I’m happy with the information I’ve been able to find regarding UTD academics, but I still don’t have a good understanding of the campus culture (other than it’s not a “party” school) and would appreciate any info. Is there school spirit? Campus vibe? Social scene, restaurants, etc? Is it easy for people to make friends or is it more a commuter campus that becomes deserted after class ends? I’m trying to determine if it would be a good fit for my OOS student. Thanks so much!
My daughter is there as a sophomore. She does live on campus, last year in the dorms and now in an apartment. When they say it is not a party school, that means there is no large greek parties every weekend and there is no tailgating parties. Alcohol is not the main entertainment. My daughter’s entertainment is both on and off campus. On campus, she works out, goes to campus sponsored events, invites friends to her apartment for dinner, movies, parties (w/o alcohol). Off campus: she camps; goes to plays and concerts, museums, downtown, Deep Elm,Six Flags and goes to friend’s places off campus. She is involved with clubs at UTD - UTD radio (free concert tickets), swim club, foreign language club, CS clubs. etc. She keeps very busy. We did let her take a car so she goes all over Dallas. The entertainment for her is not so university centered but Dallas centered. She loves it!
Let me also add that it was very easy for her to make friends in the dorm. She did live in the honors dorm and her roommates have been from all over. One roommate was from California, one from Indiana, one from the Dallas area and she is from Austin. There are 6000 students who live on campus out of 18,000 undergrads, so about 1/3. There are alot of students on campus but on the weekends they are not where the classrooms are. They are at the dorms, the apartments, the gym or doing day trips around the school or Dallas.
There are lots of restaurants around the school and with Northside, UTD is developing a drag. It is a safe environment to jog or to walk around in. School spirit, not so much, but the athletes would love for more people to get involved. UTD does support the sports. My daughter was on the swim club and they had meets with schools in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area as well as other areas in Texas and Arkansas. UTD paid for travel expenses and things like that. It just isn’t the “big” sports school. Alot of the kids are involved in intramural sports.
So, if your daughter wants a large Greek presence and the large sports scene, UTD is not her school. If she wants a school that she can get involved in, in a great community, then it could be.
It’s a school that focuses on academics. It has a commuter school mindset. The school itself is unexciting bordering on utterly dull and nerdy. There is no school spirit, I’ll say that now. Dallas is a big city and there’s lots of stuff to do, but you won’t find that traditional college atmosphere at UTD.
" The entertainment for her is not so university centered but Dallas centered."
This explains UTD pretty well. It’s a very good school but it is not for everyone. They do not have a greek or sports scene like many schools. What you will have is a close group of friends that can enjoy intramurals, hanging out together and having the DFW as your playground. It’s not a typical college campus but it’s exactly what some folks want.
Doesn’t UT D have greek organizations though? Are they just really small?
They do have active greek organizations. It is a small percentage of UTD students that participate - maybe 5% or so. I have heard they are not as expensive as they are on other campuses, probably because they don’t have houses to support. My daughter has gone to a couple of events and has friends in them - they seem welcoming and social.