<p>First off please try to leave your bias out of this, I understand that is tough to do. </p>
<p>I was leaning toward attending TAMU or UT but also applied to University of Houston as a safety. I received a letter in the mail offering me a 26000 dollar scholarship (6500 a year) and within the same letter they offered another opportunity for another scholarship that I would have to apply for that would mean a full ride with a research stipend. I wasn't really considering UH, but this is a lot of money. Would I greatly harm my education and job chances if I went to UH over TAMU or UT (been accepted to both already)? Would I be looked down on in my career if I had a UH degree? I also live in Houston so it would be convenient to be close to home, however I am kind of worried about the campus life.</p>
<p>Also, does anyone know what I might expect to get scholarship wise from TAMU</p>
<p>Stats:
In state resident
Rank - 47/711
GPA - 4.45
ACT - 32
Commended on National Merit
Taken all AP classes throughout highschool. made 4's on all the exams ive taken thus far</p>
<p>what would you do if you were in this situation?</p>
<p>I am an Aggie, a former student who is very very proud of Texas A&M University and very proud to have a daughter at A&M. I think there is no better place to be, no better college experience, nothing compares to the spirit of Aggieland…
that said
It would be very hard to pass up such a scholarship. $6500 a year from UofH could be most of the tuition.<br>
My thoughts, my opinion. Once you get that first job, no one really cares in industry where you went to school…<br>
UofH is mostly a commuter college, you are not going to get the same college experience as you would at A&M.<br>
Coming out of college dept free, that would be hard to pass up.
I have no idea what you might expect in the way of scholarships from A&M. I hope you get one so you can experience life as an Aggie.</p>
<p>You can expect not to get near that kind of scholarship from here, possibly nothing and at most 2.5k a year. I had a similar offer as you but chose to go here for my education getting 2.5k a year instead of the larger scholarship UoH offered. Obviously, reputation wise, A&M is a much better school for engineering. However, I have known a few people who have gone to UoH for EE and ChemE and enjoy it. So, if money is of significant importance in the decision, then I would feel no shame whatsoever in picking UoH. It is not the best school for that major, but it will definitely give you an education and a degree that will be marketable. Also, being in Houston may open up more job opportunities in the city after graduation.</p>
<p>LSU93, that’s hard. I had one child who turned down a scholarship to U of H to go to A&M, and it sort of bothered us, but we knew how much he wanted A&M. My other child is in her last year in Engineering at UT Austin and has been on many interviews for internships. On one of them, I remember her telling me that the company only considered engineering students from three colleges: UT, A&M, and U of H. So, I know U of H is gaining esteem.</p>
<p>I come from Houston and truthfully, UH is considered a commuter school but it has recently become a Tier One university (only UT, A&M and Rice have had that honor previously.) My old roomie was trying to get into electrical engineering here at A&M and couldn’t get it, he got in at UH now though (transferring) and he has told me that the classes are rigorous but all in all, it ought to be worth it since UH is gaining respectability. Of course, since I’m at A&M still, I can’t help to recommend it, but if you don’t get a similar offer at A&M, then I’d go with UH. Remember that you’d have to apply for scholarships that aren’t already included in your financial aid offer. I have what is basically a full ride, although it is mostly need based. National merit scholarships will help you, and I know quite a few good students that get and keep scholarships with higher GPAs so thats possible for you</p>
<p>Go to A&M unless you get the full ride w/ research stipend from UH. 26k is pretty substantial, but 26k could end up being 1/3 of your salary your first year out of college.</p>
<p>Sure it could be a third of his entry salary, but when you make a financial decision like this, sometimes the cost up front outweighs what may be the end result.</p>
<p>I am a parent, I am also a foreign born parent who doesn’t have any “Aggie legacy” or “Texas pride” issues.</p>
<p>So from my " legacy unspoiled" point of view…</p>
<p>Go to UH (Honors preferably). </p>
<p>You will save so much money just commuting and you will have practically full ride with your scholarships.
Houston is a huge city with all kind of internship opportunities starting your freshman year at college (information from UH alumni). You’ll have 3-4 job offers just because of your industry contacts (same source).
Where are you going to get opportunities like this in College Station? What internships, employers are there? It’s a small college town where A&M is probably the biggest employer.
You are getting an undergraduate degree. If you ever decide to go to graduate school then ranking, academic standing, name recognition etc would matter. If you go above Master degree the name of the university would matter a lot. For undergraduate studies what really matters is how much money you have to pay/or borrow to pay and what kind of jobs are available for you after you get your degree to pay off the loans.</p>
<p>And please remember - unless your are 25 it’s your parents who have to pay for your education.
What are they saying? ;-)</p>
<p>^Don’t listen to this. I’m not an Aggie legacy and I’m not from Texas either. There are a ton of A&M grads in Houston who will give A&M kids internships. 99% of engineers don’t have time to intern while taking classes, so that point is almost irrelevant. On average, A&M kids have better job and internship opportunities than UH kids. If you can afford it, go to A&M.</p>
<p>Perhaps you did not know, but Penn State and A&M engineering are the most heavily recruited in the country. That said, I would agree, there will not be a big academic difference at the undergrad. programs at the schools</p>
<p>Did you say you also got into UT? Is that Electrical engineering? Based on your rank, you should be in anyway.</p>
<p>The order of preference top to bottom for electrical engineering would be UT, A&M, UH. Having said that, it depends on your financial situation whether 26k makes a big difference in your budget. </p>
<p>You don’t have to accept any of the schools before May 1st. So you can wait out to see if the other schools offer any money. Do proceed with applying for a full scholarship at UH irrespective whether you end up going there or not. If you get lot more money, the decision becomes much more easy.</p>