UT Autin vs A&M vs UTD and Housing Availability?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
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<p>So yeah, I have a day left to decide and I'm basically more stressed out now than I've ever been in my life.</p>

<p>Here's where I stand: I'm a National Merit Finalist and I have until tomorrow to change my first ranking and get National Merit scholarship money for a college.</p>

<p>With that scholarship and other scholarships, this is about how much each college would cost me:</p>

<p>UT Austin- About $25k a year. My current major is Biology, but I'm trying desperately to change it to Computer Science... I've contacted admissions and they've told me that if I can change it, I won;t find out until mid-May, after I've declined other colleges' offers. The problem is, if I'm stuck with biology, I'll be wasting $12.5k on a semester since I'll likely have so many AP credits there aren't many other core classes I can take....</p>

<p>UT Dallas- Free plus a $4000 a year stipend, current major is Computer Engineering</p>

<p>A&M- About $10k a year, current major in Engineering</p>

<p>I should have enough AP credits to enter as a sophomore. The problem is, as you can probably tell from my various majors, I am VERY indecisive about what major I want to pick (in addition to being so indecisive about what college to go to). I am almost definitely going to change my major once I'm in college... perhaps more times than one. And then there's the issue of graduate school... UTD or A&M are probably the best if I want to go to graduate school debt-free, but I'm honestly not sure if I should even go to graduate school. I don;t believe graduate school is really necessary for computer science, correct me if I'm wrong/</p>

<p>All this considering, does anyone have any advice for what college I should go to? I've visited all three and loved Austin the best (by far)... I wouldn't even be typing this out if I didn't love Austin's campus so much lol. But the fact that they seem so strict about changing majors, coupled with the fact that I've gotten a grand total of $0 of financial aid or scholarships from Austin is making me question whether or not it's worth it.</p>

<p>And I was wondering: how plausible is it to go to UTD for free for maybe a semester, then transfer to either UT or A&M once I have this major business figured out? Is that a good, or a terrible, strategy? </p>

<p>Also, is housing no longer available? What are my other options? I don;t know anyone else going to A&M, so finding a roommate for an apartment will be pretty difficult...</p>

<p>I would seriously appreciate ANY advice or input you guys might have, please and thank you!</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure you will forfeit the NMS money at A&M if you start somewhere else. If you take the NMS scholarship at A&M you have a guaranteed on campus dorm spot, so there’s that. I personally think you’d be crazy to pick UT-Austin at full price, but it’s got to be your decision. The UT-Dallas deal is also a pretty good one.Good Luck!</p>

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<p>I would choose between UTD and A&M. Both would be good for Computer Engineering. 10k a year to go to A&M is a pretty good deal. Obviously, full tuition at UTD is good too.</p>

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<p>You need to decide what is the most important thing to you: Money, Happiness in atmosphere, Name Brand school, Job placement rate, Majors, proximity to your parents, proximity to your friends, satisfaction of earning merit recognition, post grad. network, etc. Do a pro/con sheet for each college with all the items that are important to you in order. It has to be your decision, not someone else’s or you will doubt why you selected that college the first moment you have a bad day. We made our kids present their lists to us, our high school counselor teaches this technique to help kids narrow down choices & help parents understand the ‘why’ behind the choices. Good luck with your decision. </p>