Austin College Visit Report by monciel

Visit Activities:

Information Session: No - I did not attend an information session, but my tour guide was very knowledgeable and provided a lot of information during the tour based on what he thought I would be interested in.

Campus Tour: Yes - Student led. He made sure to tailor the tour to my specific interests. It was over 100 degrees out, but seeing every building possible and the amount of trees on campus made it bearable.

Classroom Visit: Yes - This was a summer visit so I didn't attend a class but I did get to see the inside of a typical classroom. The desks and resemblance to a high school classroom revealed the typical class size (sm

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Campus:

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No idea as there weren't really any on campus.

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The admissions staff was very friendly and approachable. They all made sure I had as much information as I needed about the college and that I experienced everything I could and wanted to.

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A lot of brown, homogenous buildings, but also a lot of greenery and trees. I also thought it was pretty small. Overall, it was nice however.

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It looks like they keep up very well with maintenance and renovations. In fact, there was some construction while I visited (both renovations and expansions).

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Typical but decent. Even got to see the hall bathroom (I am a bit obsessive about clean bathrooms) and it looked alright. It looked like there's a sort of community atmosphere within the dorms.

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It looked like there really wasn't much to worry about in Sherman in terms of safety. There were emergency phones scattered throughout the small campus.

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It seemed too small for me to be quite honest, but the intimate setting may be ideal for others. I did like the emphasis on community and building relationships with others, including professors.

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Off-Campus:

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Just had residents and churches and the like. There was nothing near the campus that would appeal to students.

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Dull and small. A lot of buildings and offices were up for lease. They were also very old. There weren't any restaurants or shops really.

Campus Visit Notes for Austin College

Visit Description:

Austin College is one of several colleges/universities I am visiting over the summer. As I wasn't sure what environment I would be most comfortable in (small or huge, etc.), I visited Austin College to try to imagine if I could live within such a small school. Unfortunately for me, such a small college doesn't seem to fit me, especially since the town it resides in, Sherman, doesn't offer much for a student (note that Dallas is about an hour or so away, though).

I did like some aspects of the environment and atmosphere of AC though. Everything in the tour, from how they made sure to accommodate the information provided and the locations visited to my interests, really revealed the way the school and the students interact. AC really focuses on intimate relationships in every way. From how each student has access to a professor as a mentor throughout their time at AC to how accessible and approachable all the faculty and staff on campus seemed (I was able to meet a professor chilling in his office with a few other professors in the social sciences building), anyone looking for a real sense of community would probably love it here.

There was also a lot of emphasis on experiencing other cultures, especially with Jan Term study abroad (they have an entire display and mural for study abroad). They even set up flags to represent where the "current" (as this most likely represents the previous spring semester) international students came from.

Community service also seems like a huge focus at AC, as there were lots of photos and posters on display of past projects by clubs and such, which is something I also liked.

Despite those positive aspects, I still feel that AC isn't the college for me because of how small it is and the lack of anything to do outside the campus in Sherman (though some would say that is a good thing, less distractions). I would definitely recommend visiting AC (or another small college) to see if such a setting is right for you because it isn't something you can't figure out through the Internet, especially if you are concerned with its 1,300 student body being too cramped for you.