UTD CS transfer to UT or UT undeclared CNS??

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
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Hi! I am an early Grad from a high school in Austin Texas and I am currently waiting to hear back from UT Austin for my Freshmen admissions. I am a very realistic person and understand I have a slim chance at getting into the Computer Science program due to my high school courses being a little all over place selection wise and my test scores just being average. But I have been accepted into the UTD Computer Science program and was wondering if it would be better to attend UTD and then transfer after a year or try my luck with CNS undeclared.
After one year at UTD I will have I will have completed:
English 1301 and 1302
History 1301 and 1302
US Government and Texas Government
CS 1336, and 4 others I have not picked or taken just yet
Speech 1311 (may be wrong on the course number)
Calculus 1 and 2
Anatomy and Physiology (took this in high school and was told it could be considered as an elective)
British Literature (this was again taken in high school and I have heard it counts as a humanities credit of sorts)
Also there will have to be 2 science credits I am just not sure which ones

I am a part of Phi Theta Kappa due to having a 4.0 college GPA and being on the Presidents Honor list currently and plan to maintain this status.

I am very worried that if I just do undeclared CNS I will not actually have to chance to be in the Computer Science program and ultimately not graduate with a BS in that major. This would hurt an internship opportunity in the summer of 2018 and 2019 that I have planned. I am also scared that transferring will fall through and I am not a huge fan of UTD because although I am focusing on academics I would like to experience football games and such which is unheard of at UTD. I am also a white female as well which from what I have seen is unheard of in their CS program. If any one has any advice on what path would be safer in terms of graduating with my desired major while also enjoying my college experience please let me know!!

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@kats1234 I hope some current students will weigh in. I’ll share what I’ve observed as a mom of a UT CS soph. His friend (also CS) attended UTD for 1 year and then transferred to UT. I believe it’s probably easier to transfer into UT CS from another school’s CS dept (if you can make a 4.0 or close to it) than as an internal transfer. If you go the internal transfer route, take calculus and other classes that would count toward a CS degree and make as close to 4.0 as possible - but you will not be able to take CS classes, which are closed to non-CS majors. (That’s the advantage of starting in CS at another school. Another advantage is that it’s a lot easier to get a 4.0 at UTD than at UT, especially in calculus.) Whatever you decide, GOOD LUCK and be persistent! Women are in seriously short supply in CS and they need you!

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I just wanted to let you know that there are white women in CS at UTD - my DD is in her freshman year. Their attention to women in CS is one of the reasons, among others, she turned down UT CS for UTD. In relationship to the classes being easier - I don’t know about that. My DD has never made less than a A at a competitive HS in all AP classes but has had to work very hard in the CS classes. I do not know about calc because she completed that in HS. Getting a 4.0 at UTD is not easy. It doesn’t have the football but there are many things in Dallas that can keep you occupied. You might want to give UTD a chance.

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@GTAustin It is a relief to hear that there is at least one other white female not much older than me because everyone makes it seem like there are few at UTD and none in the program! I know not to except easy and I am okay with that and do like challenging courses. As for being in Dallas I did grow up in Richardson so it not completely foreign but I would love to hear if there is anything particularly fun to do in the area in her opinion as well as clubs on campus if she’s in any! Also did she choose to do living learning housing, if so does she enjoy that or not so much? I would love to know if there is anything else that you find great about the school that isn’t really shown or heard about!

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@TexasMom2017 Thank you for the tip on calculus! Also hearing that there really are students that successfully transfer into UT CS is a huge relief and to know that it is in fact easier than internal makes UTD sound like a plan! Thank you!!

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@kats1234, my DD is very active on UTD’s campus. She is in the Honors LLC. To my surprise, most of her dorm friends are prehealth and from all over the country as well as the Dallas area. She has joined the swim club and outdoor club. She is a very physically active person so she swims, runs, does weight room, yoga, and is looking at learning mixed martial arts.

Off campus, she goes to alot of the surrounding restaurants - Torchy’s being a favorite. A group has a weekly time at a Karoke place that is close. She has gone to many concerts at The Bomb Factory, House of Blues, Granade Theatre, Verizon stadium and has more planned for next semester. She has an annual pass for State Parks and her and her friends camp, hike and swim at parks in the area. She also visits art museums both in Dallas and Ft. Worth (she is an artist) and has fun in downtown Dallas.

Being from Richardson, I can see the appeal of Austin and doing some new things. My DD has spent her entire life in the Austin orbit and wanted to go someplace new but still a big city, Dallas/Richardson was perfect for her.

As far as the school and academics, I find UTD’s academic support services to be excellent. As I said, she did have some very challenging classes last semester and basically started as a sophomore. She spent many hours in the math lab and the CS mentoring center for her Discrete math class and CS class. She is in the honors version of these courses. She found alot of places to find help - mentoring centers, the professors, upperclassmen as well as students in the same courses. She used all of these resources.

Another nice thing about UTD is the ability to take courses in different colleges. This semester, she is taking several courses in CS, business (web design), an upper level fine arts class (video painting) and a art/technology course. It is very easy to cross boundaries there and gives her flexibility to explore.

UT is a great school with world respected programs but since there is such a high demand for all their programs, it places limits on the students. We found A&M did as well - no art minor if you are an engineering student. UTD is giving her a great education that has support and flexibility and gives great outcomes - 100% placement job/graduate school for CS.

Again, I understand the appeal of UT especially if you are from Richardson but UTD can be a great option for you. Good luck on your decision!