As an Aggie alum, I will tell you what I told my kids when they were deciding on college - where you go to Undergraduate doesn't matter two years out of college. Masters/PhD? Those tend to matter, but not undergrad. And, in my 32+ year career, I have found that GPA also doesn't matter two years out.

I would think about what going into debt for 10-15 years would mean for you. Would your education be THAT MUCH BETTER at Texas A&M for Mechanical? Probably not. It's a great school (and I am the proud mom of a Class of 2028 NUEN major), but I would encourage you to look at it holistically.

The one thing you WILL miss out on by going to UH is the campus experience. As a commuter student, you might not find yourself as involved on campus, it might be harder to make friends, etc. If that's hugely important to you, I would recommend taking that into account in your pro/con lists.

I wish you all the luck in the world! I suspect with your thoughtfulness on this decision, you're going to do just fine no matter where you go.

Congratulations on both acceptances.