hi there! I got into UT Dallas OOS with 6K/year AES and the in-state tuition thing. this makes it my cheapest option so far which is a little surprising to me but pleasantly so seeing as I applied on a whim and didn’t expect it. the more I research it though, the more I actually really like it and want to go! I just have a few questions I was hoping y’all could help me with though.
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I applied to the Hobson Wildenthal Honors College. My major is Literature/Psychology double, my GPA is a 3.6 UW (AP Language and Composition with a 5, three honors, and a bunch of CC courses senior year), my ACT is a 32, and I have some pretty good ECs. Chance me? If I do manage to get into Hobson Wildenthal, is there any chance of additional scholarship money? Also, is there any specific acceptance rate for Hobson and does anyone know when decisions should be out and where I’ll see them?
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What are the liberal arts programs at UT Dallas like? I know it’s known more as a STEM/Business school, but what’s the general population’s thoughts towards the liberal arts, and how do students in the programs tend to do in terms of career placement, being able to find internships/etc. while in school, etc.?
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How does UT Dallas compare to University of Houston for me? I received admission to Houston Honors already and I’m still waiting on a scholarship package, but definitely considering them. I’m a very academically and extracurricular driven student (I throw a lot of time into school and I’m always searching for clubs/internships/etc.); I really don’t want to go to a party school (although I’m good with partying/Greek life being fairly present on campus), and I want to be somewhere where I can hopefully be able to connect with my professors well within a program. I don’t care whether I’m in a city or a college town, but I don’t want a university in a particularly rural environment or unsafe area (I’ve heard UT Dallas has an open carry policy for guns on campus- how does that affect student safety?). I need to be able to have decent vegetarian options; I’m not technically vegetarian, but often need to eat vegetarian for religious purposes. I don’t expect great housing first year anyway because I’ll end up committing pretty close to May 1 so that’s irrelevant to me. My strongest criteria is to find a school where my CC credits are likely to count for major or gen-ed credits (I’ve mostly taken pretty universal psych courses like General Psych, Social Psych, etc.)
Thanks in advance!
For Liberal Arts I think UHouston would be better - UT Dallas will have a very small percentage of non stem/non business majors. That being said, it means they’re more likely to be tight…
Do check frequency of course offerings, especially if you already have all the first year pre-requisites in Psychology.
For UTD, the psychology major is not in the Liberal Arts area but is in Brain and Behaviorial Science and it is a BS. My DD is doing cognitive science in that dept. You might look at that degree because it brings some other options that are in demand. It also has a fast track masters program that you can complete in 4 years that your scholarship will cover. I agree with @MYOS1634 as far a literature.
https://www.utdallas.edu/campuscarry/ - I don’t know where you got that UTD has an open carry policy. Best I can tell it’s the policy of the State of Texas - and that is not Open Carry.
You didn’t get AES at Houston? Break down your costs as that is the driving factor it would seem?
@BlueBayouAZ, is correct. UTD follows the state laws for guns which include concealed carry on campus but the student needs to be 21 or older. So, very unlikely in the dorms but are allowed in the apartments and other areas of campus.
@BlueBayouAZ hanks for that! I heard the information from a fellow student who probably mixed it up.
@GTAustin thanks for letting me know about the fast-track masters; I’ve looked into it, and I really love that program 
@Sybylla I called Houston last week, and was told that I’m still being reviewed and they’ll let me know about scholarships by April, which is why I mentioned waiting on one.
Let me add that UTD and the environment around UTD is very safe. You are in a suburb. There is no panhandling or homeless (unless it is some students) and there really is not a student ghetto area. I’m thinking of the things that attract crime around UT Austin and those are probably the main factors. There is theft at UTD of bikes, parking permits, computers, things like that. Take care of your stuff and you won’t have any problems.
Vegetarianism - my DD has become a vegan there. It is harder in the first year in the dorm. They have the salad bar and smashed potatoes and I’m sure pasta dishes. There is a kitchen for each dorm, so you can cook for yourself. The sustainability club does do vegan cooking. Also, there is a club that has vegan/vegetarian lunches delivered to school at least 3Xweek that are suppose to be good. Most kids preorder but they do have some for walk ups. So there are options, but they are somewhat limited until you move into an apartment and can cook yourself.
Are you instate for Houston?
@GTAustin thank you! all your information about safety and vegetarianism is very helpful; seeing as I’m OK on eating meat generally, I’m alright with being limited a few weeks out of the year, and knowing it’s generally pretty safe is always a huge plus. Do you know the specific name of the club that offers vegan/vegetarian lunches?
@Sybylla I’m OOS.
I am having a hard time finding the club or delivery service for the vegan meals. I know I read about it on reddit at the beginning of the fall semester. I will ask my daughter after spring break about it. I know I brought it to her attention and I think they have posters up probably in the Student Union. I’ll let you know what I find out.
You would be paying OOS rates? My kid had her AES package for from UH quite a while ago (but later than I expected for sure and much later than UTD). Are you expecting UH to give you instate rates? Are they holding out on scholarships due to your GPA? It seems to be getting very late for them to be having you wait. Did you explain UTD has given you AES plus instate rates? Maybe call and talk to an adult if it is just students you are talking to.
@GTAustin thanks!
@Sybylla I live in California, and I’m definitely hoping for in-state rates; otherwise, I probably won’t consider them. I have spoken to the admissions office, I’m unsure if it was a student or AO, but thanks for letting me know; I’ll try to call them back and mention UTD’s AES. I had a 3.6 when I submitted my app, but it went up to a 3.65 when I reported my mid-year grades, but I have a 32 on the ACT, so looking at their average stats, I was hoping it’d balance out (my school has no ranking so).
At UTD, if you get any AES scholarship amount, you automatically get in state tuition rates even if you are OOS. This might be a state law because I have heard same thing applies for A&M as well as UT Austin.
UH with AES and OOS rates would still make UH too expensive. There is no reason why the school can't clarify this for you this so you can exclude it. Try emailing your admissions officer, and the FA dept, and the scholarships dept. Clarify though, are you a transfer or a freshman?
I am a UH Honors College grad and went to Columbia for grad school. The vast majority of Honors students get scholarships and they all come with in-state tuition if $500 or more per year in my day. I hope you can visit both. The UH program is pretty structured with lots of OOS students. Good luck!
@Sybylla I’ll be a freshman. I spoke to them, and found out they think my GPA is too low for AES, but are considering giving me a scholarship through Honors.
@tristatecoog thanks for the info!
Anyone has number of UG students in School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at UT Dallas?
@texaggie, I could not find that # but have come up with a rough estimate of about 3200 students with the vast majority being in biological /life science. This number is based on the % of diplomas given as stated in the Common Data Set. About 16% of all diplomas were given from that school. Total number of undergrads is 19,900 so I took 16%. Again, rough but best I could do.
I will note that UT-Dallas Collegium V honors college has what they call “readings courses” that are modeled on Oxford tutorials (though their student limit is 15, not 2-3) so they are more like 1-hour seminars that meet once a week to go over readings. But they seem like something worthwhile for someone humanities-focused.