Surly kids who can't get into UT

[immamac 42732]

I hope my kids are smart enough to not even go to college. It seems like such a racket to the point where it feels like select sports vs rec league. 

[BearSchlong 8079]

All my friends and relatives with self-made fuck you money (and the true benefit, freedom to do whatever they want, whenever they want) are entrepreneurs in O&G and construction. They were all impatient and risk-taking enough to quit college after a semester and go make their own way.

Sure, they make fun of me because I read books, but I admire their social intelligence and ability to accomplish big things. I'm the schmuck with a salary.

[jimmyjazz 45659]

12 hours ago, immamac said:

I hope my kids are smart enough to not even go to college. It seems like such a racket to the point where it feels like select sports vs rec league. 

Perhaps in some fields, but there are some career paths where being self-taught just won't work for the vast majority of people.  I'm not just referring to those with professional requirements, I mean the curricula itself is way too complicated to absorb just by cracking a book.  Most STEM fields are like this.  

[immamac 42732]

42 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Perhaps in some fields, but there are some career paths where being self-taught just won't work for the vast majority of people.  I'm not just referring to those with professional requirements, I mean the curricula itself is way too complicated to absorb just by cracking a book.  Most STEM fields are like this.  

I don't really think that's true and computer science/semiconductor design in it's current state is actually proof of that. Sure for maybe some more of the hardcore sciences that require big expensive labs that are only available in academia, yes you are correct.

[jimmyjazz 45659]

7 minutes ago, immamac said:

I don't really think that's true and computer science/semiconductor design in it's current state is actually proof of that. Sure for maybe some more of the hardcore sciences that require big expensive labs that are only available in academia, yes you are correct.

I seriously doubt more than maybe 1% of the population could teach themselves most engineering & physics, chemistry, etc. curricula.  Programming is different.  I'm not talking about labs, although that is true as well.

[CleverNickname 1299]

Question: I have an 8th grader. I guess at some point in next few years we need to do campus tours? What do you do on a tour? Is the summer a bad time to go since there are no srudenrs around? I did UT with minimal backup plans. I'm clueless. 

[Grimas 669]

16 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

Question: I have an 8th grader. I guess at some point in next few years we need to do campus tours? What do you do on a tour? Is the summer a bad time to go since there are no srudenrs around? I did UT with minimal backup plans. I'm clueless. 

Good to visit campuses ahead of applying just to get a “feel” of the place and to decide if you even apply to that school and then another round of visits once you get acceptance letters. We have a college “consultant” that gave us a list of schools our twins could get into - based on grades and potential scholarships - but after initial visits, eliminated some of those after the visit.  Now doing the next round of visits once they got accepted to decide which is the best fit.  (Sure, kid #2 could get into UNT or UTD with a free ride if they applied but after a visit, no way in hell did they want to go there based on what they saw on the initial visit…)

Now that they have a few acceptances and $ offers, will revisit in the coming months to decide where to go… Will be having some tough discussions shortly - yea, I know you liked school x but I will have to pay out-of-state tuition for you to go there while school z is in-state and is offering you some $ as well…. Guess where you are going…

[Texas Jeff 1939]

16 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

Question: I have an 8th grader. I guess at some point in next few years we need to do campus tours? What do you do on a tour? Is the summer a bad time to go since there are no srudenrs around? I did UT with minimal backup plans. I'm clueless. 

Tours are kind of a junior/senior thing, although you can go earlier.  You have plenty of time.  For most schools, your kid (or you) books a tour online.  You show up to a visitor center and go to a short presentation with some Q&A.  Then a current student leads you around campus for about an hour and shows you stuff, while telling you amusing antidotes about the school.  You have a chance at more Q&A and they leave you with a coupon to buy something at the campus store, or you walk away with some swag.

Time of year does not matter much, IMHO, because you spend most of your time at the visitor center or walking around.  You can go during the year if you want, but you are going to mostly see students walking from class to class with headphones in or walking slowly down the street staring at their phones.

Some schools have "info nights" on campus, where you can go either virtually or in person and learn about a specific program, or the admissions process for that school.

Once you get into senior year, some schools have "admitted students" events.  These are all day programs where you go from session to session to learn specifics about housing, financing, a particular major, things like that.  These are usually in the spring, between the time when acceptances go out and the kids have to pick one school.

But in 8th grade you have a ton of time.  I would suggest learning what college costs, how your family might pay for it, and talking a bit with your kid about what they might want to do with their life and what kind of school they like.  Like small, medium, large ... public or private ... far away or close by ... on the coast or not ... things like that.  You can walk around local campuses just to show your kid what that scale of school is like.  Just start thinking about a framework.

And, if your kid is in some activity in middle school, gently encourage them to keep doing that in high school, or find some place to "belong" in high school.  For my kids, their home was the band hall and they had a ton of fun and personal growth by being in band.  Teams, clubs, orgs, whatever ... gently encourage them to be part of something that they enjoy outside of the classroom.

[DaysOff 7919]

Here's another data point for your kid that has the UT dream. Try a spring transfer. Most transfers are applying for Fall admission, and you're competing with incoming CAP kids as well. My youngest graduated high school last May at 6.2%, so no auto admit. She was CAP'd, but had no desire to do summer school last summer (UTSA and Arlington require summer school). However she did have 38 hours of dual credit, so in UT's mind already a college sophomore and eligible for transfer. She was accepted everywhere she applied, but took a scholarship in the Honors college at TX ST knowing that transferring was the plan. She worked hard over the summer writing essays and resumes. The old deadline was Oct. 1st, but is now Sept. 1st, so you've got to get this shit done over the summer. I can't prove that it increases your chances, but there's less competition for Spring transfer admissions. She was notified of her acceptance mid October before any grades have been posted in her first semester of college, and got an on campus housing contract at ADH. Odd, she wasn't accepted as high school applicant, but transferred to UT because of the work she did in high school. AP is a scam; steer your kid towards dual credit.

[CooterBrown 17952]

21 hours ago, CleverNickname said:

Question: I have an 8th grader. I guess at some point in next few years we need to do campus tours? What do you do on a tour? Is the summer a bad time to go since there are no srudenrs around? I did UT with minimal backup plans. I'm clueless. 

Start early.  Especially if you're looking out of state.   We did our first tours in OCT of my kid's sophomore year and quite honestly, I feel we are running out of time to get many more in. For us, fall is a wash because of high school volleyball taking up every FRI night so a weekend trip is out of the question.  We did miss a match to make that trip to Colorado to tour CU, CSU, and Mines as sophomore because it also coincided with a Monday district day off.  I didn't feel like we could it again this year with her being on varsity and the coach being pissy about missing games.   Also, official tours don't happen every day and Saturday tour dates are hit and miss.  There are usually no tours on spring break or other holidays so you need to miss school or go during the summer.  Our summer is already pretty booked but we are going to try to squeeze in a trip to the University of Vermont the day after AISD lets out.  

[SurlyORama 164]

Is this thread only for those who couldn't get into UT at all? How about into specific schools or majors?

Two years ago, my son was top 1% in a large, competitive school, National Merit Scholarship winner, 1560 SAT, loaded up with extracurriculars (soccer through varsity, DECA (president senior year) and FBLA multiple years including national and international placement) and volunteer/charitable work all through high school. Bottom line, worked his ass off and did everything he could to get into UT CS (his first choice). Didn't have any special tutors, didn't take any SAT prep courses, didn't get any help writing his essays, etc. Just grinded and accomplished stuff on his own talents and efforts.

So, while he did get an auto-admit into UT (liberal arts), he was hard rejected from computer science. Got a solid wall of "it's a comprehensive evaluation" responses when talking to anyone at the school about what he might have done to get in. Considered going in and trying to transfer, but from what we've heard the odds of that working into CS are as low or lower as they were for him to get into the school to begin with. They have an "accelerated transfer" program where you can attend for a period and as long as you get the right grades in the right classes you can automatically transfer in. But, it's "invitation only" and he did not get invited. When we contacted people about how he might be considered, we got a circular-referral-runaround where everyone simply said it's not up to them who gets invited and pointed us to someone else (eventually leading back the the first person we contacted).

I understand that CS at UT is very competitive. But meanwhile, other students with similar or less impressive credentials got accepted by UT CS as well as places like Stanford, Michigan, etc. (he was also rejected by these). There were "demographic" differences in these cases.

So he went elsewhere and will graduate with a near-perfect GPA in 3 years. He could have gotten into this school with far less effort and a far inferior resume, which I'm sure left him wondering why he worked so hard for so long.

[SurlyORama 164]

Why bury the lede? Which school? If you don't want to specifically say, give a tier. Is it UT-CS tier? 2nd tier? Worse?

A&M. In my experience as a hiring manager for CS students, not significantly worse. But ratings-wise it’s a decent bit lower (#41 vs #8 in most recent US News rankings).

Perhaps didn’t mention on this particular forum because reasons.

[jimmyjazz 45659]

On 1/3/2024 at 2:18 PM, SurlyORama said:

So he went elsewhere and will graduate with a near-perfect GPA in 3 years. He could have gotten into this school with far less effort and a far inferior resume, which I'm sure left him wondering why he worked so hard for so long.

I'd be disabusing him of that notion and pronto.  That hard work surely helped him crush his BS and will resonate well with employers or grad schools.

[yoladu 4079]

We cant really afford (more, i don't want to spend thousands of dollars) to run around all over the country and visit schools. Instead, we (he) pinpointed particular schools based on his class rank, GPA, SAT, his qualifications, etc. As well as, criteria like : well it would be cool to live here or be in this part of the country.  Google maps is your friend.

He ended up applying to 7 schools [2 acceptances (UT & A&M) + 5 waiting] - most the remaining schools are "reach" schools and out of state. If he gets in to any of them, we'd take a visit to those schools in March at that point, so he can ultimately decided a college by April.

[SurlyORama 164]

18 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'd be disabusing him of that notion and pronto.  That hard work surely helped him crush his BS and will resonate well with employers or grad schools.

Oh we have, and continue to do so. I'm not worried his approach will change significantly (his work so far has reflected that it hasn't), but it was crushing to him for a while.

[txduck87 985]

We cant really afford (more, i don't want to spend thousands of dollars) to run around all over the country and visit schools. Instead, we (he) pinpointed particular schools based on his class rank, GPA, SAT, his qualifications, etc. As well as, criteria like : well it would be cool to live here or be in this part of the country.  Google maps is your friend.
He ended up applying to 7 schools [2 acceptances (UT & A&M) + 5 waiting] - most the remaining schools are "reach" schools and out of state. If he gets in to any of them, we'd take a visit to those schools in March at that point, so he can ultimately decided a college by April.

Cmon, spill the beans. What colleges and major? Obviously to 5% if into Texas. Congrats

[Damor 1235]

It sounds like a few people on this thread have hired independent college advisors -- would anyone be willing to share either someone you worked with who you liked, a good company, or where/how you looked to find someone?

Our current sophomore will likely be on the border of getting into Texas, but probably has some interest in out of state programs.  I'd like to get him connected with someone who can help him explore his options, and frankly, the guidance experience he has access to in public school has been unimpressive.

[nbmishoid 949]

On 12/17/2023 at 6:30 PM, TwiceHorn said:

I suppose grad schools have gotten ultra competitive, too, but 3.2 is a pretty solid engineering GPA at a rigorous school like GT.  Or is it?

Back in the day, that'd get you hired most places out of UT.

And, I could easily see it being one of those situations where he did well on upper-division, research-related courses.  For whatever reason, I didn't start busting 4.0s until upper division, employers seemed to like that and didn't give a rats ass about my C in engineering mechanics or fluids.

I was recruited to grad at UT, with an undergrad of 3.4.  Turned them down for that sweet $1400/mo salary (76)

[Grimas 669]

16 hours ago, Damor said:

It sounds like a few people on this thread have hired independent college advisors -- would anyone be willing to share either someone you worked with who you liked, a good company, or where/how you looked to find someone?

Our current sophomore will likely be on the border of getting into Texas, but probably has some interest in out of state programs.  I'd like to get him connected with someone who can help him explore his options, and frankly, the guidance experience he has access to in public school has been unimpressive.

Location?  Mine is in Houston and I think they like to have some face-to-face meetings with you and the kid during the process... Cost was in the $5k range that covers you until they graduate university (they help with filing the FAFSA every year even once the kid is in school).

Edited January 12 by Grimas

[royiv 9179]

2 hours ago, Grimas said:

Location?  Mine is in Houston and I think they like to have some face-to-face meetings with you and the kid during the process... Cost was in the $5k range that covers you until they graduate university (they help with filing the FAFSA every year even once the kid is in school).

Serious question because I don't know the ins/outs of college admissions these days. If you've got $5k in discretionary funds to hire an admissions consultant, why would you need to fill out a FAFSA? I would've thought you're not qualifying for federal aid if you can afford that sort of service.

[Grimas 669]

37 minutes ago, royiv said:

Serious question because I don't know the ins/outs of college admissions these days. If you've got $5k in discretionary funds to hire an admissions consultant, why would you need to fill out a FAFSA? I would've thought you're not qualifying for federal aid if you can afford that sort of service.

FAFSA/CSS is just one part of it.  The main part was matching kid with schools based on grades, ranking and desired degree as well as where they have the best chance for academic scholarships and then you can focus on where to apply. They also review all essays and applications before you submit them - no way my kid would have listened to my thoughts/comments on what was originally written so having an outside reviewer made a big difference in what was originally written by my kid vs what eventually got submitted...

Also, if you fill in the FAFSA incorrect and you have to wait a full year to make corrections.  There are a lot of grants and other scholarships available - $500 here, $1000 there - that all require a FAFSA when you apply for them to even be considered. 

They also help you "negotiate" with schools who are offering you scholarships - school X may initially offer some amount while school Y makes a different offer. You can play one offer off the other to get even more money if they really want your kid especially if both schools compete with each other for the same pool of students. Our advisor has a good database from previous clients so they have a good feel of how much the schools are willing to pay/increase their initial offer.  

Sure, you can do it all this yourself but I hire consultants all the time in my line of work and understand that sometimes it's worth hiring someone who does this process all the time vs. trying to figure out how do it all by yourself...

Edited January 12 by Grimas

[royiv 9179]

11 minutes ago, Grimas said:

FAFSA/CSS is just one part of it.  The main part was matching kid with schools based on grades, ranking and desired degree as well as where they have the best chance for academic scholarships and then you can focus on where to apply. They also review all essays and applications before you submit them - no way my kid would have listened to my thoughts/comments on what was originally written so having an outside reviewer made a big difference in what was originally written by my kid vs what eventually got submitted...

Also, if you fill in the FAFSA incorrect and you have to wait a full year to make corrections.  There are a lot of grants and other scholarships available - $500 here, $1000 there - that all require a FAFSA when you apply for them to even be considered. 

They also help you "negotiate" with schools who are offering you scholarships - school X may initially offer some amount while school Y makes a different offer. You can play one offer off the other to get even more money if they really want your kid especially if both schools compete with each other for the same pool of students. Our advisor has a good database from previous clients so they have a good feel of how much the schools are willing to pay/increase their initial offer.  

Sure, you can do it all this yourself but I hire consultants all the time in my line of work and understand that sometimes it's worth hiring someone who does this process all the time vs. trying to figure out how do it all by yourself...

Wasn't questioning the value of the service. I definitely see the value proposition there. Was questioning the need to full out a FAFSA. I was making the assumption that if you can afford the service, you're not qualifying for need based aid. Again, I'm an idiot on college admissions since I don't have kids and was fortunate enough to have academic scholarships and help from my parents to pay for school so I never had to go through that process.

[Grimas 669]

6 minutes ago, royiv said:

Wasn't questioning the value of the service. I definitely see the value proposition there. Was questioning the need to full out a FAFSA. I was making the assumption that if you can afford the service, you're not qualifying for need based aid. Again, I'm an idiot on college admissions since I don't have kids and was fortunate enough to have academic scholarships and help from my parents to pay for school so I never had to go through that process.

You basically need to submit a FAFSA to get any merit or non-academic funds. Want to apply for that 500 grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution because your wife is a member, you must include the FAFSA application. (Some private schools require the CSS instead of the FAFSA when applying - same basic info but different ways of calculating financial need/ability to pay)

[royiv 9179]

18 minutes ago, Grimas said:

You basically need to submit a FAFSA to get any merit or non-academic funds. Want to apply for that 500 grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution because your wife is a member, you must include the FAFSA application. (Some private schools require the CSS instead of the FAFSA when applying - same basic info but different ways of calculating financial need/ability to pay)

Got it. Thanks. Didn't know you had to provide financial info to get merit these days. It wasn't that way when I went to school. I feel for you guys who have to go through the college admissions process these days. It seems like a massive pain in the ass not to mention having to manage your kid's expectations. 

[Grimas 669]

1 hour ago, royiv said:

Got it. Thanks. Didn't know you had to provide financial info to get merit these days. It wasn't that way when I went to school. I feel for you guys who have to go through the college admissions process these days. It seems like a massive pain in the ass not to mention having to manage your kid's expectations. 

I understand it's easier with the "OneApp" (or whatever it's called) where you fill out just one application online - with some schools having different requirements on questions and essays - for all the schools you are applying to (as opposed to separate applications to each and every school...). No need to fill in the same basic info for each and every application... 

And the FAFSA process is different this year with a new system that matches your 1040 and other tax reporting to what you submit on the FAFSA (which delayed the application start process until Jan1 this year) as all the numbers have to match or it kicks you out of the system until they match...  While you might have already been accepted to schools, you won't know what additional aid might be offered for another month (assuming you applied the past 2 weeks).  Luckily, you don't have to accept any offers until sometime in March.

Edited January 12 by Grimas

[Damor 1235]

On 1/12/2024 at 7:57 AM, Grimas said:

Location?  Mine is in Houston and I think they like to have some face-to-face meetings with you and the kid during the process... Cost was in the $5k range that covers you until they graduate university (they help with filing the FAFSA every year even once the kid is in school).

Duh, would have helped to have mentioned that we're north of Austin.  While I'd like someone we could meet face-to-face at least a few times, I'm not completely against remote stuff, especially for followup.  

Right now he thinks he wants to do medical school, which is something I should know about but I've completely lost the thread on how that drama works these days.  Mostly I'd like him to get some goals set for the remainder of HS and start thinking about schools he might want to target.  He's pretty good about getting after it once he has direction.

[Grimas 669]

1 hour ago, Damor said:

Duh, would have helped to have mentioned that we're north of Austin.  While I'd like someone we could meet face-to-face at least a few times, I'm not completely against remote stuff, especially for followup.  

Right now he thinks he wants to do medical school, which is something I should know about but I've completely lost the thread on how that drama works these days.  Mostly I'd like him to get some goals set for the remainder of HS and start thinking about schools he might want to target.  He's pretty good about getting after it once he has direction.

 DM sent

[tx 3 putt 76612]

On 1/12/2024 at 11:01 AM, Grimas said:

FAFSA/CSS is just one part of it.  The main part was matching kid with schools based on grades, ranking and desired degree as well as where they have the best chance for academic scholarships and then you can focus on where to apply. They also review all essays and applications before you submit them - no way my kid would have listened to my thoughts/comments on what was originally written so having an outside reviewer made a big difference in what was originally written by my kid vs what eventually got submitted...

Also, if you fill in the FAFSA incorrect and you have to wait a full year to make corrections.  There are a lot of grants and other scholarships available - $500 here, $1000 there - that all require a FAFSA when you apply for them to even be considered. 

They also help you "negotiate" with schools who are offering you scholarships - school X may initially offer some amount while school Y makes a different offer. You can play one offer off the other to get even more money if they really want your kid especially if both schools compete with each other for the same pool of students. Our advisor has a good database from previous clients so they have a good feel of how much the schools are willing to pay/increase their initial offer.  

Sure, you can do it all this yourself but I hire consultants all the time in my line of work and understand that sometimes it's worth hiring someone who does this process all the time vs. trying to figure out how do it all by yourself...

interesting, thanks for sharing 

and good luck !

Edited January 14 by tx 3 putt

[South Austin 52215]

FAFSA can lick my balls.

[Bozo_Casanova 26381]

On 1/12/2024 at 7:57 AM, Grimas said:

Cost was in the $5k range that covers you until they graduate university (they help with filing the FAFSA every year even once the kid is in school).

Wow, we were very, very happy with the counselor we worked with in Austin but they were a little north of that, and AFAIK don’t cover the FAFSA support or offer any services post High School.

Edited January 14 by Bozo_Casanova

[Guest]

The counselor thingy seems like lighting money on fire, unless you're so busy you can't work on the intertron for a while.  Given the Surly presence, we know that's not possible.

Financial aid info is everywhere.

Degree programs and schools are quantified and ranked about a billion different ways.

I say this, and we spent around $5k sending each kid to visit  schools of their choice.  We felt like that made a huge difference in their shopping for schools.  What the fuck do I know though...  maybe people can't do their own research.

[ABSR 5290]

On 1/12/2024 at 11:30 AM, Grimas said:

You basically need to submit a FAFSA to get any merit or non-academic funds. Want to apply for that 500 grant from the Daughters of the American Revolution because your wife is a member, you must include the FAFSA application. (Some private schools require the CSS instead of the FAFSA when applying - same basic info but different ways of calculating financial need/ability to pay)

Even if you know you will get no need based money, as Grimas stated, schools and other entities require it.   If Bill Gates had a kid applying, the school(s) would require him to submit.

[4th&Five 41483]

Oldest is a sophomore and the only thing she knows is she wants to leave Texas for college. Beyond that we can’t get much out of her on where she might want to go and what she wants to study. Her grades are good (one B so far in HS) but she usually struggles on standardized tests (fucking STAAR). Either way we think she’ll have options we just have to get her excited about the process without making her overly anxious. 

[boilerhorn 1343]

On 1/14/2024 at 1:38 PM, 4th&Five said:

Oldest is a sophomore and the only thing she knows is she wants to leave Texas for college. Beyond that we can’t get much out of her on where she might want to go and what she wants to study. Her grades are good (one B so far in HS) but she usually struggles on standardized tests (fucking STAAR). Either way we think she’ll have options we just have to get her excited about the process without making her overly anxious. 

Unsolicited advice - have her take an SAT prep class.  She'll get more comfortable with the test process, etc.  And, it will help to mute any asymmetry between her grades and her standardized test scores.  In Austin, we used More Than a Teacher and were happy with the outcome, fwiw.  

[4th&Five 41483]

16 minutes ago, boilerhorn said:

Unsolicited advice - have her take an SAT prep class.  She'll get more comfortable with the test process, etc.  And, it will help to mute any asymmetry between her grades and her standardized test scores.  In Austin, we used More Than a Teacher and were happy with the outcome, fwiw.  

Definitely in our plan. I took one in HS and it worked well. 

[boilerhorn 1343]

On 1/11/2024 at 3:37 PM, Damor said:

It sounds like a few people on this thread have hired independent college advisors -- would anyone be willing to share either someone you worked with who you liked, a good company, or where/how you looked to find someone?

Our current sophomore will likely be on the border of getting into Texas, but probably has some interest in out of state programs.  I'd like to get him connected with someone who can help him explore his options, and frankly, the guidance experience he has access to in public school has been unimpressive.

 

Public school guidance - even at strong public schools - is going to be severely lacking.  My older kids went to a very competitive NW Austin school and the counselors were responsible for a couple hundred kids.  They did their best, but your kid's higher education interests and exploration is low on their list.  They want your kid to graduate and be interested in college.  Youngest kid went to a smaller private school and the guidance counselors - starting junior year - were about 80% focused on your college plan.

Unsolicited advice - you and/or he should take some initial steps ASAP - even if you decide to hire an advisor.  At least you've narrowed it a bit and you'll have a good enough understanding of the landscape to ask informed questions.  You and he might be able to get about 75% of the value of an advisor by spending a few hours a month searching.  The resources available online, esp. post-COVID, are amazing.

[jimmyjazz 45659]

On 1/14/2024 at 9:27 AM, ABSR said:

Even if you know you will get no need based money, as Grimas stated, schools and other entities require it.   If Bill Gates had a kid applying, the school(s) would require him to submit.

I don't think I've submitted a FAFSA for my daughter for two years.  UT still takes my money.

[Grimas 669]

Didn't realize FAFSA is actually a requirement to graduate in Texas... (From our school district)

The Texas Legislature established a new requirement for Texas high school students to complete a financial aid application in order to graduate.
Starting in the 2021-2022 school year, 

Edited January 16 by Grimas

[jimmyjazz 45659]

Yeah, we had to do that for our younger son (class of 22).

[Enemy07 287]

Any of you people go back to grad school mid 30's? I finished Economics at UT with a 3.1 or 3.2 and do not know if that will be enough to get accepted. I finished with the bare minimum. No recs, no volunteer work (that was during my 1st degree), no extra curricular, etc. Would you recommend it or not? How was your journey? Debt is not a problem.

Also, is there a better forum to post this?

Edited January 20 by Enemy07

[boilerhorn 1343]

7 hours ago, Enemy07 said:

Any of you people go back to grad school mid 30's? I finished Economics at UT with a 3.1 or 3.2 and do not know if that will be enough to get accepted. I finished with the bare minimum. No recs, no volunteer work (that was during my 1st degree), no extra curricular, etc. Would you recommend it or not? How was your journey? Debt is not a problem.

Also, is there a better forum to post this?

I went to grad school after taking 1 year "off."  I worked full time after undergrad and worked full time while getting MSEE part time.  So, my path was considerably different than yours will be.

That aside, if funding is not a problem and time is not a problem, just reach out to the grad coordinator and/or some faculty at the school/major/etc. you are interested in.  Tell them your story.  Ask questions, etc.  Both will typically take the time to talk.  I would not worry about the GPA.  There are many factors that contribute to an undergrad GPA: work distractions, maturity of an 18 year old, being away from home, some shitty professors your Fr/So year, etc.  You will be far more focused and driven now than then, etc.

Good luck with it!

[Fudge Nuggets 19166]

wrong thread

Edited February 2 by Fudge Nuggets

[SimonBolivar 10949]

On 1/20/2024 at 3:30 AM, Enemy07 said:

Any of you people go back to grad school mid 30's? I finished Economics at UT with a 3.1 or 3.2 and do not know if that will be enough to get accepted. I finished with the bare minimum. No recs, no volunteer work (that was during my 1st degree), no extra curricular, etc. Would you recommend it or not? How was your journey? Debt is not a problem.

Also, is there a better forum to post this?

I did (ages 32-35), but I went to a small directional state school and not anything anywhere near UT's pedigree. I also finished Baylor undergrad with a 2.3 so I didn't even bother with any school that anyone would consider decent. 

Grad school was great as an adult that actually cared about the material and wasn't trying to get blackout drunk every night. I took it slow at first with a class a semester then took 6 hours after that and usually read/wrote while my wife was watching tv, so I had plenty of time to do it right.

[gsoda3 3238]

On 1/2/2024 at 10:54 AM, DaysOff said:

 AP is a scam; steer your kid towards dual credit.

What's the difference between dual credit and AP?  Depending on your AP test scores you get credit hours for certain courses in Texas.  Is IB dual credit?

[smokebomb 357]

On 1/20/2024 at 3:30 AM, Enemy07 said:

Any of you people go back to grad school mid 30's? I finished Economics at UT with a 3.1 or 3.2 and do not know if that will be enough to get accepted. I finished with the bare minimum. No recs, no volunteer work (that was during my 1st degree), no extra curricular, etc. Would you recommend it or not? How was your journey? Debt is not a problem.

Also, is there a better forum to post this?

My 2 cents (and prob doesn't apply as much to MBA or Law School programs):

1. I'd go see a graduate advisor and talk to them. They should be very blunt about your chances and let you know what you need to do. I did this at UT and was literally laughed out of the advisor's office but that's what happens when you have a C undergraduate average in Liberal Arts. 

2. One thing that most people don't know is that you can still take UT undergrad classes after you graduate. If you are serious and think you need some extra help, re-enroll to UT and sign up for a graduate class as an undergrad in the department will be applying. You will need to go the professor and ask their permission, but as long as you are taking it for a grade and not auditing or pass/fail, they prob won't have a problem with it. This will get you used to school again and if you make an A (in grad school anything below a B is bad), you can use the professor for a referral on your graduate application. This will show that you are serious and can handle grad level work. I did this and although I made a B, the professor wrote me an appropriate referral and that was the only reason I was able to get into my grad school. If you are not in Austin, doing this may be difficult but if you can take a grad class near you, the same applies. 

3. Figure out what you want to focus on. Grad work is typically very specialized and coming into the application process with a good idea of what you want to focus on will be very important. The more precise, the better. 

4. A cursory glance shows that UT has a terminal masters program for Economics. If this is what you want to study, I personally think your grades would be fine (the advisor would be able to confirm). If you want to get a PhD though, I would guess you might have to show do a bit more to get accepted. Doing well in a grad school class or two might help but you may even have to get a grad degree elsewhere before applying to the PhD program. They may allow people to transfer into the PhD program after they have finished the Masters but since it is labeled as terminal, I have the impression this may be difficult. 

Again - these are just my opinions, I am sure others have their own first hand experiences and may offer different insights.

Good luck - I really enjoyed grad school. It was much more difficult than undergrad but I was more mature and studied subjects I was way more interested in. 

[High Plains Drifter 10994]

On 2/2/2024 at 2:27 PM, gsoda3 said:

What's the difference between dual credit and AP?  Depending on your AP test scores you get credit hours for certain courses in Texas.  Is IB dual credit?

 

Not an expert at all, but I think this is correct, more or less: 

AP is administered by the College Board. (Google them). Teacher has to be "accredited" by the College Board. Not sure what that process entails. Very high level, you take a test at the end of the year, the college decides if your score is good enough to get college credit for that class. Test grade is from a 1 (or maybe 0) to 5. So for example, if you take AP Physics 1, and get a AP test grade of a 3, TAMU might say that is good enough for a physics credit for a history major, but UT would say that is not good enough for a physics credit for a chemistry major. 

Dual Credit get your kid a HS and college credit for that class if they pass. Kid graduates HS with a college credit regardless of major or school. (Although I would assume a college that cares about its academic reputation would take a close look at the rigor of the class before awarding that credit, but I don't know). 

Not sure about IB, or how it is different/similar to AP or dual credit. 

 

My feeling is that the AP classes are much more rigorous, and harder to get that credit. 

 

 

tldr: Both are good, take both if the kid can, but AP is probably better, but harder. YMMV. 

 

 

[CooterBrown 17952]

21 hours ago, High Plains Drifter said:

AP is administered by the College Board. (Google them). Teacher has to be "accredited" by the College Board.

My kid's AP Physics teacher has never taught physics before so that accreditation can't be too important.  The only time the kids understand the material is when the teacher shows the AP Youtube video over the lesson instead of trying to teach it herself.  That class is a complete trainwreck.

 

[High Plains Drifter 10994]

29 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

My kid's AP Physics teacher has never taught physics before so that accreditation can't be too important.  The only time the kids understand the material is when the teacher shows the AP Youtube video over the lesson instead of trying to teach it herself.  That class is a complete trainwreck.

 

 

I'll ask my friend who teaches HS (not physics) what he knows. His son took AP physics a year or two ago (I know because I tutored him a little). Maybe they know what the accreditation process is. I was under the impression that the college board is pretty hardcore, and the AP classes are no joke. Based on the problems I was helping him with, I can verify the physics is no joke. 

 

Sorry for your kid. 

 

note: "accreditation" may be the wrong word. 

[CooterBrown 17952]

1 minute ago, High Plains Drifter said:

 

I'll ask my friend who teaches HS (not physics) what he knows. His son took AP physics a year or two ago (I know because I tutored him a little). Maybe they know what the accreditation process is. I was under the impression that the college board is pretty hardcore, and the AP classes are no joke. Based on the problems I was helping him with, I can verify the physics is no joke. 

 

Sorry for your kid. 

 

note: "accreditation" may be the wrong word. 

My guess is there's an amount of time you can teach before you are required to get the cert.  I would think she doesn't teach it next year since she's in that role because of the teacher shortage and they couldn't find someone before the year started.

 

[Grimas 669]

Anyone else having "fun" with this FAFSA mess?  We had ours in in January but apparently any of the early ones were flagged as missing signatures and you couldn't actually make the corrections until April 16th.  All corrected now but several of our target schools still haven't got the FAFSA info and May 1 is decision date for most schools...  Argh...