TAMU Comes A-Courtin'

[capnganch]

Has anyone else heard anything from Texas A&M? I was accepted last week, and I've been getting some very friendly emails from graduate students and professors alike wanting to meet with me. I'm sure that a lot of this is the ol' Aggie welcome wagon rolling out, but I wondered if any of it might be something I should keep in mind when deciding between programs. They all seem pretty nice, and their emails don't seem to be a PR stunt in that they specifically refer to my writing samples and personal statements.

Is anyone else having similar conversations with A&M faculty and students?

[The Bitch of Armenia]

I'm currently a first-year Ph.D. student in the English program at A&M where I got my M.A. I decided to do another round of applications because I realized my interdisciplinary interests in the history of science would be difficult to pursue formally because the history department here doesn't really emphasize premodern science in any way. So, I've reluctantly decided to try to transfer.

One of the things I'm risking walking away from is the collegiality of the department. Intellectual community is a major emphasis at A&M, and the welcome wagon is, in part, their way of expressing that. Most members of the faculty are particularly engaged with graduate students, there are many productive working groups devoted to various areas of interest, and the English Graduate Student Association organizes weekly happy hours and semesterly events and colloquia, which, for me, have provided some of the highlights of my experience as a grad student. I've found the informal interactions with my colleagues and professors to be an important facet of my education and professionalization.

I'm about to send off a welcome letter to a prospective student with my area of emphasis, so if you have any other questions feel free to ask.

[capnganch]

Thanks, that's very helpful. A tight academic community can be a really helpful aspect of graduate school (though it can also have its drawbacks, too). I've been very impressed with A&M's friendly, informative welcome wagon, even though it may not have been my first choice. They're definitely making me think strongly of attending.