<p>TXhorn, do you really think classes are rigorous enough? Maybe you haven’t taken a class with a hard-as-nails professor or maybe your just too good for UT (I don’t mean that as an offense I’m just saying maybe UT might be to “easy” for you)</p>
<p>Wow! Stop dogging UT! Ultimately, only you are responsible for the classes you sign up for and not the advisors.</p>
<p>The College of Natural Sciences is great, but I only have my first semester at UT to go on. My advice is to take advantage of the Dean’s Honors Program or the TIP program and you’ll be guaranteed smaller classes where the professors actually teach and care about the students. If you want to challenge yourself a bit more, apply to the Freshman Research Initiative. You definitely will not complain about FRI’s required courses being too easy – Calculus (where no calculators are allowed, just your mind!), Biology, Chemistry, and Research Methods. I appreciate the prep time that the professors, TAs, and mentors put into the FRI program. My friend at Duke is wishing he’d chosen UT instead, but they offered him more scholarships.</p>
<p>There are some very rigorous courses with tough professors. I’m saying a huge majority of classes that are offered are a joke and sometimes there is no option besides a giant class with multiple choice exams (especially the most popular classes that are pre-reqs for graduation)</p>
<p>Yes, I definately agree if you want to learn and pursue an interest, Dean’s Scholars, TIP, BHP, Plan II, Plan I, Engineering Honors etc will give you a good environment to do so.</p>
<p>The advisors know the shortform of common classes (“PHY302k”, etc). But they have no insight about what the upper division classes are (“Micobial Ecology”) and what they entail. All they know is that it satisfies the requirement. You must research the classes and professors on your own.</p>
<p>Venting over the internet is hilarious.</p>
<p>As opposed to what other forum? I would have much rather experienced persons tell me what UT really was like instead of having to find this out afterwards; better than all the threads that make this school out to be of Ivy-league caliber or 1000 chances threads.</p>
<p>I’m guessing that the posts about too easy majors and over-crowded classes are made by underclassmen. Upperclassmen and students in majors where the major sequence begins freshman year (like engineering) have a very different perspective. Yes, giant classes tend to be easier due to scantron tests, but the upper level classes in your major will be much smaller and more rigorous. Take advantage of the lighter work load and get involved in research or organizations/projects related to your major.
There seems to be some mis-understanding about academic advisors, they are NOT like your high school counselor. It is the STUDENT’s job to study the catalog, take the correct classes, and stay on top of things. The advisors are there to answer specific questions and to help with certain processes.</p>
<p>Wow, this makes me feel a lot better about UT, zlc!
I hope I make it into the Honors program or get classes with other pre-meds so I can be in classes that fit my image of a college class. I have actually looked at the catalog and I see tons of Bio classes that I would love to take!</p>
<p>Smartone -Even if you don’t get into an honors program, you will have no problem getting appropriate background for pre-med. Even if you end up with a cushy schedule the first semester, you can still build your academic experience by getting involved in research. Most find organic chemistry plenty challenging though!</p>
<p>it depends on the programs.
UT Business Honors rivals the Wharton program.
Plus, the regular Biz school is #10 in the nation.</p>
<p>I’d pick UT over an Ivy any day b/c it’s the best of all worlds.
Gotta love it :)</p>
<p>UT is the strongest university in Texas by far in terms of faculty qualty, awards, National Academy memberships, ranked academic departments, etc. Any ranking of academic departments will show this. However, it does get dinged at the undergrad level due to its size and selectivity. In this regard, Rice is probably the superior <em>undergrad</em> institution. However, being more selective and smaller does NOT translate into having stronger faculty or ranked departments. The general public always loses sight of this.</p>
<p>Undergraduate and overall institutional prestige are being mixed. Yes, UT isn’t ranked a top 5 <em>undergraduate</em> public in USNews and California does have more UC campuses rated higher than UT based on the undergraduate methodology US News uses that looks at selectivity, class sizes, etc. However, look at any ranking of actual academic programs and/or faculty quality, and UT is indeed one of the very top publics. It’s not (yet) at the level of Berkeley or Michigan, but it is most definitely stronger than schools typically perceived as stronger such as UVA and UNC. You have to specify whether you’re talking undergraduate/general lay person reputation or graduate/faculty/research/academic reputation. They’re not the same thing. Put in perspective, all UT would have to do to become “prestigious” to the general public would be cut enrollment and be more selective. Schools with weaker faculty and academic programs would have to spend $$$ to catch up in this regard. Granted, as the flagship public in a highly populist state, UT can’t just “get more selective”, but since it already has the faculty and ranked programs, that would be a much easier path than other schools that may already be smaller and more selective but don’t have the faculty or ranked programs to back up their public perception.</p>
<p>The future also looks brighter for UT than most publics. The future of the UCs are somewhat threatened by the economic situation in California, while UT still has the highest endowment of all publics and is in the midst of a $3B capital campaign to further strengthen itself and lessen its dependence on funding from the state.</p>
<p>UT’s reputation as an excellent academic intuition is hidden to the ordinary non-Texan layman due to UT’s success in football. Most people link UT to football and not academic achievement. Mack Brown! Vince Young! </p>
<p>Nevertheless, many of UT’s undergraduate programs are pathetic jokes and in dire need of reform. </p>
<p>They could start by raising admissions standards and reducing enrollment. This includes raising standards significantly for athletes. By doing this, they would increase the quality of students, as well as improve the quality of education for these students who would benefit from it. Reduced class sizes+better students=better education=better UT. </p>
<p>The students who are getting screwed over at UT are the ones who aren’t in an honors program, but aren’t challenged by the BS courses that UT requires as its “core curriculum”.</p>
<p>UT serves two groups of students well. The honors students and the students who are only good enough to graduate from UT with a silly major because the classes are so easy.</p>
<p>The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, not UT, set the “Core Curriculum” requirements for all public universities in Texas.</p>
<p>Well they certainly don’t set the difficulty of the courses, which is what I’m getting at. Of course requirements will be set according to “The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Racket”. But they didn’t mandate that classes HAVE to be multiple choice or T/F cakewalks. </p>
<p>Universities need audits from outside the education system/racket to evaluate the level of learning that is really taking place in classrooms.</p>
<p>Due to the Texas Legislature, UT has little control over admissions. Many of the freshman-level courses are filled with students who might not have been admitted to UT if the top 10% rule didn’t force UT to admit students who may be less-prepared. Many of the well-prepared students (not just those in Honors) don’t even take the large, multiple choice classes you refer to because they already earned credit in high school through dual credit classes or AP tests. What is important is not where students begin, it is what students learn by graduation.</p>
<p>I’m not sure what you (and another poster) mean by “silly” majors. Not all majors are math-heavy, but that doesn’t make them less valid. It makes sense that someone preparing to teach elementary school take a course in children’s lit. The UT Elementary School is rated Exemplary -so the teacher prep program must be doing something right! Another class mentioned, “Personal and Family Finance” should be required for all students -especially with so many taking on high debt loads to pay for school. Is personal finance a less valid topic than general business finance?</p>
<p>School is about so much more than classes. While your course load is light, get involved in research, or an org related to your major, or in leadership development. The things you learn in those areas are an important part of your education. There is some flexibility in the core-curriculum, maybe you should explore some of the less-common classes that meet the requirements. </p>
<p>The Board of Regents has considered making UT an upperclassman-only campus, which would allow them to do away with many of the core-curriculum courses and focus on major-sequence classes and graduate programs, but has decided not to go there at this point. </p>
<p>Universities are examined frequently through the accreditation process. Also, the THECB Board is made up of state policy makers -most not from the education field.</p>
<p>I agree with JWT86, if you look at actual program rankings, UT is stronger than lots of schools that are ahead of it in “overall” ranking. Rice is in the top 20, but UT dominates it if you look at rankings of individual programs. People always talk about Texas as if it’s so much lower than UNC and UVA, but if you want to back that up with quality of the programs, UVA completely lacks the strong technical programs that UT’s school of engineering and computer science program provide and UNC’s programs usually miss UT’s by at least a few rankings.</p>
<p>By the way, the above poster must not be aware, but they did away with the top 10% rule, and now it says no more than 3/4 of the class has to be filled by choosing the applicants with the highest class rank. Basically, it allows the rule to go down to top 8%, 5% or whatever depending on how competitive applicants are for that given year.</p>
<p>The current students were admitted under the 10% rule. The rule has not been eliminated, just altered for new students applying to UT Austin beginning 2011-2012. Current seniors and students applying to other state schools (like A&M) fall under the original rule.</p>
<p>Some majors are less valid than others. Fact. If you are seriously trying to argue that majors in education, sociology, communications, political science, psychology, athletic training, are equal in utility provided to society when compared with engineering, computer science, chemistry, and other math intensive majors then you are clearly deluded. </p>
<p>“What is important is not where students begin, it is what students learn by graduation.”</p>
<p>I agree with you on this part, but there is NO process or examination in place that gauges what students actually learn during their four years at University. This is something that must be created, but the political pressures NOT to implement such a process are too strong at the moment. I get a feeling that somehow many students haven’t actually learned anything by graduation…</p>
<p>Universities are examined, but the students aren’t. </p>
<p>The fact that UT has a great variety of courses that one may use to fulfill core requirements is a double edged sword. I actually took a few core classes that I hadn’t tested out of in areas of interest to me. Some of the classes were awesome, others were obviously pointless. I’m just concerned that students who need to be learning Western Civilization and other core liberal arts subjects that are significant to understanding our world today are instead opting for “The Sociology of Sex in the 1920’s”. You could possibly skate through the core requirements without learning anything of significant importance.</p>
<p>Technically, Trinity University in San Antonio is the highest ranked university in Texas. [Trinity</a> University - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report](<a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/san-antonio-tx/trinity-university-3647]Trinity”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/san-antonio-tx/trinity-university-3647)</p>
<p>^ Wrong. You have no idea what you’re talking about.</p>
<p>Source: <a href=“http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/state+TX[/url]”>http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/national-universities-rankings/state+TX</a></p>
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<p>For the biased “math nerd”:</p>
<p>Go back to your 1-3rd grade teachers who taught you basic math facts, then your 4-5 grade teachers who taught you the fundamentals of algebra, then your middle-high school teachers who built higher conceptual math skills onto the basics you were taught previously, and tell them that education majors are worthless. You wouldn’t be in the UT engineering school without them, not to mention your English, history, economics and foriegn language teachers.</p>
<p>As to the others, there is a place in society for people with all the majors you pooh-pooh, and it would be an extremely colorless and bland world if everyone was like you.</p>
<p>zlc, thank you for your nuanced, open minded, and factual post.</p>