<p>Got accepted to a very selective engineering program in New York, but I can't justify ruling out UTD with its in-state tuition and a scholarship (which makes a 20K difference a year)- so...
WHAT ARE THE STRENGTHS OF UTD? WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT IT?</p>
<p>I've heard of plenty of general info about UTD like "up-and-coming", "ranked no1 among colleges under 50 years old", etc, but I'd need more details and personal experience.
I'd really love people of high caliber who have especially chosen UTD solely based on financial concern come in and talk about your UTD experience. I'm mostly about the quality of education and job/grad school prospect, but other info is also appreciated. </p>
<p>A little bit about me:
1.I'm going for STEM, especially electrical engineering and computer science;
2.I place great emphasis on academics, constantly studying/equipping myself with whatever knowledge/skills I need to succeed in the future job market (you may call me "nerdy")
3.I LOVE small classes and discussion with professors--they're my buddies. I sometimes even prefer hanging out with professors than my peers if they're just not the "right" crowd. (therefore UTD's 22:1 student to faculty ratio really concerns me)
4.I would eventually go to grad school--I may do that right after undergrad or work a few years then get an employer to pay for it. </p>
<p>Anyways, just how good is UTD for STEM? and for grad school admissions purpose? Thanks! </p>
<p>UT Dallas was founded to basically be a feeder school for Texas Instruments, so you’re in a fantastic position with the majors you’re interested in. Are you going to be in the honors program at UTD with smaller classes? UTD does seem a bit nerdy to me based on the kids from my school who have gone there. Most of them are genuinely smart, though, so you’ll be around good people. </p>
<p>BUMP I am in the same situation and want to get comments on this.</p>
<p>agree w/annie 2018, you are more likely to find current students at <a href=“http://www.reddit.com/r/utdallas/”>http://www.reddit.com/r/utdallas/</a> than here</p>
<p>yes, i forgot reddit. i have had some good responses there.</p>
<p>what are *** ? can someone please give complete links … is it r e d d it .com/r/utdallas</p>
<p>yes it is the utdallas reddit thread, CC will not allow us to link in comments. google reddit UT Dallas…spell out UTD or you will go to a rugby team subreddit</p>
<p>Wow that’s an amazing resource! Thanks UTDComet (i’m actually wondering if you’re one of those admissions officers…)</p>
<p>@UTDComet can you help me regarding info of how are freshmen and sophomores are given internships in School of Engineering Computer Science? </p>
<p>@ashleymartin it isnt too hard for freshmen and sophomores to land an internship, especially if the company is in Dallas. No one gets handed anything, so you really have to be the ball with regards to networking and building a resume. As for getting internships at companies outside of Texas like Amazon etc, it’s going to take a lot more work because of the lack of recruiting at UTD. Its possible though, as I personally know people people from UTD that have interned at amazon, microsoft, etc.</p>
<p>Hi @ashleymartin. @bigreddawgie is right, nothing is handed to you, but UTD does have some services that will help you out! University wide, students can work with the Career Center starting in their freshman year to work on internship placement. In your Sophomore Year you may want to participate in WOW (World of Work). It is a week long event that allows students to have a mini internship during the week of Spring Break. As an Engineering Student you will also have the help of Office of Industrial Practice Programs. They typically host their internship fair in the fall (fall 2014 is Sept 19, 12pm to 4pm). Networking and working on personal projects outside of academic projects can be helpful. Join competition teams and professional orgs. If you are unable to get into an internship early, try to get into research. Office of Undergrad Education hosts undergraduate research match day in the spring semester.</p>
<p>If it were another major, I wouldn’t be able to answer as confidently, but UTD is very highly regarded for their CS and EE programs, especially in Texas. CS basically has 100% job placement and UTD’s top CS students are coveted by prestigious companies such as Yahoo, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. UTD will be filled with other students just like you, who are focused and want to learn. UTD is the epitome of nerdy/geeky. It has the best chess team in the nation and a very good debate team as well. There is no football team since they’d rather use the resources for educational purposes. As for the campus, I have found it to be a very relaxed atmosphere. It is not to crowded, but there will always be some activity. Additionally, the dorms are spectacular. They are very clean and very new with separate rooms for each of the 3 students in the dorm. Richardson is a great suburb and very ethnically diverse(lots of different cuisines) and DFW has lots of things to do on the weekend(sports, museums, music, zoos, etc.). In regard to teacher interaction, I have no doubt that if you want to have relationships with professors, you can easily reach them. I’m a high school student, and I’m already very friendly with Dr. Page, one of the CS profs.</p>
<p>Hope this helps</p>
<p>You’ve chosen two of UTD’s strongest majors. You can’t go wrong with either at UTD. As for the class sizes, you will be stuck in a large lecture hall, especially as a freshman and sophomore. Even many upper-level classes will have large numbers of students, so the idea that class sizes drop down drastically after sophomore year doesn’t hold true as much at UTD. For non-engineering STEM classes (such as EM Physics, which I took last semester), this is especially the case. Most of the math and physics professors at UTD leave something to be desired, as I have yet to come across a physics teacher who teaches well. </p>
<p>As a CS and EE, you’ve got excellent opportunities lined up for you in terms of research, internships, and facilities. UTD makes it VERY clear that Engineering and CS are its favorite departments and at the top of the academic hierarchy. There was a research fair in April where students can go around seeking research opportunities in each department. Engineering/CS and BBS outnumbered all other departments BY FAR; out of the nearly 100 or so poster boards of opportunities, 2 constituted Natural Sciences and Math, 2 humanities, and 2 ATEC, with a slightly more significant number of business. The rest were Engineering/CS and BBS, in descending order. </p>
<p>The “small, discussion-based” classes I’ve had so far weren’t STEM; they were classes like Rhetoric, Literary Analysis, Linguistics, and my CV classes (which are GREAT windows to small, discussion-based learning if you’re in CV). And there is a distinct difference in the quality of both teaching and classroom experience between my large STEM classes and small non-STEM classes. </p>