Surly kids applying / attending UT

[pacman 7504]

Do you locals have kids that attend UT but live at home?

[Rollo Tomassi 80]

23 hours ago, pacman said:

Do you locals have kids that attend UT but live at home?

If my younger one goes to UT, I would absolutely think about it with him.  I actually did this over 30 years ago.  I think it can work with the right kid.

[jimmyjazz 47148]

If our daughter ends up at UT next year she will probably live at home for awhile, but I would try to get her into a dorm or apartment by her sophomore year.

[Beau Vine 55863]

On 4/22/2019 at 11:56 AM, TXSG8R said:

No help on the parking stuff?  I guess Ill go fuck myself then.

Kind of surprised they even let freshmen have cars on campus.

[crash_davis 23470]

local kid, lived in blanton in the honors quad.  we lived 4 miles from her dorm.  for us, it was important for her to still have the separation and independence of being "away" at college and meeting people in her dorm.  she and her roommate became besties.  neither befriended anyone else on their floor.  it was still good for her to experience life on her own and lived within the rules that she and the dorm defined.  no parental supervision was important.

ymmv.

[phdhorn 6225]

My kid spent freshman year at Jester.  However it's really, really different from 15-30 years ago.  With the squeeze on for GPA/academics, well, to put it nicely, there were a LOT of, uh, sort of unsociable, very Tiger Mom/Dad introverted, really weird types.  My kid found some friends, but felt he was on some Planet Weirdo.  He said he shoulda went into San Jac (where the jocks are), he knows a ton of 'em from sports and all in all people there were "normaller".

He's absolutely fucking LOVING West Campus now, though. Of course the entire area is really, really upscaling (well monthly rent, anyway) from the sorta- lower-rent-but-nice little section of town that we all knew/loved.  But man, it's really really good... with all the sooper-high rises, you meet tons and tons and tons or more people and he loves the shit outta it.  Good, I'm paying through my large intestine for it.

The song and dance usually is like this now, sorta stereo-typically speaking:

Freshmen:  Jester or on-campus (or just off, Goodall-Wooten)
Sophomores:  West Campus with friends, 2-4 br apts.
Juniors:  Like sophomores, but sorta like the smaller places, 2 peoples.  Also start moving to houses for the lower $ (north of campus esp.).
Seniors:  Give few/no fucks, give me a cheap place, I got shit to do to get outta here, socialize yeah but holee fuck I want some quiet after 3 years of insanity.

[pacman 7504]

lol Jester has always had those type of kids, maybe they are larger in number these days. I remember quite a few strange stories of random roommates in Jester not working out.

[phdhorn 6225]

Here's also a little tip for tuition:   They have what's called an "undergrad loan".  Once the bill comes (it came July 30 for UT students) in their e-box, they can apply for it.  It's payable at any point I think up through 90 days in the semester.  I.e you take it out mid-August, has to be paid in full by mid-November (which is 80% thru the semester anyway).

What's the point?  Well, when students get the bill, they have 2 options:  1) pay in full now (Aug.) or 2) go to an installment plan.  However that installment plan has you pay half up front, then 2 other payments of the other half.  No big deal but with the tuition loan, you can pay any amount at any time in the 90 days.  You can make 35 payments if you want, or one; pay 3 days in a row or wait eight weeks in between.  This has proven remarkably helpful in moving money around through the semester as other immediate needs crop up. I just find it really convenient.
And, 2) even if the parent fronts the money, jr. can do the paying, and paying back loans on a timely basis really helps the kid get some credit established (and paying back UT loans most certainly is reported to credit bureaus - as a good thing if it's done in time).  I know firsthand this has worked great for jr.  He's got pretty solid credit for a 20 year old student now (got a high-fallutin' more elite credit card that I never would have imagined him being able to get).

If you want to know the link to that office, post here and I'll dig it up.

[Tailgate 3072]

We have a breakthrough. Headed to a UT tour tomorrow that my youngest signed up for. Currently leaning towards Vanderbilt after we toured it earlier this year. My oldest and youngest have never shown interest in Texas until now.

There is a god.

[Longhorn94 2501]

Moving our daughter into Kinsolving on Friday. The two older boys move into their house with 5 of their friends on Saturday. 

[Beau Vine 55863]

The good news is that daughter put UT on the list of 5 schools she's going to apply to for grad school.

The bad news is grad school.  

[tx 3 putt 78675]

Beau, she wants to go straight to grad school or get a job and let that company pay for grad school ?

[Guest Lobo]

10 minutes ago, Beau Vine said:

The good news is that daughter put UT on the list of 5 schools she's going to apply to for grad school.

The bad news is grad school.  

What will she be studying there? Masters or PhD?  

[Beau Vine 55863]

She already has a job offer from the place in Boulder she interned this summer that would 100% pay for an EE MS at CU, but she's not interested in that.  

She wants to do Biomedical, which means straight to grad school.  

One of her professors wants her to get a Ph.D., but she has heard enough of my stories that she doesn't want to teach, so she's looking at an MS for now.

[jimmyjazz 47148]

For what it's worth, I greatly regret not finishing my PhD "because I didn't want to teach".  I'd be careful with that angle.  In the current economy, perhaps excluding programming jobs, a PhD is most likely the best degree for one who wants to stay on a hardcore tech track throughout their career.  Management?  Maybe not so much, but it still doesn't hurt.

Also, grad school shouldn't be nearly so painful for you in financial terms.  Room & board is a constant, but my tuition was all paid through TA/RA gigs then fellowships.  I assume the same is true for your grad degrees?

Edited August 21, 2019 by jimmyjazz

[66BUFF 2608]

3 hours ago, Longhorn94 said:

Moving our daughter into Kinsolving on Friday. The two older boys move into their house with 5 of their friends on Saturday. 

Moved my son into University House last Friday.  Moving my daughter tomorrow.

[Beau Vine 55863]

1 hour ago, jimmyjazz said:

 

Also, grad school shouldn't be nearly so painful for you in financial terms.  Room & board is a constant, but my tuition was all paid through TA/RA gigs then fellowships.  I assume the same is true for your grad degrees?

I've already looked into it.  The schools she's looking at fund Ph.D. students but not MS.  We still have enough in her 529 to cover MS, except if she gets into Stanford.  The good/bad news is that the prof she's working for this semester is from Stanford.  

The prof she had the research fellowship with last semester has apparently put on a full-court press trying to get her to do grad school at Mines (he's the dept chair and said he will make sure she gets funded for any program).   She doesn't want to do that, though, I'm sure partly because she has heard me say that you shouldn't get your undergrad and master's from the same school unless you're switching programs.  

Edited August 21, 2019 by Beau Vine

[jimmyjazz 47148]

Things must have changed at UT, because I entered as an MS candidate and was funded accordingly.  After getting my MS I continued on doing coursework and PhD research but never wrapped it up.  None of my TA/RA/fellowship money was predicated on a terminal degree.

[TwiceHorn 32076]

Just now, jimmyjazz said:

Things must have changed at UT, because I entered as an MS candidate and was funded accordingly.  After getting my MS I continued on doing coursework and PhD research but never wrapped it up.  None of my TA/RA/fellowship money was predicated on a terminal degree.

It wouldn't surprise me if UT is cutting down on reliance on TAs in this new age.

[Beau Vine 55863]

10 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

Things must have changed at UT, because I entered as an MS candidate and was funded accordingly.  After getting my MS I continued on doing coursework and PhD research but never wrapped it up.  None of my TA/RA/fellowship money was predicated on a terminal degree.

Shit, I went to Washington because UT wasn't funding PhD students in my field back in my day.  

[Beau Vine 55863]

6 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

It wouldn't surprise me if UT is cutting down on reliance on TAs in this new age.

Only half joking -- adjuncts are cheaper than TAs.  

[phdhorn 6225]

5 hours ago, Longhorn94 said:

Moving our daughter into Kinsolving on Friday. The two older boys move into their house with 5 of their friends on Saturday. 

My boy just got back from his 9 month co-op internship in Dallas, and although he really liked it, he's deliriously happy that he's back in Austin pursuing his degree, and most importantly, chasing chicks and hanging with his homies. Priorities in order.

[Longhorn94 2501]

3 hours ago, phdhorn said:

My boy just got back from his 9 month co-op internship in Dallas, and although he really liked it, he's deliriously happy that he's back in Austin pursuing his degree, and most importantly, chasing chicks and hanging with his homies. Priorities in order.

And I bet y'all are happy he is back as well!

 

Our oldest gets back on Friday. He studied abroad in France for the spring semester and has been in Seattle all summer for an internship. We can't wait for him to come back home where he belongs!

[chitwood 155]

18 hours ago, Beau Vine said:

I've already looked into it.  The schools she's looking at fund Ph.D. students but not MS.  We still have enough in her 529 to cover MS, except if she gets into Stanford.  The good/bad news is that the prof she's working for this semester is from Stanford.  

The prof she had the research fellowship with last semester has apparently put on a full-court press trying to get her to do grad school at Mines (he's the dept chair and said he will make sure she gets funded for any program).   She doesn't want to do that, though, I'm sure partly because she has heard me say that you shouldn't get your undergrad and master's from the same school unless you're switching programs.  

Beau, your daughter went to Mines?  What did she think of it?  It's on my son's list, and they sent him an invitation for some kind of priority streamlined application process, which is a plus.  Think the male/female ratio may be tough for him to accept, but we will see.

[Beau Vine 55863]

1 hour ago, chitwood said:

Beau, your daughter went to Mines?  What did she think of it?  It's on my son's list, and they sent him an invitation for some kind of priority streamlined application process, which is a plus.  Think the male/female ratio may be tough for him to accept, but we will see.

She loooooooooooves it.  It does take a certain type --> high work ethic math nerd who knows they want to major in engineering.  But for that type, I can't imagine a better place.  Everyone majors in engineering, so you don't get stuck with a Mass Comm major who never has to study as a freshman roommate.   Most courses also have common exams, so everyone comes in taking Calculus, Physics, and Chem their freshman year, and so everyone has those tests at the exact same time. 

[jimmyjazz 47148]

A buddy of mine has a kid who will be a senior at Westwood.  He's your typical offensive lineman -- smart (and very large).  Mines offered him a scholarship but the details remain to be hammered out.  He's leaning towards that avenue, since the D1 alternatives (Rice and Northwestern in particular) haven't laid out specific offers yet.  Mines is easily their equal in engineering.

[chitwood 155]

Would you put Cockrell a level above or no?

[jimmyjazz 47148]

Cockrell VS Colorado School of Mines?

That might come down to the department.  Vastly different student experiences, too.

[TwiceHorn 32076]

Probably close enough not to matter.

Here's a question, though.  How is the career services office at Mines, and any other place anyone wants to weigh in on?

The College of Engineering's CSO was pretty fucking good.  Of course, engineers kind of sell themselves, but UT managed to get people with more marginal degrees (architectural) and pretty mediocre to bad GPAs jobs too.

[jimmyjazz 47148]

I would say this -- for kids raised in Texas and who want to work in Texas, UT might be more advisable, depending on department.  Metallurgy or Mining Engineering?  Well, that's right Mines' wheelhouse.  More broad, traditional degrees?  I can see Boeing or Dell possibly giving the nod to UT, depending on who is doing the interviewing.  Doesn't mean they're RIGHT, but lots of hiring managers half-ass the process.

[Armybrat 41397]

On 7/25/2019 at 2:14 PM, Beau Vine said:

Kind of surprised they even let freshmen have cars on campus.

Wasn’t allowed for freshmen when I went to UT.

[Beau Vine 55863]

59 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

Probably close enough not to matter.

Here's a question, though.  How is the career services office at Mines, and any other place anyone wants to weigh in on?

Mines Career Center is fucking amazing.  I got their career bulletin from my daughter's freshman year and marched into my dean's office and asked, "Why can't we do something even resembling this?"  Daughter got a $24/hour internship after her soph year.  They wanted her back this summer, but she took an internship at a place a prof kind of set up for her.   They have two Career Days a year.  I think they get something like 500 employers buying booths for this.  

[Beau Vine 55863]

1 hour ago, chitwood said:

Would you put Cockrell a level above or no?

Jimmy would know better than me professionally, but I will say I'd take Mines easily because my daughter has been treated like a graduate student -- she's worked on research with a professor, she's a TA in a junior-level class this semester, she's attended a research conference on Mines' dime, and has worked on an academic journal.  I would assume an undergrad doesn't have opportunities like that at Cockrell.  

[tx 3 putt 78675]

An old college roommate used to head the engineering recruitment team at a top 3 o/g. All universities had a predetermined cap, except for Purdue and Mines. He said the cap was proven time and time again to work. 

Regardless, the bottom 1/3 is weeded out after 3 years or so. Keeps the other 2/3 on their toes.

Id go over to his house for stuff and the security briefs were much more interesting than college recruitment stories. He was the security liaison for his business unit.  

O/G execs will fall for a tight skirt and young female every time 

Edited August 23, 2019 by tx 3 putt

[tx 3 putt 78675]

3 hours ago, TwiceHorn said:

pretty mediocre to bad GPAs jobs too.

‘Mud Engineer’ is a damn good way to break into the o/g business and mud companies have no shame scraping the bottom of the barrel to find new hires 

Edited August 23, 2019 by tx 3 putt

[TwiceHorn 32076]

Oil and gas was dead as shit when I was in school.  The lower tier jobs tended to be chemical plants in obscure locations and facilities engineering.

It was kind of amusing that top of the heap ChE grads prized similar jobs that bottom of the heap MEs took (Dow, Lake Jackson), although different titles and salaries.

Edited August 23, 2019 by TwiceHorn

[tx 3 putt 78675]

You don’t see many UT grads in petrochemical and refineries. It’s a very challenging environment and not for everyone but that’s where you have to start. 

[TXSG8R 3362]

Yesterday was pretty frustrating. My son is staying in the San Jacinto dorm and the plan we received about move in was we would get a 1 hour block in front of the dorm to move stuff. Instead we got stopped and directed into the Brazos garage and had to carry all his stuff down the ramps and up the street (elevators were crushed). There was a cart loaning system, but we wound up with a dolly and most of his stuff wasn’t really set up to be carried that way. I guess the silver lining is my wife was so frustrated that she didn’t get to dwell on leaving her baby and cry.

[pacman 7504]

lol UT is so funny. Luckily, the campus is so big you can have two polar opposite experiences within minutes of each other.

We go for a Nursing Admissions meeting. Small presentation, no frills and no tour. The other schools bent over backwards to tour the school and make the presentation as lively as possible.

Then, she drops the bomb. We only take 100 new students a year. Roighly 40,000 undergrads on campus and less than 1% are nursing students.

Fortunately, we had an admissions individual appointment and he was pretty positive on her application for getting in. He picked her up a bit. Even if that is his job, it was nice to put a more positive, personal touch on our campus visit, after the lame nursing admissions.

[Asithappens 978]

On 8/21/2019 at 4:43 PM, Beau Vine said:

She doesn't want to do that, though, I'm sure partly because she has heard me say that you shouldn't get your undergrad and master's from the same school unless you're switching programs.  

That doesn't matter, imo. 

It's fine to get an undergrad and a master's from the same school. Assuming it's not a dog-shit school.

 

Edited August 25, 2019 by Asithappens

[jimmyjazz 47148]

So . . . can anyone shed some light on the cost difference between UT-Austin and UT-Dallas?  I've been building a spreadsheet with dozens of schools for my daughter and it suddenly dawned on me that UT-Dallas was more expensive than the flagship institution.  That makes no sense to me, so I dug in, and yep, this chart (which admittedly is a few years old) seems to confirm. 

This is just tuition and fees, and has nothing to do with the cost of housing, etc.

 

[crash_davis 23470]

5 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

So . . . can anyone shed some light on the cost difference between UT-Austin and UT-Dallas?  I've been building a spreadsheet with dozens of schools for my daughter and it suddenly dawned on me that UT-Dallas was more expensive than the flagship institution.  That makes no sense to me, so I dug in, and yep, this chart (which admittedly is a few years old) seems to confirm. 

This is just tuition and fees, and has nothing to do with the cost of housing, etc.

 

Tangent.

Damn.  UT needs to do a better job of elevating the academic standing and reputation of the other campuses.  Many seem like glorified community colleges.

[Pancho 46298]

7 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

So . . . can anyone shed some light on the cost difference between UT-Austin and UT-Dallas?  I've been building a spreadsheet with dozens of schools for my daughter and it suddenly dawned on me that UT-Dallas was more expensive than the flagship institution.  That makes no sense to me, so I dug in, and yep, this chart (which admittedly is a few years old) seems to confirm. 

This is just tuition and fees, and has nothing to do with the cost of housing, etc.

 

Here are a few articles on this, but one of them is from 2012:

https://www.statesman.com/news/20170615/one-ranking-ut-happy-not-to-be-leading-in-texas-tuition-fees

Quote

Students at UT-Dallas, with the highest academic charges, major overwhelmingly in high-cost programs in the science, technology, business and engineering fields. “We also have distinguished faculty and conduct high-level research that competes meaningfully with larger public universities in the state,” said Katherine Morales, a UT-Dallas spokeswoman.

And like a number of schools, UT-Dallas has flat-rate tuition, meaning that courses taken beyond 15 credits are essentially free. The school guarantees all incoming freshmen that their tuition will remain the same for four years. Such provisions are intended to encourage timely graduation.

https://www.dmagazine.com/frontburner/2012/05/why-is-the-university-of-texas-at-dallas-the-states-most-expensive-public-university/

Quote

UPDATE UPDATE: I got some more specifics from UT-Dallas. Out of almost 19,000 students, more than 50 percent of them are science/tech/engineering majors. Another 30 percent are business majors.

Jump to read her more detailed response:

There’s price and then there’s value.

With regard to price, UT Dallas’ tuition position among Texas public universities is partly a result of the programs offered: mostly science, technology, engineering, math and business. Also with regard to price, please be aware that approximately 16,000 of our students will pay less than the tuition listed on the TT website, because they are continuing students and enjoy Fixed Tuition for four years.  Only students enrolling this fall pay the amount shown on the website, and their tuition and required fees also will be fixed for four years. And UTD offers the “Comet Connection” program that allows any student enrolling in a Texas 2-year college to lock in tuition at the price in force when the student declares his or her intention to transfer to UT Dallas, which can significantly moderate the cost of an education.

 

[Guest Lobo]

6 minutes ago, crash_davis said:

Tangent.

Damn.  UT needs to do a better job of elevating the academic standing and reputation of the other campuses.  Many seem like glorified community colleges.

That's the System's job, not UT's.  UT-Dallas, UT-Arlington, and to an extent UT-San Antonio are well on their way to move up the Carnegie/AAU classification systems.  The rest will likely remain regional universities for at least another generation (UT-El Paso, UT-RGV, UT-Tyler, and UT-PB---though the medical school and another funding drop planned for next decade could help accelerate UT-RGV).  They're also finally getting around to integrating and exploiting how the medical schools can help accelerate that as well with UT-Southwestern working with UT-D and UT-A, and as said UT-RGV with its own standalone medical school.  

[jimmyjazz 47148]

I'm not sure how I feel about a lesser school charging more.  I get it, UT-D's reputation is climbing, but it seems to me that the UT System should manage tuition across all campuses, and not set levels on a campus by campus basis.

Imagine a kid who wants to major in computer science, but doesn't make it into UT-Austin.  "Hey, that's cool, you can go to this other school that's not as good if you're willing to pay 35% higher tuition."  Now imagine a student who wants to major in one of the degree programs that ISN'T driving up the cost.  It just doesn't make sense.

[ztejas 44226]

4 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

I'm not sure how I feel about a lesser school charging more.  I get it, UT-D's reputation is climbing, but it seems to me that the UT System should manage tuition across all campuses, and not set levels on a campus by campus basis.

Imagine a kid who wants to major in computer science, but doesn't make it into UT-Austin.  "Hey, that's cool, you can go to this other school that's not as good if you're willing to pay 35% higher tuition."  Now imagine a student who wants to major in one of the degree programs that ISN'T driving up the cost.  It just doesn't make sense.

It's definitely strange, although it isn't 35%, is it? 

Also - just because UTD charges more doesn't make it a bad value option. Although if she doesn't make the cut at Austin and plans on transferring then UTSA or ACC might make more sense. If she wants to stay somewhere for 4 years then UTD is a cut above any of the other system schools. 

I will say the campus and student body is very, very interesting and certainly wouldn't be a fit for a lot of undergrads. I'm currently getting my masters there so pm me if you have any tangential questions. 

[Guest Lobo]

We know that the campus in Richardson is not exactly Preston Hollow in terms of real estate expense.  But the main reason "lesser ranked" system campuses (and this is true with UC, UT, UNC, et. al.) sometimes cost more than their higher-ranked peers is because of their location and the cost of their dirt.  UT-Dallas, if you've visited the campus (I confess I went their once almost 15 years ago when it reminded me of A&M in terms of the layout, and then just went back earlier this year to take a System tour of their new facilities and it is a night and day difference).....will demonstrate another phenomenon that jacks with tuition/fee bills across the System.  All those buildings, some were budgeted by Leg., others were TRB's, others were largely done with philanthropy, and others done out-of-pocket.  BUt it all adds up, particularly with debt service.  Some schools are improving on mainly talent and research alone, like UT-Arlington.  UT-Dallas is sort of egg before chicken, if you build it---they will come.  The same thing is about to happen to UT-San Antonio as they more and more abandon their 1604 camps and move downtown San Antonio.  It was a well kept secret in Texas higher ed what you could get there in the STEM fields for a cheap education, but that's about to change big-time.  The new buildings can't all be built with bonds and even those that are need interest payments from rising fees.  

[jimmyjazz 47148]

11 minutes ago, ztejas said:

It's definitely strange, although it isn't 35%, is it? 

Also - just because UTD charges more doesn't make it a bad value option. Although if she doesn't make the cut at Austin and plans on transferring then UTSA or ACC might make more sense. If she wants to stay somewhere for 4 years then UTD is a cut above any of the other system schools. 

I will say the campus and student body is very, very interesting and certainly wouldn't be a fit for a lot of undergrads. I'm currently getting my masters there so pm me if you have any tangential questions. 

According to the costs I found, in-state tuition and fees for this year are:

UT-Austin:  $10,314

UT-Dallas:  $13,910

 

EDIT:  found another site that says UT-Austin is $11,140, so that would put the UT-Dallas premium at "only" 25%.

 

Edited September 3, 2019 by jimmyjazz

[Newdoc 3511]

My daughter (no pics) is going to look at UTD in addition to another visit to Austin (pre-med). UTD appears to have some decent merit scholarship opportunities for which she has good qualifications. This may bring tuition cost decently below Austin for the same fields of study. BTW, UTD is experiencing a housing crunch so deposits need to go in early.  We've already locked down UT-Austin housing if needed.

Edited September 3, 2019 by Newdoc

[phdhorn 6225]

1 minute ago, Newdoc said:

My daughter (no pics) is going to look at UTD in addition to another visit to Austin (pre-med). UTD appears to have some decent merit scholarship opportunities for which she has good qualifications. This may bring tuition cost decently below Austin for the same fields of study. BTW, UTD is experiencing a housing crunch so deposits need to go in early.  We've already locked down UT-Austin housing if needed.

Pics?  Maybe she can room with my son next year in Austin.

Edited September 3, 2019 by phdhorn