to A&M. All credits earned at Blinn are transferred to A&M. Texas A&M Galveston is an extended campus of the A&M system. It and Qatar are the only ones where you can receive credit the same as taking classes in College Station. Texas A&M Corpus Christi and Texas A&M San Antonio, for example, don't count towards time at Texas A&M College Station (the main campus) and if you are enrolled at Corpus Christi or San Antonio, you can not just switch over and take classes in College Station. However, if you get accepted at Texas A&M Galveston - their admissions standards are a little lower - then you can switch and take classes at Texas A&M in College Station as long as you are still in good standing (GPA 2.0) after your first year.

But if you really want the true A&M experience and you qualify, go straight into Texas A&M in College Station. You can also apply to Texas A&M Galveston, but A&M has to offer you the Blinn Team option - you can't apply for it. Basically if you aren't accepted to A&M, they don't tell you "No", they don't wait list you, they might offer Blinn Team. You can always apply to Blinn Junior College directly, but it is not the same as Blinn Team that has the automatic admission to A&M and the same privileges of living on campus, etc.

Again, the website or an admissions counselor can answer all these questions more accurately than I can. My knowledge of Blinn Team and Galveston is from a couple of years ago, so don't rely on this as gospel.
 
Thank you all for your help and advice, I really appreciate it. I'm currently emailing the Corps Staff to get more questions answered. I really hope I can get admitted to A&M at College Station but at least I'll have Galveston as a way to still get in. Lawman, you said that if I did take the TAMUG route I would be a "frog" for a semester. What exactly does that mean. I'm not yet clued in with all the terminology
 
A frog is a cadet, typically a transfer, who is a fish for the fall semester and becomes a sophomore (or whatever their class year is) in the spring semester.

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:thumb:
A frog is a cadet, typically a transfer, who is a fish for the fall semester and becomes a sophomore (or whatever their class year is) in the spring semester.

Sent using the Service Academy Forums® mobile app
 
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