Need help with deciding what college to aim for

State Forums
1

Hey guys, this is my first post on here. I was hesitant to ask for help, but since my counselor seems to be just as lost as I am, was wondering about your guys’ opinions. I am currently a junior in high school, but I have not decided on a college yet (yes it’s late, I realize that), and I need to decide before senior year. I am considering going into either EE or ME in college, and I was looking at UT Austin’s ranking out of all the institutions nationally, and according to one website, it ranks #13 in the world for engineering. The school itself seems to be decent for engineering, and since it is in state and I will be qualifying for automatic admission anyways because my rank is in the top 6%, it is currently my backup option. However, I noticed that Rice University is offering a full ride scholarship to aid households below a certain income, and it seems that my parents fall under that category. Rice is not ranked quite as high as UT Austin is for my majors according to many people I have asked, but if I choose to apply and get accepted, I will not have to pay tuition. Do you guys think that I should go into Rice or UT Austin instead, if I am accepted to both.

Some extra information: I have not toured the campuses yet, but I will be doing that soon. I am not too worried about the setting, more so about the education. Also, I will be taking the SAT and ACT this year, and maybe some SAT Subject tests that I will study my arse off for, so I am not too worried about standardized tests. My getting in is not the issue, just the selection. And if there is any other options for colleges besides those two that offer great financial aid, please let me know. I know that UT has the forty acres scholarship, but I am not counting on that to get financial aid.

2

You are still a junior. You will need to pick a short list of schools to apply to within about a year, but you do not need to decide which one to attend for roughly 18 months. At this point it sounds like you have two really good schools that look quite likely for you.

You haven’t told us what your grades are, nor what your test scores are if you have already taken any. Do you have the grades and are you likely to have the test scores that are needed for these schools?

If so, then being in-state in Texas makes UT Austin and Rice two really good choices. I do think that you should visit both if you can. It will probably end up being a very good idea to apply to both of them.

“The school itself seems to be decent for engineering,”

“descent” is an understatement. Since I am from New England I suppose that I could say that Bill Belichick is a decent football coach.

3

First, you’re a junior, if anything, it’s too early for you to have decided. You only need to decide in the fall of your senior year, and really only before you submit. In fact, since you need to be in the top 6% at the end of your Junior year, you’ll only be able to decide after that. Many things can happen between now and May 2020.

If you are in the top 6% at the end of Junior year, you can consider UT Austin to be your safety. Until then, it is potentially a reach (since only 18% of the non-automatic in state applicants are accepted)

Rice has an acceptance rate of 15%, and you are more likely than not to be rejected, even if you will be in their top 25%.

So, until you are holding an acceptance letter from Rice in one hand, and an acceptance letter from UT Austin in the other, this decision is theoretical, and not very likely.

Basically, until you finish Junior year, and have SAT/ACT scores in hand as well, you cannot figure out how competitive you are for any college. As I wrote above, many things can occur between now and then.

At the moment you should start building the entire list of college to which you want to apply, and check what the requirement are, and make sure that you take enough years of math, science, English, etc, to fulfill those requirements. Have an additional safety that is not dependent on you being in the top 6% of your class, and that your parents can afford. The list can be long, since you have a while to cull it before you start applying.

PS. If your counselor thinks that it’s late for decisions, they are, indeed, lost.

4

Reading the comments, I really underestimated the qualifications for even getting into UT Austin. I will see how my SAT scores come out and what my rank is by the end of the year. I am quite confident in my ability to perform well this year, since I have kept up a raw 99.5 GPA so far, but time will tell I guess. Now to start studying for those tests…

5

Both of these schools are difficult to get into. UT is a state school so the tuition is lower but the overall costs can add up (dorms are overcrowded, housing in Austin is expensive). Rice is a private school so the tuition is higher but the overall costs may be lower. Financial aid will be key for both of these schools. Ask your parents how much they can afford, if anything.

Are you a Texas resident? You should also look at Texas Tech, which has a great engineering department, and UT-Dallas.

But like the previous posters said, you have lots of time.

6

Thanks for the advice! I believe that I will not have to pay tuition for Rice at all if I can get in because of my parents’ salary, while UT has barely any financial aid. I will look at Texas Tech, but I think that I can get into UT Austin, which I believe to be better than UT Dallas in the engineering department, so I don’t think I will be too interested in it. Also yes, I am a Texas Resident; yay for in-state tuition.

7

It’s really hard to give advice without knowing your ACT/SAT scores. Top 6% will get you into UT but getting into their engineering program is a larger hurdle. Can’t begin to give you any advice on Rice without knowing your test scores. You certainly need to widen your net if financial aid is important. You get get free tuition from UT but the cost for housing and food will make it expensive. Really need to see you test scores before giving you advice on what schools to consider. Best of luck to you.

8

If money or aid isn’t a concern I would pick Rice in a heartbeat. And I say this as a UT-Austin alum.
But the schools are very different, RIce is MUCH smaller and everyone there is super smart. Very hard to get in no matter what your major. UT is easier to get accepted.
UT on the other hand is a great state school, but huge. Some schools (like Engineering and CS are very well regarded) but in general Rice ranks higher overall.
Also Rice the on campus living arrangements are much more intimate, with dorms competing with each other in various school events.
At UT you do not get that tight knit community, although you might with your particular classmates in the engineering program.

Both are great schools. UT is definitely cheaper.

9

One of my good friend’s son is a Junior at UT in engineering and is loving it! He was in state #2 in his class of 600 and got just about a full ride with a generous scholarship. His sister is applying to UT now as an engineer. She is top 3%. With the auto admit you would be fine. The free tuition at Rice is hard to pass up. Also know that The University of Texas announced that it will give full scholarships to students with a family income of less than $65,000 a year. So see if you meet that.

10

Do not be over-confident that you will be admitted to UT’s engineering school just because you are in the top 6% of your class. UT’s automatic admission policy only guarantees admission into the College of Liberal Arts. The amount of auto-admit students in recent years who did not get into UT’s Cockrell School of Engineering and the McCombs School of Business could fill up Memorial Stadium.

Continue working hard and good luck with your goals; I am sure you will achieve great things. Just remember that when it comes to Rice, UT Austin, and Texas A&M be very careful using the words “automatic” and “backup”. You could find yourself sorely disappointed!!!