<p>My kid is looking to transfer to UT from community college. As parents, we feel that a degree from UT with a B average is worth more than a degree from UTSA with an A average. Both of us are working in fields outside of what we majored in college, and we know a lot of people that way. What we think are the most important advantages to a UT diploma are:</p>
<ol>
<li>A diploma with UT on it means a lot more to employers than one with UTSA on it.</li>
<li>The contacts made at UT will last a lifetime, and can help career-wise.</li>
<li>Being surrounded by people with higher intelligence and creativity will influence and inspire.</li>
<li>Exposure to more intelligent and ambitious students will foster a greater appreciation for things like environmentalism, socially-progressive causes, outdoor recreation, fitness, nutrition, etc.</li>
<li>Possibly meet future spouse at UT.</li>
<li>Life at UT has a lot more opportunities and can be a lot more enriching than life as a student at UTSA.</li>
</ol>
<ol>
<li>Possibly. But be warned the value of a graduating from UT with a B average in a soft field is not the same as it was twenty years ago, especially in this economy. Many graduates from UT who majored in soft fields are having a difficult time finding meaningful work. Of course you can work outside of what you majored in, but if you aren’t majoring in a hard field, be prepared for a difficult job search.<br></li>
</ol>
<p>On the plus side, there are tons of UT grads at big employers in Texas, so they’ll often be able to give your kid a hand. </p>
<ol>
<li><p>Sure. But it’s not a big factor. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes. The other students will push your kid because many classes are graded on a curve. Students will inspire your kid to push harder in academics and make your kid think critically in clash discussions. This means more studying. (I read in your other post that you wanted your kid to do a minimal amount of hmk…so this might be bad?) </p></li>
<li><p>If you mean a lot of liberal activists, then UT’s the place. But not all intelligent and ambitious students support controversial causes such as environmentalism and gay-marriage. That’s a dangerous generalization to make. </p></li>
<li><p>You can meet a spouse anywhere :). </p></li>
<li><p>Austin > San Antonio. Austin > San Antonio. <3.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>As much as I loved UTSA, it definitely reaches its potential within its first year. I transferred to UT this semester from UTSA and I already feel the difference. I know it will be tougher but I honestly felt like at UTSA I experienced everything it had to offer my freshman year and after that, I felt like every day was the same. There are so few people that attend UTSA, you seriously see the same people every day but I guess that’s fine if your child is looking for a small school. Nobody on campus has school spirit (except the students that are a part of sports) and I feel that that’s because most people still see UTSA as a commuter school with no football team. Not to mention that a good percent of freshman are part of the CAP program that will get them to UT their sophomore year. Most students have a mindset of transferring and only a few are plan on graduating from UTSA. You can’t go wrong with UT.</p>
<p>A UT Austin degree has a ton of value and is (no offense) “worth” more then a degree from UTSA. However, UT Austin IS NOT for everyone, some students come here and then decide to transfer again because they just can’t handle the academics or the fact that classes may have upwards of 500+ students in them.</p>
<p>Another important fact that is seldom mentioned is that UT is not the most transfer-friendly school in Texas, in fact, if your a transfer and you feel left out this is normal. For CAP students you are at the biggest disadvantage because not only do you have to adjust your studying habits and adjust to the academic rigour at UT Austin you have to deal with being behind on class registration. Since UT has 50,000+ undergrads getting into the classes you want may not happen which can be a bade way to start of your first semester at UT, especially if your looking to transfer into another college at UT.</p>
<ol>
<li>UT is the best in the state of Texas (maybe tied with Rice, but Rice is much more rare) when it comes to employers. Outside of the state, not so much and recognition will mostly be about football.</li>
<li>Honestly, most people at UT aren’t that well connected and who knows if they will be in the future. Not really a determining factor. Friends/contacts is completely up to you on maintaining.</li>
<li> Higher intelligence. Don’t kid yourself, this won’t be fantasy you’re hoping for. Almost all the kids your kid meets in class will be the uninterested. Really, it could end up the opposite. Instead of inspiring, a student can completely give up and not care, which is the more common case in my experience.</li>
<li>There are a lot of all that, but it doesn’t really have anything to do with higher intelligence or ambition.</li>
<li>Anywhere</li>
<li>Yes, there are a lot more opportunities available to UT students versus the other campuses.</li>
</ol>
<p>On 3, you will find that most kids will be disinterested in the course material but very interested in grades. Not very good for creativity, but it will certainly inspire your kid to hit the books.</p>
<p>For #3, I’m talking about the conversations that take place late at night in the dorms or in the coffee shops. I’m talking about kids discussing existentialism and third-world hunger versus kids discussing cartoons and haircuts.</p>
<p>College students sit around in their free time discussing existentialism? Wow, our world is going to be one depressing place if that’s the case!</p>
<p>I actually did sit around and talk existentialism with my friends in college. During one late-night discussion a couple of us turned the Ontological argument on its head (this defines God as “that which no greater can be conceived of”) and explored the concept of “that which none lesser can be conceived of.” (c.f Kafka’s Metamorphosis) Ultimately we agreed that the hypothetical object of our discussion was in fact our friend Dave.</p>
<p>But back to Point 3: The strength of any college (or high school) is going to be where the mainstream of the student body lies. The lower-performing students are drawn upward by the competition, and the higher-performing students are more inclined to slack off if they don’t feel any heat. UT has some really outstanding students who seem immune to the lure of slacking off, but the mainstream cares a lot more about grades than knowledge. Nearly every faculty member I have spoken to about it agrees. The intellectual curiosity that should be driving UT students has in most cases been replaced by a salt-mine mentality in which students are taking courses because they’re required for their major. When choosing electives, many UT students simply look for courses that are easy so that they’ll have more time for the courses that are required for their major.</p>
<p>spdf, the reasons kids do what they do is because there judged primarily in one category: GPA. If GPA wasn’t a factor to get into grad school or getting the best job available then I wouldv’e taken courses like Genetics or Biochem which interest me, but because they are not part of my major and are tough as hell I’m not going to take a class just because I’m interested because I have my GPA to worry about just like the thousands of other students.</p>
<p>With regards to the comment about kids discussing world hunger and such, this hardly happens at UT. Most students I know (honors students as well) look foward to weekends and getting wasted.</p>
<p>I know a few people who are BHP students who live in a house off-campus for students that are BHP and all I ever hear them talking about is partying, I doub’t these guys or anyone for that matter sit around Friday nights discussing finance or accounting topics, this is a party college afterall :)</p>
<p>@spdf : Franz Kafka FTW! However, you can’t seriously say that you spent the majority of your time contemplating the absurd viewpoint of man as a beatle even though that conversation can be quite interesting.</p>
<p>The majority of my evenings in college weren’t spent generating philosophical absurdities, but many a weekend night was. Maybe it was a different time then, when GPA wasn’t as all-powerful as it is now, but I was a chem major who took five semesters of Russian and three semesters of philosophy, and those courses, along with other electives like Greek Mythology, were some of the most worthwhile classes I ever took. While I was in graduate school for chemistry I took classes in departments all over campus, including computer science, Russian, philosophy, civil engineering, geology, and microbiology. Now I see a lot of schedules that are overloaded with math, science, and engineering, and it’s no wonder they get drunk every weekend.</p>
<p>WOW, kudos to spdf, I respect what you have done but college at UT is not like what your describing, its all about getting into your major and getting a high GPA, get a job, and then move on.</p>