Texas Tech University

I did move in from New York to attend Texas Tech in Lubbock. I will be graduating in December 2015. I have had mostly bad experiences while here. It has been more than 2 years since I relocated from New York. So I have had in-school experiences as well as a resident of Lubbock experience.

Texas Tech in Lubbock accepts student from mostly smaller cities around Lubbock and even from out of state. I have made few friends in Lubbock and none from the school partly because the Greek society pretty much rule the campus. You will most likely be ignored if you are not a member of their inner circle or group of friends. People usually have blank stare on their faces when you ask a question of try to start a conversation. If you are non-white, the passive animosity is even worse. Students that you have taken classes with, worked together on a group project will simply not acknowledged you even with a nod if you run across them on the street or within the school premises. This really disturbs me. I wish I knew why the students are like this since most of them are from around Lubbock. So it is hard to say it is a Lubbock problem.

Lubbock is a small city with a big chain businesses everywhere. Students spend most of their time drinking and going to movies since the city barely organizes events that are community oriented. There are many small business on 34th street, but most people prefer to shop at the mall rather than support small businesses. I reside in a family oriented neighborhood and since I have been here about 3 years now, my neighbors are always looking at the sky, scratching their head, looking away at something very interesting, tying their shoes (you get the gist) rather than say a simply 'howdy' . I usually have an old lady from across my block that usually come say hello every now and then.

I do have very few people who I am friends with and from my interaction with them, it is either they are from out of Lubbock or have travelled extensively. Perhaps that is why they are cordial. I usually play indoor soccer at Indiana Avenue and find it very difficult to get into a team. In two occasions, two teams played handicapped instead of having me play on their team while I asked to join and was given a firm no. I assume their reason was because I was black since they are an all white team. These are some of my experiences I would like to share. Most people you will see might tell you how friendly people from Lubbock are but I do not agree with that based on my experiences in Lubbock. The ending of 2015 would not catch me here, after graduation, I will be moving to more hospitable city(ies) in Texas such as Dallas-Forth Worth or San Antonio.

If you are still coming, I hope you find it a more pleasant experience than I did.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2015

Perceived Campus Safety: A+, Surrounding City: D-

The professors at this university do not care about the students. Only students with very deep pockets get good grades. Financial aid lied just to get me to attend.

1st Year Male -- Class 2017

3 years ago, when I was looking for a college, I either wanted to go to UT, or to get the **# out of Austin and get some perspective. I didn't quite make the cut to get into UT, but I would've gone had I chosen to simply go to community college for a semester or two. Still, I felt I had an opportunity to see life outside of my hometown on my own two feet for the first time, so I felt at the time that Tech was the next best choice.

I'll be honest with you, my first two years at this University were great! I had the ultimate social life because I went Greek, and I joined several organizations and worked at a job I liked. School went well, and even to this day I have nothing bad to say about the faculty. The faculty is superb and I always feel like I'm being pushed to succeed. Its hard to say anything bad about the education aspect. The school suffers from the same issues other larger public Universities face. And how do I pass up Red Raider football? Watching Tech play in person along side your friends is one of the most exhilarating experiences I've had in any school.

What went wrong? Well, eventually, I outgrew the "fratty" lifestyle and wanted to focus more on my major, and other things I've always wanted to do. The picture really falls apart here and in a very big way. If you don't choose to go to the bars or party at someone's house, you're really not gonna have many friends out here. In fact, people start to act condescending to you if you can't add to the conversation about how @#*ed up all of your buddies got the night before. As a senior hoping to graduate soon, I just can't party the way I used to, and to be frank, I would choose very different ways to use my time even if I could.

I realize now that had I gone to UT or even Texas State: yeah I still would have been feeling this way towards the end of my degree, and I would probably be looking to find more friends; to whom I don't feel the pressure to adhere to a certain lifestyle. However, I would be in what is arguably one of the best and most diverse cities in Texas! In a city such as Austin, you are never short of finding the right friends or the right connections to succeed.

I should also add, I have several friends who go to UT. Yes, some of them are asshole frat stars, or materialistic sorority girls just like the people I've seen at Texas Tech. However, (due to a more selective acceptance process) there are a lot more people I'd consider intelligent and well rounded. From the people I have met through friends who go there, I've seen that translate into people with more sincere character and a drive. In conclusion, if you REALLY want to go Greek, and you love sports, and academics matter, I'd say Texas Tech would be the place for you. Once again, I have nothing bad to say about the program I'm in or the faculty. However, I warn everyone reading this; that as cool as going Greek is, or even as cool as drinking every single weekend to get girls is, THATS ALL THERE IS TO DO! In fact, doing that feels like the only true judge of character to have friends. I found that as soon as I didn't like that lifestyle, I had nowhere to go, and no real friends to talk to. Everything after that felt very superficial.

3rd Year Male -- Class 2014

Campus Aesthetics: A+, Useful Schoolwork: F