Texas A&M is a university filled with spirit and pride, located in College Station. A&M first opened in 1876 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, with the first attendees being white males only. In the years between opening to 1999, Texas A&M got up to 10,745 students, including women. The school has thrived since then, with now about 50,000 students attending each year.

The campus of Texas A&M spreads over 5,200 acres. The dorms are also split into Northside and Southside, with the campus housing on the Northside usually being cheaper. Dorms can be co-ed, suites, and singles, along with bathrooms either being community or private.

Senior Jessica Featherston stayed in Lechner Hall before and gives an inside look.

“The dorms that I stayed in were pretty old, but still very spacious and had all of the necessary amenities,” Featherston said. “Each dorm roomed two people, with about 50 rooms on each floor so that made it really easy to bond with others and meet new people. The only thing I didn’t enjoy about the dorms was that they were freezing, and warm water didn’t work very well in the showers.”

There are a variety of different tours at Texas A&M, such as a walking tour and a campus housing tour, comprised of a perspective student and a corps of cadet sessions. Jessica has been on several of the tours in addition to personal visits.

“I visited a lot and was able to participate in many tours that they offered to high school students,” Featherston said. “This year I was invited to a National Scholar camp where the students got to go around and learn about the whole campus, stay in the Honors dorms and sit in on a few mock lectures. It helped to get a college feel.”

Texas A&M is often noted as a friendly and tradition-filled school and according to Featherston the conversations spreading around are true.

“There are so many traditions that they have at A&M that they don’t have at any of the other schools I’ve visited,” Featherston said. “Everyone there is so friendly and accepting and I’ve never been to a school with as much spirit and pride.”

A&M is also highly academically rated, at the top for Texas public institutions among the student retention and graduation totals. The school is also able to research with 130 plus foundations in 52 countries.“The dedication that the students have to the school really stood out to me,” Featherston said.  “The friendliness and the high spirits make it seem like the place to be. I want to be a part of something like that.”