Texas A&M University (College Station)

[rockhopper]

Anyone else accepted/going to TAMU in the Fall? Been accepted to Oceanography but interested in meeting any new graduate students! I've never been to Texas except to visit!

[Benzene]

I haven't officially accepted yet but it is very, very likely I'll be attending TAMU in the fall. Coming from California, the housing prices seem amazing! I too have only been there for a couple days - just to interview! I've spent a lot of time reading the city guide and getting answers from people there now. The one thing I keep being told is that there's no nightlife to speak of... I'm just hoping to find a good karaoke bar and I'll be set!

[rockhopper]

I hear you about the housing prices! Coming from St. Louis, they do seem to good to be true. I visited last weekend and was impressed with campus. Funny that you say that about nightlife though... I assumed with all of the bars and undergrads around that the nightlife would be pretty vibrant! What have people told you about it?

[Benzene]

I think the thing that gets people is that they don't want to party with undergrads, haha. I guess there are not many options that aren't overrun by them... I saw somewhere that Bryan is good to get away from the undergrad scene, but when I mentioned it, I got a laugh and was told it's only like two blocks long. XD

I'm not terribly concerned by this... I'm not really one for crazy, packed bars, which is what I imagine Northgate consists of, but I figure, there *has* to be at least a couple quieter bars to meet with friends at. I've been told most places play country music so...hopefully I'll find a club that doesn't! But, since I prefer having house parties to the bar scene most of the time... it should be fine.

Edited March 19, 2012 by Benzene

[rockhopper]

Ah that makes sense! Yeah, I saw Bryan when I visited, and ate at a place called the Lemon Drop (I think!) and it is indeed very small. Good place to go for a *very* quiet afternoon lol. I am definitely looking forward to big athletic events, i.e. football and basketball. I'm a huge sports fan and my undergrad school doesn't have a huge athletic program except for basketball so I'm really looking forward to that part of A&M.

Have you started to scope out places to live yet?

[Benzene]

I've been stalking Padmapper like crazy! (Check it out, it's awesome!) The grad students I stayed with had an apartment with free cable/internet and their own washer and dryer, so I'm hoping to see some more of those pop up. I'm betting that there will be more listings in May... I'm sort of intrigued by the idea of a duplex or fourplex, but they also seem like too much space, and weirdly enough I don't want to deal with a yard. I'm still debating if I want to try and find a roommate or not - I'm sort of overwhelmed by the idea of trying to find a place from out of state, let alone trying to coordinate roommate finding at the same time!

[superbygk]

Hey guys, there's a chance I may be accepting my offer to TAMU in Communication. I checked the campus out about a month ago for a recruitment weekend. I was actually pleasantly surprised, as the city was bigger than I thought it would be.

Thanks for the link to Padmapper, @Benzene! It looks very helpful! In terms of housing I've been looking at craigslist and checking out the College Station thread under City Guide on this forum. Looks like Treehouse Apartments is a pretty affordable place to live, though it is very close to campus, so I don't know how y'all feel about that. There were others listed in the City Guide that I tried to google, but there wasn't much helpful information.

When I visited we had a grad students only outing to a place called Murphy's Law in downtown Bryan. It's literally half Irish and half German (one side of the restaurant is Irish and the other German). I was told that's one of the places grad students may hang out, and that Bryan in general is where you go to get away from the undergrad riff raff (hehe). The big sports events should definitely be exciting, and I'm told that folks go out to Houston or Austin on the weekends to hang out, so it seems there are things to do if you look for them.

[Benzene]

I think it's funny you say it's a bigger town than you thought. Before I even went out there, people (from TAMU) were telling me it's so small, and there's nothing to do, etc. etc. I was surprised to see it's not really any smaller than my hometown - it might even be bigger! Granted, I live in suburbia, so that's not really saying much, haha.

I've done a bunch of googling looking for hiking! And it seems there's a place for that within a reasonable drive. So, I am happy. I'm accepting my offer tomorrow, so all my research will not have been in vain!

I think there's pros and cons to living right by campus...pro being obviously, you're right by campus! But if it's in an area that's pretty noisy, that could be annoying. One of the grad students told me to avoid the undergrad apartments. When asked how to tell the difference, she said that the undergrad ones are the expensive ones! So I'm hoping my budget will lead me to a quieter complex.

[superbygk]

yeah, the undergrad noisiness can be really annoying. congrats on the acceptance! i will hopefully make my final decision soon, once i hear back from all my programs.

[Waiting13]

Hey all, I attended A&M for undergrad and will likely be attending for graduate school at the Bush School this fall. If you have any questions about College Station/Bryan, I'd be happy to help. I'm going to try and address some of the stuff I just read.

Night life- there are a ton of bars and places to go. Going to the 21+ bars is best to avoid the undergrad crowd, such as Logans on Northgate. The Tap has karaoke on Mondays and piano bar on Wednesdays, a lot of fun. Murphy's Law has trivia on Thursdays and is a more chill place away from northgate. Oh and the "clubs" play a set of country music and then a set of pop/rap music but I would avoid Daisy Dukes if you are looking to stay away from undergrads.

Living- I lived at Crescent Pointe and loved it because it was quiet and more of a young professional crowd, although more expensive and about 10 minute drive from campus. There is also Signature Park and Park Hudson Place in the same area. I would avoid places like The Factory/Warehouse, The Zone, 2818 Place, and The Woodlands if you don't want to be surrounded by undergrad students.

Getting to Houston and Austin is easy and there are always things to do. Going to San Marcus to float the river is always fun during the warm months too. Lake Bryan is near if you are looking for some outdoorsy things and Enchanted Rock is a good place to go hiking. A lot of Texas country bands come through and play in College Station too. And there are always great sporting events to attend at A&M!

[andyphilips]

Thanks for all the suggestions Waiting13. As far as apartments go...are the undergrad ones really that loud? I come from a small undergrad school so I'm not used to the big college-town scene. I could put up with a bit of noise and ruckus (it seems worth it if there's a pool!) but do want a relatively quiet living space. I've also heard sometimes the single-room apartments in a complex are a good deal quieter. Any thoughts?

[Waiting13]

Thanks for all the suggestions Waiting13. As far as apartments go...are the undergrad ones really that loud? I come from a small undergrad school so I'm not used to the big college-town scene. I could put up with a bit of noise and ruckus (it seems worth it if there's a pool!) but do want a relatively quiet living space. I've also heard sometimes the single-room apartments in a complex are a good deal quieter. Any thoughts?

Hey andyphilips. I think as long as you stay away from dorm style living or places like Callaway Villas, where freshmen and maybe sophomore undergrad students are likely to live, the noise isn't all that bad (I had neighbors my first year who enjoyed playing rock band all night on blast, which got really annoying through the thin walls). It kind of just depends on who your neighbors are, so maybe try to get an apartment on the end. Some of the places, like 2818 place or Wave Z Islander, may host pool parties and things on the weekends so it depends on if that would bother you. I don't know if single room apartments are quieter except for not having a roommate. And there are more than just college students who live in College Station, its not completely over run with under grads.

I would definitely get a place with a pool if you can, it's usable nearly 8 months out of the year and always nice to study and get some sun!

If there are specific places you are considering, I'd be happy to tell you what I know about them.

[rockhopper]

@Benzene, congratulations on accepting your offer! Hopefully within the next few weeks I'll join you!

Thanks to everyone else for responding and posting about hosing, it's the next thing that I'm looking to figure out.

Do any of you have a good, reliable place to search for a roommate? I have been looking online at Craigslist for a bit but it still kind of weirds me out. Are there any other good ways to do this? I feel like housing options are almost unlimited but I'd like to try and live with someone else, at least for the first year.

Thanks in advance!

[Bdeniso]

I am currently in College Station and there are a few complexes that cater to grad students and families and are quiet, not undergrad type places. There is more housing options here than you could possibly imagine so Im sure you will find a place that suits you. Renting of duplex houses is also a popular option.

[Benzene]

Rockhopper, there's a roommate search through the off campus housing section that I was looking at, though there's not terribly much there. I'm giving Craigslist a shot myself, I posted an ad and am sorta seeing what comes in. I can afford, for the first year at least, to live on my own, so if I don't find somebody cool it's okay. I'd rather save the money though! I think Apartments.com and Rent.com have roommate searches too, though I don't know how great they are.

[rockhopper]

This question is for Waiting13, multiple people have told me that TAMU is very big on "traditions", especially for sporting events and such. Can you tell us some more about what these traditions are and their significance?

I want to learn as much as I can about the school!

[Bdeniso]

http://traditions.tamu.edu/ This would be a good place to start.

I went to a different university for undergrad, so coming here for my Master's was quite a shock due to many of these traditions. Tbh, I think some people take them a little too seriously and there is even arguments over what is a tradition and what isn't. (for example, at football games many people believe that for every yell one should remove your hat, however the university has said that is not a tradition so that actually causes some confrontations in the stadium I have seen.) However, alot of them are fun like the ring dunk, first yell, and revellie barking in class. Sometimes it can be a bit heavy, sometimes fun, but I think its definitley unique and makes the university stand out.

[Pauli]

Congrats to y'all for getting accepted to grad school at TAMU! There's a bajillion grad students here, but everyone seems to keep to themselves in their part of campus depending on what college they're in. But it's always nice to hear from fellow American grad students (I'm one of the rare ones in engineering, lol).

[Waiting13]

HOWDY Rockhopper! (Howdy is the official greeting of TAMU, when talking to a group, it is often used as the opener.) Yes, A&M has a very strong base in traditions and values. It is why I like the school so much. I was actually a counselor for an extended orientation program called TCamp where we taught the yells and traditions. If there is not a graduate school equivalent and you are interested in thoroughly learning the yells and traditions, I highly recommend it (It can seem a little goofy sometimes but it is a fun couple of days and you will have the yells and traditions down by the time you leave. I would have been so confused at A&M if I hadn’t attended. It is a camp for transfer students so you wouldn't be with freshmen (and you don’t have to listen to things about how important studying is or something) but we had campers and counselors of all ages and backgrounds http://t-camp.tamu.edu/about).The traditions link posted above is great to read about the traditions as well.

The yells are important for yell practice (midnight yell is another tradition, the night before a home game it takes place in Kyle Field) and all sporting events. A&M doesn't have cheer leaders, but instead 5 (male) yell leaders who lead the students through motions. This way it is possible for everyone from the first deck to the third deck at Kyle Field to yell in unison. They start with a pass back (a hand symbol for the yell), then the students “hump it” (crouch for the yell so everyone behind them can see), and then go through the yell, ending with their wildcat. It is necessary to “uncover” or remove your hat when doing a yell. There are also two important songs, Spirit and the War Hymnn (supposed to be sung at the end of each quarter) . Here are the yells: http://everything-aggie.tripod.com/yells.html

You may also hear “off the wood” at a football game, meaning don’t stand on the bleachers. This is done out of respect when a player is injured on the field (the bleachers were originally wood, now metal). Students stand the entire game in representation of the 12^th Man and in support of the team. The 12^th Man was started after a student in the crowd was called down to the field in a game where our players were being injured left and right, he stood ready to play for his team the entire game (although he never went in).

Another strange tradition to non Aggies is the wildcats. Wildcats are the calls that each year (freshmen-senior) are allowed to do. As a graduate student I'm assuming you can "whoop", which is a senior privilege. At the end of each yell you will hear people doing their own wildcat. So for you it would be "A-Whoop". Whoop is a general acknowledgement of something good at A&M. You may also see people, specifically in the corps, doing push ups for “pulling out” or doing a wildcat above their class year.

Gig ‘Em is an important term/hand gesture for Aggies. It is basically a thumbs up, which originated from gigging frogs (it started before a game against the TCU horned frogs). The term is also often used in closing (such as “thanks and gig’em).

Getting your Aggie ring is often joked to be more important than the diploma. It is a highly recognized gold ring which certain requirements (90 academic hours, 45 at A&M, above 2.0 gpa…) must be met to receive it. Ring day is a big deal and there are often lots of festivities and ring dunks (not a technical tradition of A&M) to go along with it. A ring dunk is when you drop your ring into a pitcher (4.5 beers) and chug it as fast as you can… Often a race with your fellow dunkers and a party.

Silver Taps and Muster are the more serious traditions of A&M that will truly make you feel a part of a family (as will Bonfire remembrance). There are many more traditions, but right now I'm out of time to explain. Look around the traditions council site, consider TCamp, and I also think there is an aggie jargon entry on wikipedia. I'd be happy to answer more questions later.

Thanks and gig em!

-Waiting13

[rockhopper]

Wow thanks for the link and for all of the information! Sounds like A&M will be very different from my small, private undergrad school but I'm looking forward to it!

[pessimist1234]

You guys will love it. I did my undergraduate work there. Just wear comfortable shoes while on campus. Let me know if you have any questions.

[Pauli]

Or a bike! Oh man, our campus is stupid huge...

[Waiting13]

Or a bike! Oh man, our campus is stupid huge...

Haha yes it is. At least with the Bush School, everything is in one place with easy parking (much better than undergrad, parking in lot 100, trying to get all the way to Zachary...).

[Waiting13]

http://traditions.tamu.edu/ This would be a good place to start.

I went to a different university for undergrad, so coming here for my Master's was quite a shock due to many of these traditions. Tbh, I think some people take them a little too seriously and there is even arguments over what is a tradition and what isn't. (for example, at football games many people believe that for every yell one should remove your hat, however the university has said that is not a tradition so that actually causes some confrontations in the stadium I have seen.) However, alot of them are fun like the ring dunk, first yell, and revellie barking in class. Sometimes it can be a bit heavy, sometimes fun, but I think its definitley unique and makes the university stand out.

Bdeniso, are you at the Bush school?

[Bdeniso]

Yes I am, but leaving to get my PhD next year