@oblivion2017 That is seriously uncool (but would explain why you and I seem to be the only ones who hadn’t heard.) The AES FAQ said the early deadline was December 1st! My son was admitted November 14. That is sincerely aggravating.
I just live chatted with them too. They said it would be reviewed after break and we would hear near the end of January. That is so frustrating. I suggested they update their deadline and notification timetable under their FAQ to avoid unnecessary confusions and stress but seriously, I am rather upset >_<
My son was admitted in September and got AES notification this week.
The irony is that reason we were later admits (if one can call Nov 14 late) is because we didn’t know about the school until they started deluging my son with recruitment letters - AES letters, McDermott letters, so many letters - until I finally said maybe we should take a look at this school and discovered that hey we actually liked them better. So he’s feeling a little bitter this morning.
@oblivion2017 My son was admitted October 31st and got his AES notification this week.
Congratulations to all -AES Awards
my son has to wait till Feb
S got AES honors. OOS 1580 New SAT and 3.91. Very humbled and happy. How is Computer Science for UG in UTD? Hearing scary things like huge number of graduate students and paucity of space in classes with students having to pull chairs from other classes. Very little information about UG computer science, the infrastructure etc. How is the job scene with UTD - do all top bay area companies come? How does this compare with Purdue, Ohio State, A&M, SBU,U of Iowa, UT Austin, UMD etc in comp science? Sorry this might be off topic for this forum.
@SubBob - Congratulations. We are in state and my son (with full tuition scholarship) is also considering UTD for Computer Science. He also got into to TAMU and waiting on UT decision. Being a STEM school (they are trying change that perception) UT Dallas has good reputation for CS. However it’s not comparable to UT or TAMU. Texas Companies recruit from UTD. I don’t think many Bay area employers participate in job fairs there. I heard that few talented kids from UTD get in to those companies and other good employers like Microsoft and Amazon etc.
CS is pretty good. I wouldn’t recommend any of the other schools except UT. The opportunities at UT are just more significant than at UTD. So if he wants to get to the west coast (Silicon Valley, Seattle), go with UT.
But if he’s a top student, he’ll be highly recruited locally. And the Dallas area is just booming so he’ll have no problem getting internships/jobs. Just go to Monster. Put in “Computer Programmer” in Dallas, and you get literally thousands of postings.
My DD is a freshman UG in CS, just finishing her first semester. It is a very large freshman CS class. The previous class sizes was about 400 and this year it is over 600. So far, no problems because of it. The dept. made the promise to open up new sessions as needed and they appeared to have done so. There has been no chatter on here or reddit about problems getting classes.
They do state they have 100% employment for all graduating students who want employment and again, I believe them. Between Dallas and Austin, there is a huge job market. As far as California companies, I do know Google recruits there and I expect the others do as well.
Also, recruiting is much bigger than campus visits. My older DD, graduating from Pitt this year in CE, has had numerous telephone interviews with Google. She submitted a resume for an internship. She got a technical phone interview and did not get passed on. That same summer, she did an unpaid mentoring program with Google and made an app in a group project and presented it in Cali. Next summer, passed 2 technical phone interviews but did not get project matched. Same for IBM, but did get project matched. Google has come back to her but she accepted a position at IBM. None of this was on campus. You need good grades, keep improving your skills and reach out to the companies.
You can get to the west coast from numerous universities from Texas. My DD friend went to Trinity in SA, not known as a CS powerhouse, but has had 3 Google internships and has taken a job with Microsoft in Seattle. You just have to be good for the phone technical interviews.
Thank you ACT2017, getoveritnow and GTAustin for your valuable feedback. Please keep in touch. We are definitely considering UT Dallas and would reach out to you all again. @GTAustin - how about the campus life, food, dorms - anything else that should be considered. I myself am a Computer Science graduate and have worked for Yahoo and Oracle and its true that after a year or so of passing out, what matters is the personal abilities as long as the college reputation is not bad. Algorithms, Programming, Problem Solving and Computer Networks are the areas needed mostly to do well in any software company.
I have graduated from a college outside of USA.
@SubBob, UTD has been a great match for my DD. The dorms have private bedrooms and the food is fine. She has made a lot of friends and has explored Dallas. She does not live in the CS LLC but in the honors LLC. That is a better match for her. She has found the CS mentoring center to be helpful with both programming and discrete math problems. Also, both the professors and TAs are approachable and helpful. After finishing her first semester, there are no complaints.
thanks @GTAustin. Very helpful. Wishing your DD all the best.
My son is a PA (RA equivalent) at one of the dorms. I definitely recommend staying in a dorm the first year. The PAs are mostly friendly and helpful. Many are very accessible for the kids to talk with and can help make the transition to college very easy. The rooms themselves are really nice and new. Just pray that your child doesn’t get stuck with a lousy roommate (or be a lousy roommate).
The school is not a party place so if your child is looking for that, he/she might be disappointed. But there are enough private parties if he makes friends or join various groups. There are many active groups that he/she can join. Many are very active. Many are on life support. My son has had fun with them. The best part is that his clubs are performance arts so we get to go and watch him all the time. I must say, UTD has put on some very good musicals in the past 12 months, especially for a school with a tiny music program.
The food is okay. Mostly fast food on campus. No real restaurant within walking distance right outside of campus. We eat lunch with our son in the cafeteria all the time. Typical college buffet style cafeteria. Good variety. Sometimes late night, we join him at the IHOP express right next to the dorm.
Students do get a bus/train pass so they can visit various parts of the city. But there are so many kids driving that your child is better off if he/she is friendly and make friends who do drive.
Overall, I highly recommend it.
Can anyone who received an AES award tell me what qualifications they had and which AES they received?
Nothing on for me yet. I was admitted on Dec. 1
GPA: 3.85 (Top 10%)
SAT: 1550/1600
Decent extracurriculars
@saitan could you share your stats please?
@college24789 Here are my stats:
SAT 1430 (660 in EBRW, 770 in Math)
94% in 9th grade, 95% in 10th and 11th grades, yet to write 12th grade exams.
110 in TOEFL (this doesn’t matter however)
Nice LORs (Probably)
And a great essay, which, I think, helped me the most in getting AES.
I don’t have good extra curriculars. No sports. Just playing guitar and participation in few social service activities.