I can definitely hold my head up high, filled with pride after finishing my Ph.D. at Texas A&M University. My major was environmental and natural resource economics, specializing in alternative energy like biofuels. My dissertation is also posted on this website under research information. Of all the decisions that I ever made, attending Texas A&M has to be the best one.

Texas A&M University is a great, challenging school with approximately 40,000 students. The school is ranked around the 62nd best university in the United States. I can attest that this is a tough school. The faculty actively publishes, and they try to get their students involved in research. Moreover, the university does not allow graduate students to teach courses here. Since the students pay their tuition, then they should be taught by PhDs. I have been at other universities where the PhD students do not engage in research; they are used as cheap teaching labor for the students.

Do not get me wrong. Oklahoma State University could be a very good university. The courses are challenging; the school has a beautiful campus, and approximately 20,000 students study there. However, the faculty is distant and unapproachable. It even seems the faculty do not like their students. Furthermore, the university uses graduate students as cheap teaching labor. The administration seems more concerned about students paying for their courses.

I studied some tough courses at OSU such as economics, statistics, Russian, and electrical engineering. In some ways, it was a good that I gave up. I notice people's eyes do not sparkle when you mention Oklahoma State University. However, people are impressed when I mention Texas A&M. Texas A&M is a much better school, especially when it comes to research.

The reason why I attended Oklahoma State University was the price. It was almost free! I received a scholarship that covered most of my tuition and taught various economics courses. If OSU could attract some good professors who encourage its PhD students to pursue research, then its ranking would vastly improve.

Northern Michigan University is located in the heart of Upper Michigan. Upper Michigan is sparsely populated and home to the diehards who refuse to leave. The climate is very cold and one becomes quite isolated. The snow begins to fall in late October, and major accumulation begins around Thanksgiving. One can even see a snow storm in May.

If you are not from Upper Michigan, then do not go to school there! The people speak more like Canadians and do not like outsiders, even if the outsiders are from lower Michigan. The people tend to be rude and distant. The only time when you feel good is when you are filling up your car with a full tank of gas, and your destination is to get the hell out of there. Of course, I was misled. I was told Northern Michigan University was a party school. Unfortunately, nobody told me the party ended five years before I arrived.

I can only sum up Michigan Tech in one word - TOUGH! If you can graduate from this school, you can be proud of yourself. Everything about this school is tough. Even two-year liberal arts majors are required to take at least one course in calculus! The academics, the climate, the people, and the intense isolation make this place a tough place to live.

The school is located in the middle of nowhere. The closest city is Green Bay, Wisconsin, which is about 200 miles away. The university has approximately 6,000 students, and the school is bigger in the town it is in. The school is located in upper Michigan, and the people do not like outsiders. Of all the places I have been, I never felt such intense isolation, even compared to my life in the former Soviet Union. It drove me crazy. However, many large corporations know their way up there and actively recruit students. If you can graduate from this university, then you can pat yourself on the back.