Hello! I’m parent of S20 who is interested in UT schools. Creating this thread to share thoughts / questions / concerns with other graduating class of 2020 parents. Looking forward to hear and contribute to discussion…
My D20 may be interested in UTD.
My D20 is interested, too. We’re going for a campus visit next month.
@iclass2020 My middle son (high school class of 2018) is finishing up his first year UTD and my baby, high school class of 2020, also plans to attend UTD. Both were/will be auto admits to UTD and UT Austin and both are interested in CS. After careful consideration both boys decided that UTD would be the best fit for them and offer them best opportunists for their future.
My ds20 is in the “preparation” stage of his college journey. Since he’ll be an auto admit we aren’t concerned with acceptance but we would like to get as much merit as possible. He’s “on the bubble” for National Merit, if the Texas cut off stays the same he’s good to go. He’s taken the SAT twice (once in spring of 10th grade and once in Fall of 11th grade) and his scores put him where I think is on the edge between the highest and second highest level of AES merit. He plans to wait until September when the state cut offs for NM are known, if he doesn’t make NM he’ll consider retaking the SAT or trying the ACT to increase his chances for the best AES. Even though UTD starts accepting applications in August our high school will not release transcripts or letters of recommendations until mid September but he plans to have everything on his end ready to go by August.
Right now DS20 is carefully planning is AP classes and DE classes. He hopes to have all or most of his required core classes completed by high school graduation to give him more flexibility to work on a double major or perhaps graduate early or more on to UTD’s ‘Fast track’ program. Please remember that not all AP classes will count toward college degree requirements. First you need to see what AP’s with which scores are accepted by UTD and then which of those will apply toward a specific degree requirements. If you are pretty sure you are looking at Texas public schools I’d suggest taking Texas Government through a CC as all Texas public colleges require this for graduation.
Initial concerns:
social- this is so not an issue! DS is involved with various clubs and and is always hang out with friends, the social scene at UTD is really what you make of it
car- DS18 did not bring a car to campus and hasn’t had and issue getting around several of his friends have cars and he uses Uber occasionally, DS20 will be bringing a car (this is the car he and his bother shared in high school) but it will mainly be for DS18 to use for internships and for them both to travel home on breaks
Banking - there’s no bank/credit union on campus but there is a Wells Fargo ATM in the student union and my kids have Wells Fargo accounts anyway and since they mostly bank on line it hasn’t been an issue.
Books- Books have been less expensive then I planned which was a pleasant surprise.
Biggest down side:
after the first semester ds18 was sick of the food in the dining hall!
Thank you @3scoutsmom I am glad to see you posting - I’ve been thinking of you.
@3scoutsmom - thanks for the rundown of life on campus. I had not even thought about banking.
We used Wells Fargo for banking as well because of the ATM there. We were also able to get a credit card with a $500 limit thru Wells Fargo. It had some other bells and whistles that you had to do but in the end worthwhile. I told her to spend $50/mo on it and pay it off every month. She built up her credit rating so when she needed new tires Costco gave her a card with a higher limit. If your students travels to home or away, having a credit card that can pay for auto repairs, towing, airplane ticket or any emergency is a good thing.
@3scoutsmom Thank you so much for your detailed response! This is extremely helpful!!
Is SAT w/ Essay required for UTD? There is no mention of it on their website, but the requirement is buried in the CDS report where only neurotic moms like me will find it, not where a typical teen would look. UT-Austin expressly states on their website that it is not required, and TAMU appears to be the same as UTD (not stated in website, only small checkbox on CDS). We are OOS, potential AES and trying to make sure the basics are met. So what’s really the deal?
Essay is not required at UTD. I’ve tried to figure out why TAMU and UTD have that checked on the Common Data Set. Because if you look further down in section C8C - nothing is checked on how it is used.
Are there three optional essays for UTD or are we looking at the application wrong? Will applicants be expected to do all three are do they mean do one of the optional essays?
Just choose one of the three.
“Applicant can choose from essay topic A, B, or C”
@ebh87 Thank you so much!
A&M is one essay. However if you apply for engineering it’s 2 essays.
@Greymeer Thank you!
DS20 has been accepted to UT Dallas. Will get a full ride if he makes NMF, he is semi finalist. The portal requires him to “accept” the offer but there is no deadline for the acceptance. Their website says that acceptance is not binding. Does that mean everyone basically accepts, applies for housing and then decides later by May 1?
We aren’t accepting until we know for sure about financial aid - either AES or NMF - but we do plan on applying for housing when the time comes.
@ebh87 They will consider your AES even though you aren’t accepting the offer?
@TexasGuy2019 Yes, we are supposed to get the AES award in mid-December with or without accepting admission.
@ebh87 Then what’s good about accepting admission at this point? Or, what are the downsides not accepting?