<p>I've lived in Texas since 1981, but I haven't even heard of most of the public universities in Texas. UT and A&M seem to be the goal of lots of kids. We know a few UNT students. My daughter has been to camp at TWU and we've driven by Texas State. UTEP was in that basketball movie. Tech is having some well publicized troubles.</p>
<p>Does anyone have anything good to say about any of the Texas public universities that are not UT, UT Dallas or A&M?</p>
<p>Yeah, Texas schools suck. I have a few friends who go to Houston and they really like it. Definitely don't let your daughter go to UT Arlington, the school is a joke. ~67% freshman retention rate and like a 12% graduation rate in 4 years.</p>
<p>12%? Seriously?</p>
<p>Assuming 70% retention rate + failure, I would say over four years, 12% sounds pretty believable</p>
<p>It was 12% when I was a freshmen. I remember this because there was a tshirt at UTa that was like "12% of UTa freshmen are Maverick Scholars and 12% graduate in 4 years...You do the math" or something like that. Point is, there are a lot of unmotivated slackers that go there. It's just a bad environment.</p>
<p>UNT pwns at jazz. Also I have an aunt doing night school at TWU; she seems pretty satisfied. (Also... UDallas isn't public, but it's pretty good too)</p>
<p>I wouldn't just apply to Texas publics, because sometimes its cheaper to go to privates. Baylor gives a lot of aid. There's actually a formula for scholarships that you automatically qualify for. I think I qualified for like 28,000 over 4 years. TCU can be really good with aid packages. From what I've heard from people, SMU isn't too great with aid. If your daughters grades are good enough, Rice is a really good school.</p>
<p>Thanks, everyone. I look at the lists of the publics and see exotic names like "Sul Ross State" and wonder if among those names there is a hidden treasure. (I agree that UNT is a treasure for music, but won't be my son's major.)</p>
<p>UNT is tops(or close to it)in the USA for jazz majors.</p>
<p>That's exactly the type of indo I'm looking for though...Do any other state schools have great reputations in any particular areas?</p>
<p>A girl I know is going to Tech for nursing. Swears it is well known for that. I don't know if it is true. And TWU(TX Women's)is supposed to be known for music therapy. I know someone in that, too. You are talking PUBLIC schools, right? Houston, Rice, SMU, Baylor are all privates. And UT Arlington is really close to being a commuter school/community college, so grad rates don't surprise me. Don't hate on me for saying that....</p>
<p>Right, I'm looking for hidden gems among the lesser known Texas public schools.</p>
<p>UT San Antonio is growing by leaps and bounds but is still really a commuter school. We went there several times on Friday afternoon and the place was deserted. I want my kids to go to a school with a community feel so that is really the only school I am discouraging them from going to. I have heard of more students going now to Corpus Christi and Galveston (not sure if they are A&M or UT) although sometimes it's mainly to get the 3.0 GPA to transfer to A&M or UT. At our high schools in San Antonio it seems like Tech and Texas State are the most popular after A&M and UT Austin. I really can't think of any hidden gems.</p>
<p>If by "Houston" you mean University of Houston, it is a public school.</p>
<p>Corpus Christi and Galveston are part of the A&M system. While each public university has its strengths (Sam Houston - criminal justice, UofH - hotel and restaurant management, etc), I can't think of any hidden gems either. I am starting to hear some good things about University of Houston, though.</p>
<p>Texas St. is really good for Geography, even better than UT and A&M.
Ranking</a> of Geography Graduate Programs — PhDs.org Graduate School Guide</p>
<p>"I have heard of more students going now to Corpus Christi and Galveston (not sure if they are A&M or UT) although sometimes it's mainly to get the 3.0 GPA to transfer to A&M or UT."</p>
<p>Average transfer gpa to UT was a 3.61 in either 06 or 07, and a 3.0 at a satelite school probably won't cut it. I think A&M is between a 3.4 and 3.5.</p>
<p>Hey, thanks Prefect! I have friends that go there and I thought it was a pricey private school! I do know they give good music scholarships! I learned something new today! And I do know some of the lower schools in TX have some unusual names! I hear good things about A&M-Corpus Christi from kids. And know some kids that go to TX State. Seems like Tech might be a higher tier? I am just going by kids I know. I am always afraid of someone lambasting me for saying things like that! Sorry!</p>
<p>Texas Tech is an excellent university with a good honors program. I know several people on the faculties of A&M and UTexas who think Tech actually offers a better undergrad experience. It's not for everyone, but don't rule it out.</p>
<p>Tech really doesn't fit my son's requirement of being no more than a 4 hours drive from home.</p>
<p>crs1909: I have heard several parents say that if you get a 3.0 at a satellite school or community college you can automatically transfer to UT and A&M. In fact their children seem to be counting on this. For example, my sister has a step-daughter taking classes at ACC and my sister says quite frequently that the D plans to transfer to UT Austin once she gets the magical 3.0. In another case a friend has a son at Blinn in Bryan and she said he could transfer to A&M once he had completed 30 hours with a 3.0 GPA. Was this perhaps an old rule that has changed?</p>