UTexas at Austin, Texas A&M and Colorado

[thedeepblue]

Hey everyone,

Anyone went to one of these schools? If you did (or still go) could you please share information about them, mainly the weaknesses and strenghths of each. I will be applying there as an international student and I've read all I could on the colleges' websites. I'm now seeking more "personal" info.

Thanks in advance

[Tex1899]

I graduated from A&M. It depends on what you want to study. Also, A&M's more conservative than UT or CU.

Regarding Greek life, A&M's system is adding groups, though numbers are down a little bit versus a couple of years ago. When/if you visit, be sure and go to the Chicken. About half the fraternities have houses, and all of the sororities (except the newest) have houses, and you have to commute (i.e. shuttle bus or drive).

I'm told CU's fraternities are struggling with risk management and basic reporting (i.e. membership stats); only within the last couple of years has the university begun to develop a relationship with the Greeks. I don't know much about the sororities there. You can walk to campus from the houses.

Regarding UT, I don't know much about their system, other than it's probably a lot of old money. You can walk to campus from the houses.

Either way, I know A&M and UT both have great chapters among fraternities and sororities, and you have the opportunity to be a change agent at CU.

[thedeepblue]

How did you like A&M? I've looked at the school and it looks pretty cool. How's the environment there?

Tell me whatever you can about it if you can.. I know it's vague, but I'm looking for any info at all

Thanks

[valkyrie]

I can't tell you anything about the University of Colorado, but I can say that I live near Boulder and it has to be one of the most gorgeous places in the entire world. The scenery is beautiful and the weather is amazing.

Originally posted by thedeepblue
How did you like A&M? I've looked at the school and it looks pretty cool. How's the environment there?

Tell me whatever you can about it if you can.. I know it's vague, but I'm looking for any info at all

Thanks

A&M's a pretty conservative campus. It's mostly White and Christian. There really is a small-town feel to the campus and College STation in general. There are elements that cater to international students, they opened up a Vietnamese noodle restaurant while i was there and the international prescence is really felt in the Engineering/Computer Science part of campus.

If you choose A&M, get involved in the student org. which most appeals to you. There are orgs for pretty much every ethnicity and they do an awesome job of displaying their cultures throughout the year and especially during I-week(International Week). The Greeks at A&M are very accepting. I pledged as a 21 yr. old senior, after 4 years in the corps of cadets.

UT and CU are extremely more liberal campuses. I haven't spent much time on either.

Kitso
KS 361

[Erik P Conard]

I do not know how CU got the rep as a good Greek school; anyone who knows about the University of Colorado would at
once dispell that.
I live 20 minutes from the campus. My daughter graduated from
there. I ran a rush week there in '57 while a TKE field rep. I have
a good thirty five years' observation of the place. I could talk for
many hours on the system....or lack of...
Fruitcakes flourish...as in many university communities....some say
Boulderites live a tilted life...but it is a pretty place, you bet!
It is, indeed, a gorgeous place, a sitting backed up by the mountains, immediate ones called "foothills." Architecture is of a
harmonious and tasteful sort. The east of the place will find the
plains beginning. A half hour from downtown Denver. Good climate, nearby skiing abounds. An ideal setting.
Greeks...over a hundred years. Mix of student body is diverse...
many out of staters; rich kids, playboys, spoiled girls, rustic ones
from rural Colorado towns, and so on. Athletes coddled like many
places, alums want winning teams, no matter how....
The University divested itself years ago by no longer recognizing
the Greeks, perhaps to pass the buck in terms of in loco parentis.
Drinking age raised to 21...anti greek movement hit here hard as
it did in Berkeley, Eugene, Ann Arbor, etc. As chapters folded, the
U picked up the houses. About twenty fraternities folded. The
once large Jewish enrollment and easily identified groups were no
longer there, the nationals merged, died, whatever...absorption
of this large identifiable group occurred. This had no seemingly
positive or negative connotation, though, as the coming-together
of various ethnicities and religion-oriented groups happened all over America...a plus for many of us.
BUT with the withdrawal of recognition and the changing times, a
movement of doing away with housemothers, advisers, came to
fruition. Alumni became isolated. No longer the standards and
the manners of yore...Musical chairs...house wise...my point is that
there is no system left. Totally out of control. But, on the horizon,
I hope as do several alums, that we can return to some semblance of the Greeks as we'd like to see...Risk management,
which we did not have to deal with, is horribly expensive. Booze
in houses, negative images...professors and administrators who
do not like us...at all...naw, forget CU...a beautiful place and we
hope to come back. Oh, yes, I sit on the TKE board of eight, and
we are returning after a twenty year absence, and SAE, Sig Ep,
Delta Chi colonizing now. KA, Kappa Sig, Phi Delt kicked off last
year. Delt, Beta, ATO gone. Many in transition, two or three go
off each year. Real estate costs skyrocketing...dunno what the
results will be, but CU as a good Greek model...hope it will come
to pass. But not now...

[Tex1899]

Like AggieSigmaNu said, A&M's a pretty conservative place, and very white/caucasion. From what I could tell, just about everyone was either from a suburb or a small town. Many of the students are multi-generational Aggies, too. If you like the idea of tradition, then A&M's the place for you.

College Station's in a good location, too...about 90 minutes (depending on how many cops you see) from Houston, about 2 hours from Austin, 2.5 to Dallas...

In all honesty, if you're looking to study something in the liberal arts, you should consider UT or CU. If you want to study engineering, architecture, anything agriculture-related, go to A&M. A&M and UT are a toss up with their business school...UT might be a little better.

Again, all 3 have their pros and cons. Choose the school based upon what you want to study.

[thedeepblue]

thanks everyone...

any other insights?

[moe.ron]

Colorado got good skiing

[thedeepblue]

Originally posted by moe.ron
Colorado got good skiing

i meant something that cannot be known my just knowing the colleges superficially... something only a student or friend of the schools would know

[aggieAXO]

As a former A&M student I can say the campus is consevative but I and many of my friends were not. I am glad I went to A&M vs UT-the people were friendlier and it was more of a family like atmosphere. I now live in Austin and I just do not see the cohesiveness with the UT students as I experienced at A&M. When I visited A&M in high school I knew I was home .

BTW anybody read the latest Texas monthly about A&M-very interesting article!