<p>My son chose a double major (chemE and Dean’s Scholars chemistry) at UT Austin over Rice (as well as Yale, Princeton, Stanford, Washington U in St. Louis, Vanderbilt and a number of other top schools). This major is a good background for the energy industry, for a PhD program or for med school, and my son is undecided about his career path so it gives him flexibility. I asked about med school admissions for Dean’s Scholars students. ONLY ONE PERSON IN THE HISTORY OF THE DEAN’S SCHOLARS PROGRAM DID NOT GET INTO MED SCHOOL and she applied again the next year and got in. They said that they would not accept you into the program unless they thought you were capable of getting into med school. </p>
<p>The Dean’s Scholars Honors Program in Natural Sciences “offers individualized faculty advising, special honors classes, hands-on research training and experience, and many networking and leadership opportunities.” The DS classes are smaller than regular UT classes, the demographics and test scores are totally different from the rest of the UT Austin student body (as is the case with engineering), it’s easy to get research (it fact it is mandatory freshman year). Comparing the students at DS to the students he met at Ivy admit days, my son felt that DS’ers were just as bright but had not developed extracurricular interests to the extent the Ivy admits did, although an unusually large percentage of them did play a string instrument. This is of course in part related to family incomes skewed toward the high end at the Ivies which allows families to pay for lessons and hobbies and travel that others might not be able to afford; about half of the class at Ivies is from a wealthy background. In contrast, at UT Austin there is a less affluent student body and my son feels that his middle class background is quite acceptable. No one really cares how wealthy or poor his parents are or what sort of clothes he wears or whether or not he has a nice car or any car at all. Rice, like the Ivies, has a more affluent student body, and for some people this is a positive attribute. Both of my sons enjoyed admitted students’ day at Rice, but they felt that the school is geared (as are most of the Ivies) toward sending students on to grad school, and my sons wanted the option to enter the workforce after four years in college. (The engineering degree really helps with this goal, and a number of this year’s graduating UT Austin engineering students will have a six figure starting salary, including my older son.) Both sons were concerned about the very open alcohol consumption and drug use they observed in the short time they were on the Rice campus; they felt that the problem is no worse at UT Austin than at Rice. Of course with the urban location in the heart of downtown Austin and a live music venue on every corner open all hours of the night, UT Austin has a terrible reputation for heavy drinking. Fortunately a lot of the students stagger back to campus on foot since you don’t need a car in Austin! Just be sure to sign up for the honors dorms if you want to be isolated from the heavy partiers.</p>
<p>Other pros for DS: UT Austin runs incredibly smoothly. I have been amazed at the personal attention I received for any complaints I have made. Austin is a great city. The campus sits is on the top of a hill, particularly the engineering and science buildings and honors quad and there is often a stiff breeze so the air is cleaner than in a lot of big cities. The airport is close if you need to fly elsewhere to get home or to interview for a job or scholarship. There is coach bus service each weekend to San Antonio, Dallas and the northwest side of Houston. You can get around campus on foot or by bicycle and around Austin with your bus pass so you don’t need a car. The area west of the city is lovely, with lots of hills. My sons have explored this area with the running club and the biking club. Because UT Austin is a huge university there are lots of ways to contribute and to participate in club sports and university bands, orchestras and ensembles. Students with a 4.0 average are considered for positions as university tutors, which is a great job. UT Austin is very highly ranked in certain fields, primarily just about anything in engineering and business, and this will help you find a good job. If you are willing to work hard enough to double major in engineering and science you have the opportunity to receive $11,000 a year in scholarships from engineering and DS plus possibly more through Texas Exes and outside scholarships. A lot of DS’ers are double majors, often with Plan II Honors. The engineering scholarship was a huge plus for us. My older son was able to pay for his education entirely through engineering scholarships, outside scholarships, his summer earnings ($1,000 a week) and his income from the position as a university tutor (working 30-35 hours a week), and my younger son hopes to do the same. This is an incredible opportunity since UT Austin is very highly ranked in my sons’ majors: the chemical engineering department is ranked #5 in the nation and chemistry is ranked #12. Most of the universities that rank higher are very expensive.</p>