<p>So I've recently been accepted to UTD, and have just applied to its honors program. So far, it's looking like UTD will be where I end up going (there's a lot of pressure from my parent’s end as well), mainly because of scholarships. I would be getting the full tuition + $8000 from the NMF scholarship.</p>
<p>From what I've read, it seems like a pretty good school, but being a student from Illinois and never having heard of UTD until I became a national merit semifinalist, I do have some questions. It would be great if any current/past UTD students or parents could answer these :)</p>
<p>1) I've heard UTD is very math, science, and engineering focused... does this extend to medicine as well? How have your experiences been with the pre-med program?</p>
<p>2) Many of the old posts here say UTD has an ugly campus, but it has gone through a "beautification" process? Does anyone have any updates on this? How does the campus look like now?</p>
<p>3) I realize I would be in the minority as an OOS student... would you say it would be hard to fit in? Do people already come in as friends?</p>
<p>4) I know that UTD is technically a commuter campus, and many kids probably go home, especially on the weekends. From what you've seen, approximately what % of students go home on the weekends? I don't exactly want to spend my weekends alone at college...</p>
<p>5) I’m going to major in neuroscience. Does anyone have anything they can share about this major? classes, difficulty etc..?</p>
<p>6) Any comments on the CV Honors Program?</p>
<p>I realize that this is a lot, but any answers on any of the above would be a great help. Thank you so much!</p>
<p>UTD is a great school academically that does not get the recognition or respect it deserves–at least not from those of us in Texas. We toured the campus as a “safety” school for my son last year and were pleasantly surprised. The dorms are set-up so you will not have to share a room, and the ones we saw were fairly new and suite style. Very nice. They also recently completed the new student activity center–again very, very nice. </p>
<p>I agree that it has a tech/math/science feel to it. UTD boasts they have never lost a football game–because they don’t have a team :), but they do have a human sized chess board. That in of itself should tell you volumes about the interests of the students who attend. I think it is also one of the few schools that we looked at where the males out numbered the females by almost 15%. </p>
<p>Our tour guide was on scholarship from North Carolina. I believe he was also a neuroscience major. He seemed to be very happy with his decision to attend UTD. Since he was basically “paid” to attend, he knew he could easily afford grad school. </p>
<p>As far as kids going home for the weekend, I am sure there is some of that, but you might find some who will invite you to go home with them. </p>
<p>UTD definitely does not have your “typical” college vibe, so it really depends on what it important to you and your family. If cost is your #1 priority, then I think UTD is a great choice. Also if your goal is to go to med school, I think you will be able to attain a higher GPA at UTD (ranked 145th nationally) than say Wash U, Stanford or other top ranked school. </p>
<p>thanks for replying @doresearch !
I am planning to visit in February, and then finalize UTD as my college after seeing how the visit goes
I haven’t thought about how UTD will affect my GPA for med school… that’s a good point! </p>
<p>1) My 19yo started off as a pre-med neuroscience major at UTD, but is now majoring in Speech Pathology. She never actually took a neuroscience course. She took a speech pathology course her first semester just to see if it might be something she was interested in and loved it. It is definitely STEM focused, but I don’t think it leans much towards medicine.</p>
<p>2) I think the campus is very pretty, so the beautification projects have worked.</p>
<p>3) It should not be hard to come in as an OOS student. There are plenty of other OOS and international students. The roommates my oldest had her first year were both from out of state. The roommates my middle had her first year were both local (within 30 minutes of the school) and the roommates she has this year are both from Texas, but live several hours away as we do. My oldest didn’t know anybody on campus before arriving there. My middle daughter only knew her sister. She has had no problems finding plenty of people to hang out with.</p>
<p>4) My middle daughter was unhappy that both of her roommates last year went home every weekend, but her roommates this year have gone home only for Thanksgiving. She actually rode home with one of her roommates (lives about 2 hours from us) and is riding back up to Dallas with her roommate now. The campus is not really busy on the weekends, but you won’t be the only one there. My daughter is definitely happier this year with roommates who are there are on the weekend vs. the roommates she had last year who just used the dorm as a place to sleep on weeknights.</p>
<p>5) My daughter didn’t take any of the neuroscience classes. The lowest level neuroscience class is not recommended for freshmen. She wanted to take it her first semester, but her adviser steered her away from it (did allow her to take the introductory speech pathology course though). My daughter tried to take that course again this past semester, but was advised by the teacher to wait until after she had taken a biology course first. </p>
<p>6) My daughter loves the CV Honors program. You get access to the honors lounge 24/7. You get free printing. You get to register much earlier than you would otherwise be able to (right after the graduating seniors). She has enjoyed the honors courses she has taken so far. She really likes that the classes are small and discussion-based.</p>
