<p>Hello,</p>
<p>Has anyone here every done the UT CAP Program at UTA? I was rejected and offered into the program, but also accepted at Texas Tech.</p>
<p>Just curious on opinions of this program. Sounds like it may be more of a pain than its worth.</p>
<p>If your other choice is Texas Tech, I would say definitely go to CAP!</p>
<p>You take intro classes that are basically the same as you would take at UT, but they are often easier. You only need a B/B- average to get in. You save a little money because it's quite a bit cheaper to go to UTA or UTSA, especially if you commute. Plus you spend 3 years at UT!</p>
<p>TTU is just gross, honestly. It doesn't have a good reputation outside of the Panhandle. Lubbock is a very boring town. You can get drunk, maybe hear some good country occasionally, but that's it. And there is a high likelihood of you getting a major infection if you go there, as many people come down sick at Lubbock, if you catch my drift.</p>
<p>It's not worth wasting any time of your life in Lubbock. UTA is a better school, and honestly if you apply to work out of state a lot of people will just think it's UT. Plus you transfer to UT Austin and get to go to the best school in the state!</p>
<p>Just my opinion though, I'm sure some will tell you to go to Tech.</p>
<p>Spacecrusader - I recommend private messaging kbfunkymonkey who also got accepted to the CAP program and is now a sophomore business major at Tech. In prior messages in the Texas Tech forum he has given pros/cons on Tech "but overall i REALLY like it here, and you can def. succeed with a Tech degree if you take advantage of the various opportunities here." My son is a senior in Tech's Honors College and has had a very positive experience.</p>
<p>I faced the decision of CAP vs Texas A&M, and I chose A&M. If you visit Tech and you like it, I'd suggest you go there. The CAP program is very poorly administrated and very unorganized.</p>
<p>^^^^ can you elaborate?</p>
<p>Sure. I initially agreed to go to UTSA and participate in CAP. They gave me contradictory information about the housing deadline, lost the information I did send them about my housing preferences, refused to accomodate me at all with on campus housing after admitting to me they were at fault, and told me that I wasn't really their student anyway since I was in CAP.</p>
<p>OTOH, Texas A&M let me back in after I'd already turned down their acceptance, provided me interim housing for the first week of school until they were able to get me a spot in the dorms, squeezed me in to their already filled up summer freshman camp, answered all my questions about class scheduling, and gave me a respectable financial aid package even though I was applying late. With them I was dealing with professionals who answered my questions, and with UTSA I was dealing with inept and apathetic student workers.</p>
<p>I don't really see why anyone would want to put themselves through CAP if they could get into A&M, Baylor, or SMU (assuming they can afford the last 2). You're basically all on your own as far as planning goes. You have to spend a forgettable year at a commuter school only to start all over the next year. You'll basically have to foot the entire $18,000 bill since they want to give all the scholarships to students who plan on staying with them all 4 years. And after all that, you're only guaranteed a spot in Texas's liberal arts or natural sciences majors. Why put your life on hold like that when you could start building relationships immediately and hit the ground running in the major of your choice?</p>
<p>Because a year of a not so great school is worth it for 3 years at a really great school.</p>
<p>UTSA is not a good school. If I were doing CAP, I'd pick UTA, even though it's too close to home.</p>
<p>It's worth it for UT.</p>
<p>You mention majors, but it's really easy to transfer majors once you get to UT itself.</p>
<p>A&M is a good school but it does not approach UT in most areas. Engineering and Natural Sciences (particularly biochem and prevet) are the exceptions, but are far from the rule.</p>
<p>Baylor is a good school, but Waco is really really boring and I don't think that it would be worth giving up 3 years in Austin. Ditto for College Station (it's just nowhere near as boring).</p>
<p>If your family isn't loaded, you will have a hard time fitting in at SMU.</p>
<p>"You mention majors, but it's really easy to transfer majors once you get to UT itself."</p>
<p>How easy is "really easy" exactly? Even if we assume that the GPA requirements aren't well outside what the average student is capable of, you'll need 30 hours at texas to be considered for transfer. Add the 30 hours taken at UTSA and any AP/dual credit and summer courses, and you'll have some wasted hours even if you do manage to get into all the lower level business classes as an undeclared major.</p>
<p>No because a core curriculum transfers anywhere in the state. So they must take ANY core course you take, hours aren't wasted. And he never said that he wanted to go in to business, you just assumed that. McCombs takes 2/3 of internal transfers.</p>
<p>I realize your CAP experience may not have been the best but that does not mean you have to try to force others to miss out on the ONLY top-tier college that offers a program such as this to its applicants. Maybe UTSA did mess up your housing, but that isn't UT's fault. It's UTSA's fault. If you grin and bear it for a year, you end up in heaven.</p>
<p>I didnt say the core curriculum would be wasted. Here's my math:</p>
<p>UTSA CAP hours: 30
UT hours: 30 (to meet transfer requirements)</p>
<p>State requirements are about 42 hours. Even if a student could manage to schedule every lower level business class despite being an undeclared major (if texas even allows that, i dunno), that's still only another 18 hours approximately. So assuming that scheduling goes flawlessly, a student could take 60 hours that would all be relevant to a business major in the span of 2 years. But that's assuming NO AP credits (yeah right, non AP students shouldnt be at texas in the first place, but some are because of the 10% rules), and no summer coursework. If a student has 15 AP hours that already satisfy core curriculum requirements, there's absolutely no way they can make all of their hours relevant to the business curriculum.</p>
<p>There are these things called elective credits that also apply toward and are required for a major in business. or any other degree There are also these things called minors and concentrations.</p>
<p>CAP states in their suggestions that if you have substantial AP credit, you may not want to do CAP. I don't think that's an accurate suggestion, but that's the official policy.</p>
<p>And why does it matter if you spend an extra year trying to get in to a major you really want? College is supposed to be fun, and it's supposed to take 4 years.</p>
<p>I have 42 hours of APs, and I will still take 4 years. I just get to enjoy 12-hour semesters later on.</p>
<p>Minors are useless. Business electives only take up 6 hours at A&M (so Im assuming they dont take up much more than that at texas), and a lot of the good ones require Jr. status. Why stay longer than you have to? CAP sets you back. </p>
<p>If you're ok with that fine. But I thought it needed to be pointed out, especially given the fact that trying to get into McCombs or the comm department as a CAP student could easily mean staying for 5 years.</p>
<p>The UT admission counselors and CAP advisors don't paint nearly as rosy a picture as you do, and they are open about how convoluted internal transfer is for a CAP student. I spelled out my dilemma for a UT advisor, and he didn't even bother proclaiming the merits of CAP or telling me I'd be better off there than at A&M.</p>
<p>I don't blame the University of Texas given the fact that the state wrote the 10% law, and UTSA/UTT/UTA are the host schools. It's a decent attempt on the part of texas to give in state students a second chance, but it has some serious administrative and logistical problems that people need to be made aware of.</p>
<p>I'm not advocating CAP, but I know a number of kids currently in CAP at UTSA, who are not having any issues with the program and are set to be in Austin in the fall. It works for those who do it.</p>
<p>If getting to Austin the fall is your only goal, then yeah, you may be ok. I was just pointing out that if you want to major in something other than Liberal Arts or Natural Science, things get a lot more difficult.</p>
<p>Another problem I have with CAP is that it takes up spaces itself that could be going to non top 10%ers with great stats. </p>
<p>One time I went to this Mexican restaurant, and they had an entire room with a dozen tables designated as a "waiting area" where you could eat chips while you waited to be seated. It seemed counter intuitive to me given the fact that if they opened those 12 tables up as actual full meal seating, there wouldn't be as long of a wait in the first place.</p>
<p>Getting a 3.2 at UTSA is painfully easy. Getting a 2100 on the SAT on the other hand, isn't. Why not scrap the CAP, and give automatic admission for 4 digit SAT scores instead?</p>
<p>Alot of things about the 10% rule are counter intuitive, but as long as the Texas legislature has the college admissions departments in a strangle hold, it will continue to be a mess, and will get worse. </p>
<p>In the legislature's opinion - getting a 2100 is directly tied to the socio-economic level of the test taker, which isn't fair to those without the access to the same level of education/tutoring/test prep/etc., ie inner-city and rural area students. In their opinion, the top 10% rule alleviates that disparity.</p>
<p>The CAP program is a direct response to the issue, giving good students a second opportunity to attend the "flagship" university (A&M being the other - with their own version - Blinn Team). Blinn has tons of kids who are attending who in another time would have had no problem getting into A&M out of highschool.</p>
<p>Wow vyse...the CAP program IS counterintuitive. Never thought of it like that. Are you thinking Chuy's for the mexican restaurant? Ha Ha</p>
<p>I am :) Specifically the one in RoundRock with all the Elvis paraphernalia</p>
<p>Thank you for all the comments guys.</p>
<p>I did apply to A&M, and currently awaiting their decision. Thought id make this thread to get backup opinions.</p>
<p>Major: 1st - Psychology / 2nd - General Studies
SAT - 1690
ACT - 27
Rank: Lower 50%</p>
<p>Not great, but hoping for it :)</p>
<p>Steven</p>
<p>spacecrusader, that rank is the killer. A&M admits based on rank as well. They have Blinn Team, UT has CAP - pick your poison.</p>
<p>I hope all works out for you, have you applied to any safeties?</p>