<p>"I'd really be interested to know how it all shook out this year."</p>
<p>The answer is in Table 2 of the same report, 64% of all admissions were top-10%. If you make that call, you might want to talk to someone besides the one who said it was 76% this year.</p>
<p>So far we haven't debated the merits of anything except the citation of unverifiable, and wrong, facts, whose alleged source is somebody with a horse in the race (the UT Admissions Office which hates the top-10% rule).</p>
<p>It's not my choice, and I know zip about the biology program at either school, and I don't really mind all the Penn State boosterism here. But if I had to rate Austin TX and State College PA on a 10-point scale as a place to hang out for a few years, Austin would be a 9 and State College a 4 or 5.</p>
<p>I lived in Austin and the first thing you learn about Texas is everyone is Texan first and anything else second. Texans are unique and either you like the style or not. </p>
<p>As to the quality of UT and PSU--overall they are far better than anything in NJ. Beautiful campuses with a good vibe. The education is far above just OK. Many depts are both are excellent--especially in sciences and engineering.</p>
<p>So Rutgers at $4K/semester is worse than $8500/semester for out-of-state at UT or Penn State at $11K/semester for out-of-state? Sorry, I'm not buying that. Rutgers is fine, OP says he's pre-med and will need to pay for that, and the differences between the schools are just not that great. </p>
<p>ANother poster mentioned the Honors College at UT. Great! There are Honors Colleges at PSU and Rutgers too.</p>
<p>A. Nowhere did OP say cost was an issue. For some people it is not and NJ is a very wealthy state so.......</p>
<p>B.I think the overall environment at PSU and UT is worth some $$$. How much is up to the buyer. And the checkbook balance.</p>
<p>C. I have been to all three of these schools several times. Lived in Austin, NJ raised with brother a RU grad, friends at PSU as well as football roadtrips.</p>
<p>Sorry, but Rutgers is great. There is nothing that you will find at UT or PSU that you can't find at Rutgers. Maybe you can't find the history of Rutgers at UT or PSU, though...</p>
<p>Opportunities in the life sciences are huge at Rutgers... Rutgers really focuses a lot of research in the biological and medical sciences. I would visit Rutgers before you rule it out... it's probably different than you think. The honors program is great... attend one of the Scholar's days in the spring to get a feel for the program. You will have the opportunity to take small classes and live with students similarily focused as you are. If you just care about academics, the difference in quality is not substantial enough to warrant paying anything over $1000/yr more.</p>
<p>And a degree from Rutgers, PSU, or UT won't look different to a future employer or grad school if you accomplish the same things (which you are able to at any of these schools).</p>
<p>UT and PSU have very nice integrated campuses in nice college towns. RU certainly is lacking in this. Weekends at UT and PSU are lively and most kids stay. Not true at RU where most students go home. There is no 6th Street in NB. Academically you can find everything you need at all three but the amenities are clearly different.</p>
<p>dt - oooo...snarky!</p>
<p>I don't think Admissions was being deliberately misleading and there must be some veracity to what they say publicly to people like me who request data. I have to think there must be a measurement issue, but I just do not know. In my opinion, related to the OP's question, UT is more difficult than many other state universities for oos candidates because of state laws. That is just fact. Whether or not we agree, or the UT Admissions office agrees, that the law serves the citizens of the State of Texas is beside the point. </p>
<p>Maybe it's time to create yet another top 10% law thread (not). :) I do apologize, I thought you were another poster who was very entrenched in their opinion with whom I had previously tangled. Not that entrenchment is necessarily bad...I'm pretty firm in my beliefs regarding the law as well, especially with respect to the conduct of our Valley senators on the issue.</p>
<p>Just found this interesting article, from last year...and it does corroborate the percentages that you found at the UT website, both admitted and enrolled. It's pretty fair assessment of both sides of the issue. But one thing not covered is why the compromise bill died in the Senate...which was due to quashing of all discussion. </p>
<p>Any...fyi dt...</p>
<p>Rutgers may have some appeal to a NJ resident due to the tuition, but it is simply not in the same category as Penn State or UTexas (I can't say UT anymore since I moved to Tennessee!). I am familiar with all three schools, and I'm not going to get in a pi$$ing contest about Rutgers, but the list of advantages of the two big Us is quite long. I would give Texas the slight edge over Penn State, even though I did not want S to attend (too big).</p>
<p>Rutgers is currently in a serious financial crunch due to state cut-backs. Staff will be laid off, libraries will have shorter hours and classes will be canceled (increasing class size for all). Tennis, swimming and fencing teams have been cut. It doesn't sound like a bright picture and I think this can scare students away. Plus campus life is VERY different -as mentioned before, many students go home on weekends.
I don't know much about UT other than the fact that it's big and has an excellent reputation in many areas. Penn State has a fabulous honors college and excellent Eng, Business and Science programs (among others). They have a competitive accelerated pre-med program as well (very hard to get into). The students are friendly and spirited, the college town atmosphere is great. Drinking is big - but I'm sure that's true at UT as well. Comes down to personal preference after visiting both campuses. Only you can decide.</p>
<p>Barrons, your speculations on post #21 are accurate.</p>
<p>Now, I wasn't hoping for a string of arguments, so I guess this thread is past for me.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone.</p>
<p>Subvert the argument and go to Wisconsin, Better than all mentioned in biosciences, chemistry and the excellent med school is on site for getting in that volunteer time. More interesting diverse student body and top college town. You can skip the football.. and do hockey or basketball.</p>
<p>One of the bothersome things IMHO is do you really want to go to a college as a small OOS "minority" which you would be at Texas vs. PSU. This issue came up for my D two years ago when she really wanted to attend an OOS flagship, and the thinking was places like Florida, Illinois and UCLA would be too state-centric, and places with larger OOS percentages starting with UNC on up would be less so.</p>
<p>That was an issue for my son as well. PSU and UT-A have two of the most highly regarded programs in his intended major. According to collegeboard.com, UTA is 95% Texan. He had a hard time seeing himself there. </p>
<p>BHG, the most majestic trees on the PSU campus are American Elms; remarkable because so many of the trees were wiped out by Dutch elm disease in the first half of the twentieth century. I believe University Park has more elms than any other college campus.</p>
<p>dudedad - my d can vouch for your assessment of UNC-CH. Though she is among the only 18% oos population at UNC, the school feels very diverse to her and she says you completely forget that most students are from North Carolina. I think mindset more than actual percentages determine tone or 'feel' of a campus. UNC-CH kids, regardless of their in-state or oos status, are sharp, open-minded and not real hung up on their state as being an integral part of their identity. </p>
<p>Again, you will get a respected degree at UT-Austin and grad/med schools will take you seriously. Definitely not putting UT down at all...it is a great school.</p>