Former A&M Grad student here (long time ago....1987-89). I got my MBA at A&M, and at that time the curriculum and faculty were excellent. I'm sure its only improved since then. As to what several others here have alluded to....TAMU has an incredible network and alumni hire and take care of alumni...especially in Texas. If you like Texas, and plan to work there after finishing school you will not have a difficult time finding work. The "college atmosphere" you're looking for is absolutely there....60K students and a fanatic football fanbase in the SEC means you will experience athletics at the highest level...now if they could only compete better at Football! The faculty/staff/students are pretty traditional and conservative but also friendly. The campus is basically enclosed although big and spread out at the same time. The facilities are top notch....most of them built in the past 30 years or less. For example. the Student Union is really nice and new and has a surprising number of events/fun things to check out. Bryan/College Station is somewhat bland and completely dominated by the University. That's not to say its completely devoid of culture...its just mostly restaurants, a few famous bars, and even fewer nightclubs. The good news is it's only 80 miles from Houston, about 110 to Austin, and 180 miles to Dallas/Fort Worth. Good luck and if you have any further questions...please ask!
This is what I was going to say. It's an old joke about hiring an Aggie in HR, then you end up with an office full of Aggies.
The oil and gas element is interesting. I'm definintely very interested in how business ans politics intersect; and the geographic areas I'm most interested in are the Middle East and Eastern Europe (obvious tie-in with oil there). It be cool to leverage the A&M connection into doing political risk analysis or the ilk for an O&G company; unles you were referring to doing some sort of technical/engineering work in that industry
I was strictly referencing engineering/business role within O&G. I don’t know any Aggie policy makers. Not saying they don’t exist, but I know countless Aggie engineers.
My wife completed both her undergraduate and master's degree at A&M, both in wildlife biology. She graduated in 2016 and in the 2 years she's been back in Houston, A&M/College Station has grown drastically. There are so many more places to eat, drink, hang out, or just study. The cost of living is also not as bad as you would find in other major colleges, especially if you get a place in Bryan, TX, which is right next door to College Station. Another benefit of living in Bryan is that it tends to be quieter with some cool spots for older students. You should definitely stop by and take a tour if you haven't yet. You're also not too far from Houston or Austin, in case you're interested in day tripping there.
I wouldn't go there. It's an over-rated school that has zero value outside Houston or Texas. I would go to a top 5-10 school in whichever discipline you're looking at. This is likely your last ever degree so make it worth it, go to the best school possible and don't go to just another school like TAMU is My 0.02
The IR field (in my experience) seems to have three tiers: Exceptional (think Ivy league; University of Chicago, LSE, Oxford), solid, and non-existent. It's a field most schools don't really offer. For what it's worth; Foreign Policy ranked A&M number 26th for IR Master's. Duke, Denver, Pitt (other schools I'm looking at) are in a similar spot. The DC schools Master's programs are also ranked highly; but I have a feeling this is in part due to the internships/networking possibilities. Here's the article if anyone is interested. I really do appreciate everyone's feedback. It might honestly come down to the sort of merit aid I receive, what my personal life/career look like in a year and a half etc. I'm single right now and living paycheck to paycheck. But if I had a more promising job or a serious girlfriend, than staying in DC becomes more appealing.
