<p>My goal: Med school</p>
<p>I want to attend the best college in Texas.</p>
<p>Getting accepted isn't a problem but is UT one of the top texas schools?</p>
<p>What about prarie view A&M?</p>
<p>um … i am pretty sure UT is better than prairie view!</p>
<p>what are the stats for prairie view students getting accepted to med school?</p>
<p>it will most likely be more difficult to get a high GPA at UT for med school consideration.</p>
<p>So UT has difficult course work?</p>
<p>Does it look better to go to… let’s say Prarie view and earn a 3.8 GPA or UT with a 3.2-3.5?</p>
<p>LonghornChick, see this recent thread on premed programs in Texas:</p>
<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/874152-best-colleges-go-pre-med-texas.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/pre-med-topics/874152-best-colleges-go-pre-med-texas.html</a></p>
<p>One of the best pieces of advice on the thread was to look at the med school websites to see where their students completed their undergraduate work. The posted link to Southwestern showed zero students from Prairie View. </p>
<p>Prairie View was not properly supported by the state until recent years. While it continues to improve, it still has a long way to go. There is no academic program at Prairie View that could be considered “the best” in Texas. </p>
<p>LonghornChick, I almost replied to your post with, “You’re a ■■■■■, you’re just posting this to see if you can get a reaction out of folks.” Why? Because there’s a pretty significant disconnect between what you claim–you have what it takes to get into UT and your aim is the best premed program in Texas–and your professed ignorance of the comparable curricular rigor and reputation of UT, Prairie View and other Texas schools. Either you are jerking our chains OR you’re clueless and have failed to do any research whatsoever. If the latter, I do wonder whether your confidence about UT admission is well-founded. And I’m very skeptical you have what it takes to get through medical school. </p>
<p>I wish you the best and hope you prove me wrong. I do believe dreams come true…but only when people work hard enough to make them come true. </p>
<p>-mom and UT alum</p>
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<p>Yes, UT is one of the top schools in TX. The designation of the best would be between UT and Rice, depending on the criteria used. You stated you wanted to attend the best school in TX. Where did you come up with Prairie View A&M? There are SO many schools better than that in TX. </p>
<p>Is the UT course work difficult? It is a huge university and there is a great deal of variation between professors. The difficulty will also depend on your background. There is no definitive answer to this question. However, I feel safe in stating you will find the work much more challenging here than at PVA&M. As far as how much benefit there is to UT over PVA&M regarding GPA, try the med school forum on this site. I’m sure there will be some posters there with good information for you.</p>
<p>i know praire view isn’t one of the best but that’s a school i’ve wanted to attend for awhile. i am not a ■■■■■ i am simply not informed very well.
thank u for your time</p>
<p>Yeah UT definately tops Prairie View.
I would compare Texas to TAMU and Baylor.
IMO, Rice, I feel, is in a different league. It’s the best school IN Texas.
TCU and SMU are also some great schools in Texas.</p>
<p>LonghornChick, reading all of your posts together, I have to agree you are “not informed very well.” You need to get up to speed, fast! Here’s a checklist of resources you need to tap and issues you need to consider in order to get started:</p>
<ol>
<li>Your high school situation is unclear. You indicate you are currently attending a school where you are the presumptive valedictorian (thus top 8% for UT admission). However, you also suggest you are transferring to another HS for senior year–in which event, considering your present GPA, it’s very possible you will NOT graduate within the top 8% or 10% for auto-admission to Texas’ top publics. Getting the proper credits when transfering can be tricky, too–study the Recommended graduation plan (double-check the Distinguished track–it doesn’t sound like your present school’s curriculum makes you eligible?). </li>
</ol>
<p>It’s critical that you investigate the pros/cons of senior year transfer. It sounds like you’d be trading guaranteed admission (if that’s a sure thing–please be sure graduates of your seemingly non-traditional school are eligible, as not every HS qualifies for auto-admission) to Texas’ top schools (UT, TAMU) for 1 year of possibly improved HS experience + 4 years of college at a good school, but not Texas’ top schools. </p>
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<ol>
<li>Conduct your own crash course on the college application process by surfing for info, e.g., [High</a> School Juniors - college admissions guide - campus visits and college interviews - SAT tests](<a href=“College Board - SAT, AP, College Search and Admission Tools”>How to Start Planning for College in 11th Grade - College Board Blog)</li>
</ol>
<p>I’d specifically recommend you go to counseling section of the website of the HS to which you may transfer–often, Texas HS counselors publish helpful “how to” articles and timelines. If that HS’s website doesn’t have much helpful info, go to the websites of a few well-known big ones, e.g., Lamar and Bellaire in Houston, Highland Park and Plano in Dallas, Westlake in Austin, etc. </p>
<p>This should help you become acquainted with the concepts, lingo, timeline, etc. Pay attention to what issues may or may not apply to you–grades/rank, testing you need to complete, when the rigor of your curriculum would be an issue, what are your extracurriculars/explaining how you have filled your after-school time the past 3 years, leadership, community service, etc.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How will you afford college? It is critical to discuss this with your family now so that if financial aid is required, you will pay attention to all of the financial aid info you read and learn about the types of assistance, how you qualify, documents required, timeline, etc. </p></li>
<li><p>Sentimental favorite (PVAM) vs. “best” (for now, start with publics-UT & TAMU, private-Rice) - This is a dilemma that faces many students. You don’t need to resolve it now! Wait until the very end of the process to see what college admissions you have earned–by then, you will have learned a lot more about the different schools and yourself, too. Note, also, that PVAM has an affiliation with TAMU–I don’t know much about it and how that might enhance your premed/med plans, but YOU can learn about it by…</p></li>
<li><p>Now, go to those 4 college websites and read, take notes, learn. Create a My Colleges spreadsheet with info about these 4 schools (to start–easy to add more schools later) and record facts that are important to you for comparison purposes (e.g., school size, premed info, housing for first years, social life, extracurriculars, etc.) and for application purposes (e.g., application due date, financial aid due date, housing due date, etc.). Spend a lot of time in the Admissions section. Learn what is required. Look at the profile of the admitted 2009-10 class (this year’s freshmen) and note the test score, GPA and rank statistics, sometimes reported as the average, other times reported as the middle 50%. </p></li>
<li><p>The good news is, for Texas public colleges, you only have to fill out one application! Go to the Texas common app website–it’s called Apply Texas–and create a profile, take advantage of their search tools and download a copy of the 2011 application if it’s up, or 2010 as an exemplar if it’s not. Fill out a draft now! That exercise will show you exactly what unfinished business you need to complete between now and the due date.</p></li>
<li><p>You can take the May or June SAT for free! See,
[Texas</a> Juniors to Take the SAT® for Free This Spring](<a href=“http://connection-collegeboard.com/home/southwestern/335-texas-juniors-to-take-the-satr-for-free-this-spring]Texas”>http://connection-collegeboard.com/home/southwestern/335-texas-juniors-to-take-the-satr-for-free-this-spring)</p></li>
<li><p>You need to find an adult who can help you with this process. It’s unclear what counseling is currently available to you, but the person serving in that role during your senior year will have to provide a minimum level of assistance because the colleges look to that adult for documents and other information to support your application. If you don’t have a good working relationship with that person, then you will need to find someone who can provide overall guidance and help you identify and evaluate issues–for one, the contemplated transfer. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>In that regard, you need to make an appointment ASAP with a counselor at that HS and come prepared with your transcript and a list of questions based on having researched everything above. Note that counselors often have heavy workloads, so be prepared in case this person seems rushed and reluctant to spend much time with you–prioritize your list of questions beginning with most critical first (start with transfer issues and then lead into college app questions), and if the session is cut off before all questions are answered, ask the counselor if you can make a follow-up appointment or if they can recommend another resource for you. </p>
<p>Also, is there a community college nearby? Texas community colleges often have many resources available to the community, not just enrolled students. I have seen a community college center designed for young people that is a combined college admission/career center–stocked with all sorts of books and computer programs, as well as people resources, designed to help you wade through the process and also presented in the context of identifying possible careers. Perhaps that’s something you can easily access.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Get out there this spring and make some road trips to visit these campuses! Before you go, check the Admission website for admission office hours, tours, info sessions, etc. Check the college events calendar for athletics, fine arts and other events on campus during your visit. Can you meet with a premed advisor? Maybe you can attend a premed student association meeting? </p></li>
<li><p>Take charge of this process–it’s your future, after all–and don’t be afraid to make phone calls, send emails, ask questions, seek appointments and assert yourself in exploring what’s out there for you. These forums are helpful to a point–when you have a specific question, don’t waste your time asking here, and for sure, don’t rely on what some faceless Internet geek says. Always go to the website or paper literature first, and if you don’t have a clear answer after that, call or email the {college, College Board, Apply Texas, etc.}.</p></li>
</ol>
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<p>The good news is, it’s not too late! You can do this!</p>
<p>thank you SO much for your answer. i really appreciate it</p>
<p>This is a ■■■■■. Don’t feed it. You can’t live in Texas without knowing from the age of 3 just about everything there is to know about UT.</p>
<p>MOWC, you are probably right…I stated as such in both of my posts…but there’s always that haunting, “What if…?” </p>
<p>I would rather have wasted 30 minutes of my time & been made a fool than walked away from a kid who just needed a leg-up. It’s not hard to find Texas kids as clueless as the OP. Your children and my children are hardly representative.</p>
<p>:( omg i am not a ■■■■■. honest!! I moved to Texas three years ago. I moved from houston to San Antonio last year.
i swear</p>
<p>who in their righ mind would ■■■■■ a college site??
It would be a huge waste of time.
thanks again for your time everyone</p>