<p>I was wondering which school I would mesh with the best. I’m pretty friendly and like to have fun, and I want to meet lots of different people. I’m a diverse person, and I love trying new things. The country part of the south always appealed to me a lot(swimming in lakes, pick-up trucks,etc), and I really want to experience that. The southern prep/country club part has always been unappealing to me. I love music and concerts, specifically rock,punk, and country. I’m athletic and like doing things outdoors. I also really like clothes and shopping. I’m pretty independent, and I like the excitement of the city. Sorry this is so long haha.</p>
<p>You like the rural aspects of the South and the excitement of the big city? It could be rather hard to find a college that fits the profile of both.</p>
<p>Have you applied? Have you been accepted? Awarded any merit scholarships? Will you soon visit?</p>
<p>What major are you considering? Ultimately, that’s the single most important thing, since you want to go to the school that is best for your major. (Although many other factors are important too.)</p>
<p>I can only speak about UT and UA</p>
<p>UT in Austin is a HUGE school and very much a part of Austin. Just one particular dorm at UT has it’s very own zip code. You also have the capital for the state in very close proximity of the campus and makes Austin feel more “business” than college town like Tuscaloosa. It does not feel as “college town” as Tuscaloosa and a much bigger ciity and a LOT of traffic. Getting to Dallas from Austin at Thanksgiving can take 10 hours and it is normally only a max 4 hour drive. One thing that turned my D off from UT is that when you go to declare your major for your junior year you better have some alternates. You may not get your first choice as they have a ceiling on how many people are accepted into each major. So unless you get accepted into say the Business school right off your freshman year, picking UT based on your major is NOT a good idea. UT is much more diverse than UA when it comes to the student body. Both schools have a great following of alumni and fans. One joke for Austin is that the area has the most educated people in the service industry. You will find people that went to UT and liked Austin so much they stayed even if it means working as waitstaff in the restaurants and not going into the field of their studies. It is not uncommon to find out the guy waiting on you was once a professor at UT. Austin also hosts a great music scene and has the annual South By Southwest event, SXSW. Austin can also be somewhat eccentric, hence the slogan, “Keep Austin Weird”.</p>
<p>UA, as I mentioned the student body is not as diverse as UT but it is not “lily white” either. It has a much more “Southern” feel than UT. While Tuscaloosa is a nice sized town/city it is not near as crowded as Austin. I don’t see UA as preppy as say SMU. It didn’t feel all “country” either. I see more western boots at UT than UA. UA has a more “down home” feel to me where everyone is comfortable. </p>
<p>Hope this helps and yes, visit both schools to see which one feels more “right” for YOU.</p>
<p>Thank you guys! I’m planning to major in marketing. UA gave me a scholarship that covers all my tuition, and plus I got accepted into the honors college. I know that UT’s business school can be hard to get into, but I really liked their communication school when I visited, and I loved the school so much that it wouldn’t matter if I got my second choice major of public relations instead. I’m still waiting to hear back from UT. USC accepted me into their honors college and pre-international relations, and they said I should be getting a decent scholarship. UT is my number one, however, I heard they aren’t good with doling out financial aid to out of state students.</p>
<p>Top 10% rule. That plays a HUGE factor into the general population of the students at UT. In the state of Texas the state schools have to take the top 10% of the graduating seniors from schools in Texas. However, UT is in such high demand it is about the top 6% and sometimes 4%. My full IB/AP, top 10%, high scores on SAT/ACT daughter can not get into UT. Instead, kids that went to schools that may not have even offered 1 AP course but are in the top 5% of their class. This is why UT is having a problem with their students not graduating in 4 years, they are getting kids that may not be “college ready”. Academically, UA hands down. UA gives out scholarships for NM whereas UT does not. I’ve been a lifetime Longhorn fan and still pull for the burnt orange but am glad my D has chosen UA over UT.</p>
<p>You are right that UT does not give much aid. Merit aid is very paltry, and need-based aid will be mostly loans. </p>
<p>My son chose UA over UT (our state flagship, with zero scholarship and contingent admission) and Arkansas (who offered him instate tuition). He also considered Texas A&M, Baylor, and TCU.</p>
<p>From a previous post, it looks like you have the stats for the UA Presidential, which means you could graduate with very little debt compared to UT. That could be very meaningful, especially if you plan to go on to grad school. </p>
<p>Should you decide on UA, I strongly suggest you participate in Outdoor Action - since you seem to enjoy the outdoors. </p>
<p>Good Luck whatever you choose. :)</p>
<p>Ok thank you all :)</p>
<p>I’m a second generation T-sip (Go Horns!), my husband went to FSU undergrad, Georgia for law school, his parents are huge Florida supporters. Just to make football season a bit more interesting, our son has chosen to go to UA next fall, making his own path. </p>
<p>Texas is an extremely strong public university, regularly referred to as a “public ivy”. Indeed they do have an automatic admit for the top students in the state, making the student body look a whole lot more like the general population, rather than Memorial in Houston. There were concerns that it would affect their graduation rate, but from everything I’ve read, it has not, still remains very high. My son was very interested in continuing our family tradition, attended summer camps in Austin, in the ended deciced he didn’t want to go such a huge school. He also fell under the spell of Dean Karr in Engineering at UA. The business & communicaiton schools at UT are world very highly regarded. We love that our son is in the honors program at Alabama. Austin has an amazing music scene. Re: traffic, never had much problem getting between Austin & Houston, although like all schools, including Bama, there were times traffic was worse than others. Austin is just beautiful, which is why everyone who goes there wants to stay in Austin. Barton Springs, a natural spring in Austin is beautiful, looking forward to seeing Lake Tuscaloosa. Keep an eye on the $$ factor, the less you spend on undergrad, the more you have for grad school.</p>
<p>If you’re concerned about getting into UT as an out of state student, check with your school’s naviance, see what the acceptance rate is. My son’s competitive north shore school has a very good acceptance rate, in the mid 60%, my theory is, the appreciate the out of state $$ from well qualified students.</p>
<p>I’d tell you the same thing I told my own son, go where you want to, because in the end, you will succeed based on your own hard work. I don’t think you can go wrong at either school.</p>