UH, UTD, or FSU?

State Forums
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<p>Hey everyone, I have a long and tough dilemma to explain. Basically, I'm pretty torn between UH, UTD, and FSU. Now, ultimately, my goal is to work for a government organization -- such as the FBI, CIA, etc. I hope to do detective work. </p>

<p>I got into UH for accounting, with a scholarship (4500 a year), and also got into The Honors College. (Chose accounting because I could potentially do detective work on financial fraud in the future). I did a campus visit this past Monday and thought the campus was just so-so; I didn't absolutely fall in love with the campus, but I didn't hate it either. Melcher Hall was nice. I'm thinking that UH is the most sensible option right now since it's affordable, and I got into honors. I'm not too sure of how happy I'd be there though, and does the Bauer College of Business have a good reputation around the US?</p>

<p>I got into UT Dallas and Florida State for criminology. Was choosing criminology a bad decision? Is it a useless major? I fear that if I end up not working for a government agency, my degree would be useless, unlike a more versatile accounting degree. I COULD switch majors after my first year, though. I'm going to visit UT Dallas by spring break at the latest, and I don't think I'll be able to visit FSU since that'd be a really expensive visit. </p>

<p>How reputable is UT Dallas in general? Namely, their criminology program and their undergraduate business school? UT Dallas gave me $6000 a year; even more than Houston! I didn't apply to their honors program though, and I think it's too late now.</p>

<p>From my gut feeling (which I tend to follow), I feel like I'd be happy at Florida State, and their offer of admission will be very hard to pass up since the university is one of the best in the nation for criminology. BUT: the out of state tuition is a bit worrisome (20K a year). Also, what if I end up not liking criminology? I'd end up switching to business, most likely...but then I'd might as well have stayed in state for undergraduate business, right? </p>

<p>So I guess my main questions are: Should I just go to UH for accounting since it's obviously the most sensible choice, and if I hate it there, transfer out? Or should I pick the school that I think I'd be happiest at, and just find ways to pay for it? FSU's OOS tuition isn't THAT bad compared to schools in like, California, but I don't know if that much more debt would be worth it for an undergrad degree. If I chose FSU, and later switched majors to do business, would FSU even be worth it anymore?</p>

<p>Thanks for reading my long post, I appreciate ALL input.</p>

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<p>If you’re interested in working for the government, try to find out what sort of degrees the people have. You’ve already identified accounting as a legitimate alternative to criminology. I know the CIA, FBI, and NSA all take liberal arts majors. You might start by looking at the internship requirements posted for the various agencies. </p>

<p>I have no idea what UTD’s reputation is criminology. I do know that it’s rapidly developing it’s reputation in technical areas. An advantage of UTD is that I think most federal agencies in Texas are located in Dallas (GAO, Fed Reserve) and might provide you with more intern/career contacts. </p>

<p>Contact all the career centers at the schools and ask if any of the agencies you’re interested in actively recruit at the school. Or maybe even if they have been able to place people in such jobs.</p>

<p>As for majors, I would say accounting is far more useful than criminology in general. As for criminology versus something else you really need to see what sort of advantage people with the degree have in getting jobs in the field. </p>

<p>Given that you’re looking at working for the government (at least initially) I would be leery of just going to the school that you’re “happiest at” (especially since you haven’t had a chance to visit) and trying to pay for it. Loans add up. Like you said, you can always transfer out of UH and you should check with UTD to see if the honors program accepts people after the first semester.</p>

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<p>Thank you, Sadilly! I’m probably gonna just go to UH – I feel like it’s the safest choice even if the campus is a bit deader compared to the other two schools. UT Dallas does accept honors applications after the first semester.</p>