OT: What colleges should I apply to?

[barnsleyman123]

I am interested in Business Management (advertising maybe), I am in the top 25 % and I have a 4.0 GPA. I want to go to UT at Austin but I'm not sure if I can get in, I am also going to apply to Texas A&M. Where else should I apply that I realistically have a chance of getting into?

I would preferably like to stay in Texas or somewhere with a similar lifestyle but either way just give me your suggestions.

-Thanks

[Jet17]

UT seems like your best bet - especially if you want to stay in Texas. I think you'll get accepted at UT and you'll definitely get accepted at A&M. Those are the two best colleges in Texas so if you want to go to school in this state you don't need to apply anywhere else...maybe a safety school - like Baylor. I applied to those three schools and Purdue and I got into all four.

[HTown_TMac]

Lol... You dont believe you can get in with a 4.0 and being 25% in the class?

Are you applying for this year or next year?

[Ribalding]

I am interested in Business Management (advertising maybe), I am in the top 25 % and I have a 4.0 GPA.

-Thanks

OK. The following advice is worth exactly what you (didn't) pay for it. That being said....

COLLEGE IS NOT WHERE YOU GO FOR VOCATIONAL TRAINING.

Yes, a college degree is often a necessary stamp to get you in the door for an interview. Sad but true. Sometimes you have to have the degree. Fact of life. But a university is not designed to do job training. (Ask around. You'll see for yourself.) Universities are good for 2 things, and two things only:

1. A handy dandy place to pull easy a55.
2. A great place to teach critical thinking skills and concise expression.

That's what college is good at. It is a place to educate you, since all high school is good at is giving you a place to go instead of jail.

Do not go to college for job training. Go - if you don't know your calling in life - for an education. Learn the classics. Learn how to string together a few coherent sentences in a couple of languages. Learn how to trick sorority girls into thinking you're worth sleeping with. Learn why Joseph II of Austria was a cool guy, and how it might matter in the 21st century.

But don't be fooled. You won't learn how to "business manage" in college. Instead, you learn how to "business manage" by...wait for it....managing. If that is your goal, you will learn much more quickly (and avoid piles of student loan debt) by working your way up and carefully observing what works and what doesn't work in a REAL business. If you're one of those fortunate few who know exactly what they want to be when they grow up, then maybe - just maybe - you will be better served by going out and doing it.

If you're not one of those lucky few? Go get an education. It's never a bad investment. Just don't ask college to do what college sucks at doing.

If you want to get a pretty good job quickly, where you can get laid in a real bed and have the freedom to buy a boat, go to welding school. Or ITT. Or whatever. You won't be carrying the debt, you'll have a manageable lease on a new car, and you'll have the freedom to read all the books you would have paid to read in college.

***Edit: Whatever you do, don't forget the following: College girls confuse dirty with sensitive. So don't shave. Take lots of showers, of course. But don't shave. They love that s**t. (And write some awful poetry. It goes with the not-shaving bit.)***

P.S. - The best advertising guy I know majored in English and spent his summers learning computer design at ITT. He makes money by the truckload.

[luhbron]

What Ribalding said is partially true although his post did seem to trivialize a good college education.

If you are interested in business management, college will help you with the theory aspect. This is often overlooked. Yes, your practical application will all come from experience though real work, but having that theory platform to build upon can significantly shorten your learning curve.

I go to UT right now. I'm in the business school. I've worked finance jobs (which is my major) and a lot of what I learn in school is not applicable at work. At the same time, the knowledge I attained in school has given me a solid foundation to build further upon and that has been invaluable at work. Had I gone into work without that base, I would be fired in the first week. This is high finance though. You can get away with less knowledge in other industries.

You definitely want to go to UT if you're interested in business though. The business school is top 10 in the nation, top 5 in finance if you're interested. The Campus Recruiting system has been voted best in the nation and this past semester I realized why. They help you tremendously when it comes to starting a career. Also, recruiters take a business degree from this school way more seriously than any other Texas school.

Austin is fu*king awesome too. College Station seriously blows dude. I mean, you can have fun at any college no matter where it is. People that go to A&M will tell you how awesome CS is and I am 100% sure they do make the best of it. Once you experience Austin though, you'll see its just not even close.

And how are you only top 25% with a 4.0? Are you on a 4.5 scale?

Best of luck.

[Optimism Prime]

From a former college admissions counselor:

Ribalding pretty much has this nailed. College is where you learn how to think, not how to prepare yourself for a career. You'll have plenty of time once you figure out what you want to do to learn how to do that job.

Put it this way. When I was your age, I wanted to be a youth minister. Since graduating from college, I've worked in admissions, telephone sales of internet advertising, as a managing editor at a guitar magazine, and now as a marketing guy at the same magazine... in three years since I graduated.

I double majored in international relations and religion. From a tiny liberal arts college in the Midwest. Actually, hell, I don't care anymore, I went (and worked) here: http://cornellcollege.edu/ Used to try to keep it quiet when I'd give college advice while I was working there, but meh. Whatever.

What did I learn in those majors that made me good at all the jobs I've had? Critical thinking and communication skills.

Also, to whoever said UT and A&M are the best colleges in Texas... respectfully disagree. There's no one "best" college out there, despite what the Ivy League will tell you. (But they're a whole 'nother rant...) Different colleges work better for different people. If I'd gone to UT, I would've absolutely hated it. Classes of, what, 500+ sometimes? No thanks, I couldn't do it. Know what you're getting yourself into. Be sure you do an overnight visit. See what things are like on campus when the sun goes down. Sit in on a class. Ask questions of people you meet, especially if they're not your tour guide or an official campus person.

Anyways, I guess this is where I volunteer again to answer any questions people might have about the college thing. Fire away.

[jove9]

Good advice, Ribalding, and I agree completely with your point that college is meant to teach people to think and "rite good."

It is important to note, however, that this guy SHOULD choose a college based on what he wants to study. Some schools are better than others at what they're supposed to do, as well as what they're not supposed to do.

For instance, if this guy wants to study business, he should choose a school that has a good business program. Same with history, engineering, etc.

If he doesn't care about academics and just wants to party and maybe get a piece of paper after four (or six?) years, there are places for that too.

No matter where he opts to go, it's important to note that you get out what you put in. He could go to a crappy school and take academics seriously and still emerge with the ability to put a coherent sentence together. Similarly, he could go to a fancy ivy league school, not do a damn thing academically, party like there's no tomorrow, and maybe, just maybe, he could be president one day.

[wadero]

Stephen F Austin is a great school as is any of the Majors Colleges in the state. If you live in Houston give U of H a try they are also a great place to get a degree.

[Ribalding]

...For instance, if this guy wants to study business, he should choose a school that has a good business program. Same with history, engineering, etc....

99% of your post was dead on (mostly because you were nice to me. I like that in a girlfriend).

But lets get one thing straight:

You don't "study" business. You DO business.

A business degree does four things:
1. Teaches you almost no information you could've learned 10x more quickly by working.
2. Charges you lots of money for the privilege.
3. Gets you in the door for a lot of interviews for a lot of <30k jobs.
4. Manages to get you ALLLLL the way through college without the ability to think or write.

Yay, business degrees!

(In fairness, they're not as bad as the "sales" degree my idiot cousin got. I s**t you not. He got a degree in 'sales'. I thought he said 'sailing', when he first told me. At least that would've required some math classes. But nope. "Sales". In college. Wow.)

[YaoZaii]

i'm not from the US but i heard that Rice is pretty good.
not sure if it offers what u want there.

[Ribalding]

i'm not from the US but i heard that Rice is pretty good.
not sure if it offers what u want there.

Well....thanks for that.

There are t-shirts at Rice that they've been selling for 20 years. They read:

"Harvard: The Rice of Massachusets"

Rice is a great school. It's even better if you're a straight guy who's into pseudo-geeky girls with that secretly naughty vibe (and who isn't?).

But one more thing about an undergrad education. This is important. Pay attention.

Do. Not. Mortgage. Your. Future. For. An. Undergrad. Degree.

Hear me? Good. Now repeat it back, slowly. "There's no good reason (unless it's Harvard or Rice) to go into debt for an undergrad degree." Keep saying that over and over until people think you've lost your mind. SEAR it into your wee wittle bwain.

Why?

98 times out of 100, if college is to posses any real financial utility, that undergrad degree is just the first of two.

Hear that?

If you get the degree, you're going to need another one before you start making real dollars. (Sucks to be young in the 1st decade of THIS century, don't it?). But it's true. To make some real hay, you're going to need an advanced degree. MBA, MA, JD, MD, etc. Sorry to be the one to tell you, but an undergrad only begins your walk along the long and lonesome road. Your training is not at an end, Padawan.

So don't go into debt for your undergraduate degree. It's not that helpful. And I hate to say it. But....

Get one.

Get it fast.

Get good grades.

Then move on.

(And don't forget about that "bathe but don't shave" bit from earlier. That s**t works.)

P.S. - OptimusPrime: I was admitted to your school and didn't go. I regret it to this day.

[b-ballwizard]

Ribalding, I'm not sure how much money is big money to you, but the average starting salary for an engineering major with a bachelor's degree is around the mid-50k range. For a 22-23 year old, I'd say that's "real" dollars, and engineer's salaries' progressively increase over time.

[Optimism Prime]

i'm not from the US but i heard that Rice is pretty good.
not sure if it offers what u want there.

Rice is a great school.

True statement. One of my good friends from HS went there, and my little brother's girlfriend goes there--wish I'd looked into it as a senior, though it's too close to home for my tastes. Trust me, I moved (and stayed) in Iowa for a reason.

But one more thing about an undergrad education. This is important. Pay attention.

Do. Not. Mortgage. Your. Future. For. An. Undergrad. Degree.

Hear me? Good. Now repeat it back, slowly. "There's no good reason (unless it's Harvard or Rice) to go into debt for an undergrad degree." Keep saying that over and over until people think you've lost your mind. SEAR it into your wee wittle bwain.

I have loans; totally worth it.

Better advice than "don't get loans" is "DO get a scholarship." If I had loans for all my tuition, I'd be up **** creek without a paddle. As it is, I only had around 18000 in debt (yes, ONLY, not that much in the grand scheme of things), which is approximately $150/month for the next 20 years. Worth it, worth it, worth it.

Again, it all depends on how much your loans are and how much it's worth to you. If it means going to your dream school or making yourself miserable, it'll be worth it. If you won't go to college without them, it'll be worth it. If you're making your decision based on financial aid ("I really like School X, but School Y offered me a bigger financial aid package") you're dumb, and this will piss off your admissions counselor.

Yeah, money's important in the grand scheme of things, but it's not The Most Important Thing. Feel and fit are primary in the college decision; finances should be secondary.

P.S. - OptimismPrime: I was admitted to your school and didn't go. I regret it to this day.

Fixed. Explain yourself, boy! When was this? Did you visit? What'd you like/dislike? What made you choose elsewhere? Why the regret?

[MaxRider]

for business your best bet in UT
what's your SAT score?
i don't know what is the standard now since it changed so much
9 years since i graduated
it changed a lot

btw
i got accepted to UT but not UH
strange and weird
later UH called me telling me that i can attend UH downtown first then transfer to UH
i told them screw you i'm going to UT

my mom force me to apply for UH (she wanted me to stay in Houston)

[fisterkev]

Well... For once I'm going to agree pretty much completely with Ribalding. Yes, it happened.

Do not be under any illusions that college is going to teach you any truly marketable job-related skills, unless you are going to go for a technical degree such as engineering or architecture. Anything else is really at best, life training, not job training. A curriculum in Business Management is not going to teach you how to manage a business; it will only give you some ideas about a few things that you can think about while you're learning about business later on by doing.

College is great, and it does help flesh out your resume a bit if nothing else, just don't have any illusions about what you're getting into. Also, don't be the person who tries to sue your school for not hooking you up with a job when you graduate - that is up to you. You go to school to learn, not get handed a job. You will have to work, and learn more, for that.

Any of the schools mentioned are good schools. I wouldn't overlook UH either, they had a pretty decent business school when I was there a decade ago, and it'll save you mucho coin.

[barnsleyman123]

And how are you only top 25% with a 4.0? Are you on a 4.5 scale?

.

It's a 5.0 scale but unfortunately for me the high school is very competitive. cough cough asians

[barnsleyman123]

To MaxRider: Wow that is really weird that you got into UT and not UH and my SAT is 1880 but I am looking to improve it.

[Ribalding]

Fixed. Explain yourself, boy! When was this? Did you visit? What'd you like/dislike? What made you choose elsewhere? Why the regret?

This was in '90. I visited CC, Grinnell, Davidson, Oberlin, Colorado College, and Trinity. I liked CC plenty. Just couldn't wrap my head around the whole Iowa concept. Plus I saw two girls on campus who didn't shave their legs. That pretty well cinched it.

I regret not going there (or to ANY of the schools I visited) because I wound up at a big school, where there was far less personal interaction with instructors. I had always hoped for a student/mentor thing like something out of a Pat Conroy book. Didn't happen, obviously.

[Optimism Prime]

Fixed. Explain yourself, boy! When was this? Did you visit? What'd you like/dislike? What made you choose elsewhere? Why the regret?

This was in '90. I visited CC, Grinnell, Davidson, Oberlin, Colorado College, and Trinity. I liked CC plenty. Just couldn't wrap my head around the whole Iowa concept. Plus I saw two girls on campus who didn't shave their legs. That pretty well cinched it.

I regret not going there (or to ANY of the schools I visited) because I wound up at a big school, where there was far less personal interaction with instructors. I had always hoped for a student/mentor thing like something out of a Pat Conroy book. Didn't happen, obviously.

Heh. Fair enough. I just wanted to make sure it wasn't when I was working admissions... but, um, you seem to be many years older than me, so it wasn't.

CC was easily the smallest school I looked at... briefly considered UT (too big), UNT (for their jazz program--too big), Baylor (too big, and too Christian--and this is when I wanted to be a youth minister!), Southwestern (nice, but too expensive), and Cornell... which I fell in love with the second I visited.

As far as the student/mentor thing... It's amazing. I actually did have that with one of my religion profs, the inestimable Charles Vernoff, aka "The Rogue Rabbi." Basically, the guy's an absolute genius, but terrifies students. Before I had a course with the guy, I'd only heard horror stories, and put off taking the course of his that I needed as long as possible. When I got to it eventually, it was easily my favorite class there, and he became my favorite prof.

Example of how awesome bonding with a professor is: The year after, I did an independent study on "The Silmarillion", leading him to nickname me a hobbit. And really, can you blame him?



Year after that, when I had my... fifth class with the guy, we'd developed a certain amount of rapport. Day before the final, he said he was sure we'd done nothing the weekend before but study, leading me to mutter loudly "Oh yes, NOTHING ELSE." He looks across the room and bellows, "YOU!!!! YOU ARE GOING TO HOBBIT HELL." Cue laughter from the entire room.

Of course, later that year I heard a friend of a friend say "I'm not sure about this Vernoff guy... I heard he told one student he was going to hell!" I had to correct her that it was an inside joke, and that no one laughed harder than I did.

Good times.

[Munchlaxatives]

I could actually use some advice. I'm looking for a school to go to, maybe a year from now or more. Right now, I'm in community college to save dough. What's a good state school with low tuition, but would look good on job/school applications? I'm thinking Sam Houston or Texas State.

Stephen F Austin is a great school as is any of the Majors Colleges in the state. If you live in Houston give U of H a try they are also a great place to get a degree.

I hated that place. The Honors College wasn't anything like what they told me when I was recruited.

And how are you only top 25% with a 4.0? Are you on a 4.5 scale?

.

It's a 5.0 scale but unfortunately for me the high school is very competitive. cough cough asians

Take AP classes and get A's if you wanna get in. I had a 4.4 or something like that with AP credit and barely got in, they would have required me to go to summer school, starting school as a sophomore.