Thoughts on University of Texas- Austin?

[Anonymous]

Know nothing about it, but my D is now set on applying, she visited a good friends sister and fell in love with everything about it. Apparently its a tough school to get into- thoughts?

[Anonymous]

It's not a tough school to get into. They want that sweet out of state tuition money.

[Anonymous]

Really? She was told don't even apply without having at least a 3.6 GPA.

[Anonymous]

Be sure DD is ready for class sizes of about 200-300 with a lot of TAs as opposed to professors. The school is HUGE. One of the largest student body wise in the United States. Its not a bad school for their business program (if that's what she wants). Encourage her to actually go see the school when its in session so she can see just how large it is. We did and DS said "no thanks". Way too big.

[Anonymous]

My nephew loved it. Look at Penn State and North Carolina at Chapel Hill for similar large public schools with great campuses and students.

[Anonymous]

It sucks. Boomer Sooner.

[Anonymous]

It's more competitive for out of state students than you would think due to a policy set by the Texas state legislature where 75% of the student body is accepted by being in the top 10% of the high school class (or 7 or 8 or whatever percent, depending on the population of college-bound seniors that year). It was designed to allow equal access to the flagship institution for students across the state, whether they came from wealthy suburban high schools, magnet schools, inner city high schools, or small rural high schools. This means the remainder of the 25% is accepted via "holistic review" which includes athletes and out of state students. Supposedly, the acceptance rate for students outside of auto-admission through graduating in the top 10% of their class is under 10%. So the average GPA/SAT scores don't really tell the whole picture about the competitiveness.

[Anonymous]

Seems like a great school that would be perfect for my son. But if my son wants to return to the east coast after graduation, does the name/prestige carry this far back east?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a great school that would be perfect for my son. But if my son wants to return to the east coast after graduation, does the name/prestige carry this far back east?

Yes, it's solid--pretty good, but not great. Many East Coast snobs despise Texas but have carved out acceptance of Austin. The law school, though, has an excellent reputation.

[Anonymous]

Graduated from there. Loved it. Yes it is large, but students are friendly and every personality type is represented so you can always find a niche. Classes are large for the basics, but much smaller for major. There is not a lot of hand holding so you d

[Anonymous]

Do have to navigate on your own. Good for maturity. Athletics are great. Campus is beautiful. Austin is amazing. It's a great choice. I had no issues getting a job on east coast post graduation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems like a great school that would be perfect for my son. But if my son wants to return to the east coast after graduation, does the name/prestige carry this far back east?

Your son's performance is what will carry back East and follow him to his interviews. That's what you should be worrying about. Not prestige. Read: "Where You Go is Not Who You'll Be." by Frank Bruni for some sane advice. http://www.amazon.com/Where-You-Not-Who-Youll/dp/1455532703
Along with long with "Excellent Sheep..." I think it ought to be required reading for parents. What they say is obvious on the one hand, eye-opening on the other.

from Amazon: "Over the last few decades, Americans have turned college admissions into a terrifying and occasionally devastating process, preceded by test prep, tutors, all sorts of stratagems, all kinds of rankings, and a conviction among too many young people that their futures will be determined and their worth established by which schools say yes and which say no.

That belief is wrong. It's cruel. And in WHERE YOU GO IS NOT WHO YOU'LL BE, Frank Bruni explains why, giving students and their parents a new perspective on this brutal, deeply flawed competition and a path out of the anxiety that it provokes.

Bruni, a bestselling author and a columnist for the New York Times, shows that the Ivy League has no monopoly on corner offices, governors' mansions, or the most prestigious academic and scientific grants. Through statistics, surveys, and the stories of hugely successful people who didn't attend the most exclusive schools, he demonstrates that many kinds of colleges-large public universities, tiny hideaways in the hinterlands-serve as ideal springboards. And he illuminates how to make the most of them. What matters in the end are a student's efforts in and out of the classroom, not the gleam of his or her diploma."

[Anonymous]

Agree with 10:45/47. Also went there for undergrad, got my masters at Harvard. I was not Greek and did multiple honors programs, including study abroad. The school has the resources for a high-caliber, challenging academic experience but also an amazing social environment with "something for everyone" - plenty of clubs, study groups, art gatherings, bands, student government, foreign study, etc. to make lifelong friends, even though it's the biggest school in the country (no matter what Ohio State says.) My freshman year I met wonderful friends from Chicago, Louisiana, California, Boston and Brazil in the school dorms, who were from middle-class backgrounds -- not the Dallas/Houston snobs people are warning about. Given the size, there are some large lecture classes for core requirements but certainly that's not the norm once you get into junior and senior year, especially with specialized tracks. Going to UT and learning how to be persistent, diligent, how to get answers, get sh** done, navigate a complicated bureaucracy, etc. made me vastly better prepared for life than my Ivy League grad school classmates that I met at Harvard, who were used to to tiny campuses where they were coddled and everyone catered to their needs. Having been on the East Coast for 15 years, my degree has opened doors, because it's known as a top-tier, fun state school... and let me tell you, there are Texans everywhere who love to see it on a resume. And FWIW, it's far, far more competitive at UT for out of state. You'll need at least a 3.7 or 3.8.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not a tough school to get into. They want that sweet out of state tuition money.

x2

[Anonymous]

You don't need to worry about UT's rep on the East Coast. That's solid.

You need to worry that your son will never want to come back to the East Coast. Life is pretty sweet in Austin.