UT Austin (Houston, Rice: credit, transfer, private schools)

[5.0 Mustang]

I am from MN and just found out that my cost of attendance should be around $17k which is great! I'm definately looking for some place a little warmer and I know Texas is much warmer on average than MN. What can a college freshmen expect moving from MN suburbs to Austin?
btw Ill be going for a computer science/engineering degree and would like to know how well I could do in Texas. thanks

[5.0 Mustang]

dang. just looked closer and its actually going to cost $34k. nevermind.

[jread]

UT is overrated and overpriced... as you are seeing

[traceyr13]

Hey, hey now. I work in the College of Natural Sciences at UT - watch what you say!!!

[Trainwreck20]

UT is overrated and overpriced... as you are seeing

Excepting people who think UT is heaven on earth and those that think it resides in the lower planes of hell, UT is generally considered a well regarded engineering/computer sciences school. It is more expensive than it used to be (especially for out-of-staters), but as an in-state school is still considered to be a good bargain for what you get.

Btw, Rice University was recently (last 2 or 3 years) rated as the best education for your money in the US.

[jread]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

Excepting people who think UT is heaven on earth and those that think it resides in the lower planes of hell, UT is generally considered a well regarded engineering/computer sciences school. It is more expensive than it used to be (especially for out-of-staters), but as an in-state school is still considered to be a good bargain for what you get.

Btw, Rice University was recently (last 2 or 3 years) rated as the best education for your money in the US.

Yes, UT is a good school but a bit full of itself these days. This isn't just my opinion.... I hear it a lot from people who went/are going there. I looked at them for graduate school but the tuition is more than the same degree at most private schools. A friend of mine actually ended up going to Stanford (yes, Stanford) because they offered him a better deal than UT did

Rice University, in my opinion, is in an entirely different league. It represents everything that a university *should* be and is up there with the Ivy League schools in academic rigor and quality. Why, oh why, does it have to be in Houston? I wish they could pick up the campus and plop it down somewhere in Central Texas

[mrsengle]

My husband got a computer science degree at A&M - he had to deal with the out-of-state tuition also - but he received a scholarship to help with that. Maybe worth checking out if you're still looking at moving to Texas.

I also have to agree that UT is a bit overrated, and I've also heard it from students that go there. Their thought was that they spent the majority of their focus on the grad students. A friend of mine wanted to go back to school to get the pre-recs for pharmacy school, but could only take at MOST 9 hours, because she was a single mom and had to work full-time. Even if she only took 9 hours, they were going to charge for 12. I didn't look into this myself, so maybe she misunderstood or the rule is different now. I wouldn't be surprised though - especially since you can't get a tuition bill with all the fees listed.

[jread]

Originally Posted by mrsengle

My husband got a computer science degree at A&M - he had to deal with the out-of-state tuition also - but he received a scholarship to help with that. Maybe worth checking out if you're still looking at moving to Texas.

I also have to agree that UT is a bit overrated, and I've also heard it from students that go there. Their thought was that they spent the majority of their focus on the grad students. A friend of mine wanted to go back to school to get the pre-recs for pharmacy school, but could only take at MOST 9 hours, because she was a single mom and had to work full-time. Even if she only took 9 hours, they were going to charge for 12. I didn't look into this myself, so maybe she misunderstood or the rule is different now. I wouldn't be surprised though - especially since you can't get a tuition bill with all the fees listed.

I think it's still that way. I think you're charged for full-time tuition regardless of how many actual hours you take. UT is also very inflexible for people who have jobs. Another thing they do is require 60-hours in residency, meaning that if you transfer in with 70 or 80-hours of college credit, you still have to take another 60 at UT before they will let you graduate. That's ridiculous. I don't know who they think they are but they seem to forget that they're just a public school in Texas.

[traceyr13]

Yes, the flat rate tuition applies at UT. You are charged for 12 credits (which is the minimum credits to be considered full time) whether you take 9 or 17 (the maximum allowed). There are pros and cons to flat rate tuition, of course.

I'm surprised to hear the "overrated" vibe. That is not what I have heard at all from students, faculty, employees, and many of my friends who are UT alumni. Of course, any school with over 50,000 students is going to inspire a WIDE variety of feelings, so I'm sure there are thousands who feel it is overrated, as well as thousands who feel it is a little piece of paradise here in central Texas.

Regardless of whether the academics or life here is considered overrated, I do think it is a terrific deal on education for in-state people. I went to 2 very elite universities for undergrad and graduate school, and I'm really pleasantly surprised at how rigorous the academics here and how low the tuition bill is for instate. Of course, the school I went to for undergrad is now well over 50k a year, so it's all perspective.

[traceyr13]

Originally Posted by jread

I think it's still that way. I think you're charged for full-time tuition regardless of how many actual hours you take. UT is also very inflexible for people who have jobs. Another thing they do is require 60-hours in residency, meaning that if you transfer in with 70 or 80-hours of college credit, you still have to take another 60 at UT before they will let you graduate. That's ridiculous. I don't know who they think they are but they seem to forget that they're just a public school in Texas.

I feel just the opposite. I think being granted a diploma from a university means that you should take at least half those classes from that university. I am actually surprised at how many credits UT DOES allow students to take at another college or community college - my undergrad institution severely limited transfer credits, and forget about community college credits. I realize that is a difference between private and public institutions, but still... I honestly don't see why you would view this as unfair.