<p>Hi everyone,</p>
<p>I am an international student who currently am on exchange from Germany to LSU i Baton Rouge, LA. I am a senior student in Petroleum Engineering, with specialization in Drilling. Some days ago I got an invitation from University of Texas at Austin to come and take my last semester on exchange with them (spring 2012). My plan was to stay here at LSU until May 2012.</p>
<p>This is really hard for me to make a decision on. UT Austin is a very good school on Petroleum Engineering and Austin seems like a cool city. At the same time I have friends here at LSU, I know the system and the professors here and so on. In addition I would have to do quite a lot paperwork and also physically move my stuff from Baton Rouge to Austin.</p>
<p>It is a big dilemma for me, and I don't want to make a decision I will regret on in the future. UT Austin is a hard offer to turn down.</p>
<p>I really need some help and advices with this decision! Thank you!</p>
<p>Best regards</p>
<p>I don’t know much about petroleum engineering programs, but if your best reason to not pursue something is the hassle of packing up your stuff and filling out some forms, you should most definitely do it.</p>
<p>Well, yeah…I dont know. Of course, it is not that much stress to fill out some forms and move my stuff some miles west to Austin. At the same time I am asking myself if it’s worth the stress at all - does it matter for future employees in Germany that I have studied a semester at UT instead of LSU? Would I have a much better time in Austin than in Baton Rouge? I don’t know…</p>
<p>It takes some time to build relationships with people, and I was kinda looking forward to just come back to LSU to the people I now know. In Austin I would have to make new friends, new connections and so on…but at the same time I would expand my network, which is great.</p>
<p>What I mostly think of is;
Where do I get best academic outcome?
Will it be that much better in Austin and at UT to be worth the stress with moving from LSU?
Will I regret if I don’t use the offer to come to UT?
Will I regret if I go to Austin and it turns out not to be that big of a difference and not that cool, and perhaps I get worse grades because the school is harder?</p>
<p>Hmm, give me advices 
Thanks! :)</p>
<p>Bump. I still need advices 
I have been thinking of this dilemma every day now since last time I posted here. Pros and cons have been set up, but I still cant decide.</p>
<p>UT offers better courses for me for the spring, but the courses offered at LSU are not that bad either. I dont know if its worth all the paperwork and stress to move, but I might regret if I dont take the opportunity.</p>
<p>Another thing Ive been thinking of is that LSU and Baton Rouge actually is located in a pretty nice area - it is close to New Orleans, which is awesome, its close to pretty beaches in Florida, and its at the same time close to Texas.</p>
<p>Austin I feel is located more in the middle of nowhere, with only San Antonio, Houston and Dallas close enough to take a weekend trip. And the two last cities are not that good! But Austin as a city is probably better than Baton Rouge.</p>
<p>Have you got some suggestions or advices? I need help and input </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Just to clarify: you’re talking about an exchange program for one semester. You won’t get a UT-Austin degree, right? Austin is a fun city, but if it’s too much of a hassle for you to uproot and move for a semester you’re not going to be missing out on much. One thing to keep in mind is a lot of colleges have senior year “residency” requirements for your degree. LSU may require you finish your last semester at LSU. If that’s the case, I would skip the semester at UT-Austin. Petroleum engineers are in high demand and there will likely be no difference in pay graduating from LSU whether or not you spent a semester at UT-Austin…and surely employers aren’t going to pay you more because of it. </p>
<p>It sounds like too much stress and uncertainty for a semester…I’d skip it.</p>
<p>Yes, it is an exchange program for one semester, and I will not get a UT Austin degree. The main reason I am thinking of doing it is mainly because that Austin offers better courses that are more relevant to my flow chart in Germany, and also maybe more interesting personally. And Austin is also a bigger and better city than Baton Rouge, where LSU is located.</p>
<p>Probably it will not matter if I take last semester at UT vs LSU with thougts of paying and job oportunities, especially since I am only here on exchange and get no degree. But at the same time it will be an opportunity to see and live another place in the US and I might regret if I dont accept the offer. Or I might end up having a real good time here in Baton Rouge for the spring semester, and not regret staying here at all. Who knows…and that is what makes it so difficult!</p>
<p>But yes, I guess it has to be worth the hassle and extra stress to move to Austin, and it might not be…:/</p>