So, I’ve been accepted to all seven schools that I applied to and I think I’ve narrowed it down to these three but I’m having trouble deciding which of these would be the best option for an Education major planning on being an elementary school teacher? Also, I have received generous scholarships from TxState and UH. $8000/year from TxState and $6500/year from UH however I haven’t heard back about aid from UT and I’m not expecting to. I’m just not sure how much prestige and reputation would even matter for being a teacher?
A good education is as important for being a teacher, perhaps more. What you learn in college, who you meet, how you grow, will have a tremendous impact on who you’ll be as a teacher and therefore on your future students.
How thatns defined varies, so can you answer the following…
Did you get into the honors program at any of these three universities? What are the specific benefits of the honors program there?
Do you get to study and teach abroad or in another place than you’re used to (this is a great opportunity).
Can you major in a subject alongside elementary education?
Will you be able to include upper intermediate classes in Spanish and/or esl and/or another second language?
Do they have specialized classes of interest?
Can you provide the net price at each, calculating (tuition, fees, room, board ) - (grants, scholarships) = ?
- do not subtract any loan *
Thank you for the advice!
I was accepted to the honors college at UH and Texas State and both provide very similar opportunities with the main attractions being smaller class sizes, early registration for classes, and specialized honors courses. The only main difference I could find is that UH offers reserved residence halls for honors students, which isn’t really that big of a deal to me.
The net price at Texas State would be around $12,000/year, UT would be about $26,000/year, and UH would be around $14,000/year.
I will certainly ask about adding a second language/major and studying/teaching abroad when I go for visits in the upcoming weeks!
All three schools are affordable for me but, because I am planning on being a teacher, I likely won’t get much of a return on this investment which is why I was leaning toward Texas State as it is the cheapest option and I’ve heard good things about the education program there. My only concern was that UT is more of a “name-brand” school whereas Texas State does have somewhat of a “party school” reputation although they are trying to change that. Do you think UT would provide enough of an advantage in providing better job prospects in the future to disregard the significant financial savings of attending Texas State?
I’m not well versed in the education area but my two cents are that for education, you will have equal chances to obtain employment regardless of which school you attend, assuming your grades would have been the same at each one. The question then becomes which one will you feel happier at so your studies will go well, versus saving the cost. Seems like saving money would be worthwhile, for either you or your parents if they are paying, but I am betting you will have a better feel for what you want after you visit the campuses.
I think your best picks out of these three would be Texas State or UH. I guess the environment would be the most important, as academically these are similar. See if Texas State has an Honors Dorm and what it’s like - it’s very important because it fosters a sense of community and it makes finding good friends easier, plus Honors Dorms tend to be nicer than “regular” dorms (especially: better insulated, less noisy… < really important if you want to do well).
One big difference: would you rather live in a huge metropolis (one of the largest cities in the entire US) or in a college town? The “feel” for both universities is very different. I’m partial to San Marcos, I find it cool, it’s easy to navigate and very student-friendly, plus you’ll have your whole life to live in a big city whereas the best time to live in a college town is when you’re in college. However, the “feel” at these two universities is very different, the campuses are different, etc. So, you need to spend an overnight there to figure it out.
I would recommend contacting the Honors Colleges and saying you’d like to do an overnight to get a feel for the campus, attend an Honors Freshman class and an Education class, meet with students, etc.
You should also try to do an overnight at UT but I think Honors College at either UH or Texas State will provide you with a more personalized education that’ll help you more in the long run.
What are your other choices? What makes you think these are the top 3? (Well, UT, because… UT).
Also, how SURE are you you’ll want to be an educator?
It may be worth it to see how easy or difficult it is to switch majors and to look into which other major(s) you find interesting.
Yes, elementary educators who can teach ESL or partly in Spanish (like, if you can teach math or social studies in Spanish) are very much in demand. Other languages can be useful too (French Kreyol for Haitian kids for instance) but it’d depend on local needs, you can ask school districts.
“Teaching abroad” or studying abroad for education majors is just “cherry on top”, shows you different school systems, really cool for future teachers, an opportunity for reflexion and a lot of fun to boot - imagine seeing schools in Finland, or Sweden, or Quebec, or Costa Rica, or China…
Thanks CorpusChristi, that’s definitely a huge reassurance. I’ve been hearing from most of my family and friends that I should just go to UT because it’s more “prestigious” and that I would have a hard finding a job otherwise, but I feel like employers would care more about the specific department’s reputation and how much effort you put in, how well you did at that school, etc. than the prestige of the university, at least in this career field. And, of course, I won’t be making any decisions until I have visited all these schools and gotten a feel for the vibe and atmosphere of the school, maybe talked to some current students, sat in on classses, etc. Thanks for the advice!
Thanks for the advice MYOS! Unfortunately, I have already checked and Texas State doesn’t offer honors housing, but they do offer a residential college and living-learning communities which, from my understanding, allow you to live in the same hall as those with similar majors or those takin the same classes. Although, to be honest, I hadn’t really even considered my housing options and may need to further explore the different options when I go to visit later this month.
As for the location, I’ve lived in Austin my entire life so I’m definitely very used to this big city feel although I don’t think I would really mind living in a college town, especially since it’s not too far from both Austin and San Antonio so I can still venture into the city every once in a while if I get bored. I’ll likely have more of an opinion on this criteria once I visit.
Also, that’s a great idea about doing an overnight and attending some classes, I’ll definitely look into that, thanks!
I’m like 99.9% sure I want to be a teacher, although I’m not sure about specific grade levels and I may double major in a language or something that would add to the education degree. The only other job I could see myself doing is maybe something like education policy, so that would also kind of build off of education but I would want to first have several years of teaching experience under my belt before exploring that. However, I’ll definitely look into the process of switching majors, etc. just in case.
As for my other choices, I was also accepted into Texas A&M (visited the campus informally a couple times as I’ve had friends go there and wasn’t a huge fan of the location/vibe of the school), University of North Texas (sort of a last minute application as I had heard from someone that they had a nice education program and the town is similar to San Marcos in that it’s a college town near a big city), UT Dallas (last resort/safety), and Michigan State University (the only out-of-state school I applied to because I really love the education program and the school looked really nice, my first choice when I was applying, but ended up being about $37,000/year net price which was more expensive than I’d like and my family wanted me to stay in-state/within driving distance anyway).
If your convinced that being a elementary teacher is what you want to be I would suggest you go with Texas State or UofH. UT is a outstanding school but the extra cost would not be worth it for a school teacher. You will be able to find employment regardless of the school you go with. I went to UofH will my son attends Texas State. I would suggest you visit both schools to see which one your comfortable with. I do now that Texas State has a elementary school on campus. It you considering any other major I would strongly recommend UT since their is no doubt that it is a better school than UofH or TXST. Prestige will not matter for a elementary teacher pure and simple.
I checked it out, and UH seems to have a more structured Honors College; the Leadership or Bonner “minors”/programs seem especially relevant to your major. I guess your visit will make things clearer.
UT Dallas Honors is also well-known and very well-structured (CollegiumV), with lots of perks and top peers. However it’s true it’s mostly big on STEM, not really education. Look into it though, and plan an overnight just in case. (When you plan an overnight, email Honors to see if you can attend a Freshman Honors class and meet with students.)
Thanks Grainraiser, that’s exactly what I was thinking! I mean my parents would be paying for it but I figured that if I can save almost $40,000 and it won’t have much of an effect on future job prospects and all then why not, right? And thanks, I didn’t actually know they had an elementary school on campus. I guess I’ll have to go check that out when I visit!
Okay thanks MYOS, I’ll be sure to further explore the UH honors program as well as the different minors they offer! As for UT Dallas, I didn’t actually apply to the honors college there as it was pretty much my last choice school although they do have a rolling honors app so maybe I’ll apply just in case.
^Do so, you never know, and plan a visit with the Honors College.
Until you visit, you won’t know.
it “sounds” like Texas State would be the best choice “on paper”, but in reality it may be any of your choices, so keep your options open.
I graduated from Texas State and I get so tired of everyone always bashing it. I was accepted to UT provisionally, meaning I would have to start at summer school. I was immature and didn’t want summer school, so I selected Tx State instead (it was SWTSU then). I would go with UT. You’ll never be sorry.
PS, I grew up in Austin, UT is a party school too, but Tx State will not lose that moniker anytime soon.
UH is Tier One now. You will be doing student teaching, and there’s a lot of options in Houston: Vanguard schools, KIPP schools, good privates, even public Montessoris, not that far away from you.
Rice does a lot of STEM education summer workshops for elementary teachers.
Houston pays the highest starting salaries for teachers in Texas, and there’s lots of choices.