Transfer to UT Austin.. several complicated questions

Transfer Students
1

<p>1) Is UT right for me, and, if not, what other university might be? </p>

<p>I'm a freshman and my major is philosophy, with the ultimate goal of going to a T20+ law school. I'm going to a private university in Texas. I'm interested in transferring to UT for the following reasons:</p>

<ul>
<li>cheap, which is especially important considering law school will cost 160k+</li>
<li>better course selection</li>
<li>in Texas</li>
<li>their law school is ranked 16th, and if T14 is out of the question, UT law would be an easy transition</li>
<li>my school doesn't have a large course selection</li>
<li>my school is faith-based, and I'm an atheist (yes, I knew of this when I applied; transferring to <em>any other school</em> was my goal from the beginning)</li>
</ul>

<p>However, there are a few reasons why I'm skeptical:</p>

<ul>
<li>large campus--I don't know how to ride a bike, and don't want to pay for a car. Could I potentially get a scooter?</li>
<li>athletics--I work out in my spare time, but couldn't care less about sports... UT's gung-ho attitude towards football is legendary.</li>
<li>42 hour core curriculum - in addition to Chinese, I'd also like to take Latin and German, but UT's course selection doesn't permit for a whole lot of extra courses, and I can't overload myself with more than 15-16 hours or I'll risk getting something lower than an A.</li>
</ul>

<p>I'm perfectly comfortable with not having a social life due to academics (though it's a pipe dream, U of Chicago's "where fun comes to die" slogan appealed to me), though I'm mostly concerned with price, course selection, and grades.</p>

<p>2) What are my chances?</p>

<p>Here are my stats:</p>

<p>HS GPA: 3.75 unweighted (or so), top 15% (around 1 point off from top 10%)
SAT: R580 (anomalous) M450 W670
HS EC: Debate
AP: USGovt 3 (was my first AP test; accidentally wrote the whole essay portion in pencil, which probably contributed to a lower score) EnglishLit 3</p>

<p>College GPA: 3.8 to 4.0, though it looks like 4.0 since our school doesn't use a point system for classes and just assigns letter grades. I chose the bulk of my courses because they're transferable to UT.
College ECs: None (I haven't seen anything I'm interested in, and I've been told from many top applicants that law schools generally place little to no weight on ECs. The closest I've come to an EC is dabbling with a club based around an artificial language, which hasn't even gotten off the ground yet due to a lack of members.)
LOR: My professors generally have a positive opinion of me, so it shouldn't be difficult to get a good letter of recommendation.</p>

<p>Current courses: Chinese, US History, Intro to Phil, Intro to Bio, English Comp
Second semester courses: Chinese (part 2), US History (part 2), Intro to Bio (part 2), English Comp (part 2), not sure about the last one</p>

<p>The CR score is an anomaly; I scored 670 on my first timed practice test from the official book and 690 recently on an untimed test. I'm still concerned about raising it and writing above 700 each, though, because I feel like it's possible to reach a maximum of 730-750 or so with enough practice and luck. (Above that, it seems like pure luck as there's usually about 4-5 questions on every CR that are subjective/arguable, and I usually miss at least 2 due to esoteric vocabulary.)</p>

<p>However, the math score is a major issue, as, according to this: <a href="http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=2321&profileId=6%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/CollegeDetail.jsp?collegeId=2321&profileId=6&lt;/a> it's way below UT's average math score. The reason behind the math score is because I had a lacking math education from middle school until junior year, which is around when I started caring about my grades. I'm currently prepping to take the SAT again in November, but I'm not sure if I can make up for 5 years of very little math in a month--the majority of my trouble seems to be from "8th grade math" and geometry problems, as I'm able to complete most of the algebra-based ones without much effort.</p>

<p>3) To those that know anything about how UT's transfers work, should I take a math remedial course?</p>

<p>The remedial course would not be transferable, and UT demands "30 hours of transferable credit". Since UT has a required math course, and I'm likely not going to get a stellar math score on my SAT retake, this course would probably help me. The highest math I've had is a non-honors Algebra II course in high school. There is a "college algebra" course I can take if my math score is >550, but it's not transferable to UT.</p>

<p>4) When should I apply, especially given that I'll be taking summer courses and if I take the remedial course I won't have 30 hours of transferable credit until the summer?</p>

<p>5) Will people think I'm an idiot?</p>

<p>That is, even if I did get in with my current math SAT, would I be considered an idiot by virtually everyone at UT, and even moreso if I was accepted to a better college?</p>

<p>Finally: I realize my SATs are awful compared to everyone else here, and I've regretted my mathematical background on an almost daily basis since my first SAT session, so I understand that it's bad.</p>

<p>Thanks for any and all answers/advice.</p>

2

<p>bump.</p>

<p>(new account; accidentally overwrote the file with this account's password in it.)</p>

3

<p>Bump, again...</p>

4

<p>I suspect you didn't get any response since your post is incredibly long and your questions very specific. I have had a fair amount of experience with UT and their transfer process so I hope that I can help. </p>

<p>1) UT might be right for you. I can't give you a definitive yes or no, but I can answer some of your questions.</p>

<p>The UT campus is really not that large. You can easily walk all over campus without a problem. Depending on where you live you might want a bike, but it certainly isn't necessary. A scooter is always an option, but you cannot drive up to your classes; you must park in designated areas. It's definitely not as convenient as a bike. Learning to ride a bike isn't to difficult.</p>

<p>You don't have to care about sports to fit in at UT. There are many students who couldn't care less.</p>

<p>I wouldn't worry about the requirements in the College of Liberal arts, especially given the courses you have taken/are taking. Seems like you a fair amount of them already knocked out. Unfortunately, your AP scores are too low to count for credit.</p>

<p>You can expect UT to cost you approximately 8k in base tuition per year. Unfortunately the cost of living around campus is fairly high.</p>

<p>2) Your chances are quite good. UT-Austin does not consider SAT scores or HS transcript for transfer admission; only your college GPA, LOR, and Essays will be considered. I'm not sure how your situation regarding math changes things, but with 3.8 or 4.0 your chances are great otherwise.</p>

<p>3) I can't help you here as I have no experience in this department. Best thing for you to do is to contact a transfer admission counselor and ask.</p>

<p>4) You cannot apply until you have 30 hours of transferable course work or will have 30 hours of transferable course work. You're best off applying to UT as early as you can. Once you're there you won't have to worry about courses transferring. Again you should really ask an admissions counselor about this.</p>

<p>5) People won't think you’re an idiot. </p>

<p>There is an admissions counselor named Blake who is incredibly helpful. You should be able to reach him at the transfer admissions office in Austin. The number is 512-475-7387.</p>

<p>If you have any more questions about UT-Austin, feel free to ask.</p>

5

<p>Wow, your post was extremely helpful, thanks! I know my original post was huge/specific, and I wasn't in a hurry for responses for that reason. No further questions--you answered all of them. Again, thanks for your very helpful reply.</p>

6

<p>@noct: I am a freshman looking to transfer to UT austin. I will be completing UTs requirement of 30 semester hours at the end of my freshman year. could you please tell me as to when I should apply? after Ive completed the 30 semester hours(in sophomore year and enroll in junior year?) or should I apply now as I will have the 30 semester hours at the end of my freshman year?</p>