I am honestly at a huge crossroads right now. I received my UT Austin (OOS) decision in December, and it was really looking like the college I was going to ultimately go to. But 3 days ago, Emory decisions released (accepted) and they gave me 20k the day after. To my parents and my parents’ friends, it seems like a given that I’d go to Emory at this point. And while I certainly see Emory as one of my top choices, I feel like my heart is still in UT at this time.
Right now, I plan on majoring in business-finance, and I did get into UT Austin McCombs. I come from an extremely competitive school in suburban New Jersey, and I really am looking for a college experience that will be different than what I’m used to. I also plan on starting a death metal band, and I think that a bigger school like Austin will help a lot with that due to its sheer population. I also think there’s a lot more diversity, and I feel like I won’t be overly pressured from competition because it’s admissions isn’t as selective as elite schools. And although I’ve never been into sports that much personally, I can definitely appreciate social events with others, such as sports games, etc. I do wish to have a diverse group of friends (academically and socially) and student life that is never boring, and I’ve heard UT and Austin in general fulfills this immensely.
Emory is cheaper by about 10k due to the aid (I know some people will definitely say Emory because of this, but money is not the biggest issue for me). It’s also much more prestigious than UT, in the eyes of my parents at least. AFAIK Emory doesn’t make you decide your major until your 3rd year, which I am not sure is a positive at this point. What I fear though is that it’ll be too similar to my high school life, which is primarily suburban. I also fear that the classes will be much harder and more competitive due to how selective the admissions are. But to be fair, I haven’t done nearly enough research on Emory as I have with UT.
Please offer me any advice you have, I would greatly appreciate it. I’m still young and naive and not entirely sure what I want from college, so please offer me any details about the schools, the aspects that are positive or negative in your eyes. Thanks in advance
Personally, as an OOS kid considering UT and Emory myself at one point, I would pick Emory. Your parents are right in the sense that if you are looking for an east coast job after graduation, Emory has probably more prestige/alumni connections despite its small size.
UT is about only 8% OOS students which is extremely small and can be isolating. Most of the people you meet will be from Texas and want to stay in Texas.
They’re also very different environments: big state school vs small academic-focused School.
Also, I know you said money wasn’t an issue but it is something to keep in mind if you want to go to graduate school after college or need help putting down money for an apartment if you want to live in NYC post grad.
I’m a student at Emory from the Austin area. Both colleges have amazing business schools. The one upside to UT is you’re already in the business school at UT. At Emory, you have to apply to it after your sophomore year. Academic wise, Emory requires all students to complete general education requirements. These are slightly different for b-school students, but you need a language, writing, science, math, etc. UT has some requirements as well but is significantly less than Emory.
UT is a big school with most of the students coming from Texas. My friend at UT had a class of 3 sections with 300 students whereas my largest at Emory has 2 sections of 150. A smaller school allows you to know your professors more, not that it isn’t possible in a larger school and less competition for internships.
UT has a ton of school pride and spirit that Emory can’t compete with. Emory has no football team(if you go to UT, you have to go to a football game. It’s a great experience), and sports are not a large part of its culture.
UT is still a competitive school. Most of the instate students were in the top 6% of their class(Texas public schools do an automatic acceptance if you’re so high in your class rankings). Both schools are going to be difficult and competitive. Austin is a growing city with lots of businesses establishes headquarters there, and Atlanta is in a similar position.
If your heart is with UT, you’re not making a wrong decision to go there. They have a great b-school, and UT is more of a recognizable name in Texas than Emory. The two schools have vastly different cultures, and you should pick what school’s culture you prefer. Good luck and feel free to reach out if you have any more questions!
Well, if you go to Emory you will have UT’s former president as yours! Greg Fenves just announced his resignation to become Emory’s president.
My son was an OOS student at UT and did fine. He said kids enjoyed talking to him and finding out about Maine. I wouldn’t let your OOS status deter you from attending school.
UT is known all over the world. You will have some big classes, but your upper-level classes will be smaller. My very favorite class at UT was American History with George Forgie. There were 350 kids in the class. He was such an excellent story teller and instructor that I couldn’t wait to attend the class. I still remember the essay question on the final exam! I could see him anytime I wanted during his office hours - he tried to convince me to switch majors from engineering to history, ha. I made one of the few As he gave. If I had been turned off from taking the class due to its large size, I would have missed out on an amazing experience.
I don’t think it’s necessarily bad that Emory students have to wait until their second semester sophomore or first semester in their junior year to enter the business school. They can still take all of the required business courses and only the weaker students aren’t admitted. The more important thing of value is the two years of liberal arts at Emory College. Some see real value in Emory business grads developing critical thinking skills in the college before officially entering Goizueta Business School. I also agree that recruiting at Emory is more nationally focused than it would be in a state school. If the goal is to get back to the northeast, Emory helps. It is not “Georgia” as UT is “Texas”. While you would still have a nice edge in metro Atlanta, you’ll also do well pretty much up and down the Atlantic states.