I want to move to Texas but need help narrowing it down to which cities to consider (colleges, economy, etc.) (Austin: high school, university)

[artsyguy]

I believe that the smaller universities will give you more bang for your buck. You not only get more attention from your professors. But you also get to enjoy what the big city has to offer. People in Dallas enjoy boundless cultural, music, and arts events, and nightlife. It is boundless. And the cost is cheap or free. When I was in Dallas I rarely paid for any of the events because most of them were free of charge.

Another excellent aspect about SMU is their world class collection of Spanish Fine Art at their Meadows Museum. It's one of the largest collections and it's right in the backyard of a university. You cannot get that at a "tier one" university. Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

http://smu.edu/meadowsmuseum/history.htm

Originally Posted by homeinatx

3. Newsweek ranked the top four Texas universities this way:

1. Rice (Houston)
2. Texas (Austin)
3. SMU (Dallas)
4. A&M (College Station)

I need a link to even start believing this. SMU is not a member of the Association of American Universities, which invites the best universities in the U.S. and Canada to join. Rice, Texas and A&M are the only Texas institutions.

Association of American Universities

SMU is not considered a Research 1 university in any list I know. If Newsweek produced this ranking - which I doubt - their journalists are clueless. SMU is a very solid tier 2 university, with an excellent business school and a regionally important law school. It has too few PhD programs and does not attract enough research funding to be a tier 1 school. That does not mean that you cannot get a very good education there, but to mention it in the same breath as the other 3 and to rank it above A&M is HUGE wishful thinking. It has always amazed me that DFW is the fourth largest MSA in the U.S., and lacks a single Research 1 university. Phoenix is the only other top 20 MSA that I can think of that shares this lack.

[just4ivaylo]

I wouldn't even look at lists. They mean almost nothing.

SMU is not worth the $37,000 (just for tuition) a year. UT is probably the best value in terms of what you get for how much you would pay. Unless you get huge (and I do mean huge) scholarships, there's no reason to accrue debt needlessly by going to a private school.

[HtownLove]

Originally Posted by just4ivaylo

I wouldn't even look at lists. They mean almost nothing.

SMU is not worth the $37,000 (just for tuition) a year. UT is probably the best value in terms of what you get for how much you would pay. Unless you get huge (and I do mean huge) scholarships, there's no reason to accrue debt needlessly by going to a private school.

actually there are many articles that show that Rice gives you the best bang for your buck. For its ranking the tuition is really low (about 14K a semester, the same for out of state residents at UT), the scholarships are large and plentiful.
the big downside is the student body size.

[artsyguy]

He meant UT Dallas.

Originally Posted by HtownLove

actually there are many articles that show that Rice gives you the best bang for your buck. For its ranking the tuition is really low (about 14K a semester, the same for out of state residents at UT), the scholarships are large and plentiful.
the big downside is the student body size.

[ahzzie]

You guys that think Austin and Dallas lack in humidity need to look at the dew points for those cities in the summer. They are very near what they are in Houston. You will never come close to the weather you have in Santa Barbara here in Texas so if I were you I wouldn't even factor that into the equation. You will be equally miserable in any city in the summer.

[austin-steve]

Originally Posted by HtownLove

actually there are many articles that show that Rice gives you the best bang for your buck. For its ranking the tuition is really low (about 14K a semester, the same for out of state residents at UT), the scholarships are large and plentiful.
the big downside is the student body size.

Maybe, but the issue of "fit" has to be taken into account as well. I have a high school senior and she is applying for colleges now. She dropped Rice from her list because after researching it further, it doesn't have an undergrad program focus on the degree she seeks (Public Relations), and the college seems mainly geared toward preparing students to pursue master and graduate degrees.

Also, we've spoken with several alumni who all said "it's not for everybody" and, oddly, all recommended choosing carefully. Not exactly resounding endorsements, which surprised me. One did receive her master's degree from Rice a few years after graduating UT Austin, and she said she would NOT have liked Rice as an undergrad, but enjoyed it very much as an older student pursuing her masters.

All of this caused daughter to think she'd rather stick to schools with a strong undergrad focus. Rice would be one of her "reach" schools and she'd rather use that slot (only applying to 9 or 10 schools) on a college with a stronger, proven undergrad communications program such as U of Penn or USC.

First pick Texas for Public Relations is UT Austin, which has an impressive program and access to the many surrounding resources of Austin. Also on her Texas list is: SMU, Baylor, A&M, TCU, Trinity, Texas State, North Texas.

No matter how much research we do, there is always the nagging feeling that perhaps something remains on the list that doesn't belong, and something is being omitted due to not knowing everything we should know. Very stressful. But at some point, the kid has to make the picks and roll with it.

Steve

[homeinatx]

Originally Posted by artsyguy

I believe that the smaller universities will give you more bang for your buck. You not only get more attention from your professors. But you also get to enjoy what the big city has to offer. People in Dallas enjoy boundless cultural, music, and arts events, and nightlife. It is boundless. And the cost is cheap or free. When I was in Dallas I rarely paid for any of the events because most of them were free of charge.

Another excellent aspect about SMU is their world class collection of Spanish Fine Art at their Meadows Museum. It's one of the largest collections and it's right in the backyard of a university. You cannot get that at a "tier one" university. Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Meadows Museum at Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas

Artsyguy, dream on. The Meadows is a very fine collection, but it pales in comparison to the Latin American holdings at the Benson at U.T, possibly the finest Latin American collection in the world. Never mind the Blanton, also at U.T. - one of the finest university art collections in the world - only the Bodleian at Oxford and the Williams College Art Museum compare. And then there is the Harry Ransom Centre - also one one the most important collections of literary and cultural artifacts in the world - holding a Gutenberg bible, the first photograph ever made, thousands of manuscripts from every major twentieth century author and several Shakespeare folios. I know you had a hard time at U.T., but to pretend that the holdings at SMU are remotely in the same league as U.T. is somewhere between disingenuous and retarded.

[eepstein]

If you must move to Texas, there are many decent size cities that would likely suit your needs.

Dallas would be my first choice. It offers endless employment possiblities, high class living, reasonable costs of living, every conceivable ammenity of big city living, and also a world class business high tech center. Tons of great shopping and nightlife. Weather is quite hot in the summer, but not super humid. Winters and generally mild, but can be quite up and down as far as temps. Measureable Snow and ice does occur, but only once or twice per winter.

Houston isn't a bad city either. It has everything that Dallas offers, but in some different forms. Houston is quite a bit more diverse overall than Dallas. Its a world class business center offers more fortune 500 headquarters than any other city except New York. Weather is quite humid in the summer, but milder in the winter than Dallas is.

San Antonio is also a large city, but mostly very poor and blue collar. Although it does have a thriving tourist and downtown area, most of the city (with the exception of North and Northwest), is quite depressed and uneducated. San Antonio also has large areas of town with high amounts of crime and drugs.

Austin is also another choice, but one I would personally avoid. Austin is by far the smallest of these cities and offers the least overall. Its cost of living is outrageous and most parts of the city, and the overall infastruture is among the worst of any U.S. city. There is nightlife downtown, but it pretty much caters SOLELY to the 18-25 crowd interested solely in smoking, drinking, and acting stupid. There is little else to do in this very boring city.

One other thing. I WOULD PERSONALLY GIVE MY LEFT ARM TO BE ABLE TO LIVE IN SANTA BARBARA. ITS WITHOUT A DOUBT ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PLACES ON EARTH. WHY OH WHY, WOULD YOU WANT TO GIVE ALL THAT UP AND MOVE TO TEXAS OF ALL PLACES?????

Originally Posted by kaenniss

I'm currently living in Santa Barbara, CA and going to college. I want to transfer to a University in Texas because I've always been drawn to the state I just am not sure which part of Texas to move to. Things I am taking into consideration are:
1. Weather- I don't mind hot weather or severe winters or anything I would just prefer to avoid humidity if that's even possible haha
2. Work- I want to move to a place where it won't be difficult to find a job with little experience
3. School- I want to be near a good University so that I can transfer but I will not be living on campus
4. Housing- I would like to live in a place where I can find a nice apartment

I like both big cities and smaller towns, I just would like to hear what people have to say about cities I might be interested in... Thanks!

[austin-steve]

Austin is also another choice, but one I would personally avoid. Austin is by far the smallest of these cities and offers the least overall.

It's like telling someone that West End Cafe would be a terrible place to eat because the portions are smaller, and therefore the Sizzler buffet would be better because of all it has to offer.

The scope of lifestyle, culture and amenity "wants and needs" can easily be satisfied in Austin for 90%+ people. Not everyone desires a vast array of choices. Nor do most people have such a narrow focus of "must haves" that they'd find Austin lacking. Yes, you and Artsy Guy both hate Austin, but at least admit you hold a jaundiced view that represents a small minority of opinions about Austin.

Steve

[SloopJohnZ]

Originally Posted by homeinatx

I need a link to even start believing this. SMU is not a member of the Association of American Universities, which invites the best universities in the U.S. and Canada to join. Rice, Texas and A&M are the only Texas institutions.

Association of American Universities

SMU is not considered a Research 1 university in any list I know. If Newsweek produced this ranking - which I doubt - their journalists are clueless. SMU is a very solid tier 2 university, with an excellent business school and a regionally important law school. It has too few PhD programs and does not attract enough research funding to be a tier 1 school. That does not mean that you cannot get a very good education there, but to mention it in the same breath as the other 3 and to rank it above A&M is HUGE wishful thinking. It has always amazed me that DFW is the fourth largest MSA in the U.S., and lacks a single Research 1 university. Phoenix is the only other top 20 MSA that I can think of that shares this lack.

Well, you can believe what you want. I don't have a link because I actually read it at a periodical stand. Although thinking about it again, it was U.S. News, not Newsweek. Their rankings are based on the following:

"Peer assessments,
Retention (graduation rate and freshman retention rate),
Faculty resources,
Student Selectivity,
Financial resources,
Graduation rate performances (predicted versus actual graduation rate), and
Alumni giving rate"


That's their ranking system, not mine. If you find it to be insubstantial or not credible, so be it. I didn't graduate from any of those four schools, so I don't have a dog in this fight. Just reporting what I read.