Austin College

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Rankings & Lists

Students Say - Academics
Austin College, a "small school with a huge amount of opportunities," "is about active learning and creating unique experiences for each student" through "unsurpassed opportunities for internships, studying abroad, and a personalized learning experience," students tell us. "A strong pre-med pro- gram" attracts many undergraduates to this campus; psychology, political science, international relations, environmental studies, language programs featuring "the Jordan Family Language House, the language tables in the cafeteria, conversation classes, and incredibly easy access to study abroad," and an education program "where one can get a [master's degree in teaching]" also earn students' accolades. Students are especially enthusiastic about AC's "JanTerm," "where for the month of January students take one intensive course," and "many students take the opportunity to go abroad or do internships or directed studies of their choice." Best of all, students benefit from "matched tuition when abroad," which means that "all scholarships and loans remain in place for your tuition abroad." Academics entail "a well-rounded and difficult curriculum that really gives students...bang for their buck," combined with "tough classes, hard work, and great people." The end result, undergraduates explain, is "a fun yet academically challenging place that is more home than school."

Students Say - Campus Life
Campus life at Austin College is pretty much what you'd expect at a small school in a small town. Undergraduates "generally chill out at their friend's places" or "house hop, have dinner parties, [or attend] writer's circles, Friday Night Happy Hour, painting circles, garden parties, tea parties, [and other] quaint little things." AC also has "a great Greek community, although it's entirely local" (i.e., unaffiliated with national Greek organizations) and an effective campus activities board that "has some kind of event planned for almost every night (bingo, movies, etc.). They also get tickets for midnight showings at Cinemark and free bowling at the local alley." Hometown Sherman contributes "a dollar cinema, which isn't too shabby" and "local bars and restaurants [that] run nightly specials," but otherwise it "is not a very active or exciting town, so you have to try a little harder to enjoy yourself." Students note that "we're only an hour away from Dallas and Denton, and an hour-and-a-half to Fort Worth, so a large city isn't too hard to reach." All in all, things are pretty low key at AC. "In general, a lot of people spend a lot of time on schoolwork and studying, at an on-campus job, at some sort of service organization, or [participating in] an extracurricular," one student sums up.

Students Say - Student Body
Though small, Austin College is large enough to "host a regular buffet of savant-level geniuses, artistic hippie types, and driven athletes." Undergrads tend to be "very studious" to the point that "everyone here is a bit of a nerd." One student elaborates: "Take every nerd from every high school...and put them all in one place. That's Austin College, and once all the fresh eccentric kids arrive, they reassemble into what a 'normal' school should look like, with jocks, theater groups, musicians, academics, class clowns, homecoming queens, and library workers." They're also "pretty liberal, aware of social issues...and focused on the importance of service to others." Though, in the past, students have noted that there is "not much racial diversity among students due to the size, price, and location of the school." Recent efforts to increase minority representation on campus have been a big success. "Though Presbyterian, Austin College is very religiously diverse, and students of all religions (including the irreligious) are accepted." Most here "are from the Dallas/Fort Worth area."

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