re: If you got into all 14 SEC schools which would you choose to attend?

This thread is actually pretty funny but understandable as so few SEC folks really know much about A&M.

The Aggie Network is no joke though, here is one rating us at #8 above Michigan and Northwestern: LINK Here is another listing us at #8 as well and ahead of Columbia (#2 Public): LINK

The Ring actually makes a tangible difference. A&M has a standardized ring that is essentially the same for the last 100 years or so and has very strict standards in order to obtain it. Aggies wear their rings far more than most schools, it ties back to the military heritage (most Academies are the same way). Since people wear their rings you can easily identify Aggies and it is a great ice breaker. Can't tell you how many times I had a client meeting and saw someone else with the Ring and the entire tone changed.

A&M is also listed as the #2 school by college recruiters according to the WSJ: LINK (Florida is #9).

A&M also has 34k applicants for 8k slots for next year, it gets harder and harder to get in every year (mainly because of the growth in Texas and the large number of excellent HS's especially in the Suburbs of the big cities). It's a Tier 1 AAU school with a monster endowment that is essentially tied with Michigan at #2 among Publics (more than double Vandy and 5 times Florida) that is a research monster.

A&M also had an "Elephant Walk" LONG before some stupid Frats came up with a sick twist on the term. Seniors at A&M are called "Elephants" and "Elephant Walk" is kind of a ceremonial last walk around campus with your class. At the end it turns in to a war of sorts with the upcoming Juniors that are trying to "Kill off the Elephants" a little early. It's a bigger deal with the Corps because Class rank is the basis of the entire system but it is also observed by the rest of the students as well to a degree.

Honestly the thing I always liked best about A&M is it is so diverse. It has the largest and most active Student Services organization of any school. Whatever club, activity, or interest you have there is a group for it. That allows for people to find their own group within the 50k student body. There is a huge Greek system to go with the Corps but most Aggies are independents. It's just a unique place.

It's not for everyone but it has a lot to offer.

1) Ole Miss
2) Vanderbelt
3) LSU
4) Georgia
5) Bama
6) Arkansas
7) Florida
8) South Carolina
9) Kentucky
10) Auburn
11) Texas A&M
12) Missouri
13) Tennessee
14) Mississippi State

quote:

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I graduated from Ole Miss in 2004 with a degree in Banking and Finance. Maybe the business school has gotten tougher since then, but tt was an easy school where you could pretty much party every night and make A's.

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You just described every business school ever.

It depends on your major at Ole Miss. An international studies student, for example, can't dick around and get all A's.

Vanderbilt -obvious
Georgia -great school, traditions, Athens
LSU- our rankings will continue to rise as we continue to restructure/realign our whole system into one unified university similar to tOSU
Alabama
Mizzou
Florida
Auburn
Texas AM
Ole Miss
South Carolina
Arkansas
Tennessee
Kentucky
Mississippi State

(excluding A&M from which I have a degree)

1)Vandy
2)UF
3)Mizzou
4)Georgia
5)Auburn
6)UT
7)USCe
8)Alabama
9)Kentucky
10)Arkansas
11)Ole Miss
12)LSU
13)Mississippi State

quote:

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This thread is actually pretty funny but understandable as so few SEC folks really know much about A&M.

The Aggie Network is no joke though, here is one rating us at #8 above Michigan and Northwestern: LINK Here is another listing us at #8 as well and ahead of Columbia (#2 Public): LINK

The Ring actually makes a tangible difference. A&M has a standardized ring that is essentially the same for the last 100 years or so and has very strict standards in order to obtain it. Aggies wear their rings far more than most schools, it ties back to the military heritage (most Academies are the same way). Since people wear their rings you can easily identify Aggies and it is a great ice breaker. Can't tell you how many times I had a client meeting and saw someone else with the Ring and the entire tone changed.

A&M is also listed as the #2 school by college recruiters according to the WSJ: LINK (Florida is #9).

A&M also has 34k applicants for 8k slots for next year, it gets harder and harder to get in every year (mainly because of the growth in Texas and the large number of excellent HS's especially in the Suburbs of the big cities). It's a Tier 1 AAU school with a monster endowment that is essentially tied with Michigan at #2 among Publics (more than double Vandy and 5 times Florida) that is a research monster.

A&M also had an "Elephant Walk" LONG before some stupid Frats came up with a sick twist on the term. Seniors at A&M are called "Elephants" and "Elephant Walk" is kind of a ceremonial last walk around campus with your class. At the end it turns in to a war of sorts with the upcoming Juniors that are trying to "Kill off the Elephants" a little early. It's a bigger deal with the Corps because Class rank is the basis of the entire system but it is also observed by the rest of the students as well to a degree.

Honestly the thing I always liked best about A&M is it is so diverse. It has the largest and most active Student Services organization of any school. Whatever club, activity, or interest you have there is a group for it. That allows for people to find their own group within the 50k student body. There is a huge Greek system to go with the Corps but most Aggies are independents. It's just a unique place.

It's not for everyone but it has a lot to offer.

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Aggie Network is easily the best in the SEC. I don't see how it is debatable.

I was accepted by every school I applied to, including a couple of ivies, with substantial scholarship offers from all of them. Ole Miss was the only SEC school I applied to, but I'm pretty confident I would have gone to any of them I wanted for free, and I chose Ole Miss, with Penn being the only offer that made the decision tough.

I have many friends with Ivy League degrees, and have yet to get an answer from any of them as to what I would have learned in combinatorics or game theory at Yale that I didn't learn at Ole Miss, and at Ole Miss I got to develop close relationships with highly respected economists and mathematicians and was able to, pretty much whenever I felt like it, go plop down in their offices and chat about economics, politics, life in general, or whatever else I wanted. No way I'd have had that privilege as an undergrad at any of those better schools.

I imagine there are several schools in the SEC where I would have had a similar experience, but from there it came down to culture, and Ole Miss was my personal preference.

That said, my list:

Ole Miss
Georgia
LSU
South Carolina
TAMU
Florida
Missouri

After Missouri, I would never seriously consider any of the others, but if forced to attend one, the preference would be:

Vandy
Bama
Tennessee
Auburn
Kentucky
Arkansas
State

If I wasn't already an LSU fan, and money was not an issue, I would rank them as such:

14. Mississippi State
13. Arkansas
12. Mizzou
11. Kentucky
10. South Carolina
9. Alabama
8. Texas A&M
7. Auburn
6. Ole Miss
5. Tennessee
4. Vanderbilt
3. Florida
2. LSU
1. Georgia

1. Vanderbilt
2. UGA
3. South Carolina
4. Florida
5. Texas A&M

6-13. It depend on the major for the most part. All these schools have their strengths.

14. Mississippi State

In HS, I visited LSU, Vandy, Tennessee, UK, UGA, South Carolina, Bama and Auburn and chose LSU, so LSU.