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Surly kids applying / attending UT


Longhorn94

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I know we did this on the old site but couldn't find it on Surly. So here we go....

My girl submitted her application to Texas. She is applying to College of Natural Sciences, Dean Scholars, Plan II, etc... She will be auto-admitted into Texas. Hopefully, she joins her two older brothers in Plan II. If she gets Dean Scholar, she is going to Texas. If not, we will be waiting to hear back from Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, UWashington, Cal, UCLA, and Stanford. 

Anyone else have a kid applying this now?

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One year away.  Daughter wants to get into a program called the "polymath" track.  It requires a double major, one in Natural Sciences, one outside of that college.  She would like to do neurobiology + music, with an eventual goal of a PhD in psychology studying brain response to music and other sounds.

I'm curious to hear about anyone's experiences with that program.  It seems unique.  (Not the music + science part, just the program in general.)  I'm concerned that she will have to meet the high bar in BOTH schools to be accepted, but we're still trying to figure that out.

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6 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

One year away.  Daughter wants to get into a program called the "polymath" track.  It requires a double major, one in Natural Sciences, one outside of that college.  She would like to do neurobiology + music, with an eventual goal of a PhD in psychology studying brain response to music and other sounds.

I'm curious to hear about anyone's experiences with that program.  It seems unique.  (Not the music + science part, just the program in general.)  I'm concerned that she will have to meet the high bar in BOTH schools to be accepted, but we're still trying to figure that out.

That's awesome! My oldest son thought about applying to the polymathic scholars but did Turing Scholars instead. I think he has several friends in the polymathic program if you want me to run any questions by him. 

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7 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

That's awesome! My oldest son thought about applying to the polymathic scholars but did Turing Scholars instead. I think he has several friends in the polymathic program if you want me to run any questions by him. 

That would be great.  She's always been a <whatever AISD calls it> Scholar that seemingly implies top 10% but I don't know if she'll be top 6%.  I just don't have a good feel for her ability to meet the admissions goals.  She's a ridiculously self-motivated high achiever but is stretched so thin that she isn't getting the stratospheric grades the total AP nerds focus on.  For one thing, music is almost all-consuming of her time, and (believe it or not) I question the value.  She'll probably be all-state this year (got close as a soph) and she's getting high marks from UNT profs in adjudicated competitions, but honestly, it's kind of a drag on academics where she "only" averages ~ 97% on AP coursework.

I swear to God, it was not even CLOSE to this hard when I was looking at colleges.  I don't know if grades are being inflated to the point where every kid looks the same or what, but I floated through HS and had all kinds of academic options.  Now it seems like a complete battle royale, and I can say for sure she is more capable than I in the classroom.  I don't get it.

Edited by jimmyjazz
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My kid's sophomore in engineering at UT. Lately he's been working miracles and forgiving sins.

He did land a co-op to Summer though up in Irving so that's pretty cool. I'm going to post on another Thread about where to live in South Dallas are.

Edit: I mean since it's a co-op, he'll be gone this entire spring and summer, 8 months.

Edited by phdhorn
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My 15 yo has never gotten anything but an A since 3rd grade.  And he's at a pretty rigorous prep school.  My 12 y.o. daughter was tracking for a D in one class and a C- in another until we caught it.  But she has ADD and works really slowly.  Oh well, one out of 2 ain't bad.  Just got to get her into somewhere where she can marry rich.

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8 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

That would be great.  She's always been a <whatever AISD calls it> Scholar that seemingly implies top 10% but I don't know if she'll be top 6%.  I just don't have a good feel for her ability to meet the admissions goals.  She's a ridiculously self-motivated high achiever but is stretched so thin that she isn't getting the stratospheric grades the total AP nerds focus on.  For one thing, music is almost all-consuming of her time, and (believe it or not) I question the value.  She'll probably be all-state this year (got close as a soph) and she's getting high marks from UNT profs in adjudicated competitions, but honestly, it's kind of a drag on academics where she "only" averages ~ 97% on AP coursework.

I swear to God, it was not even CLOSE to this hard when I was looking at colleges.  I don't know if grades are being inflated to the point where every kid looks the same or what, but I floated through HS and had all kinds of academic options.  Now it seems like a complete battle royale, and I can say for sure she is more capable than I in the classroom.  I don't get it.

she sounds like an extraordinary young lady. i am sure she will find her way into UT.

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7 minutes ago, phdhorn said:

My kid's sophomore in engineering at UT. Lately he's been working miracles and forgiving sins.

He did land a co-op to Summer though up in Irving so that's pretty cool. I'm going to post on another Thread about where to live in South Dallas are.

Edit: I mean since it's a co-op, he'll be gone this entire spring and summer, 8 months.

thats great! what type of engineering?

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6 minutes ago, Sbbruin said:

My 15 yo has never gotten anything but an A since 3rd grade.  And he's at a pretty rigorous prep school.  My 12 y.o. daughter was tracking for a D in one class and a C- in another until we caught it.  But she has ADD and works really slowly.  Oh well, one out of 2 ain't bad.  Just got to get her into somewhere where she can marry rich.

your 12 yo will probably end up your superstar!

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23 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

thats great! what type of engineering?

ME.

He got a pretty good gig really. He's going to do a lot of work project flow which is his interest.  Or he's just going to make an asshole of himself fuck around with his friends. Either way, I get to skip paying tuition and room and board for 9 glorious months!

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4 minutes ago, ztejas said:

So unnecessary

I am excited for my daughter and wanted to share her application process to Texas. I am sorry if that offends you. I shared the other colleges she is applying to in part so I can interact with other parents whose kids are applying to the same places and also because I hope she chooses Texas over those schools.

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1 minute ago, phdhorn said:

ME.

He got a pretty good gig really. He's going to do a lot of work project flow which is his interest.  Or he's just going to make an asshole of himself fuck around with his friends. Either way, I get to skip paying tuition and room and board for 9 glorious months!

whoa! thats amazing!

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4 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

I am excited for my daughter and wanted to share her application process to Texas. I am sorry if that offends you. I shared the other colleges she is applying to in part so I can interact with other parents whose kids are applying to the same places and also because I hope she chooses Texas over those schools.

The way you phrased it was douchey. Most people's kids aren't in the position your daughter is in. Not offended at all. 

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3 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

i didnt mean it that way. I am just excited for her. Sorry if I came across that way. 

I'd be excited too. Those are a lot of badass schools. 

I applied and got in to UWash but they didn't feel like giving me any money. Of the schools you listed I didn't have the grades for any of them. Probably could have taken a flier on UCLA - I got wait-listed at Chapel Hill. 

I tutored SAT and ACT for quite some time and I promise you you are super super lucky. Most kids don't have the smarts to get into anywhere on that list - let alone the drive (something I always lacked). 

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Just now, ztejas said:

I'd be excited too. Those are a lot of badass schools. 

I applied and got in to UWash but they didn't feel like giving me any money. Of the schools you listed I didn't have the grades for any of them. Probably could have taken a flier on UCLA - I got wait-listed at Chapel Hill. 

I tutored SAT and ACT for quite some time and I promise you you are super super lucky. Most kids don't have the smarts to get into anywhere on that list - let alone the drive (something I always lacked). 

Getting into UWash is awesome. Its a great school. You must have had great SAT/ACT scores to get into UW and wait-listed at Chapel Hill! 

Thank you. We are very fortunate that our kids are super hard-workers.

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29 minutes ago, Longhorn94 said:

Getting into UWash is awesome. Its a great school. You must have had great SAT/ACT scores to get into UW and wait-listed at Chapel Hill! 

Thank you. We are very fortunate that our kids are super hard-workers.

Chapel Hill was my #1 but I eventually got denied. 

Duke told me to go fuck myself.

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My son got a full tuition scholly to the Alabama Business school a few years ago. UT had not offered as of February, so we were prepping for him to go there.

He attended a very competitive local High School, so his class rank was not high, but he did have lots of leadership extra-curricular and very high test scores.

In March of that year, McCombs offered admittance, but no scholly. Fortunately, he decided to stay in Austin and started off towards an MIS degree.

Two years later, he is double majoring in McCombs (Supply Chain Management) and Design. He is set to graduate May of 2020.

First year in the dorm, in an apartment in West Campus since.

He'll jet out of here to some global city as soon as they hand him his diploma. If I'm guessing right now, I'd say Milan.

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36 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

i just cant fathom some 17 year old sitting there thinking "i want to learn about supply chain management".....

Well, when he was 17, he was thinking MIS. It wasn't until he was 19 that he took the turn towards design and chose a different major (Supply chain management) within McCombs that would accentuate his design degree.

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This is a tough time of year for parents.  Lots of stuff due (essays, etc.) and then you wait.  UT does notify some people in December, but that doesn't have anything to do with how much of a "cinch" you are, it's more to do with how individual schools do their admissions.  Most students are notified by late January, so don't obsess if your kid's friend heard from a school within UT by Christmas.  It doesn't necessarily mean anything.  January is the bulk of notifications of acceptance.

I can tell you this, without question, amen, period.  And I cannot overemphasize how important this is, particularly for the competitive schools (business, engineering, whatever).  You absolutely need to take time and do your best essays.  I know a ton of "auto-admits" that thought they had it made with their 4.0's and "all those activities" but Ut is very clear about this... they need to know who you are to distinguish yourself, not in the accomplishment sense necessarily, but just to put a personality on you.  I am telling you now, do NOT take that part lightly!!!!!!!!!!  You can absolutely fucking get into UT, even the tough majors, if you give that application your time and attention.

My son was never going to be near an "auto admit" so he put his passion for UT and a LOT of thought into his essays (and daddy, a writer by trade, did NOT help him much except for some SLIGHT editing - it was all "his" thoughts.  That got him in, period, end of story.  Into Engineering, nonetheless.

Of course this doesn't mean you will get in with a good app, but you won't without one.  If you're an auto-admit, it might make the difference between a UT scholly - something that is pretty rare, more or less - and not.  Tons of "incredible" kids put down how they ran a small country, can do a thousand pushups, were at the top of Harvard's class as a 5 year old, etc.  But VERY few of them, especially the uber-high GPA's, either thought they were just going to get open-armed into their school (major) as well, or don't think "personality" mattered.  It does, fucking TRUST me on that one.  One of my son's best buddies was #3 - not top 3 percent, but #3 at Lake Travis, right under the Val and Sal.  Never got a B in his life.  He did NOT get into CompSci and Engineering (elec).  And he did a shitty job on his app... just wrote the minimum, ma'am.  Fortunately, he managed to do well at UT and get into EE (which like only 3% of current UT students do, apparently) but was still rejected by CompSci.  My son said it's almost purely because he thought he was blessed with that "top 7%" shit and it cost him.|

UT has to admit the autos, but the schools are especially wary of letting them in, because they want to have some say in the process, so they especially look at the "not top 7%'s" hard - and WILL admit them if they like their profiles.  

Just take that essay part seriously, think out of the box, have fun with it, and challenge yourself to write something not routine and afraid.  They LOVE to see students go out on a limb a little, so really it's cause for having fun with it rather than obsessing over whether what you're writing is the right thing.  I can't stress this enough.

Good luck to all at this tough time of year getting all their shit done.
 

P.S. I know a little, and have talked a lot, with the #2 Admissions person at the University - who also knows well almost every school's admissions department and/or officers.  This is not something from my bias, it's fucking from the horse's mouth.  And 1) no I can't tell you who that is, don't PM me, 2) no I can't put in a good word for you, sorry, and 3) no, I can't give you their contact info.  I'm sorry, I wish I could, but I can't.  And it would probably get them pissed off at me royally - something I don't want to have happen, even though my kids are past "undergrad application" age.

Edited by phdhorn
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I said it on tos so I’ll repeat it here: I’m glad I grew up completely poor with no educational pressure.  Provide opportunities and if your kids want they’ll follow, but not getting into any of the “good” schools isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

 

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1 hour ago, RoundRobin said:

Went through this with our oldest last year. He was top 10% at a very competitive prep school, 1480 SAT, varsity XC and track. He got CAP. 

He’s a freshman at the Air Force Academy. 

They don't have Freshmen...LOLz.

 

Congrats.

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2 hours ago, 52-80 said:

i just cant fathom some 17 year old sitting there thinking "i want to learn about supply chain management".....

Well it's a great major if they...um...want to get a job out of school.

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3 minutes ago, Message Board User said:

So if my kids are right now 7 and 4, how much am I going to end up eventually spending to get through college?

Bout tree-fiddy. Moose out front should have told you that.

i graduated from McCombs in 2011 and my tuition was 5,500 per semester. I’d say it’ll be double that at least by the time your kids are in school. 

Living expenses were more than my tuition.

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I know we did this on the old site but couldn't find it on Surly. So here we go....
My girl submitted her application to Texas. She is applying to College of Natural Sciences, Dean Scholars, Plan II, etc... She will be auto-admitted into Texas. Hopefully, she joins her two older brothers in Plan II. If she gets Dean Scholar, she is going to Texas. If not, we will be waiting to hear back from Harvard, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, UWashington, Cal, UCLA, and Stanford. 
Anyone else have a kid applying this now?

Congrats. That’s really awesome to have a large family of academics. Keep up the good work. We are still 3 years away for the first to start applying. She wants to go to UT but I think she’d do better in a smaller environment.
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4 hours ago, 52-80 said:

i just cant fathom some 17 year old sitting there thinking "i want to learn about supply chain management".....

 

hahahaha, you hit the nail on the head. hits close to home, i just crushed a top 5 o/g company's supply chain group, made them break their rules on sole sourcing two projects. 

Good luck with your kids finding the right college. The best decision I ever made was deciding to attend a much smaller engineering college.  

 

PhD, what kind of ME is your son ? book nerd or social butterfly ?  I'm a ChemE that works as an ME, transitioned to the business side.

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50 minutes ago, William_Cannon said:


Congrats. That’s really awesome to have a large family of academics. Keep up the good work. We are still 3 years away for the first to start applying. She wants to go to UT but I think she’d do better in a smaller environment.

My daughter graduates this year and is an auto admit but like you, her personality tells me she’d do better at a smaller school. She really wants to go to Trinity but might end up at Southwestern or TLU. Trinity is expensive as shit.

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1 hour ago, Message Board User said:

So if my kids are right now 7 and 4, how much am I going to end up eventually spending to get through college?

$170k for both of them at Big State U in Texas.

 

That's as of now.   In 11 years, who knows?

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