This week I headed for the great state of Texas with my first stop being TCU. Texas Christian, at its core, is a liberal arts college serving 10,020 undergraduates across nine colleges: AddRan College of Liberal Arts (the largest), Neeley School of Business, Bob Schieffer College of Communication, College of Education, College of Fine Arts, Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences, College of Science & Engineering, John V. Roach Honors College, and Burnett School of Medicine.

Business, Communications, and Nursing & Health Sciences are the most popular. Neeley School of Business has a couple of unique programs, the first being the BNSF Neeley Leadership program in which participants complete a three year, five course program devoted to developing strong global leaders. The second unique program is the Neeley Fellows Program offered in conjunction with the John V. Roach Honors College and dedicated to providing experiential curricular and co-curricular programming to the best and brightest of Neeley scholars. Another college with some interesting programs is the College of Science and Engineering. In addition to the usual offerings, the college houses Geological Studies, Nutritional Sciences, and Ranch Management.

At TCU, classes are taught only by professors and all offer office hours. Faculty pride themselves in getting to know their students and many offer research opportunities to undergraduates and/or help find them internships. An internship scholarship program helps support unpaid internships. Students are required to complete a core curriculum, but many requirements can be satisfied with a strong AP exam.

After this year’s football season, everyone knows the mighty Horned Frogs, the smallest of the NCAA Division 1 Big 12. Applications increased dramatically after this year’s run at the title! Students are given free tickets to all home games and tailgating is serious stuff! All students live on campus for their first two years. Campus is a beautiful mix of mostly neo-Georgian and some modern buildings. While Greek life is big there’s also plenty to do off campus in Fort Worth and the downtown stockyards. In fact, students can use their meal plan dollars at many off-campus restaurants! 48% of students hail from Texas and over 80% receive need-based and/or merit financial aid. Despite the name, over 60 faiths are represented on campus. I left TCU impressed by its offerings and the highly motivated, engaged student body.