Texas Tech University

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

Do not come here as a transfer student in engineering. You will be nearly completely excluded from internship and scholarship opportunities because of the 'Foundational' tag that you will be stuck with for 1-2 semesters regardless of your previous accomplishments. Also, there are some decent-ish scholarships for transfer students, but they don't look quite as good when you take into account that engineering students pay an extra $1250 PER SEMESTER more than every other student here. Also, plan on a minimum $1200 per semester for REQUIRED books and online content. Whereas there are plenty of other schools out there where you can get bye just fine on used books for $250 a semester.

Also, the online homework systems are buggy beyond belief and the sheer volume of busy work that contributes nothing to understanding the subject matter here place is off-the-charts.Bottom line: If you have rich parents, and just want to look at some hotties, this is the place for you. Anyone else - transfer students especially - keep looking.

1st Year Male -- Class 2016

Campus Aesthetics: A, Useful Schoolwork: F

Where do I start? If your not in a frat or sorority, good luck making friends. If your not white, good luck making friends. Diversity here isn't exactly the greatest. I've only been here at tech for about a month and I already hate it. I originally picked Tech out of the 8 schools I had admissions into, including better schools like USD(University of San Diego) and USC(University of Southern California). I picked Tech because it was cheaper and I would get the change to get away from my parents.

I came here from San Diego, Ca because I thought I was sick of California, thinking that I would get to experience that "southern hospitality" and get meet new people, boy was I wrong. Everyone is exactly what other reviews have stated, closed minded, arrogant and snooty. If you try asking someone a friendly question like "what did the professor say?" most likely you'll just get a dirty look. The professors here suck. Most can't speak English to save their life. The others who can, just suck. I have 6 classes and only one class (history) is moderately okay. Every other class is taught by an arrogant jerk. Most of the things that I've learned here, I've taught myself. It's almost as if the teachers here want you to fail or something. Why the heck are you going to grade me on something you didn't teach adequately? My computer science class is pretty much all failing because of one professor daydreaming for the entire class. Tech loves it's money. They will charge you for EVERYTHING. The food here sucks and is overpriced. Don't get me started on Lubbock. Lubbock is boring and ghetto. If your like me and don't drink, good luck. There is literally nothing to do here. The weather is random and sucks. It's kind of like a confused child, it never knows when to be hot or cold. Being from California, I know what a pretty girl looks like, and Lubbock doesn't have a single one. It's as if Tech collects all the rednecks and ugly girls or something. If you bring your car drive slow, the rednecks here drive like jackasses. Overall DO NOT I repeat DO NOT make the same mistake I did and come to Texas Tech, unless you want to be around ugly girls, rednecks, professors who can't teach and don't give a damn about you, and of course live in the sh*t hole known as Lubbock.PS Californian's stay in Cali for the amazing weather and beautiful people. Unless of course you want to get with honey boo boo than sure come here.

1st Year Male -- Class 2017

Perceived Campus Safety: C, Education Quality: F