With summer just a few finals away for current students, the academic stress of college has yet to start for 404 high school graduates who are candidates for becoming A&M freshman. These students will be part of Aggie Gateway to Success, a provisional admission program at A&M.
Gateway offers students a chance to earn full admission into Texas A&M for the fall semester following a student’s graduation from high school, on the condition that the student completes seven or more hours of coursework through A&M summer classes, with one of those hours coming from a mandatory study skills class. Students are required to live on campus and earn a cumulative GPA of a 2.5 or higher to be granted full access into A&M in the fall.
Danielle Bishop, sophomore allied health major, completed the program in the summer of 2012 and said the program was difficult but worthwhile.
“You had to have a 2.5 to get into A&M but if you didn’t get that you pretty much don’t go to college at all, at least not for that year,” Bishop said. “It was also stressful to know that whatever your GPA was after the summer would be what we would start our GPA at, versus other freshman who were starting fresh. If you got a low GPA, it could hinder you. However, on the flipside, if you got a high GPA it could help.”
Bishop said the stress of the program taught her focus and fostered good study habits early in her college career.
Callie Newman, sophomore university studies major and summer 2014 Gateway mentor, said the majority of students make it through Gateway, but to help them deal with the pressures of the program and college life in general, Gateway assigns mentors.
“Mentors will help them transition from high school to college as smoothly as possible,” Newman said.
“All mentors are previous Gateway students, so we know exactly what they’re going through. The mentors help answer their questions and relieve the pressures of school.”
Newman said the Gateway program can provide students with the opportunity to make friends and learn about Aggie culture before an overwhelming amount of students appear for the fall semester.
“It allows these freshmen to get to know campus, College Station and college life in general when there isn’t anyone here,” Newman said. “When the fall rolls around, they’re seasoned pros. It definitely gives them an edge over the other freshmen.”
Mukhtar Owais, senior mechanical engineering major and former Gateway mentor, said being a mentor for the Gateway program allowed him to help new students and to build a relationship with the Gateway director and other A&M faculty members.
“My favorite part was getting to know the advisors and the professors,” Owais said. “Everyone knows you are in Gateway, the professors all know you are in Gateway so they are really helpful.”