<p>Is the Petro E department very hard to get into?</p>
<p>@houstonmom-
There are planned on-campus activities almost 24/7/365. Most of the activities are through one of the student organizations. There are over 900! West campus parties are mentioned here a lot because it is the freshman (enjoying freedom from parents) who party the most. Only about 10% of UT students are involved in the greek scene, so the number of comments here are not representative. Also, West Campus is just across the street from campus, so UT definitely has the feel of a residential campus.</p>
<p>Yes, I agree with zlc. I never thought of UT as a commuter campus. We didn’t go off-campus very often, because there was so much to do right there.</p>
<p>This is the first time I heard that UT is a commuter school. UT has a very college town feel, in a mid-size city.</p>
<p>Looking for input on dorm choices. My son will be in Aerospace and trying to figure out the best dorm for him. He is very social and wants to join a fraternity. Interested in Towers possibly, but is that too far from Enigineering Classes and Library? Is the library where most kids go to study if they need complete quiet? Thoughts on Towers, Castillian, Jester, San Jac?..Thanks</p>
<p>@wheatmom
Aerospace Eng. is a great major! If he wants to have a social life and join a frat (which will be pretty rough on him as an Engineering major) the place to stay is definitely the Towers. Almost 70% of frat brothers stay in the Towers because it’s close to the houses. The Towers, however, is FAR from PCL and the Engineering Quad where most of his classes will be. If he’s looking on campus, San Jac or Jester is his best bet (San Jac is full however right now I bet). Most dorms have lounges and most kids usually sit their and study, however some people choose to study in their rooms or go to PCL which closes at 2 a.m. (unlike other schools where the library is open 24/7 
)</p>
<p>My son is a freshman ASE major and loves living in Jester. There is an engineering advising office and tutoring center in Jester (tutoring in Kinsolving too, but it is for women only). The engineering study tables are open 'till 10:30 pm, but there are students in the computer labs 24/7. It easy to find a study group -the dorm houses about 3000 students, as you can imagine, it is a VERY social dorm. San Jac is nicer & has a reputation for housing more guys in fraternities, but the residents tend to be more isolated, probably due to the private baths. San Jac is near Jester, so the study groups are not too far away if he chooses San Jac. It may be hard for him to be successful both in a fraternity and in engineering -the workload is intense in the “weedout” classes.</p>
<p>oops! crosspost :-)</p>
<p>@zlc: Kinsolving tutoring tables are for both guys and girls</p>
<p>Yup-I just meant he couldn’t live there. Thanks for clarifying for those who don’t know. :-)</p>
<p>What about graduate studies in the school of engineering? I applied for the MS/PhD program in mechanical engineering with an emphasis in thermal/fluid systems. UT was definitely my long shot school - 1280 GRE, 3.42 GPA, but a strong resume with research experience and publications as well as strong recommendations. Still haven’t heard from UT yet…</p>
<p>I think for Engineering grad school, they only look at your Math score. How is your GRE break down? And the GPA, the school would focus on the engineering related courses.</p>
<p>Thats interesting because they post average quant & verbal scores on the engineering grad page… I scored higher than the average for verbal but ~40 lower on quant. My GPA is also .15 or .2 lower than the average incoming GPA. However, like I stated, I truly believe in the strength of my resume and research experience in comparison to other incoming grad students. </p>
<p>Any idea when I could find out??</p>
<p>Hey folks.</p>
<p>Just looking for a few opinions here. I’m looking to major in Mechanical Engineering.</p>
<p>I’m a high school junior from a small high school in Nebraska (45 kids in my class). My GPA is 4.0 (has been since 9th grade) and my rank is 1 of 45. Next year I’ll be taking AP Bio, AP Calc, and AP English (our school only offers 3 AP’s and you’re only allowed to take them your senior year).</p>
<p>I took the ACT for the first time in October of 2009 and I got a 29. I’ll take it again in June and once more in October. I’m expecting something in the low 30’s.</p>
<p>I don’t have my brag sheet with me (EC’s, work, awards) but going off the top of my head here’s what I’ve accomplished so far:</p>
<p>Varsity Football - 3 years (captain jr. year)
Track - 2 years
NHS - 2 years
Student Council - 3 years, Vice President jr year
Quiz Bowl team - 2 years
TEAMS - 2 years (engineering competition at UNL)</p>
<p>Worked at a cafe for 2 years.
Worked in the family business fixing cars - since I’ve been able to carry a wrench.</p>
<p>And the thing that sets me apart from most teens:</p>
<p>I’ve been racing stock cars for 4 years. Every summer I travel across the Midwest competing against guys in their 30’s and 40’s for track titles - 3rd in points last year. I race 3 nights a week (Friday, Saturday, Sunday) from April to October. It’s a huge commitment and it’s quite challenging. Not many kids can say that they race door-to-door at 90 mph against national points champions - and occasionally win.</p>
<p>There’s more to my brag sheet but as I said it’s not with me right now, so I’ll leave it at that.</p>
<p>I’m looking at both Rice and UT @ Austin. Looking at other people’s stats, do I even have a shot at either of these schools?</p>
<p>UT maybe… rice no…get SAT/ACT up… GPA is good. EC’s are good.</p>
<p>UT-Yes
Rice- No; I got waitlisted, had a better “brag” sheet, and a 33 on the ACT.</p>
<p>Son just got an email that he got accepted into the Honors program. What are the benefits and does it help given that he is OOS-Intl (in terms of making friends quickly).</p>
<p>Does it help that I’m OOS?</p>
<p>Now that I have more time to think, I’ve realized that I left quite a few things off my EC list:</p>
<ul>
<li>Football - JV captain (soph. year). Jr. year - First Team All District Honors and Academic All State Honors.</li>
<li>Selected by faculty for Breakfast for Champions award at UNL</li>
<li>Selected by faculty to go to County Government Day</li>
</ul>
<p>Work:</p>
<ul>
<li>Detassled corn for three years (one of the dirtiest, most unrewarding jobs you can have)</li>
<li>Helped coach a youth football camp in the summer (3 years, 2 weeks each year)</li>
<li>Was part of a 3 person crew that constructed a 50x100 ft mechanics shop in the summer (trust me, that’s a lot of work for 3 people)</li>
<li>Member of the pit crew for the Red Rocket Racing team</li>
<li>Other odd jobs like: electrical work, construction, and concrete pouring.</li>
<li>About 100 community service hours</li>
</ul>
<p>Thanks for the replies folks!</p>
<p>It actually hurts that your OOS- Due to The Top 10% Rule (Top 8% or whatever, I’m lost on that law now…) most Texans get admittance to UT over OOS kids. Plus Cockrell SOE is really competitive</p>
<p>iambored10, do you know how many gets get accepted into the honors at Cockrell? Freshman year.</p>
<p>@pixeljig: I believe it’s the top 10% of the incoming class. The incoming class is ~800, so maybe 80.</p>