College Towns: College Station, Texas

The Town: College Station, Texas

College Station offers all of the benefits of a close-knit community (95,500 residents), but its central location provides a relatively easy drive to all the state’s major cities. Dallas, San Antonio, Houston and Austin are all within a four-hour drive.

Expect hot summers and overall year-round warmth, but you can cool yourself off in the 180,000 acres of lakes that make up the surrounding area.

The School: Texas A&M University

When you step on campus, make sure you say “Howdy” instead of hello and “Gig ‘em” instead of goodbye. These are the official greetings in College Station.

Texas A&M was founded to provide farming and military training to men, and these remain two of the most important parts of the curriculum. It’s a top 20 research institute with NASA-funded projects. Although military training is no longer required, it still boasts the biggest enrollment of military students outside the service academics.

What to Do

Texas A&M has a beautiful campus, with more than 1,300 acres of public parks, golf courses and sports facilities at your disposal. When you’ve got to buckle down for your upcoming exams, the George Bush Presidential Library is one of the most aesthetically pleasing places to study in the entire nation.

The student section at Texas A&M football games is nicknamed the “12th Man,” as the cheering and support they provide is viewed as worth an extra player and the difference in what is usually an Aggie home win. Although there’s tailgating before every game, the highlight is the Aggie Bonfire, in which the students light a giant bonfire the Friday night before the game against archrival Texas.

Where to Eat and Drink

Alfred T. Hornbeck’s, in the heart of campus, is a great place to eat food, have a beer, and watch a game. With a happy hour lasting from 4 to 8, you can have fun without breaking the bank.

Did you Know

An annual Texas A&M tradition is the Aggie Muster, an honorary event for current and former students who passed away in the past year. About 12,000 gather on campus for the service, with smaller versions held in South Korea, Turkey and all over the globe.

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