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For those of us who were dumb and got into UT but have kids who are not 6%ers and may have to send our kids to piggy or anywhere but aggy... 

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  • im just here to brag...niece graduated magna cum laude from UNT Honors College yesterday. gotdamn! 😁 senior year of high school and freshman year of college were 2020...she left the nest at the h

  • CooterBrown
    CooterBrown

    Junior Brown made me proud last night. I saw she made a Trader Joe’s run so I told her to try to not move her car during the week because parking is an issue. She said, she grabbed one of the orange

  • I've had 2 graduate from UT and 2 from Arky in last 8 yrs. Loved the arkansas experience. Good business school (Sam Walton).  Supply chain management is their signature business degree. Greek life was

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I'm batting .500.  One is a senior in HS and really liked his trip to AR and the more he dug, the more he wants to go the biz school route and supply chain logistics (which AR does a great job with).  It's close, but not too close.  Decent size, not too expensive, and has that "big" college feel nestled in the mountains and the town really supports the school.  Fuck aggy and when we toured OU and they played that ass-whipping of a fight song my wife grabbed him and they left.  It was kind of awesome

The other one, she's got her moms genes.  Straight A's, multi sport athlete and every hoodie she has (which is all she wears) is Longhorn gear.  She can get in and more importantly, wants in.  Possibly via athletics

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We're still a few years away, but my son asked to go tour Harvard last time we were in Boston, and he fell in love.   One of us is going to be really disappointed in a few years.

Just now, Samson's Wig said:

We're still a few years away, but my son asked to go tour Harvard last time we were in Boston, and he fell in love.   One of us is going to be really disappointed in a few years.

Odd way to tell us that you can't contribute enough money to Harvard to construct a building with your name on it, but okay.

2 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

Odd way to tell us that you can't contribute enough money to Harvard to construct a building with your name on it, but okay.

I can afford to construct a building on their campus and still be disappointed about it.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* I can't afford that.

My senior daughter is right at the 6% mark (something like 6.2%) with a 1450 SAT.  She has no interest in engineering, so that would be good for a UT application, but unfortunately she has no interest in UT, or any school in Texas, or any school in the south.  It's looking like UDub or Oregon for her.  

My seventh-grader, on the other hand, says that he really wants to go to UT.  Who knows where his mind will be five years from now, and while he's a smart kid who loves and does really well in school, I can't say whether he'll have the numbers for UT in high school, so I'll need to prepare him for other options.  Maybe he'd be open to the UT CAP program.  But if he doesn't have his sister's aversion to the south, I might encourage him to look at an SEC school like Georgia or Arkansas, or maybe North Carolina State.

But short of the CAP program, I'd prefer my kid go somewhere other than a non-Austin school in the UT System.  Maybe that's a bit of unfair academic snobbery on my part.

This whole thing pisses me off. Covid was a great excuse to figure out doubling enrollment.

 

Having the same number of seats as when i graduated two decades ago is dumb.

My kid is top 9%. I'll make her apply to UT but she won't go there unless she happens to get into Cockrell but odds are non-existent with that class rank.  Might as well go elsewhere and major in what you want.  Actually, I doubt she'd go there even if she got into her major of choice.  She doesn't like the campus at all. Having now visited multiple campuses in the past year in, I agree that the campus is pretty underwhelming in amenities and overall maintenance. It still feels stuck in the early 90s when I attended.

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What's likely dumber is not pouring more resources into building up other Texas universities (in the UT system or otherwise), but our state seems on a hellbent mission to destroy education and scare off anyone who actually has any (unless it's from aggie I guess)

Edited by Samson's Wig

Arkansas has a lot going for it.

  • reasonable admission standards
  • beautiful town and campus
  • offers in-state tuition for Texans

Arkansas (the state) does not have enough qualified instate applicants, thus they offer a lot of incentives for students in neighboring states.

13 minutes ago, BabaYaga said:

I'm batting .500.  One is a senior in HS and really liked his trip to AR and the more he dug, the more he wants to go the biz school route and supply chain logistics (which AR does a great job with).  It's close, but not too close.  Decent size, not too expensive, and has that "big" college feel nestled in the mountains and the town really supports the school.  Fuck aggy and when we toured OU and they played that ass-whipping of a fight song my wife grabbed him and they left.  It was kind of awesome

The other one, she's got her moms genes.  Straight A's, multi sport athlete and every hoodie she has (which is all she wears) is Longhorn gear.  She can get in and more importantly, wants in.  Possibly via athletics

I've got twin Jrs. Boy wants to go to school out west. Mines is his dream school, but I think the only way he gets in is a prefered athlete admission (swimming). He's also looking at CU, Northern Colorado, Wyoming, and Oregon State. I've encouraged him to look at Arkansas as well, because it checks a lot of the "mountain town" vibe he wants, but is closer and less expensive than most of the others. 

Daughter has the grades to go anywhere. Her mother and grandparents are encouraging her to go to aggy, because her Grandfather worked for A&M for 30 years (Extension service). I'm encouraging her to go out of state because she's an introverted people pleaser and really needs to be far away from her mother. She's also an athlete and will probably get some scholarship money (track). She's got a track friend at Arizona that is enjoying her experience, so I'm encouraging her to look there. 

4 minutes ago, Samson's Wig said:

What's likely dumber is not pouring more resources into building up other Texas universities (in the UT system or otherwise), but our state seems on a hellbent mission to destroy education and scare off anyone who actually has any (unless it's from aggie I guess)

Yep, and another reason why I'll likely encourage my son to look outside of Texas for college.  Trying to avoid getting all cloakey, but I can't imagine our state government's attitude toward education changing in the next five years.

2 minutes ago, yoladu said:

Arkansas has a lot going for it.

  • reasonable admission standards
  • beautiful town and campus
  • offers in-state tuition for Texans

Arkansas (the state) does not have enough qualified instate applicants, thus they offer a lot of incentives for students in neighboring states.

I've heard that Arkansas is phasing out reciprocal tuition.  With all the nonresidents attending and taking advantage of that program, I'm guessing they've been losing a significant amount of out-of-state tuition dollars.  

Just now, yoladu said:

Arkansas (the state) does not have enough qualified instate applicants, thus they offer a lot of incentives for students in neighboring states.

One thing I've learned from all the research I've done is that small population states are looking to buy students.  They must offer a comprehensive university to prevent brain drain of their own residents but they do not have the high school population to support having a huge diverse selection of majors.  The fix is to recruit out of state kids.  Hope some stay behind and hope the opportunities keep in state kids into adulthood.  University of Vermont basically told us that since my daughter was a female going into STEM, they'd give her enough scholarship to get to at least in state tuition.  If you think about it, it costs them nothing. They'll still get 100% tuition but the idea you get a scholarship of that size as an out of state student is a huge incentive.

 

1 minute ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

She's got a track friend at Arizona that is enjoying her experience, so I'm encouraging her to look there. 

Remember that if y'all wanna look at Arizona, we've got a family member who's a dep't chair there, long time Tucson residents.  Would be happy to make the connection, they're great folks.

My kids have Canadian citizenship through their mom and can attend any school in Canada with resident tuition.  They still subsidize their schools up there, and compared to U.S. public universities they are very affordable.  I'll never say it to the kids lest I lead them in the other direction, but that's what I'm holding out hope for.

1 minute ago, South Austin said:

I've heard that Arkansas is phasing out reciprocal tuition.  With all the nonresidents attending and taking advantage of that program, I'm guessing they've been losing a significant amount of out-of-state tuition dollars.  

Was just talking about the Arkansas approach with someone the other day.  I think it's been a brilliant move on their part (yeah...Arkansas, at the forefront of strategic thinking....that's how bad shit is these days).  They have succeeded in keeping some of those smart kids they recruited, who are staying in Arkansas and contributing to the Arkansas economy.  That's an economic boon to the state as a whole.

1 minute ago, Samson's Wig said:

My kids have Canadian citizenship through their mom and can attend any school in Canada with resident tuition.  They still subsidize their schools up there, and compared to U.S. public universities they are very affordable.  I'll never say it to the kids lest I lead them in the other direction, but that's what I'm holding out hope for.

We discussed it plenty on here at the time, but daughter went to McGill, and we have good friends with kids at U of Toronto and UBC -- all three are GREAT schools, in quality locations.  If you can get resident tuition, and get in (all three are competitive)....shit, it would be a no-brainer to me.  McGill was still a bargain for us at non-resident tuition, although I understand that's popped up pretty significantly in just the last few years.

16 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

My kid is top 9%. I'll make her apply to UT but she won't go there unless she happens to get into Cockrell but odds are non-existent with that class rank.  Might as well go elsewhere and major in what you want.  Actually, I doubt she'd go there even if she got into her major of choice.  She doesn't like the campus at all. Having now visited multiple campuses in the past year in, I agree that the campus is pretty underwhelming in amenities and overall maintenance. It still feels stuck in the early 90s when I attended.

UT-Dallas for engineering/comp sci.  It's a great school and I work for a major tech company and we recruit from there every year.

7 minutes ago, Brisketexan said:

We discussed it plenty on here at the time, but daughter went to McGill, and we have good friends with kids at U of Toronto and UBC -- all three are GREAT schools, in quality locations.  If you can get resident tuition, and get in (all three are competitive)....shit, it would be a no-brainer to me.  McGill was still a bargain for us at non-resident tuition, although I understand that's popped up pretty significantly in just the last few years.

We'd, of course, be thrilled with any of the three.  Wife and her parents are UofT grads.  We're in Toronto a lot visiting family, so I'm rooting for McGill to have the excuse to visit Montreal more often.

 

EDIT TO ADD: Canadian Universities are a different animal than down here in that there are tons of excellent small universities that focus heavily on one area.  Depending on what you want to study, there are tons of quality options.  

Edited by Samson's Wig

4 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

UT-Dallas for engineering/comp sci.  It's a great school and I work for a major tech company and we recruit from there every year.

This.  

Texas State (I know) has steadily increased the quality of a lot of their programs.  It is maddening that UT system as a whole hasn't increased in quality.  Top 6% at certain schools is an impossibility even for very bright kids (Westlake, Westwood, etc).  I wish UT would build out an excellent focused program for each of the satellite schools.  UT-Dallas for eng/comp sci maybe UTA for a business school comparable to McComb's.  Obviously they wouldn't be as good as UT Austin, but close

8 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

UT-Dallas for engineering/comp sci.  

I've heard somewhere (Surly, maybe) that the on-campus housing costs for UT-Dallas are remarkably pricey.  I'm guessing there are a lot of off-campus options in this area, though.

27 minutes ago, yoladu said:

Arkansas has a lot going for it.

  • reasonable admission standards
  • beautiful town and campus
  • offers in-state tuition for Texans

Arkansas (the state) does not have enough qualified instate applicants, thus they offer a lot of incentives for students in neighboring states.

Who else offers in-state tuition? I have not been able to find a good resource on this.

3 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Who else offers in-state tuition? I have not been able to find a good resource on this.

If your kid has a grandparent that's a Florida resident, the kid can get instate tuition in Florida. fyi

19 minutes ago, JesusSweatDuck said:

UT-Dallas for engineering/comp sci.  It's a great school and I work for a major tech company and we recruit from there every year.

UT Dallas is a good school but it's a weird cultural vibe and not a traditional university experience. I don't imagine it's a particularly fun way to spend four years unless your kid is coming from a traditional Indian household.

7 minutes ago, South Austin said:

I've heard somewhere (Surly, maybe) that the on-campus housing costs for UT-Dallas are remarkably pricey.  I'm guessing there are a lot of off-campus options in this area, though.

Honestly no clue.  I looked at going there in the early 2000's and the setup was more like apartments (4 room, 2 bath apartments) than dorm housing.  I do think going there you'll miss out on some of the "big college" experiences since it is more of a commuter school as I remember it.

31 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I've got twin Jrs. Boy wants to go to school out west. Mines is his dream school, but I think the only way he gets in is a prefered athlete admission (swimming). He's also looking at CU, Northern Colorado, Wyoming, and Oregon State. I've encouraged him to look at Arkansas as well, because it checks a lot of the "mountain town" vibe he wants, but is closer and less expensive than most of the others. 

Daughter has the grades to go anywhere. Her mother and grandparents are encouraging her to go to aggy, because her Grandfather worked for A&M for 30 years (Extension service). I'm encouraging her to go out of state because she's an introverted people pleaser and really needs to be far away from her mother. She's also an athlete and will probably get some scholarship money (track). She's got a track friend at Arizona that is enjoying her experience, so I'm encouraging her to look there. 

I would encourage the boy to spend a couple of days in Greeley before he commits to Northern Colorado. 

6 minutes ago, Bozo_Casanova said:

Who else offers in-state tuition? I have not been able to find a good resource on this.

From the google - This program provides a waiver of nonresident tuition for students from neighboring states (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma) enrolled in certain public institutions in Texas.

I can say that Arkansas in interesting b/c they offer discounts based on GPA. 

4 minutes ago, locodos said:

If your kid has a grandparent that's a Florida resident, the kid can get instate tuition in Florida. fyi

Did not know that.  USF is one of my daughter's top schools and my in-laws live in FL.

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50 minutes ago, skilesare said:

This whole thing pisses me off. Covid was a great excuse to figure out doubling enrollment.

 

Having the same number of seats as when i graduated two decades ago is dumb.

UT Austin does not need to double enrollment. The UT System and the State of Texas need to heavily invest in schools like UT Dallas, UTSA, etc. Look no further than California to see a public school system with multiple top tier public universities. It's a crime that Texas doesn't have the same.

12 minutes ago, Kennythetiger said:

I would encourage the boy to spend a couple of days in Greeley before he commits to Northern Colorado. 

Anything specific? It's 15 miles to Ft Collins and 25 miles to Boulder. He can drive 15 miles now and still be in his High School attendance zone. 

*He really hasn't done much research on Northern Colorado except that they're in Colorado and they have a D1 swimming program. 

12 minutes ago, TexasBeta said:

I can say that Arkansas in interesting b/c they offer discounts based on GPA. 

Yeah, it's a tiered reciprocity system.  Max off is 90% with the highest GPA requirement they have.  OU got rid of it all together now that they are getting enough students.  I "think" OSU still ahs something in place.  

2 minutes ago, royiv said:

UT Austin does not need to double enrollment. The UT System and the State of Texas need to heavily invest in schools like UT Dallas, UTSA, etc. Look no further than California to see a public school system with multiple top tier public universities. It's a crime that Texas doesn't have the same.

I don't disagree at all, but "We should be more like California" is a good way to make sure you're completely ignored in Texas State Government (No Cloakroom)

3 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I don't disagree at all, but "We should be more like California" is a good way to make sure you're completely ignored in Texas State Government (No Cloakroom)

I don't disagree. What should happen and what will happen are two completely different things because We're Texas.

  • Popular Post
57 minutes ago, South Austin said:

My senior daughter is right at the 6% mark (something like 6.2%) with a 1450 SAT.  She has no interest in engineering, so that would be good for a UT application, but unfortunately she has no interest in UT, or any school in Texas, or any school in the south.  It's looking like UDub or Oregon for her.  

My seventh-grader, on the other hand, says that he really wants to go to UT.  Who knows where his mind will be five years from now, and while he's a smart kid who loves and does really well in school, I can't say whether he'll have the numbers for UT in high school, so I'll need to prepare him for other options.  Maybe he'd be open to the UT CAP program.  But if he doesn't have his sister's aversion to the south, I might encourage him to look at an SEC school like Georgia or Arkansas, or maybe North Carolina State.

But short of the CAP program, I'd prefer my kid go somewhere other than a non-Austin school in the UT System.  Maybe that's a bit of unfair academic snobbery on my part.

what is crazy about the state of Texas, is that for someone with 1450 SAT and an excellent GPA, there are only two in state options, a huge state school (Univ of Texas) or an eccentric elite private school (Rice)

And even then a 1450 is no gimmie for Rice.

A lot of our smartest kids are leaving the state.

8 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

Anything specific? It's 15 miles to Ft Collins and 25 miles to Boulder. He can drive 15 miles now and still be in his High School attendance zone. 

*He really hasn't done much research on Northern Colorado except that they're in Colorado and they have a D1 swimming program. 

Greeley weather is shittier than either of those places because it's out on the plains instead of right near mountains.  They also have a huge slaughterhouse that makes the entire town smell like dead cows when the wind blows from the (?) north.

1 minute ago, yoladu said:

A lot of our smartest kids are leaving the state.

I could also add that my daughter, a gay liberal, is leaving the state for reason other than academics, but that's a discussion for another forum . . . . 

57 minutes ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

 

Daughter has the grades to go anywhere. Her mother and grandparents are encouraging her to go to aggy, because her Grandfather worked for A&M for 30 years

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26 minutes ago, locodos said:

If your kid has a grandparent that's a Florida resident, the kid can get instate tuition in Florida. fyi

And if you're looking to get your kid to a state that is even more hostile to education than Texas, Florida is perfect.  

1 minute ago, South Austin said:

I could also add that my daughter, a gay liberal, is leaving the state for reason other than academics, but that's a discussion for another forum . . . . 

Is it though?

3 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

And if you're looking to get your kid to a state that is even more hostile to education than Texas, Florida is perfect.  

Somebody has to fight the WOKE math agenda!

6 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

Greeley weather is shittier than either of those places because it's out on the plains instead of right near mountains.  They also have a huge slaughterhouse that makes the entire town smell like dead cows when the wind blows from the (?) north.

Sounds like Lubbock

I am 10+ years away from this scene, my kids are 8 and 5.  But my older one appears extremely bright so far; 99th percentile in every test she has taken.  But even with that I will be utterly shocked if she gets into Texas in 10 years.  She doesn’t project to have the dedication to get the class rank or supplemental resume to get into top tier schools.  She is looking like she will be more like me: school will be easy and she’ll have great test scores and good but not great grades and mediocre extra curriculars.  My younger one is too little to know, she’s still catching up from being a July baby.  Regardless, for now i plan to tell my kids that if I'm going to pay for their schooling, the hierarchy is pretty clear:

Ivy League

Stanford

Rice

Texas

Texas State

ACC

They're going to have to present me with an extraordinarily compelling case to pay for other private or out of state schools.  My guess is they’ll both end up at Texas State where they will coast thru like I did at Texas.  And if they want to go to Aggy or OU I will still love them but they’re out of the will.

Edited by Snake Diggity

My older daughter could have gotten into UT, and even agreed that it would have been the perfect school for her, but said "and if you wanted me to go there you should have moved back to Dallas when I was 3, because I'm not going to college in my Hometown." So she went to the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, and that's been amazing for her and surprisingly affordable compared to out of state public Universities. Still pissed she turned down a 50% schollie to Glasgow without telling me first, but that's water under the bridge. 

My younger is not a 6%er, so she's casting a very wide net has and applied at 16 schools, including LSU, Texas State, UNT, Oregon, Colorado, Belmont, The New School, The University of Manchester (UK) and others. She's just getting letters this week and so far she's gotten into Arizona State and Western Washington, which I had never heard of before a month ago and from pics appears to be the most beautiful place on the planet. 

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