Texas A&M University -- College Station

Responses from the Student Interview

From a student  who identifies as Major: Marketing
Minor: None
Student Self Identifies as: Indian Straight Male

Summary

I’m in a Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO). I’m a counselor for the new freshman next year. I also do intramural [sports].

Background

Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Indian
Sexual Orientation: Straight

High School Experience: Public high school in Dallas, TX with a graduating class of about 450 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: Yes
Major: Marketing
Minor: None

Extracurricular Activities: I’m in a Freshman Leadership Organization (FLO). I’m a counselor for the new freshman next year. I also do intramural [sports].
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The Freshman Leadership Organization made me way more outgoing and willing to talk to people. It set me up to have a good freshman year.

Academic Experience

Can you describe your weekly coursework for your major?
I have exams every other week. I’m taking two online classes, so I have a lot of discussion posts and feedback from peer reviews, along with online quizzes. There are quizzes due every week in my accounting class.
Is there anything you feel the business school does especially well or poorly?
What they do especially well is their networking. It’s quite exquisite and there’s a high chance of getting a job out of college. It’s a good safety net, so they do a good job trying to give you internships and study abroad opportunities as well. [For the Class of 2018, 55% of students graduated with a job offer.]
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
I don’t think it’s competitive, I think it’s collaborative. There are study groups and a lot of people try to help each other out with questions and concepts that were confusing, rather than trying to be competitive. I enjoy that because we can all help each other get a better grade.
How accessible are your professors?
Some are more accessible than others. In my two online classes, it’s pretty hard to gain access to the professors, but our TAs are a lot more accessible. For my actual professors, you have to schedule meetings with them, but if you email them they’re pretty free to be scheduled with you. My TAs are a lot more prominent in the helping atmosphere of things.
How do you like taking so many online classes?
I like it. I have more flexible time management. If I’m studying for another exam, I can push off the online class and divvy up the time I need to. I have a lot of friends in the online class, everything is laid out well, and the books weren’t expensive. It’s an easy way to get a GPA booster while taking interesting classes.
What was your favorite class in your major?
I really enjoy [Management Information Systems (ISTM)] classes. I think it’s a fun time. We work with Excel and I was somewhat proficient with that in high school, so it’s a great time for me to use those skills on a larger scale and to be a little ahead.
Why did you pick your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I chose my major because when I was little I saw a commercial advertising internship opportunity with a cereal brand and it made me want to be the one conveying that message to people and using marketing and advertising strategies. When I came to college, I realized enjoy being social, so I feel like marketing is a good place for me to go.
How was transitioning academically as a first-generation college student? Are there systems in place that help you transition?
I actually got a scholarship that covers a lot of my tuition, if not all. With access to money, it’s a lot easier to get books without stressing. The transition itself wasn’t very difficult because I have three older sisters who helped me through it and they went through similar situations.

Reasons to Attend

1) How many nice people there are here.
2) The school is easier than you think, but there are hard classes depending on your major.
3) It’s a lot of fun and you meet a lot of nice people. You have a great experience overall.

Reasons Not to Attend

1) Financial aid works for me, but it doesn’t work for everybody. I know some people who didn’t get that much aid. [Approximately 72% of students get some form of aid.]
2) The campus is pretty vast and it can work against you sometimes. It can be hard to get to the middle of campus or the edges.
3) There are some intolerant people here, but that could be a con at any university. There have been people who shove religion down my throat.

Around Campus

Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: Mosher Hall in the Commons with one roommate
Sophomore: Off-campus apartment with two roommates
How was transitioning from Dallas to College Station, TX?
It was very different. The atmosphere is a lot less urban and there are a lot fewer people around. There is a certain cultural atmosphere here, but I think once you find a group of people you really enjoy it’s a lot of fun. It’s really different than at home. I don’t have a car, so I walk everywhere and the people I interact with are very different.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
It’s a moderate to high level of safety. I’ve never seen anything negative happen. I have heard a thing or two, but I haven’t been uncomfortable in any situation on campus.

Social Opportunities

What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I like going to church, watching TV, doing homework to get it out of the way, going out to a party, watching movies, and hanging out with friends. If I go to a party, it’d be hosted by one of my [Freshman Leadership Organization] friends, or a friend of a friend. We also go to the clubs on Northgate sometimes. Sometimes weeks more than others I’ll hang out with my friends more, but whenever there’s a frat party we’ll go for the most part.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
It makes things a lot more fun. I was going to rush a fraternity but I didn’t. All in all, it makes it more enjoyable, and it ties in the concept of what college is. Having that fun really keeps things in equilibrium. As a guy not in a fraternity, I don’t struggle to get into parties because all of my friends are in frats.
How did your nightlife experience when you were a freshman and was less socially established?
When I was less socially established my night would consist of playing games, going out here and there, going to play basketball, or just getting food. More homey stuff rather than going out partying.
How happy are you with the weekend options? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I’d say 8.5 out of 10. If I could change anything I’d probably have clubs open later than 2 AM.

Campus Culture

How did you meet your closest friends?
I met them through a program called Gateway over the summer. I had to go through it to get into A&M technically. It was a five-week program where you had to get a 2.0 [GPA] to get in. I met so many nice people and I’m roommates with one of them. The rest of my friends I met through my [Freshman Leadership Organization].
What’s involved with getting into the Gateway program?
You take three to four classes and get a 2.0 in them before you’re admitted to general studies. After a semester or two, you can declare your actual major. You’d essentially just take the classes and they’d have night events. It’s pretty laid back and it helped transition me into college a bit more because then I kind of had an idea of what college was over the summer.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Texas A&M?
It’s diverse. There are a lot of different people coming together – more so than I initially thought. This school is a lot more diverse in nature, which I think is definitely a plus. There are so many different organizations that support so many different ideas and they’re understanding and respectful.
To what extent do you think people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I see all sorts of people I know that talk who are gay and straight or Black and White. There’s a whole multitude of things. I’m Indian and my roommates are White, so that’s a prime example of what’s around me. [The undergraduate population is about 60% White, 3% Black, 24% Hispanic, and 8% Asian.]
How would you describe the South Asian community on campus? How strong is it?
It’s a lot more prominent than I thought it would be. There’s a lot of cool people and different organizations like THRIVE for Muslim Christians. There is also Greek life for South Asian fraternities and also a lot of dancing groups for more people who don’t enjoy Greek life as much as performance and expression.
How strong is the community of faith at Texas A&M? How would you describe it?
Faith, in general, is very strong. I’d say Christianity here is the strongest because the majority of people here are Christian. People aren’t scared to express their faith and they’ll invite you regardless of your religion. A lot of people stand outside the student center and invite people to events tonight. It’s cool how tolerant we are, regardless of where you come from or what your religion is.
How do you like the size of Texas A&M in terms of undergraduate enrollment? How was transitioning to a school with [about 54,000] students?
I love it. There are a lot of people here and it’s a lot of fun. There are so many people here and you meet a new person every single day. You may never run into them again and you might not know their story. I think that’s super cool and definitely enhanced my college experience. The more people you meet, the more understanding and open-minded you are. It can give you a chance to meet someone you might be best friends with for the rest of your life.

Careers

Have you learned any computer languages or software that will be helpful to you professionally?
I’m currently becoming proficient in Excel, and we’re going to learn Microsoft Access.

Financial Aid

Have you used financial aid? If so, accommodating was the office to your needs?
The office takes a little while at certain times. Sometimes it can take two minutes, sometimes it can take fifty. They’re willing to work with you and will give you all the information you need. They’ll accommodate you to your needs the best they can.