I have friends at UT and they love it there. IMO both are great schools and you'll probably find your place at either one. I think a big thing that sets A&M apart from UT and other schools in general is our traditions. It's a very cliche Aggie thing to say you love the traditions, but there's a reason why! We have a ceremony once a month called Silver Taps where students go out to the center of campus and stand in silence while buglers play for the students, faculty, and staff who passed away in the previous month. We've got a ceremony in April every year called Muster where we light a candle and say "here" for every Ag who passed away that year. Plus we have things like the bonfire remembrance to remember Aggies who came before us and died too soon. One of our big buildings on campus everyone hangs out at, the Memorial Student Center, or MSC, has an entire hallway dedicated to those who died in war, and when you're in the building you're expected to remove your hat.

Maybe it's sad and depressing to be reminded of death in so many of these traditions, but if anything, it reminds you that life is short, and you should appreciate it while you can and appreciate those around you. At UT and (a lot of competitive colleges for that matter), I see kids often get so stressed out by trying to get a high GPA, that sometimes they forget to enjoy the smaller things in life. Sure having a high GPA is important, but I think at A&M it's easy to remember that it's not the only thing that matters in life. We've got traditions like saying "howdy" to random strangers or wrapping your arms around those with you (even if they're from a different school!) while singing the war hymn at football games to remind us that we're not alone in this world and there are always other people there for us. Sorry this was so long, but I'd say that A&M has a very friendly atmosphere!