Austin College

Austin College Summary

Austin College is a private liberal arts college affiliated with the Presbyterian Church USA located in Sherman, Texas, an hour north of Dallas. It is a small yet well respected institution: the undergraduate student body of Austin College (referred to as “AC” by students and faculty, never “Austin”) is limited to about 1,250. Austin College actively promotes various study abroad programs; 70% of students study abroad during their four years at the college. The college’s strengths include the close interaction between the students and professors. The college maintains a 12:1 student to faculty ratio and the average class size is less than 25 students. The college moved to Sherman in 1876 and became co-educational in 1918, merging in 1930 with the all female Texas Presbyterian College. The college was the first in Texas to grant a graduate degree, and is also one of the oldest colleges in the state. World Report ranked Austin College among the top 100 colleges in the category of “Best Liberal Arts Colleges” for 2006. Austin College also ranked among the “Best 361 Colleges” in the 2006 Princeton Review, was profiled in Loren Pope’s Colleges That Change Lives, and was profiled in the 2005 edition of Kaplan’s Unbiased Guide to the 331 Most Interesting Colleges. Austin College is also ninth on the U.S. News’ 2006 list for “most students studying abroad.” Austin College offers about 35 majors and pre-professional programs for study, and students can also create a specialized major to match their academic interests. The college is known for its nationally recognized five-year Master of Arts in Teaching program, its pre-medical, international studies, and pre-law programs, which draw many students to the campus. The school also has a music program, and is home to the Austin College A Cappella Choir and the Sherman Symphony Orchestra made up of students and local musicians, and assorted smaller musical ensembles. The school’s student newspaper, the Austin College Observer, is a bi-monthly publication. As with most Austin College classes, the classes are never more than 25 people, and usually less. Heritage of Western Culture, known on campus as “Heritage” or “HWC”, is a staple of the Austin College curriculum. All students are required to take three Heritage classes during their time at AC: Each class focuses on a particular topic or subject and traces it through time in order to ascertain its effect on contemporary western culture. This attitude led to increasing numbers of students taking the course on a pass/fail basis (and devoting minimal effort), leading Austin College to disallow such a grading system for the course. In early March, 2007, the Austin College faculty voted to end the HWC program, and after the spring semester of 2007 HWC courses will no longer be offered. January Term is Austin College’s mini-semester, a three-week course taught every January. Students are required to take three Jan-terms during their time at AC, and many use the semester to either take a class in a different area than their regular studies, intensify their study in their designated field, or travel abroad on one of the many travel Jan-terms. Many students can only afford only one off-campus Jan-term over the course of their Austin College career, and take the rest on campus. Austin College has participated in Model United Nations around the country since 1983. The Austin College Posey Leadership Institute is intended to instruct student leaders in leadership and service. Austin College currently has five residence halls on campus, as well as additional housing for upperclassmen. Campus organizations include the Student Assembly (SA), Indian Cultural Association, the Austin College ACtivators (a traveling Presbyterian youth ministry program), Campus Activities Board, Student Development Board, Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, Pre-Med Society, and Alpha Phi Omega (a national service co-ed fraternity). Austin College does not participate in national fraternities and sororities, but organizes a system of local Greek organizations exclusive to the school. Austin College students in good standing who have completed at least one semester and meet the RUSH guidelines may participate in RUSH. Unlike other schools where pledgeship lasts a week, Austin College’s pledgeship season is from mid-February until the beginning of spring break, usually about one month. There are currently seven sororities and eight fraternities active: Sororities Fraternities Austin College participates in NCAA Division III athletics. Austin College joined the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference on July 1, 2006, replacing Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology. The Austin College mascot is the kangaroo. The unusual mascot name traces its roots to the 1850s, when Austin College upperclassmen held mock trials — called Kangaroo Kourt — in which freshmen were “tried” by upperclassmen. Pat and the 12-piece band gave Austin College students “the conviction that the Kangaroos could compete athletically with any school in the Southwest.” Pat II was not replaced until the fall of 1950, when Austin College students bought a six-month-old female Australian wallaby named Katy. In the fall of 2005, Austin College began implementing the initial phase of its multi-year, approximately $1 million campus landscape master plan.

Summary content courtesy of Wikipedia.

Austin College Academics

The university has disability services as well, so be sure to inquire about them if needed. Moreover, when any student is looking for some counseling or other types of support, Campus Ministries/Chaplain, Career Counseling, Employment Service, Financial Aid Counseling, Freshman Orientation Program, Health Services and Personal Counseling can help. Austin College is unique in its study options. An instance of this, the university has a Double Major, Honors Program, Independent Study, Internships, Liberal Arts/Career Combination, Student-Designed Major, Study Abroad, Teacher Certification, Visiting/Exchange Student Program and Washington Semester. There’s never a reason to feel alone in your studies either, since there are academic support services like Learning Center, Study Skills Assistance and Tutoring.

The following are the types of degrees and majors offered at Austin College.

Philosphy and Religion:

Philosophy, Religion/Religious Studies

School of Visual and Performing Arts:

Art – General, Music – General

History:

History – General

Computer Science:

Computer Science

Social Sciences:

Economics, International Economics, International Relations, Political Science/Government, Sociology

Mathematics:

Mathematics – General

Popular majors:

seventeen percent social sciences, fourteen percent psychology, thirteen percent business per marketing, nine percent foreign languages and literature, eight percent biology, eight percent english, seven percent history, six percent philosophy and religious studies, five percent communications per journalism, five percent physical sciences

Business, Management, & Marketing:

Business – General

Communications & Journalism:

Communications/Rhetoric

Biological and Biomedical Sciences:

Biochemistry, Biology

Physical Sciences:

Chemistry, Physics

Psychology:

Psychology – General

English Language and Literature:

English, English Language & Literature – General

Foreign Language and Literature:

Classical Civilization, Classics, French, German, Latin, Spanish

Are you an international student? The Fall application deadline for international students is the 1st of March. Additionally, for international students, the application fee is 35. The cost per credit hour (overall) was $846 Cost & Savings Calculator Financial Aid International students eligible for non-need-based aid last fall.

Austin College Admissions

Admission policy is currently Percent applicants admitted: 67%. Remember that this can change at any time. Transfer student are not ignored. That is, there were one hundred and seventeen total number of transfer students who applied and sixty-four total number of transfer students who were admitted. This school requires an application fee consisting of thirty-five dollars regular application fee, thirty-five dollars out-of-state application fee, thirty-five dollars online application fee and point zero .

For all student applicants, the Fall application deadline is the 1st of March. the SAT subject section score due date was not reported. It is also very important to submit financial aid applications as quickly as possible, make sure to check with the university about the specific date for this year. Will you make it in time? Make sure to know when all the due dates and deadlines take place. If you wish to apply early, your application will be do no later than the 1st of December, of which you should hear back from the university no later than the 10th of January. The regular application is due the 1st of May. SAT and ACT score reports are due the 1st of May and Similarly, if you wish to apply with priority status make sure you application is in by the 15th of January. For priority students, financial aid applications are due no later than the 1st of April. Transfer students must apply no later than the 1st of May, with priority applications due on the 15th of January.

Austin College Athletics

The Roos are a member of NCAA. The following sports can be found here:

• Men’s NCAA Division III and Men’s Intercollegiate Baseball
• Men’s NCAA Division III, Women’s NCAA Division III, Men’s Intercollegiate, Women’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Basketball
• Men’s NCAA Division III and Men’s Intercollegiate Football
• Men’s Intercollegiate Golf
• Men’s NCAA Division III, Women’s NCAA Division III, Men’s Intercollegiate, Women’s Intercollegiate, Men’s Intramural and Women’s Intramural Soccer
• Men’s Intramural, Women’s Intramural and Women’s Club Softball
• Women’s NCAA Division III and Women’s Intercollegiate Volleyball

Austin College Financial Aid

If you are not a need based student, non-need distribution for financial aid is determined by Academics, Alumni Affiliation, Art, Leadership, Music/Drama, Religious Affiliation and State/District Residency. Financial aid distribution is at sixty-six percent scholarships per grants and thirty-four percent loans per jobs. In the same way, need based financial aid distribution is determined through State/District Residency. Financial aid forms are FAFSA and Institution’s own financial aid form. Financial aid for students is readily accessible at this school.

Austin College Students

Austin College offers Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. The school’s size is approximately one thousand, two hundred and ninety-one degree-seeking undergrads, three hundred and forty-eight first-time degree-seeking freshmen and twenty-nine graduate enrollment. Additionally, it is part of an Suburban setting, Small city (50,000 – 249,999) and Residential campus. Additionally, the student body consists of ninety-two percent in-state students, eight percent out-of-state students, forty-nine percent women, fifty-one percent men, one percent american indian per alaskan native, fourteen percent asian per pacific islander, three percent black per non-hispanic, seven percent hispanic, seventy-three percent white per non-hispanic, one percent non-resident alien, forty-four percent in top 10th of graduating class, seventy-five percent in top quarter of graduating class and ninety-seven percent in top half of graduating class. The university is a Private, Liberal Arts College, Teachers College/College of Education, Four-year, Presbyterian Church (USA), Coed, where 67 percent of the applicants were admitted, Regionally accredited and College Board member.

Again, the university has many unique facilites such as environmental research areas totaling 174 acres, lake recreation area, tissue culture facility for study of cellular molecular interactions of eukaryotic cells, high performance numeric and graphics computing facility for advanced scientific computing and 3-D graphics. Without doubt, the school is located 60 miles from Dallas.This school features the Suburban setting, Small city (50,000 – 249,999) and Residential campus.