I’m trying to decide between UT Dallas and UT Austin as a psychology major on the pre-med track. Applied to UTD a few weeks ago so haven’t gotten financial aid package yet, but I assume they will give me more money than UT. I haven’t visited either, but rn I seem to like the UTD feel more. My brother also went to UT a long time ago lol if that counts for anything.
UT Austin ($28k)
Pros:
more fun, sports events
more stuff to do in austin compared to richardson (not sure if I will even have time to do this)
better for major (psych)
lots of friends, boyfriend going
prestige compared to utd
little closer to home
Cons:
huge, a little too big for my liking (less personal)
doesn’t seem very safe
received less aid than wanted
don’t particularly like the campus
UT Dallas ($ TBD)
Pros:
larger % of population is my race
good pre-med, not sure how it compares w UT tho
smaller pop
gorgeous campus from what i’ve seen
very likely that it’s cheaper
i think i like suburban better compared to city
Cons:
don’t know as many friends going
quality of ppl?
not as prestigious
heard people are more studious, not as much fun/parties
little farther from home
A lot of this is things I’ve gathered around, not 100% sure because I haven’t visited either. There are probably more pros/cons too that I haven’t taken into consideration. As a petite female (lol), I’m mostly worried about the homeless population in Austin around UT and was wondering generally how safe it feels. I also really want to be involved in campus life while not being distracted from my studies. Anything would help, thank you
If you preferred UT-Austin and just felt you should go to Dallas to save money and/or position yourself to be closer to the top of the class for med school admissions, then there would be more reason to weigh pros and cons. But if you’re really feeling Dallas more, I think you should listen to your gut and reap the other benefits as well. UTD’s reputation is only rising, year after year; this article is from six years ago: How UT-Dallas Transformed Itself into a Top Texas College | The Texas Tribune Thrive at UTD and aim for one of Texas’ very affordable public med schools as well. It’s also probably a plus to not go off to the same school with your boyfriend; even though it’s hard in some ways, it’s healthier in others. I have no idea whether the safety factors are as significant as you perceive, but not everybody loves an urban setting. And I’m sure you’d have no trouble finding as many social outlets as you want/need, even at the reputedly “nerdier” school.
Bottom line, you could undoubtedly thrive at either one, so there’s no wrong choice unless one is unaffordable. If you can visit before you have to decide, I’d encourage you to do so; things don’t always feel the way you think they will based on hearsay. But choosing UTD is objectively a fine decision, particularly if the cost difference is as significant as you expect it to be.
Thank you! Yeah, I applied to UTD recently because I’d just found out about the good fin aid offers they gave. In the beginning of the process I kind of expected to be rejected everywhere (I applied mostly to reaches) so I was content with going to UT. Recently I’ve learned more about UTD, though, so I applied last minute based on that.
I’m on the WashU waitlist as well, but I’m not sure about the odds of getting off it AND receiving good aid, as we basically cannot afford it without a good amount. Crossing my fingers though, because I really love WashU.
