Nishiyama 1

Regina Nishiyama

Dr. Loren Higbee

English 1301

3 October 2021

The Same but Different

Texas A&M has eleven sister colleges; each branch has unique qualities while

still having similarities that tie them back to the original one located in College Station. Anyone

interested in learning about any of these branches can look at the school's website, and future

college students can see just how different each of these schools are. The websites of these

schools advertise distinct points to enhance their differences and appeal to the different types of

prospective students. Texas A&M, Texas A&M Corpus Christi, and Texas A&M International

University each advertise various aspects of their resources, environment, and community on

their websites to attract students looking for the perfect college.

TAMU's website for prospective students greets them by telling them why they should

pick TAMU. Their page highlights the concentrations they are known for by saying, "Maybe

you've wanted to be a veterinarian since you got your first dog, or your childhood Legos have

inspired you to be an architect. Whether you want to explore the stars and the outer corners of

the universe, find a cure for a disease threatening mankind, or bring your digital art to life at a

major animation studio, you can make it happen at Texas A&M" ("Why Texas A&M?"). Out of

the three schools, TAMU is funded by the most sponsors and grants, which allows them to offer

all these studies and more. According to U.S. News and World Report, TAMU is one of the top

ten universities with the most significant endowments, having $12,720,529,611 in endowments

alone ("10 Universities with the Biggest Endowments"). TAMU can advertise the 144 different
 Nishiyama 2

majors they have to offer on their website partly because of this money. Unlike the other two

schools, which offer a select amount of majors, this school can appeal to future vet students or

architects, or even animation majors because of their economic status; because the other two

schools have a stricter budget, they are not able to highlight how many courses they offer like

TAMU is able to do on their website.

Unlike TAMU, TAMUCC's website welcomes visitors with a picture of their campus that

says "welcome to the island" and emphasizes that it is "the only university in the nation located

on its own island" ("Welcome to the Island"). Clearly, they try to hook future students by

seeming exotic and fun because they are located on a beach with many bays and natural wetlands

nearby. According to Niche, out of 1,419, TAMUCC is ranked 159th "Best College Campuses in

America" ("2022 Best College Campuses in America"). TAMU's environment is that of a city;

the entire location is made to be a city for college students, hence the name "college station."

TAMIU's environment is in the south Texas region, so it is very desert-like and almost like a

ranch. The other two schools mentioned do not have such a unique environment, so it would not

make sense for them to advertise it as the first thing on their website. TAMUCC's school website

also gives readers a look into the different areas of study they offer. Marine biology, biological

and biomedical sciences are just a few of the concentrations the website provides. The website

makes it a point to remind prospective students that "the university's unique research institutes

allows students to explore the issues facing The Gulf of Mexico" ("Be a Part of Something

Bigger"). This appeals to future marine biologists because they can study aquatic life while

sticking close to the campus. According to Best College Reviews, these criteria put TAMUCC

first on the list among the 50 Best Colleges by the Sea ("The 50 Best Colleges By The Sea"). The

campus placement is a recurring topic on their website because they have marine life close to
 Nishiyama 3

them, so it makes more sense to offer concentrations in this field. The other school would not be

fit to provide oceanic courses because they are nowhere near the coast. Overall, TAMUCC can

use its location to its advantage and advertise an exotic site and marine studies on its page to

outshine the other two schools.

Unlike the other two schools mentioned, TAMIU's website greets visitors by informing

readers that they are "givers" because they are "ranked 1st in State and 2nd in Nation for Lowest

Student Debt" ("We are Givers"). The site implies that TAMIU values affordable education by

emphasizing that most students will graduate with little to no debt. They do this because TAMIU

is located in a predominantly Hispanic area, where people typically think higher education is out

of reach for them financially. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, in 2019,

Hispanics made up the second-lowest enrollment rate with only 36% ("College Enrollment

Rates"). Hence, the page uses evidence to show lower-income students that an education is

possible at TAMIU. Because the communities of the other two schools do not particularly look at

money as their first issue when applying to school, they have less of a reason to advertise this as

a priority on their website. 55.2% of TAMU's population is white students, so affordability and

enrollment rates are not an issue since white students have a 41% enrollment rate ("College

Enrollment Rates"). TAMUCC does not have to worry about reaching out to the Hispanic

community around them because their city is predominantly white; as of 2021, their population

is made up of 89.59% of white people ("World Population Review"). TAMIU's Hispanic

community is why the school tries to stay as affordable as possible; they promote affordability

and little debt on their website to try and get the Hispanic community to strengthen their

enrollment numbers.
 Nishiyama 4

All in all, TAMU, TAMUCC, and TAMIU put their best foot forward through their

websites. These schools use their resources, environment, and community to build a shiny

webpage that will get prospective students to apply at their schools. TAMU is able to advertise

its array of majors on its page because it has more funding than the other two schools. TAMUCC

is able to showcase their beautiful scenery on their site because the other two schools have very

ordinary campuses compared to TAMUCC. TAMIU chooses to highlight its affordability on

their website because TAMU is in a region with a higher Hispanic community, unlike the other

two schools whose community is mainly white. The aforementioned is an excellent example of

how different communities are able to manipulate the same genre to appeal to the uniqueness of

their community and an important reminder that you can be conventional while still being

eccentric.
 Nishiyama 5

Work Cited

“10 Universities with the Biggest Endowments | the Short ...” U.S. News, Josh Moody, 21

Sept. 2021, https://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/the-short-list-

college/articles/10-universities-with-the-biggest-endowments.

“2022 Best College Campuses in America.” Niche,

https://www.niche.com/colleges/search/best-college-campuses/.

“The 50 Best Colleges by the Sea: Bestcollegereviews.” Best College Reviews, 27 Apr.

2021, https://www.bestcollegereviews.org/colleges-by-the-sea/.

College Enrollment Rates - National Center for Education ...

https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_cpb.pdf.

“Corpus Christi, Texas Population 2021.” Corpus Christi, Texas Population 2021

(Demographics, Maps, Graphs), https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/corpus-

christi-tx-population.

“Future Students - Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.” Texas A&M University,

College Station, TX, https://www.tamu.edu/future-students/index.html.

“History of the University - Texas A&M University, College Station, TX.” Texas A&M

University, College Station, TX, https://www.tamu.edu/about/history.html.

 Nishiyama 6

King, Rory. “Texas A&M International University.” A White Block Letter U with a Banner

across the Front Reading 'The International' in Uppercase Lettering.,

https://www.tamiu.edu/.

“Welcome Home.” Welcome Home | Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi,

https://tamucc.edu/.
 Nishiyama 7

Regina Nishiyama

Dr. Loren Higbee

English 1301

9 October 2021

Reflection Essay

This essay was similar to the last in which I analyzed just one community and how and

why they use a specific genre. In essay one, I learned how to analyze a singular community, so I

applied that to this essay by analyzing the communities separately and then comparing the results

to tie it back to this assignment. For example, in my first essay, I studied how Disney World used

its advertisements and why it did so that way, so in this essay, I studied how each school

advertised a different point on their website and why they were able to do so. In essay one,

however, I learned about dialects and mixing languages, but that did not come in handy in essay

two because there were no other dialects or languages other than formal English.

In this essay, I learned how to look for differences in communities and noticed how they

could use that to their advantage. For example, TAMUCC's website used its coastal region to its

advantage and advertised the beach to gain enrollment. Identifying differences would come in

handy in an advertisement class because I can determine what is around me and polish it to make

it pleasing to others. I also learned how to make a proper claim; I learned that you cannot just

make a claim without the appropriate evidence or reason. Adding the appropriate evidence and

reasons helps strengthen a claim, making your audience trust your work. Creating a proper claim

will come in handy in multiple classes; one good example would be a debate class. You will be

more likely to win if you can make a claim, give a reason, and show evidence that helps your

claim towards the debate. I learned in essay two that I do not think will be useful during my
 Nishiyama 8

college career was the different values of these schools. I noticed that TAMU valued its

resources while TAMUCC valued its environment; while this may not come in handy during

school, it may come in handy when helping my younger siblings look for the right school for

them. Because I now know how to find a college's core values, I will help them find a college

with values that reflect their own.

Analyzing different communities using the same genre advances my compare and

contrast skills, observation skills, and reasoning. I observed the various websites and looked for

what they were trying to show the public through their rhetoric, media, and organization. Taking

a closer look at these websites exercised my observation skills because I needed to find more

minor details and clues as to why these schools chose to construct their websites, which also led

to exercising my reasoning skills. For example, when I looked at the TAMIU website, I noticed

that their affordability was one of the major points they added. I then had to ask why

affordability was so important. I used reasoning and some information on their website to

conclude that they were trying to reach their predominantly Hispanic community. Comparing

this information to the other two schools was also a critical skill I exercised in this essay. I

needed to provide evidence as to how they differed and why they had to differ.

My writing strengths and weaknesses have not changed much from the comments I

received in this essay. Most of the comments I got from my peers were similar to the first essay,

but a new comment that I got was that I compared and contrasted my schools very well; this

leads me to believe that this is one of my strengths. Regarding my weaknesses, however, I still

struggled with making a clear essay. It took me a while to organize all my thoughts clearly, but I

made it easy for my peers to understand through lots of editing and revising. Because this time, I

had an easier time making my essay clear to others, I feel like I have strengthened this weakness.
 Nishiyama 9

Based on your comments from my first essay, I feel like you will comment again on finding a

specific community. However, your comment on my last piece being a rhetorical analysis rather

than a genre analysis helped guide me better during this essay. I feel like I did a better job

focusing on a specific advertisement and showing more evidence toward my claims.

This essay was less challenging than the last because I had been exposed to genre

analysis already. Being able to analyze a genre and a community was familiar already, and all I

had to do was analyze a genre and community three times. But because the genre was the same

for each community, it was a little less complicated. What was more challenging was being able

to find why each community used the same genre differently. Seeing the differences is obvious

but putting myself in the website designers' shoes was challenging. I had to think about why the

schools chose to advertise different points or what made them have to be different from the rest.

For example, when it came to why TAMIU promoted affordability so much, I had to reason that

they were trying to appeal to their demographic.

Overall, my identity as a writer has not changed drastically. I still feel like I am a decent

writer, but I am slowly improving and becoming a stronger writer because of the constant

practice I get throughout this class. Like anything in life, writing takes practice, but once you

start practicing it persistently, it becomes easier to start an essay and to be able to organize your

thoughts. For example, I had a lot of trouble coming up with a first draft; I was putting too much

pressure on myself and trying to get it done perfectly. Now I understand that that is not always

the case, but because we have done so many assignments and gotten an essay out of the way, my

writing gears are not as rusty, and my ideas can flow. Because the first essay was also an

analytical essay, I applied my newfound knowledge and skills to this essay, which made it

slightly easier.