Welcome to Texas A&M University

What is Aggieland?

College Station for a long time has come to be known as Aggieland, the land of the Aggies. Students enrolled at Texas A&M University are called Aggies, and hence the name.

What does A&M stand for?

When the University was founded in 1876, it was called as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (AMC) — the first public University in Texas. A&M, therefore, stands for ''Agricultural and Mechanical''. Years later, the college was turned into a University and many more departments were added. However, the name stuck and so it is still called Texas A&M University. (Don’t be surprised if you find some of the mechies constantly bragging about how they put the ''M'' in ''A&M''!). We even have songs that address the college as Texas AMC.

What is Howdy?

Howdy (How are you doing in short) is the Aggie (let’s say Texan) way of greeting everyone. Y’all better get used to the Texan way of mixing up the words. It's common here even for strangers to exchange Howdy. So whenever someone greets you, put up a smile and reply back Howdy!

I have heard that all Universities in the US have a lot of traditions behind them. Does A&M have any?

''Does'' A&M have any?! Gear up fellas! Texas A&M University is probably one of the only Universities where a lot of emphasis is placed on traditions. Many things like The 12th Man, Gig 'em, Midnight Yell, Silver Taps, Muster, etc. have come to be a cherished part of A&M.

There is a lot to write about these, so we encourage you to visit these websites to learn more about Aggie Traditions. It's always good to sink in the Aggie spirit before you come here.

To learn about Aggie Traditions:

• https://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/

• https://traditions.tamu.edu/traditions/ (this site has illustrations)

You will anyway be exposed to lots of the traditions during the orientation and new student conferences.

Who is the mascot of Texas A&M University? 

Reveille, the first lady of Aggieland, is the official mascot of Texas A&M University. She is the highest ranking member of the Corps of Cadets, and she is a Five-Star General. Having said that, may we point out that Reveille is a dog! Reveille is the most revered dog on campus. Though it seems humorous, Company E-2 has the privilege of taking care of Reveille. If she is sleeping on a cadet's bed, that cadet must sleep on the floor. Cadets address Reveille as "Miss Rev, ma'am". If she barks while the professor is teaching in class, the class is to be immediately dismissed. No less than any celebrity, a pic with Reveille is what most of the students vie for badly.

How big is College Station?

College Station (CS) is a city with a population of about 70,000. The neighbouring city, Bryan, is very close by (just about a mile) that these two are usually called the twin cities. CS has all sorts of facilities, lots of good restaurants, shops and a mall too. It’s not as big as metro cities, but it’s still a good place to live in.

What is the weather like in College Station?

College Station has a varied climate from really hot summers to really cold winters. 

More or less this is the year-round climate: April mid-Sep: Summer Season (Temp reaches 35deg-40degC; very hot in the afternoon, occasional rains) Sep-Nov: Fall Season (Warm in the afternoon, but pleasant otherwise; occasional rains) Nov-Feb: Winter Season (temp goes as low as 0deg-3degC. It's quite windy here, due to which the weather gets chilled and the temperature may actually feel like sub-zero. It doesn't snow here, but there have been rare incidences of ice formation. Feb-April: Spring Season (Best time of the year. Weather is pleasant and there are occasional rains)

Remember to bring a good umbrella as the rains are pretty heavy out here. When it rains, it pours!

Are there Nepali/Indian stores in College Station?

College Station does not have Nepali stores or restaurants however it has nearly 3 Indian stores here. You get nearly every Nepali/Indian foodstuff and grocery that you need. (Even Parle-G biscuits and Wai Wai noodles!). They are open most time of the day and are all within walking distance from Campus.

What about the safety issues attending evening classes and moving back to the apartment? Are there any emergency services available?

College Station is a pretty much safe place and we don’t have issues like racism. There have been stray cases of problems so we suggest that you try not to stay very late out by yourself. Emergency services - 911, Campus Police, EMS, Corps of Cadets Escort service are available 24/7; 'round the clock.

What is the time difference between Nepal and College Station?

College Station comes in the ''Central Time (US and Canada)'' time zone. Here they use the concept of Daylight Saving Time - DST (a correction factor used to accommodate for the duration of day during winters and summers). When DST is switched on, College Station time is 10 hrs and 45 minutes behind Nepal Standard Time. When DST is off, CS time is 11 hrs and 45 minutes behind NST.

What is this DST - Daylight Saving Time?

As the name suggests, the time is set in such a way that maximum daylight could be used. Eg. During summer, the sun rises at around 5 o'clock. So the clock is set forward by one hour. This forces all activities to start one hour early so that maximum daylight is used till late in the evening.

Therefore: The clock is set back by one hour on the first Sunday of November 1 (Fall Season) at 2:00 am. Clock is once again set forward by one hour on the first Sunday of April at 2:00 am (Spring Season). The easiest way to remember this is FALL BACK, SPRING AHEAD.

By the way, Arizona is the only state, which is not affected by daylight saving. People there do not ever change the time on their clocks

The information on this page was referenced from the IGSA's website (Indian Graduate Students Association at Texas A&M University). The link to the page is: https://igsatamu.com/index.html