<p>@maine- heh really? yeah i’ve just learned to love it i guess. nothin like the sarcasticness of a bostonian to make your day IMO 
but i definitely think i could get used to the friendliness of texans. and wow thats amazing, congrats on that! good to know though, everything i’ve read about texas is really making it seem like its calling my name, hahah. and yeah, i definitely am planning on taking the sats again, this time w/o distractions, so i feel that i could do much better this time.</p>
<p>@bk- ah wow, thats really good to know! yeah, i would love to have a place where i’d be able to actually have an intelligent conversation with someone and be passionate over my research and schoolwork in general, rather than feel ostracized for enjoying math and science courses, as long as i have the opportunity to unwind and enjoy everything too, which texas is obviously pro at. and oh of course, always been a fan of texas sports, kevin durant is by far my favorite player to watch outside of everyone on the celtics…and russell westbrook of course. nothin like a bruin except a longhorn… never really watched college baseball much, cuz we have our sox up here which of course demand our attention.</p>
<p>@katatonic- wow thats a relatively low admit rate lol. but we’ll see. dean’s scholars probably won’t happen, but fri would be nice. we’ll see :)</p>
<p>how many OOSers are there at texas? i know the % is <10%, but does it seem that small in reality?</p>
<p>My OOS son applied for biomedical engineering as his first choice and science (Dean’s scholars) second choice. He got into BME but rejected by the Dean’s scholars. His SAT scores were 780 math, 750 writing, and 690 CR, and he had lots of ECs (Eagle Scout, top distance runner, etc.). I think I read there are about 500 OOS students who enter UT each year - does anyone know if that’s right?</p>
<p>contra, thanks for the link.</p>
<p>ahh ok. well that seems like a relatively small %. i’m guessing there are no beaches near austin?</p>
<p>We have a lot of lakes in the area, and some of “beach” areas at those lakes, but not what you’re used to. A lot of people go down to South Padre island and other regions along the Gulf of Mexico (a few hours away driving), but personally I think the entire Gulf sans the West Coast of Florida is disgusting. When you grow up with the Pacific Ocean as your playground, as well as frequent visits to the East Coast, you’re bound to be spoiled by it and biased. lol If you go for just for the partying you’ll probably like it.</p>
<p>With the lakes people mostly boat, simply because a lot of the lake front is essentially cliffs. Lake Travis is to the west of Austin and is home of The Oasis (restaurant and bar on a cliff above the lake) and a few other establishments like Carlos and Charlies - boating, food, music, etc. Party boats are popular out there - I’ve been on several rented by various UT groups and personal parties. Lake Austin and Lady Bird Lake (previously known as Town Lake) are within the city limits - Lake Austin has several restaurants on it right at the damn, but without a boat there really aren’t any places to use it unless you head west where there are a few park areas off of Capital of TX Highway (360). Town/Lady Bird Lake is parallel to downtown and Zilker Park and has jogging/biking trails, small boat rentals and is frequented year-round. There are other lakes in the general vicinity (LBJ, Buchanan, etc.) but unless you have a boat and a vehicle to get there you probably won’t visit them too often.</p>
<p>Another popular activity is tubing. South of Austin are the Guadalupe and Comal rivers, as well as Canyon Lake, and from mid-spring through summer depending on rainfall people head down there to float.</p>