University of Texas or University of Houston???

College Search & Selection
1

<p>I am in a terrible predicament and need your urgent help.</p>

<p>My two college choices are UH and UT. I'm trying to become a doctor and am majoring in biology or doing premed. Unfortunately, all my 15 of my relatives except one went to UH and the single one went to UT. Both my parents are alumnus from UH and my dad is a doctor. He continually claims UH is just as good a school and urges me to go. I realize there's nothing wrong with UH but I worked my butt off in high school and I feel it should pay off in my college choice. He is not going to pay a cent for my college stuff except tuition (basically forcing me to go to UH so I can live at home). If I went to UT, I would have to take out a loan or something to pay for an apartment/room and boarding plus food. </p>

<p>I know I should be independent and decide which school I want to go on my own but I do feel some obligation to my parents. Is there any argument I can make to my parents to allow me to go to UT and help them support me financially as well?</p>

<p>*I have a 100% chance to get in at both schools.</p>

2

<p>Note that medical school is expensive, so you want to minimize debt.</p>

<p>Note that you do not have to major in biology to do pre-med.</p>

<p>Note that biology graduates do not have very good job prospects at the bachelor’s degree level, so you want to minimize debt.</p>

<p>Is your father trying to force you to go to UH, or is he just saying that the price limit of what he will contribute is the tuition at UH? If you got into some non-UH school with scholarships and financial aid that make the net cost cheaper than UH tuition, would he still contribute the net cost?</p>

3

<p>I think UH is ~2k cheaper than UT and like 1k more than A&M</p>

4

<p>Forgot to mention, I was signed up for some program called Texas Tomorrow which pays for my tuition at any public Texas school so my tuition is covered (which prevents me from going out of state).</p>

<p>I simply want the best education I can possibly get to get into medical school. My father says it doesn’t really matter what school as long as you do well and get good grades (since he’s an example having gone to UH and getting into med school) but I feel that with my opportunities having been given the chance to go to either school I should maximize my opportunities and go for UT for the better education. I basically want to go to the school that better prepares me. </p>

<p>I’m in the top 6% of my class and in the International Baccalaureate program
Also I’m an Eagle scout and got a 2240 on the SAT
Would I get good enough scholarships to support me at UT?</p>

5

<p>Apply to both and see what kind of scholarships you would get at UT</p>

6

<p>Thanks, do you know the average cost of lodging and food and just everything you need to live during college per year?</p>

7

<p>Go to each college’s web site and search for “cost of attendance”.</p>

8

<p>I would do just about anything it takes to get out of Houston and experience Austin. Nothing against Houston (my daughter went to Rice and loved it), but your family should let you spread your wings a little. There is no guarantee you will continue on to med school, and UT offers a superior education and you will meet a wider range of people and have a lot more fun. I would incur debt to go to UT in your case.</p>

9

<p>I think the others are right about applying to both schools to see what sort of awards you get. The general consensus for pre-med seems to be to go to the cheapest school where you can get the best grades and save your money for grad school. Houston has a lot more to offer in terms of research, internship, job-shadowing stuff for med school applications. </p>

<p>I’m a 2x UT grad and while it has a better reputation and grad rate than UH, I think UH has a lot to offer. It’s a much more diverse student population and has a variety of honors programs that I have heard good things about. If you end up at UH, it wouldn’t be the end of the world. </p>

<p>If you have the money to pay for tuition, between Stafford loans and a part-time job, you should be able to afford the room and board although I wouldn’t recommend loans for someone considering med school.</p>

10

<p>Are you saying that your parents aren’t going to contribute anything except for the “Texas Tomorrow” contribution?</p>

<p>Are you a likely NMF? What did you get on your PSAT?</p>

<p>Your stats are high enough to get good-sized merit at more schools (some OOS and some like UT-Dallas). </p>

<p>You may not get much money from UT since it has moved more to need -based aid except for its 40 acres scholarships.</p>

<p>If you got a good merit scholarship to UT-Dallas, Texas Tech or elsewhere, then that money could go towards room and board.</p>

<p>You may be wrong about the Texas Tomorrow funds. You probably can use some/all of it to an OOS school…</p>

<p>What if my child goes to a private or out of state school?</p>

<p>You can use the tuition units to help pay for tuition and required fees at all eligible Texas public schools, and private or career colleges in Texas or eligible out-of-state institutions. If your child attends a private or out of state college where tuition and required fees are not locked in, you can apply the Transfer Value of your units towards the cost of tuition and required fees. The Transfer Value of the units being redeemed will be the lesser of: 1) the costs the Tuition Units would pay at a public in-state college or university, or 2) the original purchase price of the Tuition Unit plus or minus the Plan’s net investment earnings or losses on that amount.</p>

11

<p>If you are interested in medicine and your parents think you should go to medical school, then you should be applying to all schools because you will receive applications for the combined programs. This includes UTSA, UT Dallas and UT Austin.</p>

<p>UT Austin is notorious for not having any merit money these days. People I have seen get money from them this year early in the cycle are mainly engineering or business honors folks.</p>

12

<p>Thank you so much for all the replies!</p>

<p>Momofwildchild. I totally agree! Although I do understand you should prioritize education in college, these years are supposed to be the most fun and enjoyable of your life and I don’t want to spend it living at home…However, I will study hard and I think I have a decent chance of getting into med school. I think only those who do not apply themselves would not get in, but I’ve never tried so who knows…</p>

<p>sadilly. You sound a lot like my dad (: in terms of telling me how great UH is and I do agree. It’s really improved and gotten to Tier 1 and all that, it’s a great school now. I just want to leave Houston for a little while, you know? I’ve been here 17 years of my life, I want to explore new places.</p>

<p>mom2collegekids. I did read about transferring credit OOS but I think I’m gonna stay in state. I don’t want to be too far away from home haha. And yes, I’m skeptical about how much UT will give me…</p>

<p>texaspg. What is the applications for combined programs" you mentioned??? I’ve not heard of that. Could you please elaborate?</p>

13

<p>I think your mistake is just leaving the choice between UT and UH. There are other schools that will likely give you merit…</p>

<p>TAMU
UT Dallas
Texas Tech</p>

<p>Apply to these and see if they give you enough merit that will ocer room and board so that your Texas promise money can cover tuition. Work over the summer to cover books and misc expenses.</p>

14

<p>I am a retired physician who also served on the UT Austin faculty for ten years. Your father is correct in saying that you can get a good pre-med education at either UT or UH. However, there is more to education than satisfying pre-med requirements. Your undergraduate years are a time and an opportunity for personal growth, and therefore are not to be wasted on a single-minded dedication to the goal of becoming a doctor. You should try to choose a college or university that will give you the best opportunities for personal growth. You should also avoid burdening yourself with debt, because you will accumulate a large debt for medical school if you ultimately choose that path and your father continues to withhold financial support. </p>

<p>My recommendations:</p>

<p>Look for merit scholarships. If you are a NMF semifinalist you will get offers from Texas A&M, Arizona State University, the University of Nebraska, the University of Alabama, etc.</p>

<p>Even if you are not a NMF semifinalist your SAT scores may qualify you for a full ride at Alabama (For someone of my generation with memories of the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, this is a difficult recommendation to make. However, Alabama is very generous with merit scholarships, no doubt in an effort to overcome its unfortunate history. Moreover, I know of many students who are very happy in the honors program there).</p>

<p>As fond as I am of UT, I would still recommend that you go to a college that will give you merit-based aid.</p>

<p>Do not live at home. If you do, you will miss out on so much of the college experience. It is time to separate from your parents and become your own person. (If you agreed to go to UH would really have to live at home?)</p>

<p>You don’t really know for certain that you want to be a doctor. I thought I did back in 1966, but I ended up earning a BA, two MAs, and a PhD in a different field, and teaching in that field for eleven years before deciding to go to medical school. Be open to other possibilities.</p>

<p>I confess that I don’t understand your father’s attitude. Is he really saying that he will not contribute anything to your college education (given that your tuition is already covered)?
Does he want you to work your way through college because that’s what he did (there is an argument to be made for that point of view)? Or is he a very controlling person who likes to makes people bend to his will?</p>