This thread is to encourage students offered the PACE option to really consider it. PACE is a fantastic program that lasts one year at UT Austin. During the parent orientation we asked if it would ever go two years (like A&M’s does) but it seems like UT will keep it at one year for now.
PACE students are fully UT students and fully ACC students. They get many benefits from this program.
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They have PACE counselors from UT and from ACC who guide/mentor/connect with them individually each week. They have student PACE alumni who mentor/coach them as well.
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The 4 ACC classes they attend each semester only have the UT PACE students in them and are at the Rio Grande Campus 1 mile from the south edge of UT’s campus. There were no more than 36 students in each class, so individual attention on the core courses are much more possible than in UT’s classes with hundreds of students in them. These four classes cost my son $1,100 per semester.
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There are 2 classes they take at UT each semester. One is the PACE class. It is free. In it they meet together kind of like a FIG (First Year Interest Group). They learn time management, skills for using UT resources, draft resumes, learn to craft an elevator speech, research internships, etc. It is an extremely valuable group. The other class they take is the UGS signature course or an elective. The part-time cost of that one class is based on COLA prices. It was just under $2,300 per semester his year.
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PACE students can live in UT dorms and participate in everything that UT has to offer, except official UT Athletics.
In the spring, if your first semester meets the GPA requirements, they fill out a transfer application for your major. My son transferred into Advertising at the Moody College of Communication. He was able to also participate in the ‘Texas Creative’ and ‘Texas Immersive’ portfolio programs. He is set to graduate on time.
I cannot recommend this program enough. It really assists the students to transition to such a large university in a fantastic way.