Hello,
My son was admitted to both schools. The dilemna is regarding cost. UTD awarded their highest academic excellence scholarship so all we’d have to pay is about $10k/yr for housing.
So far UCLA hasn’t awarded anything. We are in state so cost will be in neighborhood of $30k/yr. We live about 1 hour from UCLA so son could come home weekends and of course it’s a prestigious school. He was invited to the CEED engineering program which seems to have some benefits but not sure if any financial ones yet.
He could graduate without debt at UTD. At UCLA he’d have major debt depending on how much we can scrape up in addition to what’s saved. Probably $50k debt at least. Supposedly CS have good starting salaries so we know not to borrow more than first year’s salary but really hate to do it.
UCLA has reported better 4 and 6 year graduation rates as well.
Will be visiting both schools before deciding.
So is it worth it?
My DD had a similar decision last year. She was admitted to UT Austin CS w/o scholarship or UTD with scholarship and honors. She did choose UTD and it was the right decision for us. My oldest DD made a similar decision and it has worked out great for her as well. She chose Pitt over UT in CE/CS and is graduating this year. She already has a great job lined up in Austin and she is graduating w/o any debt. Also, the salary she is receiving here is much better than what her friends are getting on either coast when COL is factored in. She figures she can buy her first house after renting for one year because she has no debt.
I’m all for taking an opportunity when one arises and this is an opportunity for your son. UTD has a great CS dept. and it is in a very dynamic town/state for both internships, research and jobs. It is not as well known as UCLA but taking advantage of the internships/research opportunities that UTD offers will make up for that.
BTW, the most successful CS story I know is a friend of my older DD who turned down UT Austin CS for Trinity in SA, a liberal arts school, because of a scholarship. She has had 3 Google internships, including one in London, and has a job lined up with Microsoft in Seattle. You just have to be good and take advantage of all opportunities.
Best to you and your son in making this decision. I hope you enjoy your visit to UTD.
Thank you @GTAustin . My son was admitted to UT as well. I just didn’t include because it is comparable to UCLA in stature and price so he would probably choose UCLA to be closer to home between those two.
Appreciate your examples. That’s reassuring to hear about the internship opportunities!
If your son is successful in the computer science major, then that amount of debt should be manageable. I would weigh some of these questions: Does he have any experience with computer science that indicates whether he will be good at it and want to continue it? If there is tough competition for grades at UCLA, would it discourage him from staying with computer science? Is it important to him to stay near home in order to feel less stressed or is he pretty independent? Does he prefer California or Texas political culture? (Don’t answer these–just trying to help with the decision.)
UTD is highly respected for CS and graduating without debt, being in honors with all the perks it entails, plus discovering another part of the country would make me choose Utd.
Let me delve deeper into the political culture w/o picking sides. Texas is known for being a very conservative state but we have universities whose cultures are conservative ie. Baylor/SMU or liberial UT. My DD is at UTD and has found it is a moderate/liberal campus. The students are accepting of all. UTD is opening the first gender neutral housing option within the UT system next year. It will be done on a room by room basis, not isolated in a wing. About 27% of the students opted for this. Many students are apolitical. The campus does not have large demonstrations on either side. The kids seem to be focused on the academics and getting a job later. It is also an extremely diverse campus, many cultures, many colors, many religons. It is definitely broadening my sheltered, suburban daughter.
The surrounding area is a typical suburb. In Dallas, there is everything.
Thank you all for your comments! After visiting both he has decided on UCLA. Unfortunately UTD’'s campus is so blah and didn’t feel very vibrant. We support him as there really are so many good things about UCLA. He will probably have some debt but they do offer campus jobs and paid internships as well as scholarships that he can apply for along the way. It will be more work for him but that’s where his heart is.
Thank you for the update! 