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Posted
4 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

My MIL is a counselor in San Diego that specializes in placing and helping kids get into college. Over the last few years she’s seen it become easier for out of state kids to get into CA schools than CA kids. They want that out of state money. 

CU and CSU went through that probably 15-20 years ago and there was a huge outcry when one year's freshman class at CU had more out of state than in state kids in it.  I think they are required to have more in state kids in every class now.  But they do love the OOS tuition.

Posted
2 hours ago, 4th&Five said:

how many affordable, good schools are left in Texas?

Trinity has a huge endowment and used to provide a lot of scholarships and other aid packages other than loans to keep costs affordable.  I assume they still do, but I'm not 100%.

Posted
6 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

There is certainly a fair amount of privilege to be able to spend $50k a year to be educated in California (or New York or Seattle, etc.) and accelerate the move out of Texas for an education that is average-to-above-average (e.g. Oregon, Arizona, Colorado, San Diego St., Cal Poly, etc.)

Colorado is on the rise. They’re attracting more competitive students and talented faculty. I think it’s in roughly the same position UT was back in the 90s or early 2000s. So, you know, pretty equivalent to the UT education many of us got. 

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Posted
18 hours ago, jimmyjazz said:

While the UT system isn't up to UC standards, there are a few options where a good education is possible.  UT-Arlington, UT-Dallas, and UT-San Antonio all have their good points. 

UTD is on a different plane than Arlington and San Antonio. If the state had any sense, it would be plowing a whole lot more money into that campus, but absent that, what they’ve done on that campus in the last 20 years is pretty remarkable.

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Posted (edited)
17 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

Did A&M counter by adding another 10,000? 

You say this flippantly, but the UT System has been egregiously derelict in expanding undergraduate admissions at the flagship and increasing the quality of faculty and funding at satellite campuses. As an alum and someone who is currently paying for two undergrads there I say fuck them

 

In terms of quality of education, UTD is the exception that proves the rule, but is basically a standalone and focused on stem and research. It doesn’t offer students a traditional college experience 

 

edit UT could add 30% to the incoming freshman class and increase their test scores and other measurables

Edited by Sawbonz
Posted
13 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Colorado is on the rise. They’re attracting more competitive students and talented faculty. I think it’s in roughly the same position UT was back in the 90s or early 2000s. So, you know, pretty equivalent to the UT education many of us got. 

Anecdotally, Colorado gives very little in terms of merit based financial aid to out of state students, and it is one of the more expensive out of state schools

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Posted
14 minutes ago, Sawbonz said:

Anecdotally, Colorado gives very little in terms of merit based financial aid to out of state students, and it is one of the more expensive out of state schools

Compared to the other schools on your list? Sure. Oregon has been particularly generous lately. But I know several kids who got decent help at CU, and it is probably the overall best school on that list (or at least is moving in that direction).

In my experience, the net price for out of state public schools is inversely proportional to their academic ranking. All-in, CU Boulder is significantly less expensive than the UCs and places like Michigan or UVa, for example. 

Posted
2 minutes ago, BrickHorn said:

Compared to the other schools on your list? Sure. Oregon has been particularly generous lately. But I know several kids who got decent help at CU, and it is probably the overall best school on that list (or at least is moving in that direction).

In my experience, the net price for out of state public schools is inversely proportional to their academic ranking. All-in, CU Boulder is significantly less expensive than the UCs and places like Michigan or UVa, for example. 

Again I said anecdotally. We don’t know any kids who got into a UC school and picked CU over them, much less Michigan or UVa. The kids that got into CU got no merit based aid and FAFSA was too high for need based. The kids that we know who got into UC schools Michigan and UVA (one each) all got some merit based aid and or need

Posted
43 minutes ago, royiv said:

UTD is on a different plane than Arlington and San Antonio. If the state had any sense, it would be plowing a whole lot more money into that campus, but absent that, what they’ve done on that campus in the last 20 years is pretty remarkable.

UTD got a huge boost early on from TI and TI founders, who wanted a school to work-study TI employees.  They offered to do the same for SMU, but SMU declined, seeing itself as a liberal arts and business school.  So its beginnings were different from most of the other UT "satellite" schools.

Posted (edited)

This thread left me wondering about something. What are some schools that have traditional college experiences (including P4ish football), but are extremely easy to get into (>83%)? There were plenty more than I expected and something for everyone.

Michigan State - 84% acceptance rate

Iowa - 85%

Arizona - 86%

Oregon - 85%

Arizona State - 90%

Iowa State - 89%

Utah - 87%

Colorado State - 90%

Cincinnati - 88%

Kansas - 88%

Kentucky - 92%

Ole Miss - 98% (!!!)

West Virginia - 88%





 

Edited by SimonBolivar
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Posted
54 minutes ago, TwiceHorn said:

UTD got a huge boost early on from TI and TI founders, who wanted a school to work-study TI employees.  They offered to do the same for SMU, but SMU declined, seeing itself as a liberal arts and business school.  So its beginnings were different from most of the other UT "satellite" schools.

Yeah, I fund an endowed scholarship with my name on it at UTD. I’m well aware of its history.

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Posted (edited)

She got her college essay done and it's pretty good. Meeting with our guy on Wednesday to polish it up and look at which college applications to tackle first. She's going to take the SAT a 3rd time in early September as she wants to increase her math score. Our neighbor is a math teacher and offered to help her prepare. So I think we're looking at the end of the month to start applying.

I wouldn't mind her applying to UTD but I really want her to get out of this city for college so she can experience someplace new and not live in the same city for 22 years. UTD is a great school but I would only want her to go there if that was her favorite option. 

Edited by mdmost
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Posted (edited)

So apparently if you are looking at liberal arts only there is a way to do ACC for one semester and transfer into COLA  for spring? Seems like have the kids in callaway and Castilian are doing that 

 

eta and online ACC courses count for some of it

Edited by Sawbonz
Posted
20 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

CU and CSU went through that probably 15-20 years ago and there was a huge outcry when one year's freshman class at CU had more out of state than in state kids in it.  I think they are required to have more in state kids in every class now.  But they do love the OOS tuition.

The reason why there are so many Maryland kids sprinkled all over the eastern seaboard is because in state admissions to College Park is brutal. UMD makes a lot of money off mediocre full freight kids out of New Jersey.

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Posted (edited)
3 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

Compared to the other schools on your list? Sure. Oregon has been particularly generous lately. But I know several kids who got decent help at CU, and it is probably the overall best school on that list (or at least is moving in that direction).

In my experience, the net price for out of state public schools is inversely proportional to their academic ranking. All-in, CU Boulder is significantly less expensive than the UCs and places like Michigan or UVa, for example. 

From my anecdotal experience, the California kids coming out of California who did not get into UCLA/UCSD/Berkley/Santa Barbara/UW and have money go to Colorado. The others look at a range of other schools (Oregon/Arizona, etc.)

Edited by Bateshorn
Posted
27 minutes ago, Bateshorn said:

From my anecdotal experience, the California kids coming out of California who did not get into UCLA/UCSD/Berkley/Santa Barbara/UW and have money go to Colorado.

That sounds about right. Similar for Texas. Lots of kids who didn’t get into UT or one of the Public Ivies are picking CU. Hell, we know a girl who picked CU over Columbia a couple years ago. 

Posted
20 hours ago, BrickHorn said:

That sounds about right. Similar for Texas. Lots of kids who didn’t get into UT or one of the Public Ivies are picking CU. Hell, we know a girl who picked CU over Columbia a couple years ago. 

Original list published in 1985

Runners-up

As part of the initial 1985 publication, Moll also selected nine "worthy runner-up" universities:[14]

Posted
On 8/23/2025 at 11:54 AM, mdmost said:

She got her college essay done and it's pretty good. Meeting with our guy on Wednesday to polish it up and look at which college applications to tackle first. She's going to take the SAT a 3rd time in early September as she wants to increase her math score. Our neighbor is a math teacher and offered to help her prepare. So I think we're looking at the end of the month to start applying.

I wouldn't mind her applying to UTD but I really want her to get out of this city for college so she can experience someplace new and not live in the same city for 22 years. UTD is a great school but I would only want her to go there if that was her favorite option. 

Maybe I missed it an earlier post of yours, but curious as to what your daughter wants to study/major in?

Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, BillyGoatHill said:

Maybe I missed it an earlier post of yours, but curious as to what your daughter wants to study/major in?

She would like to be a therapist. She credits her therapist for helping turn her around and she wants to do the same for others. She's looking at a psychology degree but her therapist said she shouldn't limit herself to just that. Our college guy says she should stick with psychology for the smaller colleges. One thing she really liked about UC-Irvine is they have a pathway option for psychology that is all about counseling and not just clinical psychology. We're going to do a deeper dive into each school's psych programs next month. We'll also look at schools that offer a 5 year program so she can go right into getting a Master's. Some schools offer those programs. I believe Trinity does that. 

Edited by mdmost
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Posted

All the talk of UTD-- wasn't there a parent here who disclosed how much UTD was and it was obsence for an in state tuition, commuter school experience? I'll try and find it.

Posted (edited)
7 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

All the talk of UTD-- wasn't there a parent here who disclosed how much UTD was and it was obsence for an in state tuition, commuter school experience? I'll try and find it.

Here are UTD’s official estimated costs for an in-state undergrad, living on campus (they have a bunch of newish dorms now), taking 12+ hours in a STEM-related field.

IMG_1608.thumb.jpeg.ad617ce5f410df908381979331579964.jpeg

Edited by sasquatch69
Posted
4 hours ago, sasquatch69 said:

Here are UTD’s official estimated costs for an in-state undergrad, living on campus (they have a bunch of newish dorms now), taking 12+ hours in a STEM-related field.

IMG_1608.thumb.jpeg.ad617ce5f410df908381979331579964.jpeg

From CHIEF: When you are talking about a commuter school with zero campus life (sports, parties, greek-- do they even have dorms?) it feels like a very weird option. Your kid has to be super focused on a STEM education and career I woudl think and only care about getting that internship at TI or some other semiconductor fab (not a bad idea in this era we are in), but it's pretty pricey.

That said, UTD is clearly a step above UTA, UTEP, UT-Tyler, SA, etc. while being a clear step below UT-Austin.

Quote

CHIEF Jr. started out at UTD, my wife and I and my parents paid for that first academic year, it was about $40k for tuition, room, and board. We discussed loans after that.

Quote

 

UTD is expensive as fuck for a public university. More expensive than UT-Austin. I remember we paid for the full academic year, up front. It was over $33k. That was before books. They rape you on rent, and the half ass food plan. Only thing he ever ate was personal pan pizzas. The extra $4k or so was grabbing something different to eat, and entertainment. It's a big commuter campus, and they roll the sidewalks up at night. Indoor go-cart racing gets expensive.

CHIEF

 

 

Posted

I just paid Junior Brown's fall semester bill - tuition, room/board, and fees.  All in, it was $19,900 after her merit aid and scholarships.  The only other expenses were the parking permit which was like $720 for the year and Mrs. Brown probably spent $5,000 on the dorm room.

 

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Posted
15 minutes ago, CooterBrown said:

I just paid Junior Brown's fall semester bill - tuition, room/board, and fees.  All in, it was $19,900 after her merit aid and scholarships.  The only other expenses were the parking permit which was like $720 for the year and Mrs. Brown probably spent $5,000 on the dorm room.

 

Apologies if you mentioned upthread, but where was this?

Posted

Out of curiosity, for school that feel it is important to show "demonstrated interest", what have you done save for the obvious activities like a campus tour, etc.?  I had my son e-mail the admissions office last night with some questions.

Posted (edited)

I think that's true for smaller colleges or private colleges. I know Trinity mentioned going for the open house and then scheduling a one on one interview as something that can boost your profile. Conversely, Willamette University's person said whether you visit or not had zero bearing on if they admitted you or increasing your chances since they mostly get out of state people applying and it's not always easy for people to get there. Maybe Trinity is different because it's highly sought after in this state thus being a lot more competitive. I can't remember if Colorado College made it a big deal or not to visit. 

I would say sign up for emails from them to show interest and also attend any traveling college fairs if they do them. I know Willamette scanned a QR code on my daughter's phone when we talked to them at the small college fair. Maybe that was to send her more info or record that they spoke to her? I think getting on the email list is a good idea as we've gotten emails from places she's not going to apply with like University of Denver that offered waiving the application fee if she applied. 

Which college is this for?

Edited by mdmost
Posted (edited)
14 hours ago, Vegas64 said:

All the talk of UTD-- wasn't there a parent here who disclosed how much UTD was and it was obsence for an in state tuition, commuter school experience? I'll try and find it.

Estimated cost of attendance for 2025-26, full time undergrad living on or off campus, but not with parents ... from each school's websites, I picked costs for a CS major when I had to choose:

  • UT: $32,344-$35,152
  • UTD: $35,982-$37,830
  • UTA: $29,256
  • UTSA : $31,120
  • UTEP: $24,680

Also:

  • Texas A&M: $32,960
  • Texas Tech: $30,277

UTD has a lot of money for scholarships, so a lot of students are paying way less than that MSRP price.

As of Fall 2025, the UT system offers the Promise Plus plan at all of its institutions, which gives free tuition and fees to all students from families earning under $100,000.  Generally tuition and fees are about $13,000 of the total cost per year.

Edited by Texas Jeff
Posted
1 hour ago, CooterBrown said:

I just paid Junior Brown's fall semester bill - tuition, room/board, and fees.  All in, it was $19,900 after her merit aid and scholarships.  The only other expenses were the parking permit which was like $720 for the year and Mrs. Brown probably spent $5,000 on the dorm room.

 

christmas vacation GIF

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Posted
On 8/23/2025 at 10:07 AM, royiv said:

UTD is on a different plane than Arlington and San Antonio. If the state had any sense, it would be plowing a whole lot more money into that campus, but absent that, what they’ve done on that campus in the last 20 years is pretty remarkable.

Which is why UTD isn’t part of the CAP transfer pathway program. They don’t want to be id'd as a “feeder school” for the mothership in Austin. 

My oldest is a junior there in the Computer Engineering program, and it’s been a really strong experience for him. The program is rigorous, the faculty is great, and the facilities are top-notch. The dorms are nice, though if you live anywhere in DFW, they’re not a good use of money. There isn’t a ton happening on campus outside of academics. It isn’t a party school or a place where athletics dominates the culture. It’s an academically focused environment, with students who are serious about their work. Although I don't know much about majors outside of the computer engineering program.

I did just read that UTD is one of 3 schools in Texas that would take a significant financial hit if the U.S. ever halted or curtailed enrollment of international students (the others being UNT and UTA). It shows how global UTD has become — or how much of its financial model depends on that stream of enrollment — that a huge portion of its graduate and undergraduate population comes from abroad. 

 

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