Howdy!
My niece just got an admission offer through the Gateway program. I think AGS is a great transition program for her- she knows A&M through me and has been to football games withe me the last several years, but is a Montana native and went to a small school in Billings. I feel like the cultural and academic transition piece will truly set her up for success, and her mom sees this too.

Is anyone here able to share wisdom (your own or your Aggie's) about the Gateway program for me to share with her? She loves A&M and will be a tremendous Aggie. I just want to help "normalize" Gateway for her. I feel like telling her, "Show up, do your summer work, and that's all" isn't quite the right pep talk.

Thanks, Ags!

I know quite a few who went through gateway themselves, but I didn't go through it. The common theme was campus was pretty dead throughout the summer and you had to just focus on your schoolwork and get through it.

The best advice is to probably just endure the 6 weeks and make sure you pass the classes and save the social activities for when the real semester starts. It's a great program for those on the edge of full admission that have a good work ethic, those who don't don't end up making it through.

I'm an old fart so they didn't have the Gateway in my day, but I was very eager to leave my hometown, so I voluntarily left home and enrolled in summer school in June without any known classmates/roommates/etc.

Two things I learned:

• I encourage her to take a KINE (PE) class of her liking to find others who like that activity (and hopefully make connections).
• I would also try to have an active approach to finding that roommate via pot luck. I went in completely blind and they matched me with a Chemistry master's student from another country. It was not a good match.

Good luck and gig 'em!

Gateway is a fantastic program! It will allow her to get on campus, take some classes, and get adjusted to life. She will be far better prepared than most of the kids showing up 6 weeks later who are drinking through a firehose on everything. Some are ready for it but some can get overwhelmed. For her she can adjust more gradually and have a better chance of success. In the end it's a footnote as well in the grand scheme, she doesn't even have to go through Blinn Team.

Good luck!

It's a great program, and while they do all they can to set them up for success, I do think the "focus on the work, don't mess up" pep talk is still appropriate. To put a positive spin, encourage it as an opportunity to practice some time management skills that will be needed when the real deal starts in the fall - skills that will help her succeed in the classroom but also succeed socially. It's a chance to start learning how much work is going to need to be put in, but with that knowledge gained, it helps her learn more about how she can most effectively fit in the fun/social side in the fall.

My daughter did Gateway and it is a wonderful program. She was so acclimated to campus and already had friends prior to the hectic start of the fall semester.

Is she paying out of state tuition of did she get the $4k in scholarships to get the waiver?

I did Gateway in 2016 to get into A&M. I loved it, and was very thankful to be given the opportunity to prove myself to the school, and getting to skip having to go through Blinn team for full admission (not that there's anything wrong with that program). I went into it with the mindset that A&M was giving me an opportunity to get in that I would never get again, and I had to do well. I passed the classes fine, and had a great time. That being said, there were a few people in my class who did not pass and couldn't get in.

Most of the people I met there I was friends with throughout my time at A&M, and it was nice to already have some friends and get familiar with how college worked before my freshman semester. Also allowed me to get ahead and graduate a semester early which saved me some money on the back end.

Overall it's a great program and I encourage her to take the opportunity. Just don't have too much fun because you can fail out.

Waiting to see- I will point that out to her parents!

Our son, out of state (Colorado) did Gateway, and it was great for him. Tough on my wife and I as we 'lost' part of his last summer at home! But it let him get adjusted to all the things mentioned by others and also the weather! A big difference there! With very few students around it was easier to learn your way around campus, and the city. Another benefit-the extra credits earned have allowed him to do a lighter semester or two, and is still on track to graduate on time, and even a semester early if he wanted to. Best wishes!