Dear Roxymom:
I have learned a great deal from lurking around here for a number of years and there are a great many folks who know a great deal and are willing to share it. My purpose in posting the information below is not, repeat
not, to say one school is better than another. It would be the height of folly for me to suggest that a young man or woman go to one school as opposed to another – particularly if I’ve never met that person.
If you son is seriously considering pursuing a technical major he may wish to consider looking at Texas A&M, see
www.tamu.edu . There are advantages and disadvantages to a large school versus a smaller school. Smaller schools may well provide better access to professors particularly for freshmen and sophomores. Students at smaller schools also have less of a risk of being lost in the crowd so to speak. That said, TAMU (and I never attended A&M but our daughter is now a sophomore there), is a big school, which offers some unique advantages:
Why Texas A&M?
• Texas A&M enrolls over 50,000 students, including over 9,400 graduate students. More than 4,600 international students from more than 130 countries attend classes here.
• The average SAT score for incoming freshmen is 1220 (Verbal + Math).
• 25% of the freshman class are first generation college students.
• The family-friendly atmosphere makes Texas A&M a favorite not only of students, but their parents as well.
• More than 800 student organizations, including a uniformed Corps of Cadets, Greek Life, and The Big Event - the largest one-day, student-run service project in the nation.
• Bryan/College Station is located within easy driving distance of four major metropolitan areas — Houston, San Antonio, Austin, and Dallas/Ft. Worth — making it easy to go home, or get away, for the weekend.
• See more at Aggie Bound.
The engineering school at A&M is well regarded.
http://engineering.tamu.edu/
If you son is considering Army ROTC or one of the other branches, A&M is one of the six Senior Military Colleges. For Army RTOC graduates than can mean a better chance for an active duty assignment following graduation. Out of state cadets at A&M pay Texas in-state tuition regardless of whether or not they are “contracted” or have an ROTC scholarship. To learn more see
http://corps.tamu.edu/
Best of luck:
Lawman32RPD