I’m a high school senior and deciding between UT Austin and UT Dallas as a Biochemistry major on a pre-med track. I’ve been accepted into both schools through automatic admission and have been awarded a full tuition paid for UT Dallas plus $1000 every year to pay for Room and Board and books. I am still waiting on my scholarship info for UT Austin though I know it won’t be much as well as my natural sciences honors college result. I know UT Austin will cost me a lot more and the debt will add up as I intend to go to med school. But I’ve always wanted to go to UTA and I was not impressed by the campus at UTD or the fact that it appears to be a commuter school. But will the resources of UT Austin outweigh the cons or should I go to UT Dallas? And which school will better prepare me for the MCAT and get me into a good medical school?
Tough choice. Free is pretty darn attractive. How much can your folks afford to pay for college? Med school? Would you be wiling to join the military or some other sort of special program to help pay for med school?
Finances could be the deciding factor here, I am sorry to say.
If it doesn’t come down to $, I’d go with UT. The whole UT experience would be richer than the UT Dallas experience. It would also be tougher, however. (This is hearsay) UT Dallas might be easier for a pre med, and may have better pre med advising. You would be well prepared for the MCATs at either school.
For medical school admissions, there is not a major difference between the 2 schools. The UT brand will carry more weight nationally if you change majors or career paths, but UTD is solid school for getting into medical school.
To be blunt, maybe 10% of HS seniors truly know what they want to do for a career. Changing majors is common as in people working in a field not directly related to their major. I strongly encourage you to think more along the lines of majoring in STEM with an initial focus toward medicine. Bio-med is a great major. Medical school is only 1 possible choice on the menu.
Good luck.