How is the on campus dorm life? I read that it’s very commuter heavy? My D has gotten $5k/year AES which makes the cost same as our in state with room/board. She really wanted to be somewhere in south. We’ll visit, but want to get some feedback on commuter/dorm life. She’s also looking at Charleston ($20k per year more cost but we can afford). There seem to be more health major options (which is her focus) at UTD though.
Thank you!
Wont speak to UTD but C of C has many health related academics - from the two pilublic health majors to the health informatics, biomedical physics, medical humanities, healthcare admin, and other minors.
You also have the school closely aligned and in easy walking distance to a top academic hospital - MUSC.
If UTD is for you, then great.
But I think C of C has more to offer than you are giving it credit for related to health related academics.
Thanks, I wasn’t sure mainly because UTD has the SLP major, but she’s not 100 percent sure she wants to do that.
We were going to plan a trip to CoC again and visit the pre-health department specifically. She loved the city and school and the MUSC being nearby but I’m not sure if she’d still have internship opportunities if not in their honors college, which she didn’t get.
Why wouldn’t she have internship opportunities. My daughter got her own. The Honors College doesn’t give you internships. They have a hub with listings that anyone can see.
MUSC does put out some summer opprtunities - anyone from any school can apply.
In that sense, an Honors College is overrated. There’s no where to note it on a job app.
It’s for experience.
I’m not saying C of C is right for you and Honors are great for those who want but it’s unlikely to be career differing no matter the school.
Best of luck.
I just want to add that she doesn’t have to be an SLP/Communication Disorders major to be an SLP. If you look at the MUSC website you will see that this program (as well as others), admits students from many different majors and they would need to take the prerequisites upon being accepted (or before).
If your daughter does clinical observations, volunteer work, informational interviews etc and decides she wants to be an SLP….she can. While it is certainly a more direct path to choose the major, not everybody does.
I actually think that a related major such as special education, psychology etc could be beneficial…even if she works in a hospital.
Thanks, I looked at that site and it directs you to a lot of online programs to get those prerequisites even during college so I didn’t realize that was an option. Still waiting on a few schools but going to do second visits in the meanwhile. I do like the idea of nearby hospital.
They may even have during the year programs. Even if she goes to UTD she can apply for this - it says grad studies but is for undergrad.
There’s also a research internship on the Honors Hub. And don’t forget some kids join Honors (at any school) once there.
Summer Programs | Graduate Studies | MUSC.
This second one is on the Honors Hub but that doesn’t mean you need to be Honors to apply.
Healthy Tri-County is seeking students to assist with quantitative and qualitative research methods for the 2025 Tri-County Community Health Needs Assessment.
The Opportunity: Student will experience professional work in focus group facilitation, qualitative research analysis, community based participatory research, etc. All necessary trainings are provided.
The Benefits:
Great Fit For: Public Health / Pre-Med
Anecdotal, but I know of an OOS (from upper Midwest) student who chose UTD due to the merit (in her case NMF scholarship.) She is very happy. I understand that, overall, the school has a lot of commuters, but she is in the honors college which has given her a tight-knit group of friends (many from OOS) who live on campus.
ETA: here is a thread that contains some in-depth reviews of UTD. I think much of the comments about the “vibe” might apply to your student as well, even if not attending on the same scholarship.
I do agree that one does not need to have a SLP undergrad degree in order to pursue the profession. But based on my D’s experience, (she was not a SLP undergrad) having the undergrad major does make for a more straightforward and quicker pathway. Of course, if the OP is not sure about becoming a SLP, it is good know there are options.
In any event, congrats to the OP’s D on the acceptances!
This is very true!
Funny, my D26 is also very recently looking at UTD and Charleston, not for a health-related major, but more for a cross-section of arts/technology – UTD has an appealing animation and gaming major, and Charleston has one called Computing in the Arts.
From what I can glean, UTD is somewhat filled with quiet, nerdy, introverted kids – which would suit my D26 just fine, except she really loves marching band, and was hoping to have that outlet at college. Trying to determine if the pep bands at UTD or Charleston are big or sufficiently fun. I can’t tell. @tsbna44 – I was hoping to pick your brain about this.
D26 should get NMF for sure, so that makes UTD attractive as well – AND private dorm rooms and no hall bathrooms for freshmen is huge for my kid. I really think she could deal with anything if she had her own space and a bathroom shared with only a couple other kids.
But we’re still having a hard time gleaning the vibe/culture of UTD – we need to visit. We’ve walked around C of C while on vacation, and it’s a fantastic area, but we haven’t done an official tour.
D26 will apply to the computational media program at GA Tech as well – it’s reachy, but still achievable for her because we’re in-state.
And also funny, my oldest is a junior at Rice studying linguistics, but she’s looking to apply to SLP programs for fall 2026. UTD’s program is appealing because they don’t make you take leveling classes if you don’t have a background in communication disorders – they just tack on an extra semester. Also, it’s one of the largest SLP masters programs in the country – often a cohort of 200+ instead of 30 to 50 which is common at other schools. That’s helpful in terms of the number of electives they can offer.
(It would be wild if my two girls ended up at the same out-of-state school, one for undergrad and one for grad, at the same time!)
Don’t know anything about UTD kids - but demographically and environmentally these two are different. Nearly half of UTD is Asian whereas Charleston is 80% white.
UTD has more men than women - by a decent amount. Charleston is women centric - last year 1679 women to 581 men enrolled. UTD was 2212 men to 1789 women.
UTD is in a suburb. Charleston is smack dab on King Street - right in the tourist zone - and the kids take advantage (lots of bars, restaurants, etc.). Quiet and nerdy it’s not!!!
Yes, NMF is very attractive!!! The Charleston dorms were and I know they’re being renovated - not fit for a any living organism…check to see if the Honors dorm (Berry Hall) was renovated yet (assuming it’s still the Honors dorm).
The pep band and basketball make a great combo. I hear basketball crowds are down with the new coach - they are winning but nothing will match Coach Kelsey’s (now at Louisville) energy.
In the end, Charleston will be pricey and off campus costs more than on. If you can get in the Fellows program, you can get a nice scholarship.
I’m guessing, just due to demographics and environment and curriculum (one is big engineering, one isn’t), these are vastly different.
btw - other schools (U Houston, for example), also have great NMF finalists - plus Tulsa (for semi, a full ride) and Alabama, the king of all NMF scholarships - although there’s surely more too.
Best of luck whatever you decide.