<p>I'm 23, moving from Israel to Texas to start college for Mechanical Engineering. I have a US passport so I'm declared a resident but unfortunately the Texas universities didn't declare me a resident because I'm independent and it turns out I have to work and live 12 consecutive months in Texas in order to consider a resident. Firstly, do you guys know anything about this ? I will most likely start this year at ACC as out-of-state (which will be a painful 10k for both semester, more or less.) Will I become a resident for next year, or will that only work if I will work during my entire time in ACC ? (Which might be difficult).
Also, what's the minimum amount of credit you need for an engineering degree at UT ? I understand you need at least 30 to transfer from ACC. Should I spend 2 years in ACC and then move, or 1 year ? 2 years can definitely save me money but I'm curious if I get any drawbacks from spending 2 years in ACC. I mean, the diploma will say I graduated from UT Austin, right ? I also understand I will need a GPA of 3.7-3.8 lowest to transfer ? If you may - a question about GPA - I understand the highest is 4.0, but I'm guessing there are some bonuses involved to increase it ?
Any tips for apartments downtown ? I would want to live close to Rio Grande so I will stay in that vicinity for UT Austin. I checked some co-ops but they seem to be pretty packed for both summer and fall already. I'm currently staying with my sister in San Antonio so I will come to Austin and spend a day figuring out apartments too. I don't want to share a room with anyone so I'm looking into a shared house or a shared apartment basically. (1-2 roommates, around 500$ bills included would be ideal).</p>
<p>Thank you, I'm glad I found this forum and am hoping you guys can help me out.</p>
<p>You need to have a property in Texas under your name for a year to be considered a Texas resident for tuition purposes, so yes, your interpretation is correct for that. </p>
<p>You can finish 30 credit hours in one year at ACC. You couple take 15 semester hours each semester (meaning 5 classes each semester, if your classes are 3 hours a week each). </p>
<p>The highest GPA you can get is a 4.0, that is correct. There are no bonuses in college. </p>
<p>I can’t help with places to stay unfortunately because I don’t know much about that.</p>
<p>Usually, being enrolled at a school while living here will make it so that the 12 months won’t count. You have to live here 12 months and own property or be working (not in school) to become a resident. The idea of giving a tuition break to residents is that if you pay taxes here, and those taxes go to support the school, then you should pay less.</p>
<p>I have filed taxes for 2010 and 2011 for Austin, which is the reason I find this so ridiculous.
The question is if I work, but not during 12 consecutive months while studying, as that might interfere with my studies - if I will be considered an in-state resident after my 2 semesters in ACC.</p>
<p>I don’t know much about establishing Texas residency, but I do know about rents downtown. They are going to be sky high as it is becoming a popular place for the very, very rich to life.</p>
<p>ACC has many more campuses. If you are going to go to school, you can consider any site where the class is taught. I wouldn’t feel tied to that one campus simply because it is closest to UT.</p>
<p>I suppose you make a good point, and then I can move to downtown for UT, if need be. Although a bit part of my studies would be living downtown and living the social life of college so I think I’ll have to pay that hefty price and it’ll pay off for the social experience, you know ? This is the reason I’m studying in the States and not in Israel.
Any clues about my other questions ?</p>
<p>Another hint: students don’t generally live downtown (defined as north of the river, south of 15th street, west of IH35 and east of Loop 1). This is where rents are very high.</p>
<p>The vast majority live in west campus (north of MLK Blvd, south of 29th street, east of Lamar and west from Guadalupe). There are big pockets of students off of Riverside Blvd and Far West Blvd. Shuttle bus service is offered to campus.</p>
<p>I figured west campus was part of downtown, that’s where it would be ideal for me to live but we’re looking at 500-600$ rent afaik. I’ve heard riverside is a bad neighborhood to live in as well.</p>
<p>When you visit from SA, you will see the lay of the land. There are many pocket neighborhoods where students live within a budget. If you start at ACC, but want to also get some UT flavor, you will be best to choose something in the near-main ACC campus area, which is sort of the southern fringe of what Longhorns call West Campus. Riverside is not a bad area per se. Taken the way it is used in Austin, “downtown” is not where college students live. You will get it when you visit!</p>
<p>when i was establishing residency for my community college all they asked for were 2 paystubs at least 12 months apart. you do NOT have to have property. i was living with my mom, so how could i own/rent property? i think they also let you just show that you have had a driver’s license for a year, but don’t quote me on that. now, i am not sure how strict they are with international students but all they did to establish residency (so far. i start in the fall and maybe they do additional things later) was ask you some questions. no actual verification.
i know on some things they say you have had to be “gainfully employed” for 12 months. now, i worked for over a year before i started going to school. then i did one semester where i worked and went to school. but i haven’t worked since march 2011 and have only lived off of financial aid. so when they asked me if i was “gainfully employed” on my most recent fafsa i said no, but they still said i was a resident.
they basically disqualify you as a resident if you show that you only moved here just for academic purposes. so they want to see you having a job OR owning/renting property. sometimes their criterion consists of asking the question: “do you intend to raise a family/establish permanent residency here?” but, like i said, no one has ever asked for verification from me, either here or in california.</p>
<p>Thanks Artemis - I have heard of West Campus as the place to be but like I said the prices seem to be a bit high. I understand I can live in South or East campus for less and it will still be close enough to Rio Grande and UT Campus, what do you think ?</p>
<p>Anexia - That is not the case for me unfortunately. They want proof that I worked 12 months prior to school which I can’t prove. I am independent (am 23 and my parents live in Israel), thus they want to see rent as well. I will be living in Austin probably since July but I will be registered as out-of-state anyway. Maybe for my summer semester I could get in-district in ACC, I hope. I think it is all stupid honestly as I do have a driver’s license (like you mentioned) since December 2010 but they want the physical proof of my paychecks. I will have to make sure that at least for the Sophomore year and onwards I will be considered In-state for both ACC and UT if I “just” rent an apartment in Austin and not necessarily working.</p>
<p>Also, not trying to sidetrack but would take this opportunity to ask my other initial questions again -
How many credits at the least would I need for Mechanical Engineering for UT ?
Would 2 years at ACC (Around 60 credits I would imagine) make more sense than 1 year in ACC and transfer over to UT ? Of course it will make more sense financially but are there any drawbacks ? What would my diploma say ? And what can potential employers take from that ?
Any history of people with relatively low GPA for engineering transferred to UT ? I’m pretty worried that if I don’t get all straight A’s I won’t get into UT as a transfer. Let’s face it, I’m not going to get straight A’s in completely everything. Would a GPA of 3.5 and an interesting background suffice?</p>
<p>anexia, call UT about residency. They have made the rules stricter. You HAVE to own property, and you have to live in that property. You have to fill out a detailed questionnaire. I would not recommend lying on it!</p>
<p>i’ve always been truthful on my questionnaires. i am just saying what my experiences were and what i have answered on questions and what their response was. sometimes i thought i would not be considered a resident but it turns out i still qualified. i am sure there is just a lot of small print i am not aware of.</p>
<p>Ok guys, after some phone calls and figuring things out. I got a few answers figured out.
I still have a few curriculum questions though if you may help me.</p>
<p>Firstly, how many credits can I take over the summer ? It seems as though UT would ideally want 3-4 math classes so I might take 3 over fall, spring and summer (unfortunately) in order to satisfy them. What do you think?</p>
<p>Also, what would be the ideal course schedule for me ? I’m trying to figure out what each course actually has as it’s itinerary but I’m having some trouble. In any case, this is the document from UT to ACC course difference and I’m trying to find a good balance. I was thinking maybe 12 hours for fall, another 12 for spring and 6 for summer, what do you think ? I’m trying to balance it out but it seems like I need a lot more science/math than anything else so I was thinking Physics, the Chemistry they want (for Spring), and Math in both semesters (except for the chemistry) and then just 2 english courses 1 per semester. and another math course with maybe whatever else i will need for the summer.</p>
<p>KoMo, glad you talked with UT and got more info! To get helpful responses to your queries about taking prerequisites at ACC, I suggest you start a new thread with more pointed title, e.g., ACC classes for engineering transfer to UT.</p>
<p>Actually, I have a question which would fit both ACC and UT - Are all tests done by scantron ? Meaning multiple choice (usually 4 options). Or are they open-ended questions ? I remember in high school in the States at least the finals were multiple choice.</p>