<p>Well the only thing that is keeping me from making the final decision is money. I received good financial aid from both of them. I received Work Study from UT Dallas: $2500 per semester which would cover my Room and Board, and I didn't get any Work Study from UT Austin but they have put me on the wait list. So basically for UT Dallas my Financial Aid package covers my tuition and housing minus the meal plan, but I would have to find a job through work study to pay for housing. For UT Austin my tuition for the entire year and housing with the meal plan for fall semester is covered.</p>
<p>So my question is: Is it better to go to UT Dallas and work to pay my housing, or is it better to go to UT Austin and a find a part time job to pay for spring semester housing and maybe any other expenses?? Is it possible that a part time job will be able to cover that? Or is it better to stick with UTD's work study?</p>
<p>UT Austin is a better school. I got into graduate school, in part, because my undergrad degree was from there, in spite of my GPA. And I can’t tell you how many interviews I’ve been on where the name of my school came up. In reality, I think people recognize UT b/c of its sports teams but there’s not much I can do about that. Plus, Austin is much cooler than Dallas.</p>
<p>At most schools, an award of work-study is only an eligibility and securing a work-study position may not be guaranteed. Check with UTD to see if a position is guaranteed. </p>
<p>My S was offered work-study at UT, but had a hard time finding a desirable position that fit his busy schedule. He found a better job (on campus) outside of the ws program.</p>
<p>azulhail -we were concerned that he wouldn’t be able to, so we got a CAL loan (<a href=“http://finaid.utexas.edu/requirements/CALnote.html[/url]”>AmericaReads/AmericaCounts - Office of Scholarships and Financial Aid - The University of Texas at Austin) to meet the gap for bare-bones necessities. Fortunately, he got a very flexible job working at the PAC setting up (and tearing down) for visiting performers. The events are all during the evening and he often has time to study during the actual shows. There are far more events than he is able to work (position is limited to 19 hrs/week), so he’s been able to pick up the ones that work with his schedule. </p>
<p>Work study funds, like a regular job, are disbursed throughout the semester, as the student earns them. It takes a lot of discipline to earmark all the earnings for housing and meals. My S has used his paychecks for eating out, a parking permit, and other “extras”.</p>