University of Texas - Austin? (Houston, Dallas: dorms, law school, universities) - (TX) - City-Data Forum

AR007 · 07-08-2009, 08:00 PM

Hello,

I have been doing some research on University of Texas for graduate studies. I am planning to pursue an MBA/JD. I been hearing that UT is an excellent school and many famous politians and businessmen have graduated from this school.

On the other hand, I heard some negative feedback regarding racisim against minorities. I am a minority myself, although I get along with everyone with different races, I am a little concerned about this. Is race relations down there that bad?

theloneranger · 07-08-2009, 09:17 PM

Race relations are not that bad at all. UT is incredibly diverse and there isn't any discrimination against minorities in the slightest. I'm guessing whoever told you otherwise has very little experience with UT. A lot of minorities tend to self-segregate, especially in the undergrad levels, but this isn't the norm and people of all races are welcomed at UT.

Also know that getting into the Business School and the Law School are both incredibly difficult. You need top notch scores and grades to get in.

doctorjef · 07-09-2009, 09:53 AM

I absolutely agree in its entirety with loneranger's post. I would have given him rep points but the forum programme won't allow me to do so (I have to "spread some around" first -- a feature I really dislike about City-Data).

ATX Homeboy · 07-09-2009, 10:02 AM

Bump, both.

nmnita · 07-09-2009, 11:00 AM

Not much racism, you can find some anywhere, we all know that. Yes, it is a great school. I happen to not be a fan, but who cares, it is still a great school.

Nita

Nomadic9460678748 · 07-09-2009, 12:52 PM

As a graduate of UT Austin I can say that I feel the place is thoroughly overrated. It's far too big and its reach in terms of prestige or placement is decidedly regional. I'm a biracial woman (African American father and Mexican American mother) who has never really felt comfortable in Austin. It's pretty white here. Austin's "diversity" has more to do with tech types hanging out with tattooed types . . . otherwise, there's not much in the way of intermingling. A previous poster mentioned something about minorities "self-segretating." Well, I don't see many white people hankering to have their kids moved from West Austin to attend schools in East Austin. Just attend a First Thursday or head down to 6th street and you'll see a predominantly white, hipster, or upper-middle class crowd.

Trainwreck20 · 07-09-2009, 01:17 PM

The number of AAs in Austin is pretty low, and even lower at UT. So although there is not necessarily much racism (definitely less than a lot of places, perhaps), you will very definiely be a minority if you are AA. There are a lot of different people represented, though - asian, european, hispanic, you name it. There is a club for everything - my roomate was in the 'Slavic students' club or something - but I am not sure that is really segregating. Classes and dorms are in no way segregated, and generic clubs (like the scuba club when I was there) were filled with all sorts.

theloneranger · 07-09-2009, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

The number of AAs in Austin is pretty low, and even lower at UT. So although there is not necessarily much racism (definitely less than a lot of places, perhaps), you will very definiely be a minority if you are AA. There are a lot of different people represented, though - asian, european, hispanic, you name it. There is a club for everything - my roomate was in the 'Slavic students' club or something - but I am not sure that is really segregating. Classes and dorms are in no way segregated, and generic clubs (like the scuba club when I was there) were filled with all sorts.

Currently it's 55% white, 20% Hispanic, 20% Asian, and 5% black--overall one of the most diverse universities in the country.

Whites are slightly overrepresented and Asians are very overrepresented when compared to Texas as a whole, but overall the university is a very great representation of the state, thanks in no small part to the Top Ten percent law.

doctorjef · 07-09-2009, 02:38 PM

Also, the University is big if you are an undergrad, but obviously significantly smaller and more personal in its many postgraduate programmes. The UT-Austin JD does have a great deal of cache in Texas, but I doubt it's anything to sneeze at elsewhere in the country -- it's not Harvard or Princeton, of course. Same can be said for the MBA. I am supposing that the OP is referring to some joint JD-MBA programme the UT may now have. Without such a coordinated 2-degree programme I can't imagine how one could do the two courses simultaneously.

theloneranger · 07-09-2009, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doctorjef

Also, the University is big if you are an undergrad, but obviously significantly smaller and more personal in its many postgraduate programmes. The UT-Austin JD does have a great deal of cache in Texas, but I doubt it's anything to sneeze at elsewhere in the country -- it's not Harvard or Princeton, of course. Same can be said for the MBA. I am supposing that the OP is referring to some joint JD-MBA programme the UT may now have. Without such a coordinated 2-degree programme I can't imagine how one could do the two courses simultaneously.

There is a joint program IIRC.

The MBA program at UT is top ten nationally IIRC, and the Law School is top twenty. Both have national recruitment and are the very top dawg in recruitment in Dallas and Houston.