Surly kids who can't get into UT

[Hefeweizen 5307]

6 hours ago, Mantis Toboggan, MD said:

Good school, pretty area, hippy vibe. But Santa Cruz is a shithole of a city. Lots of homeless/hobos riding around on bicycles grimacing at you waiting to break into your car.

Santa Cruz is the county seat and a lot of their free stuff gets handed out there.  It is surprisingly sketchy, to the point it can feel unsafe for women and kids in some of the areas.  It’s very different from all the other small towns along the central coast, none of which get that feeling.

Re UC schools.  If your kid isn’t getting into UT Austin they aren’t getting into UCLA or SD either.  

Edited October 5, 2023 by Hefeweizen

[Pescado_Rojo 19327]

5 hours ago, Mantis Toboggan, MD said:

Anyone have any experience with LSU? Do they have any tuition discounts for Texas students? Thoughts on LSU as a school? My kids are years away, so m just curious.

I have several LSU grads in my family and friend group, and a young cousin that's there now. My older LSU grad relatives are all PE or civil engineers and have done pretty well for themselves in the Greater Louisiana area, including Houston O&G. Have a friend who's daughter is an LSU trained vet and says the vet school is great. My cousin that's there now is from Texas (Georgetown), but I don't know what she's paying in tuition. I'm going to see her mom tomorrow, and I can ask. (I'm curious, too)

I was accepted to LSU and they threw a lot of money at me back in the '80s. I took a campus visit with a buddy, and that may have been the first time I flirted with alcohol poisoning. We drove home Sunday in dead silence for most of the trip and both agreed we wouldn't survive one semester at LSU. 

[gmr548 16463]

Anyone have any experience with LSU? Do they have any tuition discounts for Texas students? Thoughts on LSU as a school? My kids are years away, so m just curious.

My understanding is they are pretty generous with financial aid for out of state students with decent records. I know a couple guys my age (~30) that went there for free. LSU has an enrollment problem and looks to Texas kids to fill up.

[orange dream 1236]

21 hours ago, Mantis Toboggan, MD said:

Anyone have any experience with LSU? Do they have any tuition discounts for Texas students? Thoughts on LSU as a school? My kids are years away, so m just curious.

 

15 hours ago, Pescado_Rojo said:

I have several LSU grads in my family and friend group, and a young cousin that's there now. My older LSU grad relatives are all PE or civil engineers and have done pretty well for themselves in the Greater Louisiana area, including Houston O&G. Have a friend who's daughter is an LSU trained vet and says the vet school is great. My cousin that's there now is from Texas (Georgetown), but I don't know what she's paying in tuition. I'm going to see her mom tomorrow, and I can ask. (I'm curious, too)

I was accepted to LSU and they threw a lot of money at me back in the '80s. I took a campus visit with a buddy, and that may have been the first time I flirted with alcohol poisoning. We drove home Sunday in dead silence for most of the trip and both agreed we wouldn't survive one semester at LSU. 

 

2 hours ago, gmr548 said:

My understanding is they are pretty generous with financial aid for out of state students with decent records. I know a couple guys my age (~30) that went there for free. LSU has an enrollment problem and looks to Texas kids to fill up.

My son and I went to Baton Rouge for the LSU/Auburn game a few years ago.  Had a great time.  An observation I remember from the trip is that the locals definitely identify first as "Cajuns" and then whatever else they happen to be, kind of how must of us are "Texans" first and then whatever else we happen to be.  Alcohol poisoning would definitely be on the table for most undergrads though.

[jimmyjazz 45513]

17 hours ago, Hefeweizen said:

Re UC schools.  If your kid isn’t getting into UT Austin they aren’t getting into UCLA or SD either.  

Gotta be careful with these generalities.  A friend has a son who got a full ride to Georgia Tech in engineering and didn't get accepted to UT-Austin.  You just never know.

[BearSchlong 8076]

The problem with LSU is that it’s an hour from New Orleans. I would have died young.

[Hefeweizen 5307]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

Gotta be careful with these generalities.  A friend has a son who got a full ride to Georgia Tech in engineering and didn't get accepted to UT-Austin.  You just never know.

Oh I definitely agree there are going to be exceptions.  The admittance rate at UCLA has gotten absurdly low.  Like 10 percent.  UT is still around one in three I think.

[We’reTexas 1467]

On 10/4/2023 at 5:38 AM, South Austin said:

Looks like UC Santa Cruz is creeping up in my daughter's rankings.  Anyone have experience with that school? 

I've been to Santa Cruz twice and I love that area, but from what I'm reading the student body is experiencing a bit of a housing crisis because there's not enough on-campus housing, and very little available off-campus housing that isn't priced beyond a student's means.

I still think she likely winds up at UDub or Oregon, but still gathering as much information I can on the other candidates.  

Yes, the housing situation is insane in UCSC (and several other UCs). From what I hear from colleagues, pretty common for kids to live in nearby towns like Watsonville, which sounds like it would suck. But again, very common experience for UC students who aren’t affluent - not like most UCSD kids live in La Jolla for four years either. 

[Bateshorn 9882]

49 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

Oh I definitely agree there are going to be exceptions.  The admittance rate at UCLA has gotten absurdly low.  Like 10 percent.  UT is still around one in three I think.

The joke around here is nobody actually gets into UCLA.  They hire actors for the basketball games.  

On 10/5/2023 at 12:44 PM, Mantis Toboggan, MD said:

Anyone have any experience with LSU? Do they have any tuition discounts for Texas students? Thoughts on LSU as a school? My kids are years away, so m just curious.

LSU is so desperate for enrollment they continued to stalk my kids a year after they matriculated, basically offering money for them to transfer. Thirsty AF.

[Beau Vine 53964]

On 10/4/2023 at 8:45 AM, SydneyCarton said:

I selfishly want my son to seriouisly consider UC San Diego. I don't even know what the specialize in, I assume some kind of marine stuff. Doesn't really matter. Just move to San Diego kid. 

Biomedical engineering.  Was hoping my daughter would get her Ph.D. there.

"Naw, you don't want to go to Washington!  The weather sucks there!  Trust me!"

[Beau Vine 53964]

On 10/5/2023 at 11:44 AM, Mantis Toboggan, MD said:

Thoughts on LSU as a school?

[jdhorn92 1535]

On 10/2/2023 at 10:56 AM, BeardIP said:

Do schools still do things like "Round Up Weekend" that UT used to do (and still might do, for all I know)? I remember being 17 years old, driving to Austin with friends and no parent supervision, and partying in West Campus and sleeping on the floor of my brothers friend at Towers to get the feel for UT. And that was a common thing as a sort of pre-rush and get a feel for the campus before orientation.

That feels like an impossible thing these days, with liabilities and underage issues and how parents are much more protective. Heck, I wouldn't let my 17 year old do that.

Same here. Sping of '88 went to Austin and stayed on the couch of a friend's sister at Orange Tree, they had a keg (s) in the courtyard all weekend and I thought i went to heaven.  Tons of coeds talking up UT , spending time with us and passing on information about classes etc... of course I thought I had a chance with several of them, haha dumb me....overall that's what sealed it for me going to UT was Roundup, non-stop weekend so fun. 

I had to go provisional to get in but that summer '88 at Dobie was the best experience.  I started summer1 before i graduated HS.  Placed out of 10 hours of Spanish and took 12 hours. Those 22 hours before fall '88 Helped me get out in 4 years and introduced me to life on my own.  Wouldn't trade that time for anything.  My oldest didnt even apply to UT and goes to Auburn and she loves it.  Auburn is a small campus, very walkable and overall a really good situation for her.

Anecdotally, my bosses son was 4.0+ at Southlake, marching band and Varsity swim and UT wouldnt accept him, ended up at OU on a partial scholarship.

Edited October 6, 2023 by jdhorn92

[HouTex 1847]

38 minutes ago, jdhorn92 said:

Same here. Sping of '88 went to Austin and stayed on the couch of a friend's sister at Orange Tree, they had a keg (s) in the courtyard all weekend and I thought i went to heaven.  Tons of coeds talking up UT , spending time with us and passing on information about classes etc... of course I thought I had a chance with several of them, haha dumb me....overall that's what sealed it for me going to UT was Roundup, non-stop weekend so fun. 

I had to go provisional to get in but that summer '88 at Dobie was the best experience.  I started summer1 before i graduated HS.  Placed out of 10 hours of Spanish and took 12 hours. Those 22 hours before fall '88 Helped me get out in 4 years and introduced me to life on my own.  Wouldn't trade that time for anything.  My oldest didnt even apply to UT and goes to Auburn and she loves it.  Auburn is a small campus, very walkable and overall a really good situation for her.

Anecdotally, my bosses son was 4.0+ at Southlake, marching band and Varsity swim and UT wouldnt accept him, ended up at OU on a partial scholarship.

Similar experience here.  Roundup Spring 1980 as a senior in HS sealed it for me.  I wasn’t provisional but i went to summer school before my first fall semester just to escape my small town and it was one of the best summers of my life.  One of my daughters got into UT on an appeal in 2010-not sure if they do that anymore.  Her back up was Georgia.  We didn’t even try UT with my second daughter.  

[jdhorn92 1535]

30 minutes ago, HouTex said:

Similar experience here.  Roundup Spring 1980 as a senior in HS sealed it for me.  I wasn’t provisional but i went to summer school before my first fall semester just to escape my small town and it was one of the best summers of my life.  One of my daughters got into UT on an appeal in 2010-not sure if they do that anymore.  Her back up was Georgia.  We didn’t even try UT with my second daughter.  

UGA is another tough school to get accepted.

  I must say, having a Texas degree (we know this already) has a lot cache and meaning.  I travel the country for work, mainly TX to VA and most of the Southeast states, and a Texas degree, even if just undergrad turns some heads.  I think a lot of it is working with similar aged people who have bright kids that cant get in gives us/me/you a lot of credibility.  With that said,  one still has to prove themselves no matter the endeavor,  but having that Texas degree and life experiences Austin, I wouldn't trade it.

[freyguy 4245]

It's great to have dreams, but people need to tap the brakes when they want to go strawman and start arguing that what it takes to be CEO is what should steer your major/decisions in life.  There are roughly ~200k CEOs in the U.S., and I bet most of them still don't make "that much".  Ain't nothing wrong settling for "middle-management" or being a lifelong individual contributor. 

Work ethic, and being able to see the big picture will carry you farther than anything else.  Plus, living within your means.  Do this, and you'll be surprised how much you'll get out of life.

[Grimas 658]

Note to self - visiting a SEC university on a home game weekend may not be the smartest move...  Rooms are impossible to find last minute, campus is packed and with restricted access/parking and it really highlights the "social" aspects of the school rather than the academic side...  That being said, visiting The Grove on gameday is an experience on it's own and I can't see how any red-blooded, testosterone-filled boy wouldn't walk away saying this is the place for me... (Sorry, no pics - phone battery was dead...)

[crash_davis 23078]

This is an interesting and sobering article. Long story short, really smart Cali kid who scored a 1590 on the SAT was rejected by 16 of 18 schools. He did get into Texas and Maryland. He was rejected by MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cornell University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin. He's Asian so that may or may not have had anything to do with his rejections (that's definitely for another thread).

College admissions has gotten absolutely fucking stupid.

Good news is that he was offered a job at Google. Looks like he turned down Texas to be employed by Google. 

https://abc7news.com/stanley-zhong-college-rejected-teen-full-time-job-google-admissions/13890332/

 

[Samson's Wig 3168]

4 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

This is an interesting and sobering article. Long story short, really smart Cali kid who scored a 1590 on the SAT was rejected by 16 of 18 schools. He did get into Texas and Maryland. He was rejected by MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cornell University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin. He's Asian so that may or may not have had anything to do with his rejections (that's definitely for another thread).

College admissions has gotten absolutely fucking stupid.

Good news is that he was offered a job at Google. Looks like he turned down Texas to be employed by Google. 

https://abc7news.com/stanley-zhong-college-rejected-teen-full-time-job-google-admissions/13890332/

 

Stories like this may be the canary in the coal mine for modern universities.  They definitely need to adjust something, and it's likely their value proposition. 

[South Austin 52037]

Stanley, sometimes you gotta say “what the fuck,” and make your move.

[freyguy 4245]

7 hours ago, crash_davis said:

This is an interesting and sobering article. Long story short, really smart Cali kid who scored a 1590 on the SAT was rejected by 16 of 18 schools. He did get into Texas and Maryland. He was rejected by MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cornell University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin. He's Asian so that may or may not have had anything to do with his rejections (that's definitely for another thread).

College admissions has gotten absolutely fucking stupid.

Good news is that he was offered a job at Google. Looks like he turned down Texas to be employed by Google. 

https://abc7news.com/stanley-zhong-college-rejected-teen-full-time-job-google-admissions/13890332/

 

maybe he can't write for shit on his essays. 

The sobering part is folks are still not realizing that the population size of graduating seniors in the U.S. has increased from 2.5M in the 90's, to approx 3.5M in present day.  That's about a 40% increase.  "Top Tier" colleges have obviously not expanded by that same percentage.  Folks need to recalibrate themselves on what "fair" really is.

[freyguy 4245]

Plus, to defend the colleges, how many applicants do you think they received that had identical statistics as him?  1,000 kids got a perfect score last year.  So how many do you think scored a 1590?  What makes this kid so special compared to the others?

[Brew 3044]

On 10/6/2023 at 3:43 PM, jdhorn92 said:

UGA is another tough school to get accepted.

  I must say, having a Texas degree (we know this already) has a lot cache and meaning.  I travel the country for work, mainly TX to VA and most of the Southeast states, and a Texas degree, even if just undergrad turns some heads.  I think a lot of it is working with similar aged people who have bright kids that cant get in gives us/me/you a lot of credibility.  With that said,  one still has to prove themselves no matter the endeavor,  but having that Texas degree and life experiences Austin, I wouldn't trade it.

If you aren’t going to get into Texas in state, you’re probably not close to making the cut at GA out of state unless you are applying to a less sought after degree program. The numbers there are ridiculous on out of state acceptance rates. 

[Brew 3044]

8 hours ago, crash_davis said:

This is an interesting and sobering article. Long story short, really smart Cali kid who scored a 1590 on the SAT was rejected by 16 of 18 schools. He did get into Texas and Maryland. He was rejected by MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cornell University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin. He's Asian so that may or may not have had anything to do with his rejections (that's definitely for another thread).

College admissions has gotten absolutely fucking stupid.

Good news is that he was offered a job at Google. Looks like he turned down Texas to be employed by Google. 

https://abc7news.com/stanley-zhong-college-rejected-teen-full-time-job-google-admissions/13890332/

 

His essays could have been terrible, other portions of his app could not have been great, etc. Some of the more selective schools have actively come out and said they aren’t necessarily focusing on the smartest at this point and are going for well rounded students that have a better chance of being involved on campus. One of the kids from our school graduated near the top of his class, made a 35, didn’t make it into UGA and a mix of other known schools. He’s also white, upper class, and wanted to go into the business school which has the highest application rate at most of those schools. There are a ton of stories out there about similar examples.

Our oldest is going to focus on trying to get into an Honors college at the back end of the Top 100 schools. She’s been invited to apply for a couple high end scholarship/honors college opportunities so she is going to go after those. After looking at the common dataset in the colleges she applied for originally, she really shot for some ultra low acceptance rate schools. She’s also applying with English as her major and excellent essays, so maybe one of them will give her a shot.

[HookEm 2441]

I went with my daughter to visit Arkansas earlier this week. Weather was absolutely perfect. Beautiful campus in a beautiful town.

If your kid gets into Arkansas, they also get into the major of their choice. And if they decide to change majors, it is apparently easy to do. How novel and refreshing.

She is looking at Supply Chain Management possibly double majored with Finance. They apparently have one of the best Supply Chain programs in the country. Makes sense given the close interaction with Walmart.

I have a son at UT and honestly think her experience at Arkansas might be better all the way around.

[tx 3 putt 76158]

11 hours ago, crash_davis said:

This is an interesting and sobering article. Long story short, really smart Cali kid who scored a 1590 on the SAT was rejected by 16 of 18 schools. He did get into Texas and Maryland. He was rejected by MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cornell University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin. He's Asian so that may or may not have had anything to do with his rejections (that's definitely for another thread).

College admissions has gotten absolutely fucking stupid.

Good news is that he was offered a job at Google. Looks like he turned down Texas to be employed by Google. 

https://abc7news.com/stanley-zhong-college-rejected-teen-full-time-job-google-admissions/13890332/

 

Public U’s aren’t growing to match the population growth, and that’s criminal 

Edited October 12, 2023 by tx 3 putt

[South Austin 52037]

9 hours ago, freyguy said:

Plus, to defend the colleges, how many applicants do you think they received that had identical statistics as him?  1,000 kids got a perfect score last year.  So how many do you think scored a 1590?  What makes this kid so special compared to the others?

And for those west coast schools that are now SAT blind, they don’t even look at SAT scores (allegedly), so his 1590 score don’t mean a shit.  If those kinds of schools are taking this “holistic” approach to admissions, who knows these days.

Edited October 12, 2023 by South Austin

[MonkeyDoughnut 10134]

13 hours ago, freyguy said:

Plus, to defend the colleges, how many applicants do you think they received that had identical statistics as him?  1,000 kids got a perfect score last year.  So how many do you think scored a 1590?  What makes this kid so special compared to the others?

I mean he did start an e-signing startup as a HS soph that was so well done Amazon reached out to hire him only to find out he was in high school. Combine that and Google actually hiring him says he's likely better off not going to college anyway, but he definitely brings something to the table.

It's colleges like Cal Poly San Luis Obispo rejecting him along with Michigan, Washington and Wisconsin that makes you go, what??  Maybe he is super smart but isn't great at playing the admissions game... and it is a game now.

[South Austin 52037]

I know this is an anecdotal story worthy of discussion, but I hope my parents would never go to the media with their complaints about all the schools that rejected me. Take the loss, Stanley.

[tx 3 putt 76158]

Fuck that kid. He could go to any accredited engineering school on a free ride. True talent always rises to the top and companies / top schools will look for shining stars 

[Guest]

18 hours ago, freyguy said:

Plus, to defend the colleges, how many applicants do you think they received that had identical statistics as him?  1,000 kids got a perfect score last year.  So how many do you think scored a 1590?  What makes this kid so special compared to the others?

Um, if you are around the top 1,000 then shouldn't you have no issue wherever you want to go? I mean, Harvard's freshman class is roughly 2,000. 

[Snake Diggity 4614]

On 10/11/2023 at 11:49 AM, crash_davis said:

This is an interesting and sobering article. Long story short, really smart Cali kid who scored a 1590 on the SAT was rejected by 16 of 18 schools. He did get into Texas and Maryland. He was rejected by MIT, Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UCSD, UCSB, UC Davis, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Cornell University, University of Illinois, University of Michigan, Georgia Tech, Caltech, University of Washington and University of Wisconsin. He's Asian so that may or may not have had anything to do with his rejections (that's definitely for another thread).

College admissions has gotten absolutely fucking stupid.

Good news is that he was offered a job at Google. Looks like he turned down Texas to be employed by Google. 

https://abc7news.com/stanley-zhong-college-rejected-teen-full-time-job-google-admissions/13890332/

 

I wonder if more companies might start recruiting kids right out of high school for “degreed” jobs.  Pay them 1/3 of what a degree holder makes and train them up.  
 

I am a very typical white collared non-professional who has done relatively well, and I have not had a single job since college that I couldn’t have learned without my degree/college education; it may have taken me a little longer to grasp some concepts but I could have done it easily.

[tx 3 putt 76158]

3 minutes ago, Snake Diggity said:

I wonder if more companies might start recruiting kids right out of high school for “degreed” jobs.  Pay them 1/3 of what a degree holder makes and train them up.  
 

I am a very typical white collared non-professional who has done relatively well, and I have not had a single job since college that I couldn’t have learned without my degree/college education; it may have taken me a little longer to grasp some concepts but I could have done it easily.

too immature and can’t work in a group setting 

this kid is throwing up red flags - cryer / complainer. Has no idea how to adopt, figure out things on the go. 

Edited October 12, 2023 by tx 3 putt

[Brew 3044]

15 hours ago, tx 3 putt said:

Public U’s aren’t growing to match the population growth, and that’s criminal 

I looked at some numbers on some SEC schools. From 2016 it looks like enrollment is up roughly 10% on average. What has really changed is the apps and acceptance. Apps are up more than double, acceptance is up 50%, but first year enrollment was up 10-15%. Looks like most were enrolling half of accepted which is significantly less than past history.  Private schools I looked at were actually much closer with 10-15% growth in each category. There wasn’t the big anomaly in apps like with the publics.

[HouTex 1847]

Here’s a graph showing the number of US high school graduates by year.  When my first daughter graduated high school in 2010 it was near a peak but it was still better for her then then it would be now.  She easily got into Georgia and finally got into UT on an appeal.  The numbers show that it levelled off for a bit and then increased dramatically.  It’s supposed to peak in 2025 and then go down.  It that happens it could present some good opportunities for students at what I call middle tier universities.  Those schools will have to compete harder for good students.  The top schools will always get their pick of the litter.  

[jimmyjazz 45513]

I have two nephews, my sister's sons.  One did a business/German major/minor at Wisconsin.  I think he is currently selling clicks in Chicago.  The other just started a PhD track in mechanical engineering out of a BS at Georgia Tech.  That sounds strong, but his GPA was 3.2, so I'm not so sure Wisconsin should be used in the "public Ivy adjacent" discussions (regardless of how great GaTech is).

[freyguy 4245]

1 hour ago, FirstTimeCaller said:

Um, if you are around the top 1,000 then shouldn't you have no issue wherever you want to go? I mean, Harvard's freshman class is roughly 2,000. 

I hear you.  But with a class of 2000, should 50% of them come from that 1000 who scored a perfect SAT?

[tx 3 putt 76158]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I have two nephews, my sister's sons.  One did a business/German major/minor at Wisconsin.  I think he is currently selling clicks in Chicago.  The other just started a PhD track in mechanical engineering out of a BS at Georgia Tech.  That sounds strong, but his GPA was 3.2, so I'm not so sure Wisconsin should be used in the "public Ivy adjacent" discussions (regardless of how great GaTech is).

Ga Tech has a great engineering program 

[jimmyjazz 45513]

13 minutes ago, tx 3 putt said:

Ga Tech has a great engineering program 

I am long on record here as saying it's probably the best engineering program in the country.  Your point?

3 minutes ago, BeardIP said:

What does selling clicks mean? Google Adword advertising impression sales?

Digital marketing / SEO.  I don't know enough about to comment further.

[Hefeweizen 5307]

4 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

I am long on record here as saying it's probably the best engineering program in the country.  Your point?

Digital marketing / SEO.  I don't know enough about to comment further.

I am happy to hear how GA Tech is better than MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Mudd, RPI, UT, Cal, and probably a few more I overlooked.  What’s your reason?

[Welshy 907]

On 9/26/2023 at 10:23 AM, texasdago said:

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... 

My daughter was GT from the 5th grade. I have no idea how I got in, I didn't know it was a thing when I applied. My grades were average at best.

The only reason I had Advanced classes was because I was bored in regular classes and became a distraction. I assumed my daughter was in without issue, if that's what she wanted. My sister got a BA and PHD from UT, dad - masters, with a phd, and daughter graduated with a 4.3 GPA with a year and a half of "college credit." - Also, 120 other graduates in her (affluent) HS graduated with 4.0 or better. 

She had to CAP. We were looking at 4 decimals trying to know. Had offers for out of state "for 3 times tuition at name brands" at good schools, free or subsidized at Ark, Ala, Baylor, but she wanted UT. Luckily, the last CAP segment through UTSA.

Admittance is either "Connected a big way - not 2k a year connected," "crazy brilliant," or "Grinder." - no homo. 

It sucks that smart, connect-the-dot people go through this and find the rug pulled out from under them. Admittance, value of a degree, you name it. It's not clear for lots of folks. It is what these kids and families think. Most of the wealthiest people I know are not "professionals." They are people who think. Hard. Differently. But they effort. Harder.  

[jimmyjazz 45513]

42 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

I am happy to hear how GA Tech is better than MIT, Stanford, Caltech, Mudd, RPI, UT, Cal, and probably a few more I overlooked.  What’s your reason?

Reputation?  Rankings vary, but plenty of academics and professional recruiters see GT as pretty much top of the heap, depending on department.

USN&WR, which (like most rankings) should be taken with a grain of salt, has GT as the top public undergrad engineering program and #3 public grad engineering program (3rd and 5th, respectively, when private schools are included).

It ain't garbage, that's for sure.

[Welshy 907]

23 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Reputation?  Rankings vary, but plenty of academics and professional recruiters see GT as pretty much top of the heap, depending on department.

USN&WR, which (like most rankings) should be taken with a grain of salt, has GT as the top public undergrad engineering program and #3 public grad engineering program (3rd and 5th, respectively, when private schools are included).

It ain't garbage, that's for sure.

Because engineering and grad engineering is a measure of education for non engineering students?  

[jimmyjazz 45513]

2 minutes ago, Welshy said:

Because engineering and grad engineering is a measure of education for non engineering students?  

Did I say anything of the sort?  I was referring to a kid in the UWisc PhD track out of GT.  My point was, regardless of the stature of GT engineering, a 3.2 undergrad GPA doesn't scream "top candidate" to me, but he's on board at Wisconsin.  That might say something about UW, or not, I don't know.

[Hefeweizen 5307]

39 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Reputation?  Rankings vary, but plenty of academics and professional recruiters see GT as pretty much top of the heap, depending on department.

USN&WR, which (like most rankings) should be taken with a grain of salt, has GT as the top public undergrad engineering program and #3 public grad engineering program (3rd and 5th, respectively, when private schools are included).

It ain't garbage, that's for sure.

A little goalpost movement there.  No one asserted GA tech is garbage, and I’ve known several bright engineers who went there.  I think it’s easily in the top 10 Engineering schools.  I have a hard time seeing it number one.  

[Welshy 907]

19 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Did I say anything of the sort?  I was referring to a kid in the UWisc PhD track out of GT.  My point was, regardless of the stature of GT engineering, a 3.2 undergrad GPA doesn't scream "top candidate" to me, but he's on board at Wisconsin.  That might say something about UW, or not, I don't know.

Ok. I'm a BS guy. Super dumb and not very engineering. Certainly not GT, top of the heap. All I can go is ask questions.

Like: Why does light travel faster than a rock I throw? Honestly, it makes no sense. I was a pitcher in LL. I can through hard.

Hoping a GT grad will answer. 

Edited October 13, 2023 by Welshy

[jimmyjazz 45513]

5 minutes ago, Hefeweizen said:

A little goalpost movement there.  No one asserted GA tech is garbage, and I’ve known several bright engineers who went there.  I think it’s easily in the top 10 Engineering schools.  I have a hard time seeing it number one.  

I'm not moving shit.  In my experience, GT has pumped out the highest quality engineers I've interviewed or hired.  I just referenced a ranking that puts them near #1 to at least provide alternate color to your list of 7+ programs you think are better.

It REALLY doesn't fucking matter.  My comment was about UWisc, which had been referenced prior.  (For the record, I think Wisconsin is a fantastic school, too.)

[Hefeweizen 5307]

Sorry to hurt your feelings.  Backing up that it’s the best Engineering school in the US is a formidable task, but taking the loss is fine.

[Welshy 907]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm not moving shit.  In my experience, GT has pumped out the highest quality engineers I've interviewed or hired.  I just referenced a ranking that puts them near #1 to at least provide alternate color to your list of 7+ programs you think are better.

It REALLY doesn't fucking matter.  My comment was about UWisc, which had been referenced prior.  (For the record, I think Wisconsin is a fantastic school, too.)

GT is an amazing school I wouldn't qualify for, UT is too. Doesn't matter.

However, there are schools who are very, very good at certain, specific disciplines. Aggy engineers building bonfires... It's pretty specific. It's not the value of an education.

There is no one fits all.  

 

[Brew 3044]

Oldest has done extremely well on acceptance rates to the colleges she applied to including several solid academic scholarships and honors college acceptances at most of them. However, she got her acceptance letter to UGA today so looks like we’ll be paying out of state for her to go to her top pick. She thought she had no shot, her advisors told her she had no shot, but she’s in.

[Brew 3044]

Oldest has done extremely well on acceptance rates to the colleges she applied to including several solid academic scholarships and honors college acceptances at most of them. However, she got her acceptance letter to UGA today so looks like we’ll be paying out of state for her to go to her top pick. She thought she had no shot, her advisors told her she had no shot, but she’s in.