I remember back in High school when our counselors would come in during our English classes and talk to us about the requirements of getting into UT and A&M. It seems like that was the only schools they thought we were looking. They knew dates, requirements, deadlines, etc., But when it came to talking to them about other schools such as Houston, Rice, Baylor, Sam, etc., they didn't seem to know much. Is af if they only cared about those 2 schools. I know some of you went to UT and A&M some however didnt go there. When looking at these schools it makes me wonder what difference is there. Obviously some schools have different undergraduate programs than others but when comparing a department such as history, psychology, math, biology, business. is there really a difference? Is the department of biology or history, psychology, math, that much better at UT or A&M. Obviously there is major difference in Graduate programs but im talking about undergraduate. Students usually stress out about not getting into those schools but its not like they are going to do much with the undergraduate unless they are going to a graduate degree (Depending on major of course). The way I see it your getting the same education at the undergraduate level. Does it make a difference where you go? When all likelihood you have to go to Graduate School to get an advanced degree? I know students who didnt want to go to UH because they thought it was Ghetto but in the end they ended up going there because they have a good graduate program. They have a law school something A&M can't say. I was in a high school where everyone seemed like they were going to UT or A&M. if I had said Houston or community college they probably would of laughed. I somewhat regret not going to Houston. It is a well-known university that deserves credit for it's success. Regardless if it lives in the shadows of UT and A&M.
Agreed. If you are just going for an undergrad degree it doesnt matter where you get it from.....Sure it would be nice to say harvard or yale but as far as getting a job they dont care... As long as you can provide the desired tasks at hand and arent a total slacker.
I've attended both UH and UT for undergraduate. I started out my freshman year at UH as a Computer Science major and then after a year transfered to UT as an Eletrical Engineering major. I think you're right in terms of those basic classes the histories and maths, probably not a huge difference. In fact I had a GREAT Calculus I prof at UH, Etgen, I got an A in his class and Calc II ( at UH) and then got an A in Calc III at UT, and I don't think I would have done so well were it not for his fantastic foundation he provided me (I had never taken calculus in high school). He also had a hand in writing the Calculus book they used at UT a couple of years ago so he knew his stuff. I will say there was a big difference in the difficulty/intensness of my Comp Science classes at UH and my EE classes at UT, the UT classes were on a whole different level. Though I honestly can't say if that was because I went from UH -> UT or because I went from CompSci -> EE. ... On the other hand, opportunity-wise I think you might have an advantage coming from a UT/A&M undergrad program. It's hard to get away from that "Cougar-High" reputation I think. I've heard people that hire people here in Austin say "there's a University of Houston??" And even my dad, a UH grad, who hires people, has said you have a much better chance coming from one of the bigger schools. And also at UT it seems there are more things like career fairs and company days where the companies come looking for YOU rather than you having to track down the companies.
Pretty much, all undergrads hold the same value unless you are an undergrad at Harvard or Yale. Those hold the wow factor. I've been to a few schools in Texas and NYC and have seen the level of professors are pretty much the same everywhere. Professors tend to be quite smart in general anywhere you go. I have also seen that alot of universities tend to use the exact same textbooks. That means you are learning the same course work as others. A reason why people will say one school is better than another is not really about the level of academics, but the student life that surrounds a place. UH gets a bad rap, because there is not much in this department. Although it is more business oriented in the B-school than UT- it still does not hold value to some naive people.
U of H has a couple of career fairs every semester. 1 week long with many major companies in attendence. They also email you extra local career fairs in the Houston area. Given you were here your freshman year and you more than likely paid less attention to these types of things.... I know I did.
I'll piggyback off this response. As far as the quality of education (as far as what you actually learn in your classes, and how "prepared" you are), I would say that most of the schools in the state are the same. Again, most professors are smart and the same textbooks are used the majority of the time. UT and A&M have the wow factor in the state of Texas and surrounding areas (Rice does too). Typically their name next to yours on a sheet of paper looks better.
While there may not be a huge difference in these schools for undergraduate degrees (in terms of what you actually learn), there are still plenty of companies out there that design their salary ranges for college hires in tiers depending on a) what you studied, and b) where you studied. It's pretty unfortunate for some students in certain disciplines at UH (for example, MIS and Comp Sci) when they're being compared to students at A&M and UT.
This is true. Again based on that wow factor (what "looks" better), but not on what you actually know or how prepared you are.
University of Houston: The best non-state supported school in Texas. School is what you make of it, no matter WHERE you go. Go whereever you know you will be happy. Go with friends, go with family, go where the weather or local scene is your flavor, go where the scholarships will allow you to live comfortably. When it came to choosing a college at my high school we got an in-class presentation from an A&M rep and a UT rep. Both of their presentations basically centered around "Aggies/Horns will hire you because you are an Aggie/Horn". I thought that was pretty lame and it turned out to be not true at all. In the end your school has nothing to do with who you are, but you have a lot to do with what your school is. Catch my drift?
I'd very much encourage someone to go to UT or A&M over any other school in Texas. There is just such a huge alumni base here in the state, that people automatically respect you more if you graduated from there than if you graduated from anywhere else. It's actually pretty amazing, considering how affordable those two schools are compared to Rice or out of state schools. There are reasons not to go to UT or A&M. If you're trying to work your way to school, you'd be better off with a school where more students are doing the same. Some people just can't afford the extra tuition dollars. Some people also don't have the discipline or aren't strong enough students to make it through. Both schools will fail you out without even noticing. There are reasons to go to a better school too. If you are dying to go to a top grad school, well, it could be easier to do that from a great private school. If you've got a full ride or parents that can afford it, an elite private school education might be worth it. You might not learn more, but you'll be treated better. I have a friend who went to the University of Chicago, where tuition is over 40K a year. You should hear how well they treat their students there. It is insane.
If you're thinking of getting an advanced degree at a top-notch school, it certainly helps if you went to a good undergrad program, unless you can somehow differentiate yourself another way. I know that many grad schools weigh undergrad GPAs differently depending on where you went, which may or may not work in your favor. I didn't have the highest GPA in college, but compared to a UT or A&M, my GPA held more weight in my MBA applications (albeit, work experience is FAR more important for b-school apps than undergrad stuff). As for getting a job out of school, it's sooooooo much more about WHO you know than WHERE you went.
I think it makes a difference depending on your interest level in the coursework. The main reason UT and A&M are ranked higher than schools like UH is because of the resources that are avaialble to the student along with distinguished faculty. For certain undergrad courses they may be a special class or a certain area of concentration that is only avaible to the school. Or there are certain advantages and programs that the higher ranked schools will offer in thier degree plans.
I would have to disagree with that. I went to UT and I don't seem to get anymore respect from anyone who didn't go there as well. Granted, there are a lot more alumni who went there in this state, so going there was very beneficial from that standpoint. But I don't ever recall getting extra respect from an outsider because I went to UT.
I don't know how valid this is now, but a lot of the oldies tell me that A&M may not be as good as UT rankings-wise, but the connection you make there last a lifetime. Aggies go out of their ways to help out a fellow Aggie, whereas Longhorns don't see other Longhorns the same way. Once again, I don't know if that's valid today, but some engineering bosses told me this.
A councelor at UT-Austin made it very clear that it doesn't matter were you do your undergrad (Ivy League excempt) but were you do your graduate work. If your still looking for answers make a trip and see what campus has the hottest girls. Then choose wisely.
Rice is definitely the top dog of the group. Trinity comes second while Southwestern is overlooked most of the time.
I believe that 100% (that those from that school will look out). I just rarely see someone from another school giving me props because I went to UT, or giving my A&M friends props, etc (if they didn't also go to those schools).
If you are going to get a job in Texas, going to A&M or UT gets you more of a look than any other public schools in Texas. That is where the value is.
