It’s a beautiful day in Austin and I wish all the students on this thread good luck! As a parent, I’ve been really impressed with the students who have shared their angst and feelings so openly.
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I think it’s time we diverted the conversation to something more pleasant and constructive instead of commenting on how others should feel/what they should do.
Can anyone share any insight or advice on freshman housing? Recommendations? Where to avoid etc?
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Vanderbilt is a great school. We were very impressed. Campus felt a lot like Rice.
UT and Vandy were our D24’s second choice behind Rice, where she’ll be attending next year.
Callaway and Castillian are newer and super nice! Theyre private dorms so a little more expensive but totally worth it! Hardin has a long waitlist I’ve heard, but Ive also heard SRD Is nice!
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Because 17 year olds don’t know in September how things are going to look in February. They may think that they want UT because their mom went there, or they enjoyed the tour in their Junior year, or it might look prestigious. But then they tour other schools, and meet with directors of exciting programs, and be sought after and invited into amazing programs.
Circling back to my original comment when I said I was disappointed in my alma matter, what I meant is part of me would love for my DD to go to the college that I went to. I enjoyed my time at UT. Its closer to home and I like Austin. However, it may just be that another school is a better fit for her–and no that is not only due to the admissions process.
Great !
I assume the newer ones are harder to get. Do you know how they decide who gets what? As in, once you rank them, is it time-stamped or random? Do they actually log in and sign up for their room, or does the school do it for them?
Im not entirely sure as im waiting for acceptance before applying for housing but Im pretty sure it shows how many rooms are left, you apply for a few and rank, and then depending on how much space is left you might get your first pick
I went to visit some friends at Callaway recently; It’s awsome. I’m living there next year if I get in. It is a really good spot for those wishing to rush.
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For Callaway, it is all dependent on when you sign up. You get first pick at floor plans if you signed up earlier.
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If you paid your deposit for on-campus housing in November, respond as soon as your student gets their notification it is their turn. They invite you in order of deposit date. You need to look at private dorms ASAP. You will need to put your deposit down when you get accepted, also ASAP. Be careful with those because sometimes they don’t let you out of your agreement for any reason. Try to pick a place you do not need a car to get to class because parking is scarce. There is very little “on campus” housing/dorms.
Very helpful, thanks. Yes, I have heard horror stories of students who paid a deposit and picked a room but then decided to go to another school. They notified admissions but not housing/residents’ life. Res Life tried to hold them to the contract. So if anyone ever changes their mind, make sure you let housing know in addition to admissions.
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This thread is for discussing applications and admissions to UT Austin, not for tit for tat exchanges. Take it to private message if you want to continue an argument but don’t do it here. Posts deleted. Thanks for your cooperation.
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If my daughter gets Plan 2 or Polymathic (and decides to go to UT, lol), I’m hoping she’ll pick an Honor’s Quad dorm. We shall see!
What time today?
5pmish
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Yea 5-6 CST is most likely
Best dorms are off campus but very close to the school. And off campus housing has some high rises with amazing views.
Not having to live on campus is actually a nuanced but great benefit of going to UT if you can afford the apartments given the options and close proximity to school.
I’m not sure that an “Honors Quad” exists at UT (I could be wrong on this, someone please correct me if I am). All of UT’s honors programs are independent of each other and within their own schools, so I don’t know how there would be honors dorms.
EDIT: I just researched and actually it does exist. My apologies! Best of luck to your daughter.
Callaway and Castilian are not UT dorms but run by an independent company. Both buildings are in West Campus, which is the area across Guadeloupe. They have a dining room and rent includes a food plan (you can not take that out). A lot of OOS students tend to live there and many of the residents (though not all) are involved with Greek Life. There are different floor plans and my son signed up for a 4x4 as soon as he was accepted. This is an apartment with four bedrooms which each have their own bathrooms. Yes, dorm life has changed since I went to school! The building has a roommate finder app which is where he started talking to other incoming students and found his three roommates. Overall it was a great experience his first year. Main takeaway is that putting down a housing deposit somewhere asap after acceptance (if not done yet) is important.