<p>@UCBProf,
I am a transfer student who got accepted to UT Austin for chemical engineering. I have also been accepted to UT Dallas for mechanical engineering (my ultimate goal is to work as a biomedical engineering, so I will pursue a graduate degree after my undergraduate).
I understand that UT Austin has great and amazing resources to set you in the right academic path. I visited the campus, and talked to an advisor who truly showed interest in my success. I was not impressed by the campus, and at this point, my main focus is to obtain a quality education.<br>
At UT Dallas, I did not have the best experience with advisors ( they have a lot of workers, but neither one does more than the job they are set up to do. For example, the receptionist cannot make appointments because appointments are set online. Or admission’s people not being able to direct you to the appointment website because they do not have any idea). After all that, I got to talk to an advisor, and he ended up being knowledgeable.
To get to the point, I am struggling to decide between both institutions. Not because, I see myself attending either one, but because the cost of attendance is dismal between these two. UT Dallas will only cost me $20 000 in student loans while UT Austin will cost $ 66 000 in student loans. I am a good student. I came from a public school in a third world country (Peru), and through a lot of hardwork, I was able to obtain a 4.0 GPA. I don’t have many extracurricular activities because I have always worked to help my parents financially. My goal to obtain an education is to help my parents.
I am unsure if I should pick UTD which will leave with less students loans to pay back, or if I should pick UT Austin?
Any advice you may provide will be appreciated.</p>
<p>Major, tuition and location are all very important</p>
<p>The people there/atmosphere. The school may be the best academically but if you are depressed because you don’t fit in and have zero social life, your grades might reflect that.</p>
<ol>
<li>Can you afford it? Can you pay for it as long as it takes to graduate? Will student loan debt prevent you from fully living for the decade or two after you leave?</li>
<li>Will you actually graduate? Is it too hard for you? Can you get all the classes you need?</li>
<li>Does your major/degree move you along the career path you want?</li>
<li>Is the school respected enough to open doors for you, or disrespected enough to close doors to you?</li>
<li>Do the location and alumni plug you in to a professional network/community? Are you left on your own?</li>
<li>What opportunities are there outside of class to follow your interests? Do research? Get an internship? Be entertained? Transportation home for holidays and such? Visits from friends and relatives?</li>
<li>If your parents are paying, how supportive/enthusiastic are they about the school? Will you have to fight tooth and nail and constantly prove yourself just to get your tuition? Will they go the extra mile to make sure you have everything you need to succeed there?</li>
<li>What are the political, social, and cultural atmosphere? Are views that are very left or right of center welcomed or frowned upon? If you’re a minority, would you feel alone?</li>
</ol>
<p>For sure, you have to see if the college you choose is the “best fit” in regarding your career. All colleges have the fact of giving opportunities to all their students and making them feel like home. But it all depends on what you actually want to do in the future. Secondly, you will for sure have to see if you like the environment of the college, because you will be spending about four year of your life in that school. Thirdly tuition, each college usually has a different rate for tuition. It all depends on whether you would like to stay at home or go live on campus. Many students like to live on campus so they can be more familiar with the area and become more responsible, and some choose to stay home. </p>
<p>The support the school offers in helping you get a job / reach your plans following your studies. This may come in the form of degree prestige, school prestige, alumni network etc.</p>
<p>But if you don’t enjoy college you simply will not succeed. </p>
<p>The most important factor when selecting a college is the quality of the education that you are receiving is worth the money and will give you better opportunities for a good paying job once you get out.</p>
<p>Departments/Research in your respective course of study is whats important. For example I would certainly pick MIT over Harvard or Duke for Physics or I’d pick Penn State over Yale or MIT for Meteorology. You should look at the schools contributions to the field you’re interested in. </p>
<p>^ About 80 percent of students in the United States end up changing their major at least once, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. On average, college students change their major at least three times over the course of their college career. Choosing a college exclusively by what you think you’re interested in at age 17 when you’ve been studying the same 6 subjects since kindergarten is probably not prudent. Even if you’ve broadened your course load in HS, most students have yet to scratch the surface of the subjects they think they want to study in college or to be exposed to even a fraction of the available majors – which are as many as 250 at some colleges now. Finding a college that can provide an excellent education in many subjects, and meets a student’s druthers for location, campus culture, student body size and numerous other tangibles and intangibles may be far wiser in the long run. </p>
<p>Good point honeybee, this is why core subjects taught the first two years of college should have been covered in full in High School and a Bachelors should only take 2 years. Hell in many European countries people go straight from High School to Medical School and the difference is minor because the focus is strictly on subjects directly related to Medicine. </p>
<p>I think the number one factor is price compared to job opportunities/quality of education. For example, an education major should reconsider going to a full pay private school while a finance major shouldn’t hesitate to take 150-200k debt to go to Wharton. </p>
<p>I believe that the most important factor of selecting college is how much money you have. Money is the most essential one. You must consider the fees that fits with your own budget. However, you don’t need hinder with that, there are so many financial assistance and scholarships out there, find and apply them and resolve your financial problem. <a href=“http://www.scholarshipdesk.com”>http://www.scholarshipdesk.com</a> is a scholarship website that I recommend for you to financial aid.</p>
<p>Hi and how is everyone here? Well? I am new here. To answer this, my opinion is that the college is an affordable one as you would be aware how tuition will be paid for in the future, if needed. Surely the quality and topic of study is obviously in mind though sufficient funds are essential as well.</p>
<p>Size
Money
Majors
Hot babes.jk</p>
<p>Can’t believe this thread is ten years old. I haven’t looked at more than two pages out of 44, but as a novice, and a parent currently helping my kid find her best fit, I think the most important consideration is value for money, or return of investment. At the end of,the day they need a career, and the higher that ROI is, the better chance they have of getting a decent career out of college. Anyway, ,y perspective as a parent needs to be balanced out by my kid finding a college she will be happy at.</p>
<p>notion of a classical liberal arts education is fading i guess.
<a href=“http://engg.entrancecorner.com/aipmt/”>http://engg.entrancecorner.com/aipmt/</a></p>
<p>I’d say the most important factor is the feeling you get when your on campus. On paper and on the websites, all of the schools kind of blend into one another (study abroad, notable faculty, etc.) The seller is if you get that “gut” feeling on campus. That is where you know you belong. </p>
<p>@Wheatie2019 I totally agree with you. Even though I’m only a sophomore, I visited some colleges when my older sister was searching, and after an hour tour I could discern between a “good college” and a college I would potentially attend after visiting several.</p>
In my opinion, part of it is defiantly the financial coverage- u don’t want to go in to a 100,000 dollar debt and get the same education as u could’ve at a state school, but for much cheaper