Hey, we are getting close to the end of the admission cycle from HELL! My DD has been accepted to UF as an OOS and the UT Austin Cap program. The CAP program requires you to attend another University of Texas camp for the first year on a specific curriculum. If the student achieves a 3.2 GPA they are automatically admitted into UT Austin (her #1 choice). The OOS tuition cost isn’t terrible, but there is a big difference between Austin and Gainesville. She intends on being a bio major and the CAP program only guarantees admittance into the college of liberal arts. Austin is a 2 hour drive from my home and so is San Antonio. Would love your feedback!
**EDIT
She intends on going to medical school after undergrad. Majoring in biology isn’t an absolute necessity. She can fulfill the pre med requirements through another major.
I’m a FL person and don’t know much about the Cap program but it seems very similar to the UF PACE program. It can be a great path if you really want a liberal arts degree but beyond that people discourage it generally. There are too many hoops to jump through and uncertainty to get the major you want if you desire anything beyond what is offered at the onset.
One main problem is getting required courses for your intended major. That alone can cost you up to a year in time getting prerequisites even if you are able to transfer into your intended major which at FL is not a guarantee from the start in the PACE program. Doesn’t look like it’s a given at UT Austin either.
At UF she can start off fresh without all the hooooops to jump through. Plus enjoy freshman year at a longterm campus without having to move. And get a great education to boot. Not sure about the football situation this year but HEY! It’ll always be fun.
Look to Reddit for some discussion on the CAP program. There is a lot of discussions of students experiences (good and bad). Much centers on trying to get courses and trying to transfer into major of choice.
From what I gather (same as PACE) you have to keep up with what you need to transfer and then be ready with grades, recommendations, etc. if you hope to transfer out of the program which is never a guarantee. These programs are not there for your convenience. They were made to give a pathway for more kids to get a liberal arts degree. Getting to STEM is not a function/goal. Gotta keep that in mind.
As to location…I’m very biased obviously. G’ville in a hot minute vs Austin. But I’ve visited both and enjoyed the Austin campus as well. I see (as a parent ) the “having your kid closer rather than farther” draw. Honestly kids aren’t usually hunkering to visit the 'rents.
But the airport is fairly convenient when needed.
Have you visited G’ville? Ask away! It’s a great, friendly campus.
Do your own research but I’m going to say that after years of the PACE program at UF and looking into it (out of interest) that my initial reaction to the similar sounding CAP program would be no.
The third option is to start at UTSA and stay there until graduation.
How much does cost differ and matter?
Note that biology graduates typically are not that highly paid, and those who go on to health professional school will face large costs for health professional school, so taking on a lot of debt for undergraduate would not be a good idea.
If your student likes UF and it is affordable, I would strongly consider given CAP doesn’t extend to her major. Are there any other college options? I would not bank on transferring majors at UT outside of COLA though it is possible.
Hopefully someone knowledgeable about how complex transferring into biology at UT can opine. For other majors outside of COLA, it can be pretty challenging.
Internal Transfer - University of Texas at Austin describes the process for internal transfer between divisions at UT Austin. Note that the College of Natural Sciences accepts applications only for the fall semester (i.e. apply during the spring semester).
Internal Transfer | College of Natural Sciences gives additional information for the College of Natural Sciences, but does not indicate how competitive each major is beyond the baseline minimums (3.0 GPA, B- in math and science courses).
^ the note above (#4) is important: Biology has low ROI so would need to be paired with informatics, statistics, or evidence of research. (The reason is that many would be premeds choose it as a major despite med school absolutely not requiring it, and then 60% students who made it through the premed gauntlet fail to get into any med school, resulting in an oversupply of Bio majors. And not only are there too many bio majors, there aren’t many jobs in the first place.)
At UT, you can see if it’s possible to get into Health informatics (more employable than strqight bio and relatively new) when CAP’d https://www.ischool.utexas.edu/programs/informatics
At UF the applied biology major may pair well with Bioinformatics
There’s a possibility of being accepted into the school of natural sciences. It’s not guaranteed. She doesn’t need to major in biology to attend medical school.
I have never visited G’ville. I’m familiar with Austin. Thank you for your thoughtful and informative response. A lot to digest. We will visit the UF. As an AA student I have concerns about that part of Florida. It’s far different experience than it is for boys and athletes.
The OOS cost of UF isn’t prohibitive. It’s going to be based off of her decision. UF is a great school. Am I being too over confident to believe that she will be able to achieve the necessary 3.2 for the automatic transfer? Even if she’s not accepted into the school of Natural sciences she can take pre req for medical school.
You’re 100% correct, she doesn’t need to major in biology.
If she’s okay not doing that, COLA has solid science possibilities such as (all presenting different possibilities, 1st link is Biological Anthropology, 2nd is Psychology…)
It looks like @MYOS1634 is suggesting considering whether any majors within UT Austin College of Liberal Arts are attractive enough for the student. If so, the CAP option could be more attractive.
Another thing to consider is that, as a Texas resident, getting to medical school interviews from a school in Texas is easier than from a more distant school. Texas public medical schools and Baylor College of Medicine are relatively inexpensive for Texas residents compared to medical schools in general, so they are attractive for Texas residents to attend, but also likely mean that other medical schools will assume that Texas residents will prefer them due to lower cost and may reject them for yield protection.
As Ucbalumnus said, only if she finds interesting majors in COLA (and doesn’t mind having to spend 1 year elsewhere then having to rebuild her friendship groups, finding clubs, etc).
There is a Transfer Living Learning Community…
Can you confirm that you’re only talking about UT-Austin and not UT - San Antonio? Or is UTSA an option under consideration (outside of attending it only for the first year)? I’m asking because the title indicates UTSA but the first post is talking about UT.
Has PACE been offered to your D, or do you (or any CC posters) know if OP’s D could request a switch from CAP to PACE? I am not an expert on this, but it appears that PACE would allow your D take a class/semester at UT and live in the UT dorms while taking the remaining classes at Austin Community College her first year. Then if she got the 3.2 GPA, she could switch into UT with the same type of limitations as with CAP. I’m asking because I think that being able to establish relationships with students is a lot easier when everyone is new than when one is a transfer.
I’m referring to UTSA for the purpose of the CAP program without any plans of attending after the first year.
No the Pace program has not been offered. If it was that would have made it a much easier decision.
Yes she has received other acceptances. None in state and UF currently is the highest ranked school that offers what she’s interested in majoring in along with the size/campus that she’s looking for.