Need Advice on Which Colleges to Apply to

Pniks · 05-10-2008, 11:28 PM

I'm currently a junior in high school, and in a few months time I'm going to have to decide which college I want to apply/go to, and I need some advice on which colleges I should be looking into. Right now based on first impressions I'm interested in UT Austin, UC Boulder, NYU, Trinity University (San Antonio), and Southwestern University, but I'm still open to whatever. A strong social scene is important to me. I'd like some people with personal experience to tell me about their experiences with these universities or other universities they have attended which seem to fit me. Really I'd just like your opinion on what I should do.

A little background: I'm from Houston, and I'd prefer a university in Texas, but not in Houston. Really any place which seems nice will do though. I have a decent GPA (top 25%) at a pretty good public charter school, I'm taking classes to get the IB diploma currently, and although I haven't gotten my SAT scores back yet, I was 98th percentile on the PSAT and I did pretty well on the SAT (National Merit Scholarship Commended). Also I'm thinking about majoring in Biology, but I'm not sure right now.

tulsadem · 05-10-2008, 11:40 PM

If you want to stay in Texas but want out of Houston, then I'd suggest UT Austin, TrinityU, and Austin College. UT Austin is simply an incredible school and has a really strong social scene. Being in-state with a National Merit Scholarship Commended on your resume, I'd be absolutely shocked if you didn't get in.

A lot of people from my high school here in Oklahoma go to Trinity. It was an especially hot school for last year's senior class. Everyone I know who's gone there LOVES it. San Antonio's a great town (probably not as much fun as Austin IMO) and I feel like it's very underrated academically.

Austin College is the most isolated of the three. It's in Sherman, Texas, straight north of the DFW area almost to the Oklahoma border. It's a great school but I think Sherman would get really, really boring.

Pniks · 05-11-2008, 12:06 AM

Thanks for the advice, I've been thinking mostly about UT lately. Could you tell me a little bit more about what it's like there?

k14 · 05-11-2008, 12:11 AM

just a warning...UT Austin is extremely tough to get into if you're not in the top 10% of your class

tulsadem · 05-11-2008, 12:12 AM

I wish I could but I probably don't know much more than you do. Unlik,e Trinity, I don't really know anyone down there right now. I've never been to Austin so I can't really give you much of a persepctive about the town. Everyone I've talked to, though, who's been there says it's unbeatable as a college town. It's relatively affordable, has incredible live music and always has something going on. Plus, nothing beats Texas Longhorns football :-)

ChaiMex · 05-11-2008, 01:24 AM

Quote:

just a warning...UT Austin is extremely tough to get into if you're not in the top 10% of your class

UT Austin is a huge University, the largest in the country based on population. It is tough to get into, if you read around you may see many top 11%-15% getting rejected. While being a NMS, I would expect you to get in, but wouldn't be surprised if you didn't.
UT is a top tier school, and I personally believe it is one of the top Public Universities in the country (along with UCLA, UCB, UNC, UM, and UVA (i think on this last one))...
anyways, my father goes on ranting and raving how great it would be if I would go to Austin and how its a great university and how it is prestigious... He graduated from UM and though it was better then Rice prior to recently when he saw the USNWR ranking....
Austin is a young people's town.
If you have the Money, Baylor, SMU, A&M, TCU, and UTD are schools to look into.
A&M is near Houston, but really... it's a good school...I would also apply to Rice. Who cares if it's in Houston. It is of Ivy Caliber IMO... A&M is also somewhat easier to get into...and some sources rank it the top school in the nation...I couldn't picture it as so... but hey...

If you want a totally different scene then Houston, then stay away from UTD, SMU, and TCU..cause Dallas isn't too different from Houston...
Since you are applying to Trinity (which is private... and some what expensive) I would likely look at TCU... which is ranked in USNWR and a little cheaper...
I would go with UT, A&M, or Rice if I were you though

OneMom · 05-11-2008, 06:22 AM

Look at Tulane. It has a strong social scene. You ought to get in. They give great financial aid, if that is a consideration.