<p>Thought I should post this here.</p>
<p>I recently got my admission letter for both of these places,and I was wondering which place should suit me best.</p>
<p>I am doing my major on mechanical engineering,with good high school gpa.My dad is telling me to go to UTA(since its close to home),but I would rather go to a place where it has a good education and experience.</p>
<p>Any thoughts please?</p>
<p>You should also apply to UT Austin and A&M. They are both better than your current choices.</p>
<p>I applied to a&m,and was put on general studies list.But the problem is they are not giving me scholarships.</p>
<p>I applied to UT but got rejected.</p>
<p>So far,TT and UTA is offering me scholarships(UTA is being more),now I am deciding what to go for.</p>
<p>You may want to check mechanical engineering departments at both schools and see what their graduates go on to do. That is usually the way to determine which school works out better based on what you intend to do after graduation (go to graduate school or work).</p>
<p>The department in each school should have some statistics on their graduates.</p>
<p>Tech by a landslide. You will have a great college experience. Excellent engineering, too.</p>
<p>what exactly is a general studies list?</p>
<p>^What I meant there was they are not allowing me to pick my major,rather put me on general studies so that I get done with the core courses first.</p>
<p>I think its either full or pretty competitive.</p>
<p>alright,I guess I can go with Tech for now.My dad’s not liking it,but I guess I will go there before I make my next move.</p>
<p>Let’s assume UTA and Tech has equivalent mechanical engineering departments. Then the nod goes to Tech. UTA is primarily a commuter school while Tech is a residential state u. with Big 12 sports, including the fun of football on home game Saturdays. Tech has a beautiful campus in a city of 200,000 with all the amenities. Definitely visit Tech and I think you’ll be impressed.</p>
<p>I agree that TT is the better school…especially for engineering.</p>
<p>However, will you need your dad to help pay? Is he willing? Has your dad visited both schools and toured the eng’g facilities? If not, have him do so.</p>
<p>Your dad may be looking at this purely from a cost point…UT-Arl being much, much cheaper. But, TT is a much better school and will have better job recruitment.</p>
<p>Cost is not really a huge point here…my dad would have financed me full on purdue(a great engineering school) but I chose not to because of the ridiculous price and no hope of scholarships.Plus I don’t want to go that far.</p>
<p>He feels like I should stay closer to home and not feel homesick if I am too far.He thinks Lubbock is at the middle of nowhere and not a pleasant place to live.There is no pressure,but I hope he changes his mind and not be too negative about it.</p>
<p>Hi Andrew 3221,
I am a current Texas Tech student, and while I am not studying mechanical engineering, I have several friends who are and are enjoying the experience.
Mostly I’m posting this so you have some information to give to you dad. I’m from Dallas, so I had the same uncertainty with coming to Lubbock when I was a freshman. I thought that since it was in the middle to no where, that I would be bored and that the 5 hour drive would mean I would be homesick with no way of going home. Both of these worries proved unfounded for me.
Tech’s distance from Dallas was actually perfect. It was far enough away to make it difficult to return home every time I was homesick, but close enough to make it home on breaks and a couple of extra weekends a year. My parents have also been able to make the drive a couple of times to visit me. Not being able to go home as much as I would have liked, at least initially, forced me to grow up. Feeling sick? Figure it out. Running out of money? Figure it out. Car’s broke down? Figure it out. I’m not saying I would have appreciated having my parents near by to help me through these things, but not having them here has matured me significantly. I am no truly able to take care of myself and solve day-to-day problems.
As far as the city of Lubbock goes, I’ve learned to at least like it. Sure, it’s not gorgeous. It’s pretty brown and we get the occasional dust storm (or Haboob if you saw that recently). But Lubbock as a city is really centered around Tech. Tech is a primary revenue source for the city of Lubbock and the city acts that way. Every shop and restaurant has Tech signs, every car has Tech decals, and the city rarely fails to fill the Jones on Saturdays for football games.
What struck me most when I came here is how friendly everyone is. My high school experience included a bunch of stuck up people who only socialized with you if you were A. rich or B. talented. At Tech however, all you have to do is show a guns up and you’ve got an instant friend. I found that my friends in Dallas, despite growing up with them, were superficial, but after only two years with my friends at Tech I think I can say that I finally have real friends. I think that says a something about the people here.
If you or your dad have any questions shoot me a message, but I have to say that choosing Tech over other schools I was admitted to (coincidentally including UTA) was the best decision I could have made.</p>