Austin College (AC)

Located about an hour north of Dallas, Austin College is a small private liberal arts school that places applied learning at the forefront of the curriculum. A mandatory First-Year Experience program helps to introduce new 'Roos to all that the school has to offer in this respect, while a month-long JanTerm course each year-some of which are offered abroad-helps "encourage [students] to try classes outside of their majors." As one student reports, "I was able to spend the month of January doing an internship that counted as my course... [a] practical experience that was truly beneficial." As students put it, "The sheer amount of hands-on learning experiences that we have here at Austin College is phenomenal." Students are given many "unique opportunities that are unlike any other institution," including undergraduate research opportunities through the Center for Research, Experiential, Artistic & Transformative Education (CREATE).

Professors are accessible and "emblematic of the liberal arts experience, managing to create courses that are applicable and/or explore a number of disciplines." This means that "there are tons of fun classes that may have a lot of work, but the work feels like a game or the professor works to include very interesting and attention-grabbing activities." One student specifies, "I got to go taste food at local restaurants and learned how to critique said food, I got to help with a local charity for a class." In summary, "all of the core areas that you want a college to succeed in, Austin College excels at."

This group is "diverse in our languages, races, religions, political views," with almost half of the students representing an ethnic minority group. "Everyone here is very open and accepting" and "all bounce off from one another learning new things all the time." As a student says, "We are small, but a mighty community, and a group can truly be found for all." The college "fosters an environment of inclusion and openness for new ideas and community," and while "there are naturally formed friend groups/cliques, as well as Greek life, students tend to mix regardless of their connections." An additional benefit to the school's size "means basically everyone knows each other and we are able to create a special environment at events because of the comfortability with each other." Another student concurs: "It is very easy to make friends with other students, [and] everyone is always willing to talk and say hello, even if they have met you only a few times."

Part of the beauty of a small campus [is] you can be a part of anything and everything, and the "sense of pride and community runs rampant with all of our students and faculty." Students can expect to be busy, as many "have a full schedule with classes, frats/sororities, student organizations, clubs, internships, and on campus jobs (AC is full of opportunities for students to earn money working on the campus)." Luckily the campus itself "is small, so there is not much competition for parking and traveling to class is very easy." The Campus Activities Board "[has] these weekly and monthly events all year long that [keep] us students entertained at full max," including offerings such as "an escape room offcampus (free of charge), or a HUGE Texas-fest carnival with a big ride." There are also particularly strong international opportunities at Austin, and "it's so easy to travel abroad with the school (with scholarship)!" Another student illustrates: "After I graduate, I'll have traveled four times through AC: twice domestic and twice abroad, all pretty much funded by a scholarship I received on campus my freshman year. The school really wants its students to explore and have an experience that you can't get at any other university."