I received an invitation in the mail to attend a conference called Longhorn Excellence and Discovery (LEAD) Texas through the Moody College. Anyone get something similar?
Us too. ?? Only for Social Work which is the school my daughter is going to. Are you going to Moody?
@egginmegan and @emptyingthenest5, my son received an invitation as well for McCombs School of Business. I contacted UT by email to get further information about the program as some of the earlier correspondence we received lacked any details. This is what UT wrote in response to me:
“The event is a chance for your son to learn more about UT, specifically McCombs. The morning session will be informational in nature with guest speakers and student organization performances. McCombs will host the early afternoon, complete with lunch, and will educate your son about what he can expect during his 4 undergraduate years. The afternoon is a “choose your own adventure” (campus tour, campus organization open houses, explore on your own, etc.)”
When my eldest son was accepted in Liberal Arts Honors back in 2016, we received a similar invitation only solicitation to attend an event that UT referred to as “Best in Texas.” Certain admitted students from all of UT’s colleges were invited to Best of Texas. I assume that LEAD maybe similar to Best of Texas. I don’t know if there was anything necessarily groundbreaking about Best of Texas; however, it was good for me and my son to meet some of the parents and other students who were accepted into Liberal Arts Honors. Also, there was a chance during the luncheon for us to question the administrator for Liberal Arts Honors.
My daughter received one as well…COLA/LAH.
@Yoda13, congrats on your daughters’ admission to LAH. I think I’ve seen your post in the Ohio State forum as well. My eldest son who was accepted into LAH back in 2016 actually ended up at Ohio State because UT did not offer him any scholarship funds whereas Ohio State awarded him the Morrill Distinction Scholarship which is pegged to the full cost of attendance. Although UT was his dream school there was no way we could turn down a completely free undergrad education, especially since he wants to go to law school. The only reason he even applied to Ohio State was because he was not an auto admit to UT and Ohio State was one of several schools we identified as out-of-state options with generous scholarships that he could apply to.
In any event, if your LAH daughter is still considering Ohio State, it is a great school. However, I will say that my son did exhaust the limits of his tolerance for Midwestern winters and he’s awfully glad he’ll be able to graduate early this summer. Good luck to your daughter on her college choice.
Yeah I was slightly surprised when I received the invite just because I was rejected from Moody Honors just a few days ago. I’m excited for LEAD though
@fatherof2boys Thank you so much for the info! Congrats to your son on Distinction. That is an incredible opportunity!! My daughter did not receive that so she has chosen UT. She applied to Ohio State and a few other out of state schools for the same reasons…she wasn’t auto admit to UT and needed other options. We loved Ohio State when we visited in the summer. It was definitely one of her top choices along with UT.
@Yoda13, @egginmegan and @emptyingthenest5 I just wanted to pass along some additional info about LEAD for those who are considering whether to go. As I stated in my posts above, my youngest son who is admitted to McCombs received the invite to LEAD, which I found lacking in details regarding the programs content. I emailed and texted UT’s Campus Visits to get further info about the program including asking if it was similar in format to the “Best of Texas” program that my eldest son attended back in 2016 after he was admitted to Liberal Arts Honors (LAH). UT responded by email and I posted that info earlier; however, I did not notice until recently that UT also responded to my text stating that LEAD is in fact similar to Best of Texas. Based on the cursory information I’ve seen so far, it appears that LEAD is in fact structured similar to Best of Texas. So, in this post I’ll summarize what I recall was the format for Best of Texas.
As I recall, the kickoff event for Best of Texas was a plenary session for all attendees in Gregory Gymnasium. At this plenary session there were the standard or typical speeches to the attendees from the UT’s admissions staff; the president of the UT student body and some other dignitaries. None of this was particularly instructive stuff but it was meant to be a launching point for start of the program. After the plenary session concluded, the attendees were instructed to go to our individual college sessions for the afternoon. Of course, the identities of the colleges are based on the schools that the applicant has been accepted into. This was really the heart of the program.
My son’s individual college session (LAH) was broken into three parts as I recall. There was a combined introductory presentation to both the applicants and their guests. i recall that this introductory session is where we were served the catered lunch. After this introductory part, there’s a second session where the admitted applicants go off on their own for a discussion with current LAH students. While the admitted students were off at this meeting/discussion, the guests (parents and guardians) were given a Q&A discussion with the lead administrator for LAH. The third part of the individual college session then concluded with a sort of table talk as a variety of student orgs set up tables in the hallway outside of the meeting room and the admitted students had the opportunity to pick up literature and speak with representatives from these various programs. This concluded the individual college session. Again, this was the highlight of Best of Texas.
The remainder of Best of Texas were the optional program sessions occurring all over campus. Basically during the plenary session attendees were given a map of the university with an itinerary that listed various optional programs that we could attend. Some of the programs included a tour of campus; a session on financial aid; a session on studying abroad; a session on living on campus; a session on Greek life; and a reception in the Alumni Center for students from underrepresented minorities. Many of these sessions were scheduled concurrently so a prospective applicant and their guests had to choose which sessions they were interested in attending and then use the map to find the session location on campus. My eldest son and I attended a couple of the optional sessions but eventually he simply met up with some of his friends on campus that day to do their own thing and I went to the sessions that were of interest to me. Some attendees simply skipped this part of the program entirely and went home after the conclusion of the assigned college session referred to above.
Thank you that was very informative.
So is this mainly for in state or OOS? We’re in state and my daughter saw kids talking about it on the accepted students chat. We haven’t received an invite. I’m curious who the program targets, but I guess we just don’t know. Daughter is Plan II (but we haven’t accepted yet, not sure if that’s a variable).
Plan II officials did say that they would have special days for Plan II admitted students coming up soon, so maybe they do that in lieu of LEAD.
@Meadow530
Hopefully this helps you a bit.
My daughter received an invite to LEAD. She is admitted to Plan II, CNS Biology, and Dean’s Scholars. She has not accepted admission yet, so I don’t think that was a variable for LEAD invites.
Unfortunately, LEAD is during her Senior Class trip, so she is unable to attend LEAD.
@Outlander, thanks. In state?
@Meadow530 Yes.
@Outlander ok, thanks. Seems like a cool opportunity!
My son went to LEAD last year. It was a good day. The morning session covered University-wide programs and opportunities, and the afternoon was college-specific. He was impressed, and after this event he was 100% committed to going to UT.
How much did you enjoy LEAD Texas?
We enjoyed it a lot. My daughter didn’t need convincing to enroll to UT, but this event was very assuring that UT is the best school/fit for her.
We have had a few visits to campus and to different info sessions before. On top of her having the opportunity to participate in 3 summer camps last year. We got a lot of new information out of LEAD Texas and had the chance to meet with knowledgeable staff to get specific questions answered like figs, credits and to her financial aid offer.
I must confess that I was not necessarily blown away by the format of the McCombs’ session that my wife and son attended - too much Q&As and not much, if any, substantive presentation by McCombs. Nevertheless, after some probing in their various Q&A sessions and simply based on my own independent research, I’m confident that my son will end up at UT continuing a legacy that began with his grandfather, and then my wife and I.
The student emcees at the opening session were hilarious. Those guys knocked it out the park and seeing Colt McCoy speak was a great experience. For a speech that I’m certain was unscheduled, Colt did an amazing job.