Surly kids who can't get into UT

[F250 28775]

6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'd look at some Big 10 schools -- most are good to great.  Michigan is probably a stretch, but Illinois and Wisconsin might not be.  Minnesota, Maryland, and Penn State should be do-able.

What majors is he considering?

My nephew graduated from Wisconsin and described it as a "do not recommend." He was a Texas kid that didn't fully appreciate the light Texas winters compared to what he experienced up north.

[jimmyjazz 45952]

6 minutes ago, F250 said:

My nephew graduated from Wisconsin and described it as a "do not recommend." He was a Texas kid that didn't fully appreciate the light Texas winters compared to what he experienced up north.

Eh, my nephew is in the PhD program there now (MechEng out of Georgia Tech).  His brother graduated from there (Business) 5 years ago.  They both love it.  Madison is a very cool town, like old Austin.  I'd say it's tolerable for a short while.

[South Austin 52503]

5 hours ago, F250 said:

He ended up a biochem major north of the Red River. 

[Brew 3049]

9 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

Depending on department, I'd put UDub above the others you listed.  @Beau Vine can surely speak to UDub and Texas State with some authority.  I haven't heard fantastic things about Boulder from parents who have sent their kids there recently, it's pricey and somewhat of a party school.  (My cousin did his PhD in AeroEng there, though, and raves about it, but that was almost 30 years ago.)

I'd look at some Big 10 schools -- most are good to great.  Michigan is probably a stretch, but Illinois and Wisconsin might not be.  Minnesota, Maryland, and Penn State should be do-able.

What majors is he considering?

If you aren’t getting accepted in state at UT, you’re aren’t going to make the cut out of state at Michigan today. Also, we toured it and were not fans of the campus layout. You don’t have the traditional campus setup like a lot of southern universities because of how the campus is laid out around Ann Arbor.

Illinois is definitely worth a look. Near the top of the Big Ten in all rankings, decent campus, etc. We pushed our daughter to really consider it, but it was too far away from her friends ultimately. We also looked at Purdue and Indiana, but location killed them. 

Florida is worth considering if you are just looking at academics. Suprisingly, Clemson is also worth a look. They have a pretty strong honors college.

[jimmyjazz 45952]

1 hour ago, Brew said:

If you aren’t getting accepted in state at UT, you’re aren’t going to make the cut out of state at Michigan today.

I pretty much said the same in fewer words, but honestly, never say never.  It costs almost no time, money or effort to apply to most schools.  I've personally witnessed a kid who scored a 1590 SAT and had all A's with loads of AP and Honors coursework get outright rejected in EE/CS at UT, yet he received a full ride to Georgia Tech (arguably the equal of UT if not better in that major).

Edited May 22 by jimmyjazz

[yoladu 4094]

26 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I pretty much said the same in fewer words, but honestly, never say never.  It costs almost no time, money or effort to apply to most schools.  I've personally witnessed a kid who scored a 1590 SAT and had all A's with loads of AP and Honors coursework get outright rejected in EE/CS at UT, yet he received a full ride to Georgia Tech (arguably the equal of UT if not better in that major).

how is that possible? i must not understand the admissions criteria.

 

Edited May 22 by yoladu

[jimmyjazz 45952]

3 minutes ago, yoladu said:

how is that possible? i must not understand the admissions criteria.

I assume you're referring to auto-admit?  It doesn't guarantee auto-admit to all majors.  If a Top 6% applicant lists a Liberal Arts major as their first choice, they're in.  Otherwise, maybe not.

[texasdago 7573]

3 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I assume you're referring to auto-admit?  It doesn't guarantee auto-admit to all majors.  If a Top 6% applicant lists a Liberal Arts major as their first choice, they're in.  Otherwise, maybe not.

One upside of my son thinking of a major that is not business or engineering.  Then again, not a major that will lead to a high paying job.  Eeesh.

[jimmyjazz 45952]

Yup.  Both my kids are Psych majors.  The older one wants to get her PhD and go into practice or research.  The younger one now wants to transfer to biology and then pursue physical therapy or med school.  I told him to take his shot on an in-school transfer, but we haven't heard anything yet.

[yoladu 4094]

16 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I assume you're referring to auto-admit?  It doesn't guarantee auto-admit to all majors.  If a Top 6% applicant lists a Liberal Arts major as their first choice, they're in.  Otherwise, maybe not.

oh yeah, i get that.. i am just wondering how someone with that resume doesn't get into that major. I know it is competitive, but how does one do better than that?

Edited May 22 by yoladu

[jimmyjazz 45952]

3 minutes ago, yoladu said:

oh yeah, i get that.. i am just wondering how someone with that resume doesn't get into that major. I know it is competitive, but how does one do better than that?

Could have been a bad essay?  He attended a well-regarded private school in Austin, so maybe "private" played into it.  

At any rate, my main point is that there isn't always a clear rhyme or reason when it comes to admissions at top schools.

[F250 28775]

7 hours ago, South Austin said:

I told this story on Shaggy about 11 or so years ago. One time my son got in a lot of trouble for pummeling another kid. When we confronted him about why he beat up this other boy my son stood there in his number 12 Longhorns jersey and blurted out "He kept calling Colt Cart McCoy." My then wife snapped at me for my reaction.

Looking back on things, I probably directed too much negativity on aggy and not enough on ou. We have a lot of aggy in our area and they are so easy to dislike. Mistakes were made.

[DixonHur 11304]

2 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I pretty much said the same in fewer words, but honestly, never say never.  It costs almost no time, money or effort to apply to most schools.  I've personally witnessed a kid who scored a 1590 SAT and had all A's with loads of AP and Honors coursework get outright rejected in EE/CS at UT, yet he received a full ride to Georgia Tech (arguably the equal of UT if not better in that major).

 

2 hours ago, yoladu said:

how is that possible? i must not understand the admissions criteria.

 

Not an undergrad comp, but a good friend of mine got rejected by UCLA and Texas for his MBA but got accepted to Columbia.

You just never know.

[HookEm 2467]

14 hours ago, F250 said:

Have y'all considered near by state schools that waive out of state tuition? My youngest didn't want to do the CAP program but wanted a flagship school and the "experience."

My daughter is going to Arkansas in the fall.  She was borderline at UT and got CAP.  Decided instead to go up there and enjoy the full college experience and great smaller town vibe. She is going to double major in Finance and Supply Chain.  Arkansas has a top-3 supply chain program in the country, I'm sure aided by their close working with Walmart and the many other businesses up there.

My son is at UT studying geology. In some ways I think my daughter will get the better college experience.

All-in, the price will be about the same for both of them.  Hit me up on DM if you want more info on Arkansas.  It is a great option if you want in-state prices and big college feel, but don't want to go Aggy or Red Raider.

[Dennis Taylor 18822]

1 hour ago, F250 said:

I told this story on Shaggy about 11 or so years ago. One time my son got in a lot of trouble for pummeling another kid. When we confronted him about why he beat up this other boy my son stood there in his number 12 Longhorns jersey and blurted out "He kept calling Colt Cart McCoy." My then wife snapped at me for my reaction.

Looking back on things, I probably directed too much negativity on aggy and not enough on ou. We have a lot of aggy in our area and they are so easy to dislike. Mistakes were made.

I'm assuming your reaction was something to the effect of " OK He deserved it" with the possible addition of "I'm going to go kick his dad's ass too". 

My oldest, now the holder of a BS in Petroleum Engineering and a MS in Finance from UT, got in trouble for starting a "Longhorn Club" in 3rd grade, and not letting kids in if he didn't think they were smart enough or if their parents were aggy. We got a call from the school over this. 

[ABSR 5312]

13 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

I'm assuming your reaction was something to the effect of " OK He deserved it" with the possible addition of "I'm going to go kick his dad's ass too". 

My oldest, now the holder of a BS in Petroleum Engineering and a MS in Finance from UT, got in trouble for starting a "Longhorn Club" in 3rd grade, and not letting kids in if he didn't think they were smart enough or if their parents were aggy. We got a call from the school over this. 

Did you tell them it was a misunderstanding by your son and that as the club was only going to be open to Gifted and Talented students you would talk to him about removing the "no aggy" restriction as it would be redundant.

[South Austin 52503]

16 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

My oldest, now the holder of a BS in Petroleum Engineering and a MS in Finance from UT, got in trouble for starting a "Longhorn Club" in 3rd grade, and not letting kids in if he didn't think they were smart enough or if their parents were aggy. 

Today's dreamers are tomorrow's leaders.

[Brew 3049]

4 hours ago, texasdago said:

One upside of my son thinking of a major that is not business or engineering.  Then again, not a major that will lead to a high paying job.  Eeesh.

Daughter applied as an English major and got accepted pretty much everywhere. Others with higher ACT’s got rejected from the same schools. She is very involved and had great essays, but applying outside of business and a few other options definitely opens up more opportunities at the selective schools. 

[Frank Drebin 5639]

1 hour ago, HookEm said:

My daughter is going to Arkansas in the fall.  She was borderline at UT and got CAP.  Decided instead to go up there and enjoy the full college experience and great smaller town vibe. She is going to double major in Finance and Supply Chain.  Arkansas has a top-3 supply chain program in the country, I'm sure aided by their close working with Walmart and the many other businesses up there.

My son is at UT studying geology. In some ways I think my daughter will get the better college experience.

All-in, the price will be about the same for both of them.  Hit me up on DM if you want more info on Arkansas.  It is a great option if you want in-state prices and big college feel, but don't want to go Aggy or Red Raider.

I know zero about Arkansas' academics.  But that part of the state, Northwest Arkansas, is beautiful.  A buddy of mine lives there because his company is a major Wal Mart vendor and that's his account.  I love to visit.

I am mid 40s. So the Arkansas rivalry never meant much to me.

[txduck87 985]

I'm assuming your reaction was something to the effect of " OK He deserved it" with the possible addition of "I'm going to go kick his dad's ass too". 
My oldest, now the holder of a BS in Petroleum Engineering and a MS in Finance from UT, got in trouble for starting a "Longhorn Club" in 3rd grade, and not letting kids in if he didn't think they were smart enough or if their parents were aggy. We got a call from the school over this. 

That is Outstanding.

[jimmyjazz 45952]

2 hours ago, Dennis Taylor said:

My oldest, now the holder of a BS in Petroleum Engineering and a MS in Finance from UT, got in trouble for starting a "Longhorn Club" in 3rd grade, and not letting kids in if he didn't think they were smart enough or if their parents were aggy. We got a call from the school over this. 

Your son is clearly a straight shooter with upper management written all over him.  Good job.

[HookEm 2467]

1 hour ago, Frank Drebin said:

I know zero about Arkansas' academics.  But that part of the state, Northwest Arkansas, is beautiful. 

Yeah we went up to visit in the fall and she was sold.  It was an absolutely brilliant fall day with the leaves turning and the air crisp.  We never get days quite like that in the Austin area.

I'm kind of excited to see what Calapari does with their basketball program. It sounds like he is getting all the resources he needs, and he can certainly recruit.  They could be a fun team to follow during her four years up there.

Right now Arkansas isn't ranked very well academically... #178 on US News. About like Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Okie State, and K-State.  But I can see that changing in the coming years. There are a TON of Dallas kids that can't get into UT or A&M... or that miss out on their major. Kids in the 8%-12% range in their class. These kids are applying to Arkansas in droves, especially since the Oklahoma and Louisiana schools don't offer tuition matching.  The applications are up so much so that they are probably going to raise the standard for full in-state tuition for the Texas folks.  As UT and A&M keep getting more selective, so will Arkansas, and their rankings will go up accordingly.  

JMHO.

[DaysOff 7951]

I told this story on Shaggy about 11 or so years ago. One time my son got in a lot of trouble for pummeling another kid. When we confronted him about why he beat up this other boy my son stood there in his number 12 Longhorns jersey and blurted out "He kept calling Colt Cart McCoy." My then wife snapped at me for my reaction.
Looking back on things, I probably directed too much negativity on aggy and not enough on ou. We have a lot of aggy in our area and they are so easy to dislike. Mistakes were made.

It's not just our area. You can't throw a stick in this state without hitting one of those dipshits.

[Grimas 669]

3 hours ago, HookEm said:

Yeah we went up to visit in the fall and she was sold.  It was an absolutely brilliant fall day with the leaves turning and the air crisp.  We never get days quite like that in the Austin area.

I'm kind of excited to see what Calapari does with their basketball program. It sounds like he is getting all the resources he needs, and he can certainly recruit.  They could be a fun team to follow during her four years up there.

Right now Arkansas isn't ranked very well academically... #178 on US News. About like Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Okie State, and K-State.  But I can see that changing in the coming years. There are a TON of Dallas kids that can't get into UT or A&M... or that miss out on their major. Kids in the 8%-12% range in their class. These kids are applying to Arkansas in droves, especially since the Oklahoma and Louisiana schools don't offer tuition matching.  The applications are up so much so that they are probably going to raise the standard for full in-state tuition for the Texas folks.  As UT and A&M keep getting more selective, so will Arkansas, and their rankings will go up accordingly.  

JMHO.

Fellow Pig-bound dad as well…  My twins are also headed there in the fall for supply chain. One of them (top 11% and 30 AP hours) turned down a full ride at Tulsa and partial at others because of the Walton school ranking and the other boy decided TT was a smellier version of College Station and decided to follow his brother and room together than going to Tech. (Full disclosure, I got my MS Geology there but hated every minute after a BS in Austin). If it wasn’t for the SC ranking at Ark, both would have gone elsewhere. With the near in-state tuition they offer for top Texas students, the cost if you pay for everything is about the same as UT or TT in-state (but I hear next year going forward is going to be much more restrictive on getting this in-state discount.)
 

My “scholar” didn’t even bother to apply to UT as he was told that if he wanted McCombs, he needed to be top 3 or 4% in his high school (big 6A school with a district STEM program) when we did our Austin campus visit.  Had no desire to go the CAP route and risk a LA degree… He does hope to possibly get into UT for a Masters but Ark has a program where you can get you MS in 5 years and with AP credits, a MS in 4…

Old enough to remember the SWC rivalry but really liked the campus and “old town” next to it. Gonna enjoy the visits other than the trip from Houston… (House rental and tickets already in hand for the UT game there in November and I will be wearing burnt orange)

(Not sure a&m is getting more selective as my non-scholar - barely top half of his class - did get accepted to a&m but he only applied there because my wife’s side of the family is Maroon 3 generations back and only applied “for grandpa”…) I suspect he got accepted to Ark after being initially “wait-listed” there because they really wanted his brother but with a 3.7 gpa also gets the tuition discount…)
 

 

[Grimas 669]

7 hours ago, HookEm said:

My daughter is going to Arkansas in the fall.  She was borderline at UT and got CAP.  Decided instead to go up there and enjoy the full college experience and great smaller town vibe. She is going to double major in Finance and Supply Chain.  Arkansas has a top-3 supply chain program in the country, I'm sure aided by their close working with Walmart and the many other businesses up there.

My son is at UT studying geology. In some ways I think my daughter will get the better college experience.

All-in, the price will be about the same for both of them.  Hit me up on DM if you want more info on Arkansas.  It is a great option if you want in-state prices and big college feel, but don't want to go Aggy or Red Raider.

Hopefully your son is going to get his MS if he’s gonna stay with geology and wants to go O&G… (been there, still living it…)

[yoladu 4094]

15 minutes ago, Grimas said:

Fellow Pig-bound dad as well…  My twins are also headed there in the fall for supply chain. One of them (top 11% and 30 AP hours) turned down a full ride at Tulsa and partial at others because of the Walton school ranking and the other boy decided TT was a smellier version of College Station and decided to follow his brother and room together than going to Tech. (Full disclosure, I got my MS Geology there but hated every minute after a BS in Austin). If it wasn’t for the SC ranking at Ark, both would have gone elsewhere. With the near in-state tuition they offer for top Texas students, the cost if you pay for everything is about the same as UT or TT in-state (but I hear next year going forward is going to be much more restrictive on getting this in-state discount.)
 

My “scholar” didn’t even bother to apply to UT as he was told that if he wanted McCombs, he needed to be top 3 or 4% in his high school (big 6A school with a district STEM program) when we did our Austin campus visit.  Had no desire to go the CAP route and risk a LA degree… He does hope to possibly get into UT for a Masters but Ark has a program where you can get you MS in 5 years and with AP credits, a MS in 4…

Old enough to remember the SWC rivalry but really liked the campus and “old town” next to it. Gonna enjoy the visits other than the trip from Houston… (House rental and tickets already in hand for the UT game there in November and I will be wearing burnt orange)

(Not sure a&m is getting more selective as my non-scholar - barely top half of his class - did get accepted to a&m but he only applied there because my wife’s side of the family is Maroon 3 generations back and only applied “for grandpa”…) I suspect he got accepted to Ark after being initially “wait-listed” there because they really wanted his brother but with a 3.7 gpa also gets the tuition discount…)
 

 

i have twins, so i get your "scholar" / "non scholar" deal. Both equally smart, but each has a very different attitude toward school/the academic grind.

Edited May 23 by yoladu

[Grimas 669]

1 minute ago, yoladu said:

i have twins, so i get your "scholar" / "non scholar" deal. Both equally smart, but each has very different attitudes toward school/the academic grind.

We figured both would go their separate ways for school but in the end, decided to not only go to school together but to room together. We’ll see how that works as one is the “party-er” and a slob while the other is the bookworm and neat freak… But both said that they would rather deal with the devil they know than get some “random” person in their room and hopefully will keep each other in line…

[F250 28775]

1 hour ago, DaysOff said:

It's not just our area. You can't throw a stick in this state without hitting one of those dipshits.

The concentration has diluted over time as the area has filled out.

I remember the first time I attended a school event at SVMS and something was mentioned about aggy followed by an outbreak of "whoops" across the audience. It was unsettling as I realized I was surrounded by cultists.

Have you ever passed by this house?

[HookEm 2467]

13 hours ago, Grimas said:

Not sure a&m is getting more selective as my non-scholar - barely top half of his class - did get accepted to a&m but he only applied there because my wife’s side of the family is Maroon 3 generations back and only applied “for grandpa”…

I am sure it has gotten more selective, but part of that selection process is a HEAVY bias toward legacy applicants.  My daughter has zero connection to aggy (thankfully) and didn't even get into Team Blinn, despite being ~ top 12% from a highly regarded HS with a 1290 SAT.  My son was about the same (maybe a little worse actually) and got into UT, but did not get accepted to aggy.  I attribute this to an excellent essay.

Meanwhile they both have a number of friends who got accepted with significantly worse academic and extracurricular achievements with the only difference being that they have aggy family.

 

13 hours ago, Grimas said:

Hopefully your son is going to get his MS if he’s gonna stay with geology and wants to go O&G

He is still trying to figure out his direction. He has loved his geology classes so far, but hasn't made exceptional grades on them.  If you go to UT Jackson School, does it help your chances getting into their graduate program? 

[Da Fino 2783]

@Grimas Is a 3.7 GPA really "barely top half" of the class? 

[F250 28775]

1 hour ago, HookEm said:

Meanwhile they both have a number of friends who got accepted with significantly worse academic and extracurricular achievements with the only difference being that they have aggy family.

I know someone with a kid that fits this description that was accepted by aggy. However, they didn't get into Mays so there was some turmoil about just doing the L.A. thing or going to business school elsewhere.

[Grimas 669]

3 hours ago, HookEm said:

He is still trying to figure out his direction. He has loved his geology classes so far, but hasn't made exceptional grades on them.  If you go to UT Jackson School, does it help your chances getting into their graduate program? 

It should but the key is to get in good with the professors that teach the courses the last 2 years (or on the 660 field trip).  In general, they would rather have a grad student they know vs someone coming in from outside...

(The 660 field trip for 6 weeks was probably the best time I had in the department and I've made lifetime friends from it... Only 3 of us that went on the field trip went on to get geology masters and only 2 of us are still employed in the E&P industry... On the flip side, a recently retired prof told me that the majority of kids with a BS move to other fields post graduation but have been very successful because employers appreciate critical and analytical thinking skills you learn as an undergraduate...)

[yoladu 4094]

2 hours ago, Da Fino said:

@Grimas Is a 3.7 GPA really "barely top half" of the class? 

If that is a weighted GPA and in a fairly reputable HS, then yes, likely.

[North of Walburg 30]

My youngest just finished his first year at Arkansas and is in Walton.  He knew following his older brother to UT was probably not going to be in the cards and he did not want to go to A&M or Tech.  He's enjoyed it.  Fayetteville is a great college town and reminds me of what Austin was like in the early 80's when I was a kid.  Another nice thing is that Arkansas does not have a separate approval for your major.  Once accepted you can choose any major.  There are requirements to stay in your major.  For Walton you have to keep a 2.5 or better in the business introductory classes (not too hard with some effort).

Arkansas is growing fast and is getting a little crowded and this has made the natives restless when it comes to all the out of state students (especially Texans).  The discount to out of state students is not as nice as it was a few years ago and will probably continue to be less generous.

[tx 3 putt 76957]

On 5/22/2024 at 1:06 PM, HookEm said:

My daughter is going to Arkansas in the fall.  She was borderline at UT and got CAP.  Decided instead to go up there and enjoy the full college experience and great smaller town vibe. She is going to double major in Finance and Supply Chain.  Arkansas has a top-3 supply chain program in the country, I'm sure aided by their close working with Walmart and the many other businesses up there.

My son is at UT studying geology. In some ways I think my daughter will get the better college experience.

All-in, the price will be about the same for both of them.  Hit me up on DM if you want more info on Arkansas.  It is a great option if you want in-state prices and big college feel, but don't want to go Aggy or Red Raider.

Arkansas is a beautiful beautiful state 

but the people …..

[tx 3 putt 76957]

8 hours ago, HookEm said:

I am sure it has gotten more selective, but part of that selection process is a HEAVY bias toward legacy applicants.  My daughter has zero connection to aggy (thankfully) and didn't even get into Team Blinn, despite being ~ top 12% from a highly regarded HS with a 1290 SAT.  My son was about the same (maybe a little worse actually) and got into UT, but did not get accepted to aggy.  I attribute this to an excellent essay.

Meanwhile they both have a number of friends who got accepted with significantly worse academic and extracurricular achievements with the only difference being that they have aggy family.

 

He is still trying to figure out his direction. He has loved his geology classes so far, but hasn't made exceptional grades on them.  If you go to UT Jackson School, does it help your chances getting into their graduate program? 

I have 4 college buddies that went the mud engineer route out of school. You learn a damn lot about drilling. 4/4, extremely successful career tracks. They could have all retired before 50. Network like mad, and don’t wreck company vehicles 

Edited May 24 by tx 3 putt

[Firemans4Horn 18049]

46 minutes ago, North of Walburg said:

My youngest just finished his first year at Arkansas and is in Walton.  He knew following his older brother to UT was probably not going to be in the cards and he did not want to go to A&M or Tech.  He's enjoyed it.  Fayetteville is a great college town and reminds me of what Austin was like in the early 80's when I was a kid.  Another nice thing is that Arkansas does not have a separate approval for your major.  Once accepted you can choose any major.  There are requirements to stay in your major.  For Walton you have to keep a 2.5 or better in the business introductory classes (not too hard with some effort).

 

I know it’s fun to give OU and Arky shit but compared to Lubbock and College Station they are way better options as far as things to do and campus life.
 

All of the big state schools in Texas have fucking terrible campuses and towns besides Texas and Texas State. I’d like to throw UNT in there but an 14 lane highway cuts right through the middle of everything. 

[jimmyjazz 45952]

Do Arkansas drivers still drive slow as hell?

[Grimas 669]

8 hours ago, yoladu said:

If that is a weighted GPA and in a fairly reputable HS, then yes, likely.

Typo-3.5 (not 3.7) weighted GPA and their school has the district STEM program which didn’t help my “scholar” twin who would have made top 5% if he would have transferred to a neighboring high school. (One B in 4 years but hurt ranking by only taking 2AP classes the first 2 years…)

[tx 3 putt 76957]

14 hours ago, Firemans4Horn said:

 

I know it’s fun to give OU and Arky shit but compared to Lubbock and College Station they are way better options as far as things to do and campus life.
 

All of the big state schools in Texas have fucking terrible campuses and towns besides Texas and Texas State. I’d like to throw UNT in there but an 14 lane highway cuts right through the middle of everything. 

makes it easy to get out of town

funny thing about college kids, they find something to do and have fun no matter where they’re at 

[South Austin 52503]

3 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

funny thing about college kids, they find something to do and have fun no matter where they’re at 

True.

[Dennis Taylor 18822]

15 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Arkansas is a beautiful beautiful state 

but the people …..

Went on a canoeing trip to the Buffalo River with a bunch of buddies a few years back. We were stocking up on stuff at the last store before we basically left civilization and there was this toothless old hillbilly mulling around the parking lot with one shoe. I said " hey bud looks like you lost a shoe" and he said " nope, I found one"

Edited May 24 by Dennis Taylor

[tx 3 putt 76957]

13 minutes ago, Dennis Taylor said:

Went on a canoeing trip to the Buffalo River with a bunch of buddies a few years back. We were stocking up on stuff at the last store before we basically left civilization and there was this toothless old hillbilly mulling around the parking lot with one shoe. I said " hey bud looks like you lost a shoe" and he said " nope, I found one"

glass half full kind of guy 

[CooterBrown 18012]

Here we go.  The oldest is applying to colleges.  Being a female, she needs to get out of Gilead so all Texas schools are off the table.

A few things I've learned in this process which is way different than 30 years ago...

1. Go talk to your high school college counselor your freshman year.  Most kids wait until they're a senior.  The college counselor has relationships with many college admissions offices.  They can help build a relationship with one if your kid is borderline for acceptance.  We went through her list of a dozen schools and the counselor was quick to say which she was going to get into, which were iffy, and which gave money and how much.  Since we tailored her list to ABET accredited engineering schools that offered the 4+1 master's program and picked schools that we felt were not a stretch, her list was pretty safe.  The one school we thought would be a stretch was one the counselor thought she'd be an easy admit and one we thought was a pretty safe pick was one she thought would be iffy.  I can't recommend enough going and talking to their college counselor. 

2. Schools admit based on your weighted GPA on a 4.0 scale. I found that counterintuitive since you can have a GPA higher than 4.0. Many schools also give merit aid on a sliding scale based on the weighted GPA. McCallum does not even put the unweighted GPA anywhere on the transcript. The counselor said that any school that cares about that will calculate their own GPA for the classes they care about and not many outside of the top 50 ranked schools will do that.

3. The Common App is simple and a beast at the same time. No other way to describe it.  Let the college counselor review it before you submit to schools.

4. If you have Hispanic heritage, make sure your kid is classified as such.  I'm around 20% Hispanic. Last year, I checked with the school and verified that my kid could be legitimately classified as Hispanic and was given the green light. It just took one email to change it with AISD.  Last week, she got notified she was a National Hispanic Recognition Scholar.  That automatically gets her the Presidential Merit  Scholarship at her top pick.  With her weighted GPA, she also automatically gets the top level non-resident merit scholarship.  Since those two scholarships can stack, she'll be at in-state tuition before she even applies for any other scholarships. 

I'm sure I'll learn some more as the process moves along. The counselor is reviewing her common app today, so we will submit it this week and wait for acceptance, which should come in December.

Edited August 20 by CooterBrown

[BrazilHorn 6606]

My son is a senior at AHS and in the application process. Can't get into UT (could do the 1 year at UTSA deal but doesn't want to).

He just got accepted to Alabama and still has applications out to Auburn, FSU, Tenn, S. Car, LSU and Ok. State

Will see where he ends up. I agree with post above how Common app is simple but a real PITA as while it says "common", every school has their quirks.

[BabaYaga 15298]

On 5/22/2024 at 1:06 PM, HookEm said:

My daughter is going to Arkansas in the fall.  She was borderline at UT and got CAP.  Decided instead to go up there and enjoy the full college experience and great smaller town vibe. She is going to double major in Finance and Supply Chain.  Arkansas has a top-3 supply chain program in the country, I'm sure aided by their close working with Walmart and the many other businesses up there.

My son is at UT studying geology. In some ways I think my daughter will get the better college experience.

All-in, the price will be about the same for both of them.  Hit me up on DM if you want more info on Arkansas.  It is a great option if you want in-state prices and big college feel, but don't want to go Aggy or Red Raider.

My son is there and in the supply chain program.  Agreed it's a beautiful campus and he loves it.  We stayed at a VRBO on a ranch in Goshen on our last trip.  It was as nice a place as we're ever stayed.  

[BabaYaga 15298]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:41 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Do Arkansas drivers still drive slow as hell?

Fuck yes.....

[SimonBolivar 10958]

On 5/22/2024 at 12:13 PM, DixonHur said:

 

Not an undergrad comp, but a good friend of mine got rejected by UCLA and Texas for his MBA but got accepted to Columbia.

You just never know.

Top schools are weird like that. I got into ULL for my MBA but declined by ULM for a different grad degree. You can just never tell when the stakes are so high.

[TwiceHorn 31470]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:41 PM, jimmyjazz said:

Do Arkansas drivers still drive slow as hell?

As my uncle, am Arkansas native, told me, hillbillies drive slowly because the ridges in the accelerator pedal cut into their foot. 

More accurately, though, so many of the roads and highways have pines right up to the shoulder so that the frequent curves are mostly blind. It makes even a native Texan slow down substantially 

 

Edited September 19 by TwiceHorn

[BabaYaga 15298]

Driving/parking on the AR campus on game days......shoot me in the face