<p>So, what is this school like....</p>
<p>My children attend UTD and I don’t mind answering questions. Could you be a bit more specific?</p>
<p>I got a full tuition scholarship to UT Dallas. How are the academics at UTD- are they very demanding if you’re in the Collegium V Honors Program? If you’re not in the honors program?</p>
<p>How is the geography/geospatial science program? That is what I’m majoring in. </p>
<p>would you choose Texas A&M or UT Austin with no scholarship over UT Dallas with full tuition scholarship?</p>
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<p>Only you can decide the answer to that question. </p>
<p>None of my three applied to UT Austin - no interest, really. (One now attends UT Law and has said “no regrets” re not applying undergraduate.)</p>
<p>Two applied to A&M and were accepted. One of the two - NMF - received a substantial scholarship offer.</p>
<p>I think partly the size of UT Austin and A&M influenced the decision. A lack of interest in football played a part.</p>
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No idea.</p>
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<p>The academics have been demanding. I imagine it depends on the major and course selection, as to how demanding at any given time.</p>
<p>The CV Honors Program offers certain classes each semester. I know my freshman took one CV course first semester and takes another this semester. Both fulfill a core course requirement.</p>
<p>How does Dallas compare to Austin? Why would one choose one over the other?</p>
<p>UTD is not in Dallas but in Richardson (family friendly suburb). The campus is a lot smaller and the buildings more on the modern side (basically not pretty in the ivy-covered-sense). They recently have spent some money on major landscaping & trees. It is in the “Telecom Corridor” with tech companies such as Texas Instruments, Nortel, Alcatel, supposedly good co-op programs established. Originally founded by TI people first as a research center, then became a commuter school, it has evolved into a true university, and continuing aggressively so to become competitively attractive to top students. The engineering/ computer science programs are considered very strong & competitive. There is a freshman-only dorm (only one year old). The other on campus housing is apartment style. Reportedly, for the size of the school, good basketball and chess teams. No football.</p>
<p>UT Austin is pretty much in the heart of downtown. Completely different setting than UTD, but probably more in line of what you envision a college campus to look like. It is a flagship school and huge compared to UTD. I can only guess that weekends/nightlife would be more vibrant. Austin is in Texas’ Hill Country so more natural greenery.</p>
<p>My S was accepted at both schools for engineering however he chose UTD where he is getting a NMF scholarship. If we had to pay for both, maybe he would choose UT Austin. His dad & I are thinking that at UTD there would be less distractions.</p>
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<p>Ditto.</p>
<p>I now have children in both Austin and at UTD. </p>
<p>UTD offers good scholarship packages - and that definitely attracts good students who plan to later attend medical school, law school, etc. Beyond that, none of my children applied to UT Austin undergraduate. The size of the school deterred them at the time. None particularly cared about college football or Greek life. Friends who chose UT Austin looked forward to aspects of college life that just didn’t interest mine.</p>
<p>My UT Austin student (undergraduate degree from UTD) loves Austin. However, she recently remarked that UT Austin would have not been the best choice for her as a freshman in college. She liked the feel of a smaller university.</p>
<p>I guess the major distinction between the two cities lies in the fact that UT and Austin, TX, intertwine enough as to be almost one. No one could say the same for UTD or SMU in Dallas or, for that matter, Rice in Houston.</p>
<p>Some students want the college scene that UT Austin exudes and others find it less what they want.</p>
<p>If you want the college experience, don’t go to UTD.
But if you want to feel like you are learning an immense amount, enroll.</p>
<p>RE: “Reportedly, for the size of the school, good basketball and chess teams”</p>
<p>“for the size of the school”? Sorry, the condescension doesn’t work in this instance.</p>
<p>UTD are national champions/US Open champions in chess, beating the likes of Harvard, etc.</p>
<p>See </p>
<p>[Chess</a> Program - The University of Texas at Dallas](<a href=“http://www.utdallas.edu/chess/]Chess”>Chess at UT Dallas)</p>
<p>People often remark that other universities like UT Austin or A&M have more “name recognition” and that it is easier to get jobs. Honestly, with the number of recruiters that flock to our campus, I don’t think it matters that much. Employers don’t care how many conference titles in football your team has won. Besides that, UT and A&M…while they may have great reach in Texas, aren’t going to win you any brownie points when you are trying to nail a job at an investment firm in New York and your competition went to Columbia, Yale, Penn and Brown or even UC Berkley for that matter. If you are serious…go to UTD…if you wanna play for a couple of years…go somewhere else.</p>
<p>You can think that all you want. </p>
<p>But UTD is FOR SURE looked down on, compared to say UT, or SMU.</p>
<p>When I’ve gone to an interview…the HR person always remarks “UT-Dallas, wow, that’s a tough school.” It is assumed that if you graduate from there, you are not a slacker.</p>
<p>SMU? If I’m only looking for a job in Dallas at companies owned by SMU alum, sure that’s a great choice. Few people outside of DFW care about SMU’s pedigree. As for UT-Austin…great school and reputation wise it is “better” than UTD. However, there are far too many recruiters coming to Comet-Land to convince me that none of them are interested in that UT-Dallas pedigree.</p>
<p>This is why the UC system kicks our a**. Instead of encouraging other schools to rise up and challenge A&M, UT and Rice’s hegemony, people in this state seem to want their “dominance” to continue. It is not a zero-sum game. UTD can be an excellent school and it doesn’t take anything away from everyone’s precious Horns or Aggies. Some students are not driven by football team rankings, Greek Life and Animal House re-enactments. Some students just want to go to school, learn, join some organizations, volunteer and be prepared for the next stage in their lives.</p>
<p>well said! this is why the tier one bill was so important for utd. utd students are hard working smart people. its time for others to realize that too instead of looking down on utd because it’s not ut austin.</p>