UT Austin Vs UT Arlington for Nursing

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
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<p>Hi, so I'm still trying to decide which school to go to for nursing (bachelors then hopefully masters as a nurse anesthetist. I'm hoping someone will help me choose and make a logical decision here. I'm trying to decide on quality of education with cost, fun, ease of courses, and how useful my degree will be from each school. I've got Texas Tomorrow Fund so the tuition should be paid for, it's all about housing and living costs now. Not exactly swimming in money here, my mom is the only parent working, but at least we're loan eligible at most of these schools.</p>

<p>UT Austin: Pros: $2000 scholarship, best school in texas for nursing, state of the art facilities, grants for research which is what most high level nursing positions require now, know of at least 10 people going there from my high school, IF I can get a good GPA here, it would be the best to be accepted to graduate school (but my brother went pre-med at UT and failed hard - 3.5 GPA but too low for the cutoffs), Austin is a fantastic city, lots of worthwhile connections to be made, my absolute dream school
Cons: most rigorous course loard of the three, most expensive at about $10,500 for housing a year, the loans are at 7.9% interest rate, if I don't get a good GPA here, pretty much wasted bucket loads of money.</p>

<p>UT Arlington: Pros: $8000/year scholarship renewable up to 3 years, pretty good nursing program and facility, in the tri-city area, free education compared to UT Austin, easy to get a high GPA
Cons: have never toured this place - no idea what it even looks like (I probably shouldn't even be judging), not as prestigious, know no one who is going there, if I got into Austin why here?</p>

<p>As you can see, i'm rather bias towards UT because I've been there numerous times and have fallen in love with the city and school. However, because my brother did so badly there and now can't get into graduate school, my parents automatically assume that I will fail hard as well, so they keep pushing me towards Arlington. I want to help out my mother with school costs, but Austin in my dream school and I feel like I'd do well there + I'd pay back the loans myself since nursing has such a good job outlook. I don't know on the other hand, Arlington is throwing money at us and it's sooo much easier there than Austin. </p>

<p>Dear god, someone help me out please. I have to respond to Arlington by April 2nd for the scholarship. Feel free to bombard me with hard facts, personal opinions, ect.</p>

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<p>I won’t pretend to know anything about how the schools compare, but, while USNews might not be the most accurate source, it puts UT–Austin at about rank 32 with Arlington at around 64 for Nursing. I don’t know if that makes Austin worth the price. But if you’ve fallen in love with the school, and it’s somewhere that you want to be for the next few years, you need to put a lot of weight on that. </p>

<p>Wherever you go, you’re going to graduate a qualified and capable professional. And by choosing a medical career with a great future job outlook, you’re going to be able to pay back your loans either way with relative ease I’d think.</p>

<p>I was personally choosing between Dallas and Austin, so I don’t know much when it comes to Arlington. But here are some things to consider:</p>

<p>[ul]
[<em>]What might happen if you change your mind during college, as many people do? Will Arlington offer you the same options/opportunities that Austin will?
[</em>]Will Arlington offer you the social or intellectual atmosphere that you’re looking for? (will Austin for that matter?)
[<em>]Does Arlington outrank Austin in anything? (sincere question, I don’t actually know. it’s worth researching before you make your decision)
[</em>]How much weight is placed on the prestige of your undergraduate institution when hospitals/employers are considering applicants? Is it significant?
[li]How about when you apply to graduate school? Will the prestige (or lack thereof) of your undergraduate institution have any effect on admissions?[/li][/ul]</p>

<p>I’m sure there are more things to consider. Perhaps somebody else could help expand the list. I don’t think answers to these should be terribly hard to find, but it’s 1AM and frankly I’m much too tired to do the research myself.</p>

<p>UT Austin should be easy to find information about given its size and prominence. It was significantly harder to find information about Arlington. Try googling “Student reviews of UT Arlington” and reading some comments provided by students. I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the information you’ll find, but it might help you make your decision.</p>

<p>Clearly, either school would love to have you.
Good luck.</p>

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<p>As far as RN job outlook goes, being in the healthcare sector all my professional life, I think it makes no difference whether you graduate from UT or UTA. They both provide good nursing program and prepare students well for the licensure . I know two recent graduates; one is from UT and one from UTA. Both found internship/job at major hospitals in Dallas. If graduate school/nurse anesthetist is the goal in the future, it may be wise not to accumulate a huge debt from the undergraduate institution.</p>

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<p>I think it depends on what kind of “college experience” you are looking for. I graduated from UTA and still live in the “metroplex”. My husband graduated from UT-Austin and our daughter attends UT-Austin now. I have friends that went to nursng school at UTA and are very gainfully employed. Nurses are in high demand, no matter where you go to school.</p>

<p>The biggest difference is that UTA is largely a “commuter” school, although they are trying really hard to overcome that distinction by adding new dorms etc. There is not a football team, if that is important to you. There is a small greek system at UTA, if that is important to you…the good news about that is that it is not nearly as competitve as UT. I would guess that the majority of students that go to UTA do not live on campus and do not stay there on the weekends. If I were you, I would definitely take a tour at UTA before you make your final decision.</p>

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<p>Hey I know this is an old thread, but which did you choose? UT or UTA?</p>

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<p>"Hey I know this is an old thread, but which did you choose? UT or UTA? "
This.</p>