AboutKat Expertise I can help with anything from freshman/transfer admissions to financial aid, from coursework to campus life. I'm extremely familiar with the College of Liberal Arts, but I know a fair share about other colleges as well.
Experience I'm a senior with a double major in English and Government, and I'm also completing the Liberal Arts Honors program.
Expert: Kat Date: 2/23/2008 Subject: Transferring to UT-Austin
Question QUESTION: Hello,
I am from Maine and have attended two colleges thus far in my academic
career. I have chosen to take this semester off due to financial and personal
health reasons but plan on working this semester, and sending in my
application to UT- Austin before the end of next week. I am a little concerned
about getting accepted considering that I am out of state and I am a transfer
student. I'm also concerned that taking this semester off might hurt my
chances of getting in, since they will see that I transferred already (from
Goucher College in Maryland to the College of Charleston in South Carolina).
Both schools had great academic programs but were polar opposite
environments and neither Goucher nor College of Charleston was the right
place for my success and individual growth. I've always loved UT and I really
think it will be the ideal environment for academic success and for personal
and social growth.I would like a bigger school but am not sure if UT-Austin
would be too large for me, coming from a college of 1,500 and the other of
10,000. However, I think a larger student body is what I'm looking for and
both schools that i attended seemed very small to me (especially the former).
i am a very hard worker... I received mostly A's and some B's at both schools
and I think I would really thrive in the environment at UT. Please let me know
of anything I can do to make myself stand out so I can have the best chance
of getting accepted. I am also a psych major and wasn't sure how competitive
the liberal arts college was in terms of accepting out of state transfer
students. Should I apply to a different school and then change once I get in?
Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
-Abigale Howell
ANSWER: Well, to begin I want to say that I'm not a UT admissions counselor, so keep that in mind when you consider what I have to say. I'm not an authority on this subject by any means!
As I understand UT's admissions process, they evaluate applicants on two major levels. One is that they want to see that you had a firm background of working hard, whatever you were doing. A's and B's are probably a good start, I would just suggest to try to play up how you developed in one particular area and showed dedication to it. (Maybe talk about how one area of psychology appealed to you and you took coursework to follow up on it, or even a hobby that you're developing.)
They also want to know about what you have to contribute to UT. At a school this large, and particularly one that is supposed to accept mostly in-state students, they aren't really concerned about what you have to gain from the university. They would rather know why you would make the campus or department a better environment. Maybe discuss some research you would like to do, certain opportunities UT offers you would like to take advantage of to promote the field, or even just some leadership positions you would like to pursue (as president or research assistant, or even taking a course with a particular professor). They're much more likely to accept a student that they think will follow through on a research project that can get published in an undergraduate journal than a student who didn't like one school and wants to go to UT just to finish up a degree and go work somewhere. Even if that IS your situation, I would just play up the side of what you have to contribute to the university rather than the reverse. ;)
As for UT's size, most people are usually surprised at how small UT can really feel. The thing is, the individual colleges (Liberal Arts, Sciences, Engineering, etc) tend to be a little universe unto themselves with their own corner of the campus. Generally within a day you only stay within a certain region of campus and only interact with a certain group of people. The effect is that you FEEL like you're in a much small school, with a student body entirely composed of people just like yourself. At the same time, there's such a diversity of students here that the possibilities for things you're interested in are endless. There's clubs for everyone here, from Persian scubadivers to Christian environmentalists to Women Republicans to Mongolian Knitters! It makes for a really really fun environment with lots of new things to explore.
Anyway, let me know if there's any other questions you have and I will answer them as best I can!
- Kat
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Thanks a lot for your help!
Does UT have an interact club? Or a volunteer group that works consistently with
local elementary/Jr. High schools?
Answer Actually, I think they do have a group that works with area schools called "Neighborhood Longhorns". There's actually so many different volunteering programs at UT that there's a Student Volunteering Board to coordinate it all!
