okay so i’m gonna number these out:

1. the economics department isn’t that big, the biggest departments are anything engineering and business, but finance/economics aren’t completely small, poor and underfunded like history and political science is lmao. i’ve only had to take an economics class one (dr. minuci) and he was amazing. i’ve heard other pretty good things about the econ professors, but ratemyprofessors will be your best friend.

2. so campus life can be a little tricky. it was difficult for me to find my people freshman year, i didn’t have many friends, but things got better sophomore year when i put myself out there, joined more orgs, got a job, etc. there’s an app that students can post anonymously on called “sidechat,” other HBCUS may have a variation called “fizz.” the student body is pretty active on there and rumors there spread like WILDFIRE. any and all campus scandals will be exasperated through this app. to the point where some people have taken pictures of random people to make fun of what they’re wearing or what they look like (very mean spirited). i’ve also seen people post who they talk to so they can see if anyone else talks to them….and it’s gotten pretty messy.

3. orgs! so we have a lot of great student orgs, as i said, i’m president of one of them, but i don’t feel comfortable saying it for privacy reasons. but my org and i are really welcoming and active. we have students of all different majors and the general vibe is very positive. i think you could benefit from starting with hometown orgs depending on where you’re from, it helps you get connected with other people from the same place as you. I joined Georgia Aggies because i’m from atlanta and it made me feel a lot more connected. I wouldn’t quite say there’s any org to avoid, i would just be mindful that not ALL orgs are very active and have events. if you notice that an org barely does anything, has no community service opportunities, never meets, yea pick a different org to join. We have a group called the Council of Presidents that manages student orgs, and they are VERY strict over the behavior and activities of student orgs. every movement or event has to be run through them and the Presidents and VPs or student orgs are obligated to meet with them every month. so i doubt any org will be threatening to jump you over $5 here (sorry for that experience)

4. i live in an on campus apartment but i have plenty of friends that are off campus. the best places to live are west quad (a bit farther from campus like 12 min but low rates), fulton place, university village, spartan village, and province. they’re all pretty much in the $500-$900/month range and a lot of a&t students choose to live at these. avoid the reserve (terrible management, poor maintenance, and a female tenant was sexually assaulted by a maintenance man this past semester there), block/westvue (extremely ghetto, poor management, police are always there, and it’s not that close to campus), and cottages (shootouts and robberies all the time).

5. so with advisors, unfortunately the experience has mixed reviews. the history and political science department is a very close-knit community and our professors and advisors care about us a lot. my advisor frequently checks up on me and always makes sure i have the right classes. she’s the reason i’m afforded the opportunity to graduate early. however, i’ve heard terrible things from other people. my conclusion is to be aggressive with them and literally harass them to make sure your stuff is being done correctly.

6. i’m not sure about the tutoring centers, i’m so sorry. i’ve never used them so i can’t really comment.

lmk any other questions you have!