Texas Tech University - La Ventana Yearbook (Lubbock, TX)

Why Tech? Texas Tech takes a lot of ribbing from its own students. Frequently, one will hear jokes — and the ensuing laughter — about Tech ' s be- ing a second-rate school doomed to " nobody-ness; " or about Tech ' s inferior location in the Hub City; or about almost anything connected with the workings of the university. But what do Tech students really think about their alma mater? After all, what brought them here in the first place? In a survey this year of 100 students, an overwhelming majority cited either Tech ' s " good academic reputation " or its proximity to their hometowns as the number one reason they chose to at- tend Tech. Thirty-eight percent of students surveyed said the reputation of a specific department or of the univer- sity as a whole impressed them and drew them to Tech. Eighteen percent of the students said it was the overall reputation of the university that drew them here, while another 50 per- cent cited the reputation of either the College of Business Administration, the College of Home Economics or the department of mass com- munications as the key factor in bringing them to Tech. " I chose to work on my masters in journalism at Tech, " said a student from T uscaloosa, Ala., " because the mass communications department has such a good reputation. I have not been disappointed. " Other departments cited by students as having a good reputation were the College of Architecture, the band program, the School of Nurs- ing, the department of range and wildlife management, the College of Agricultural Sciences and the department of art. Another 30 percent of the 100 students surveyed said they chose Texas Tech over other universities because of its closeness to their hometowns. About half of the students are from Lubbock and half from other cities within Texas. Several students from other states said they considered Tech to be close to their homes. Said one student from Pep, " I ' m real close to my family and didn ' t want ot get too far from them, so I chose Tech over (Texas) A M. " The third most popular reason students said they came to Tech was the presence of friends or rela- tives at Tech or somewhere in the Lubbock area. Twenty-one percent of respondents fit into that category. The friendly atmosphere at Texas Tech is responsible for the presence of 13 percent of the surveyed students on the Tech campus. Most of the students who said that at- mosphere brought them to Tech also said they had visited the campus before coming or that a friend or relative told them about its friendliness. One student said she thought Tech was much friendlier than other univer- sities she had visited and that she felt comfortable here. " Each time I visited my brother, I had a blast, " she said. Forty other responses were given during the survey. They included: far enough from home; inexpensive tuition; the size of Tech; receipt of a scholarship; didn ' t like University of Texas or Texas A M; conservatism at Tech; easy acceptance into Tech; always wanted to come here; the existence of a particular sorority at Tech; involvement in the sports program; ran out of other schools; and the location of a particular church in Lubbock. Only three students said they weren ' t sure how or why they ended up at Texas Tech. Closely paralleling the results of the survey were the results of a much larger sur- vey administered by the Texas Tech Dean of Students Office in September 1984. This survey, the Cooperative Institutional Research Pro- gram Freshman Survey, was conducted in conjunction with the American Council on Education and the Univer- sity of California at Los An- geles. Responding to the survey were 2,368 students who entered Tech in fall 1984. Again pointing to Tech ' s popularity and favorable reputation, the Research Pro- gram ' s survey found that almost 81 percent of the respondents had chosen Tech as their first choice. Again, 35 percent of the students responded tha^ Tech ' s academic reputation drew them to the universi; ty. An additional 28 percent said the friendliness of the campus and its social atmosphere most influencec their decision to attend Tech. But in contrast to the! results of the smaller survey, only 17 percent ol respondents cited the loca tion of Tech as key in theiij decision to attend. The Research Program ' s? survey also said that, of al the students mentionec above, 51 percent decided ir their senior year of high school to attend Tech anc that, for 53 percent, a visil to the campus influencec their impressions of Tech. Marty Grassel, director oJ the Tech New Student Relations Office, said thai in recruiting high school seniors to Tech, the academic diversity and true campus life at the university are emphasized. Tech houses about a third of itsj students, she said, and thai! allows for a much more homey and active campus. According to the largei survey, many of the students coming to Tech are as " top-notch " as is academic programs. Forty- six percent of those answer- ing the poll graduated in the top 20 percent of their high school classes. — Jane Quinn Paramore 42 — Survey