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Yes, it was there from the first day. I checked in and almost made a payment of $60. It’s totally misleading to have the link even before admission. I only see this at UT and U Florida.
Revenue generator
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The dorm fee charged pre-admission is most certainly is a revenue generator. I will warn you, however, that there are penalties for not paying in and playing the game. UT does NOT have enough on campus housing for all freshman. Every year, they run out. Neither my husband nor I lived on campus as a result back in the 80’s. We wanted our Longhorn on campus. The only way to guarantee a freshman a room on campus even today is to pay that fee the day your Longhorn applicant applies (yes, the day they apply - not the day the get accepted or the day they commit). There are always “lucky ones” who wait to apply and get a room. Priority for housing is based on the date that $60 is paid, not the date of acceptance to UT or the date one commits. I have no Earthly idea what housing will look like in the Fall of 2021. My niece is a freshman this year 2020-21. She is in Kinsolving and most if not all kids in her dorm have been assigned to rooms as singles (even if their room would normally accommodate 2 or more). If UT goes with singles again, then UT will have even fewer on campus rooms than they do in a normal year. That said, if there is still a health need for single assignments, then that will also likely mean that most classes (especially lower division classes) are online. If most classes are online, then like this year, many students may decide to attend UT from home or parents may opt to place them in apartments freshman year (so they have a kitchen and private bath and a bit more space & privacy for Zoom classes). It is really hard to say what the freshman experience will look like anywhere in the USA in the Fall of 2021. That said, if anyone applying to UT wants their child in an on campus dorm, they should pay the $60 and sign up for housing the day their child applies or as close to that as possible. This is not new. This has always been the case at UT. The good news for parents who did not sign up early and whose kiddo does not luck into an on campus room is that there are many private dorms on west campus (the area west of Guadalupe, north of MLK and south of 29th St). I do not know all their names. Two that have been around since the 80’s are Castillian & Dobie. Callaway is a newer one. There are even more that can be found with the help of Google. Good luck to all.
They say everywhere, including the video info sessions that housing is not guaranteed, so they advise signing up pre-admission… I have no idea about the housing in Austin, being OOS, so I paid, even with our sliver of a chance of getting in.
They can use the money to build more dorm 
Luckily, or unluckily, I don’t need to worry about it that much as the chance for my son to get in is very slim with the 14% acceptance rate at his OOS school. Well, $60 is saved
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There’s no place on campus to build new dorms, but tons of kids live off campus and it’s sometimes closer to live off campus than on campus anyway. My daughter lived off campus and it was great. She had no interest in the honors dorms, they’re old and not that nice, unlike other schools that have brand new fancy dorms. She lived one block from McCombs and was just down the street from her sorority. Perfect location. It’s not like other schools where off campus means far away. Plus it doesn’t get cold there (at least not like up North) so you don’t need to worry about standing in the cold waiting for a bus or anything like that.
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Thank you for this post.
I do not know who is Mr Price - but all these suggestions make sense and my DS followed it. Still the “Undeclared” is not making any sense to me.
- My son is in the top 3% of a highly competitive HS in the DFW area,
- wrote great essays (researched, reviewed, and fit to major)
- glowing recommendations from his teachers (one of the teachers teaches an HS engineering course in the major of his choice)
- ECs - awards in science fairs where his projects were related to the major of choice.
- SAT of 1530 - which was just one attempt in 2019, before covid crap.
[ And no, he is not applying for Computer Science ]
I think UT Austin should be more transparent in their process - even beauty contests have a better structure for narrowing down their competitors. At least this ‘soft rejection’ should come with some data, where they can tell us where does he stand. Some indication of where they felt he was outcompeted by other students.
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@Bongadi I don’t know of any schools that tell you why you were rejected. I know people are annoyed by the trickling out of decisions, and I think that frustration leads to all kinds of criticism. It is what it is, just try to be patient and let the process unfold. Good luck to your son!
Public schools don’t practice yield like they don’t practice legacy admissions. (Insert sarcasm). (Every non-AO my daughter knows already accepted is a UT legacy. Some qualified and a few blaringly not even close (no AP, no honors, mediocre GPA, no leadership or impressive EC’s but admitted, for example, to McCombs early wave, etc.)
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Wow! That’s crazy.
Thanks for replying 
, I understand that schools would not declare the exact reasons for rejection. I was just hoping for a little transparency about the process and some degree of clarity.
His admission status says that the student has been put into the “Undergraduate Studies Undeclared”. There seems to be a finality about this decision (lest we should appeal, call, etc), it seems that the process is complete (i.e. it is not unfolding). The status does not say that the application is “under review” for the Engineering school.
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Having a great feeling that a wave will come out this Tuesday guys
I’m surprised to hear that about the legacy admissions. My kid would be the 4th generation to attend UT in our family and as a non-AA, still has no decision and may not get in despite having pretty good stats.
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I hope there is too, It looks like the non-auto nursing has come out so now all I’m waiting for is to hear whether I’m capped, paced, or straight up rejected.
I’m kinda new to this page, actually it’s my first to ever join in a university discussion and holy moly, I have been enlightened so much for the past 2 days. Just want to say thank you to everyone for providing such insights for an international student like me, I really appreciate it. No matter what the results will be, I hope the best will come to us.
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How would UT even know they are legacies? And do you mean wealthy legacies?
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I find that legacy kids just want admission to the University over specific majors. They want to be part of Austin and the Greek scene and when they get there, they thrive and may change majors to be closer to their career aspiration if it wasn’t originally matched. Also, I believe legacies know the ins and outs better than non-legacies and are more passionate about admission.
The big donor ones are pretty rare. While it seems like legacies get in at a higher rate, it’s more about being flexible with major and being passionate about wanting to go there over other options.
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Does UT-Austin consider legacy status for children of alumni?
No. That is against state law.
Managing the admissions process at the public flagship University of Texas is a tremendous responsibility. Each day, I witness the transformative educational experience here on campus, and this institution’s ability to unlock student potential. My focus is to ensure we meet our public obligation to all Texans by recruiting and admitting talented students from across the state in accordance with the law and in meeting the high standards we have set.
Miguel Wasielewski, Ph.D., is the executive director of the Office of Admissions at UT-Austin.
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