<p>I am strongly considering the Cockrell school of Engineering and hope I get in this year. I just had a few questions. How difficult are the classes for in Cockrell? I want to major in Biomedical Engineering btw. Also is it possible to get a 3.5? I work pretty hard at school but am not that good of a test taker. Do they grade on a curve and do they inflate grades? Also I just got into the University of Minnesota College of Science and Engineering which is a really good engineering school. I am in state for Minnesota so it would be about 25,000 dollars less per year; however, if I get into Cockrell my parents would want me to go there as they would pay for it and maybe even move to Texas. Is it worth the extra 100K to go to Cockrell? They do have a better name and reputation, but does it matter that much?</p>
<p>Engineering is hard. It is hard everywhere.
At UT the tests are curved, sometimes steeply. Will you find it difficult? Will you do well? I can’t answer that not knowing what courses you have taken and your math /science background, let alone not knowing your work habits. I don’t think it is a cut throat environment. Kids do seem to work together and help each other. Profs are available and there are tutoring services. </p>
<p>Anecdotes: I have a STEM major child at UT who is doing very very well. It is like he was just waiting for this moment to be let off his leash and go learn freely. Good grades, good peers, research opportunities, lots of ECs. He has a friend who is less of a natural (and less enthusiastic), but who has buckled down and done all the right things—problem sets, study groups, office hours---- and is making good grades as an engineer, but not 3.5 gpa. Both kids are very happy at UT, both are working very hard. </p>
<p>U of Minn is a great school, too. Is a UT education worth 100k more? Tough question. Your family has to answer that for itself. How much can your folks afford to pay? How much do they have saved for retirement? For any siblings’ education? UT engineering probably does have a higher ranking, but 100K higher? </p>
<p>Okay, I have a younger child and he probably won’t go to UT. He got in, he could go and study pretty much whatever he wants, but he wants to have an out of Texas (gasp) experience, so he will end up at some expensive private school most likely. We will pay. We think it is worth it for him to have an away from home experience in a completely different and likely smaller place. But we can easily afford it. (In part because his sib went to UT!) We have a fat college fund and our retirement won’t be affected. </p>