Texas Tech University

First, the University like most loves their money and will nickel and dime you to death if allowed to do so. They love fees like no other. Particularly late fees and parking fees.

Every semester I've been here I have had a dispute with the Business Office and Financial Aid pertaining to late fees because of errors on their behalf. They have tried to pin late fees on my account despite full, on-time payment and when I continued bothering them finally someone admitted it was an "unfortunate error and would be corrected". Second semester, they billed me, then told me my accepted loans/grants wouldn't apply because I wasn't in the system. How I can have a bill if I don't exist is beyond me. Why I didn't exist during the second semester in their records is another quandary I've often wondered about.

Parking and parking fees. Parking is ridiculous and their enforcement is political and workers arrogant.

Before getting into parking costs and uselessness of permits, unlike any university I have ever been to before whether visiting or attending, I have NEVER been at a University that was 'Closed Campus' in regards to student/public parking during operation hours. Which is exactly what TTU is. Only faculty is allowed parking on-campus, visitors MUST have a pass (good for only ONE day or else a $200 fine if they see it anywhere in or on your car, laying on the passengers seat included, after that timeframe), and anyone else is ticketed, booted, and towed between the hours of 7:30 to 5:30 Monday to Friday.

Even if you're in the right, I have often seen the parking enforcement ticket people legally parked in open lots after 5:30 and come up with some strange excuse such as parking too far or too close to a curb, parking too far out, parking at a slant, obstructing nearby vehicle, etc... which the university SUPPORTS 100%. They will never back a student when a ticket is obviously a money maker.

Now you may wonder, how do I go about parking as a student then? Well, if you're in one of the close by dorms, luckily you'll have access to one or two small parking lots in which to compete with the 1000 or so other residents nearby. In that case, the walk isn't terrible. Now, if you don't live in the dorms there is this fantastic Commuter system TTU dreamed up and utilizes as their cash cow. Commuter parking, unless you're going to the Animal Sciences buildings, Rec Center, or United Spirit Arena expect to walk a minimum of a mile to your destination. If that is parked full, expect 2+ miles to your classes each day. I suppose you could chalk this up to healthy exercise and beneficial to the body, unless of course this is during the warm months where trekking 2+ miles in 90 degree hot, humid weather isn't particularly fun.

And saving the best part for last, 8 out of 10 times you CAN'T even use the Commuter parking lots you've paid $100+ for because they are always having events and student permits are INVALID in STUDENT LOTS on event days. But if you park elsewhere, you'll be ticketed $20 - $250. See the profit?

Now for academics. A lot of the students here aren't exactly the sharpest knives in the drawer. I went here primarily because so many people praised and admired Tech that I knew. Everyone insisted the academics were rigorous and superb. Then I got here and that image went down the drain. While the professors are usually decent, half the students come unprepared, rarely complete assignments and when they do complete assignments they're of poor quality. No one does the readings and usually won't make a peep when professors ask questions. When someone does answer there is a collective sigh as the slackers' hopes of getting out early are crushed. A lot of women are unfortunately only here to meet their future husband, end of story. While some of the men are more ambitious, most are attending because they were suckered into it by parents or a prospective employer.

Tech rule of thumb: When there is a choice to be made between beer or books, the beer ALWAYS wins out. This campus has more parties than seems reasonable, but at least the students of today are the people who keep AA going strong tomorrow. I don't know how many times I've met drunk or drugged students, or those suffering from withdrawal or hangover. Its rather disturbing.

As for friends and socializing, the university is large. Many have a city mindset and rarely associate with others unless in a 'safe' setting like the classroom. Don't expect to try and make conversation on the street. Sometimes you'll run across a stray, careless extrovert or rural soul that'll chat but its rare. Further, if you're out of state and have anything but a Southern accent, being ostracized is an understatement. The native Lubbockites don't take kindly to outsiders. They're so closed minded the blood flow to their brains has been restricted, rendering them unable to rationalize we're not threats to their 'Great State'. Texans from other cities such as Dallas and Austin are a little bit more open minded but even that only goes so far.

For Lubbock itself, that too is a disaster. I often think if a gateway to hell existed, Lubbock would claim this title. I've been to many cities of various sizes and Lubbock has some issues out of proportion considering its population. There are homeless panhandlers, crackheads and meth users, thugs and gangs heavily splattered about the town. Only certain areas seem to be free of this excessive poverty and crime scourge. I never seen real FBI agents until I came to Lubbock. I never seen an armed robbery in progress until I came to Lubbock. I never had someone try to break into my car while I was in it until I came to Lubbock. I never had a junkie try to sell me a burnt frisbee as fine china, until I came to Lubbock.As I've said previously, Lubbock has been an experience, but not one I care to repeat. While some seem to adapt well and enjoy Lubbock, I on the other hand look forward to the glorious day when I can extract myself from its clutches and go onto a happier place with lower crime and substantially more well adjusted, intelligent, secure people.