<p>captkyguy: you sound very responsible and intelligent. Kudos to you for looking ahead 4 years and wondering if the debt will be worth the “college town experience”? I am also encouraging my son to find the fit that will work for “pay as you go”.</p>
<p>i dont think its worth it for EE, since UTD’s EE program is very excellent. for other majors like business, then hands down go to UT</p>
<p>If your decision is based on getting a good education, having little debt and you are majoring in EE…go to UTD. If you have certain expectations about what college is “supposed” to be…if you have some wild partying etc. to get out of your system AND you want to go to an excellent school, go to UT-Austin.</p>
<p>UT-D is a fine school but it is not for everyone. Those that need time to find themselves and are eager to gain independence from mom and dad go to UT-Austin. UT-D tends to attract students that perhaps are more mature…this means that for a young student, you may feel out of place…if you are a freshman but are older or perhaps a little more seasoned in terms of life experience…you’ll appreciate the more buttoned-down feel of UT-D</p>
<p>If your goal is to transfer to UT Austin, then you’re better off staying home & going to a community college (such as collin college or any other) & saving tons of money. Get a GPA as close to 4.0 as possible ( i mean it)… shouldn’t be very difficult. </p>
<p>The application process will be the same (external transfer) whether you apply from UTD or CC. Also note, when applying as a transfer student, there is little to no difference between UTD and CC unless its between a CC and say Princeton.</p>