Texas 2013 Forum

[sternc]

Well this sucks. I just got an email saying my request for more money was flat out denied...

[mcflooter06]

I finally deposited today! I'd been waiting till April 15th, to celebrate the last day of my last tax season, but I got antsy and did it today. I'm as giddy as I was the day I was accepted. yaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yaaaaay! I paid mine last week, it felt so nice.

Now, I just need to find an apartment...

[soonergirl]

Well this sucks. I just got an email saying my request for more money was flat out denied...

Was it a matching request? I've been thinking about asking for a little more, but I'm not sure how to go about it.

[sternc]

It was not a matching request. I was just asking for some more money based on some other offers. I was most likely coming anyway. They called my bluff and won.

[DallasCowboy]

It was not a matching request. I was just asking for some more money based on some other offers. I was most likely coming anyway. They called my bluff and won.

+1, except they lost.

[PartyOfOne]

I was also a bit underwhelmed by Austin as a city. I expected ridiculous looking girls and an amazing bar scene. The girls were fine looking but nothing out of control. Some cute ones some not, pretty standard. The bar scene was decent but very comparable to areas in Boston, DC, and NY before. Don't get me wrong-- a sizeable bar scene certainly exists and makes its presence known and there unquestionably are attractive girls but it doesn't blow other cities away in terms of its night life, as I had expected it to based on what I had heard.

I think you missed a lot of what Austin has to offer. Many people mistakenly believe the thing that makes Austin great is 6th St alone. But as you said, many cities offer comparable bar scenes, and honestly the raucous undergrad bar scene can get old pretty fast, even if Austin's is top notch.

Go back to Austin and visit the incredible streams and trails of Greenbelt, Barton Springs, or the lake; check out the seemingly infinite supply of great independent restaurants and boutiques around South 1st, South Congress, Hyde Park, Eastside, etc; or attend any of the unbelievable music, art, or film festivals regularly hosted in the city. Then tell me if you're still underwhelmed by this exciting, vibrant, young city.

As for attractive girls, I can only humbly suggest that you take another look and/or consult an optometrist.

[Jericwithers]

It was not a matching request. I was just asking for some more money based on some other offers. I was most likely coming anyway. They called my bluff and won.

+1, except they lost.

What did they give you? $50k up from $45k?

[DallasCowboy]

no, they denied the upgrade request. I had 36k in scholarship plus the 2400/semester grants for the lsn.

[Jericwithers]

no, they denied the upgrade request. I had 36k in scholarship plus the 2400/semester grants for the lsn.

We got the same grant amount, interesting. Thats cool, I'll see you at Duke then once they reject my request for more. How long did it take for them to respond?

[DallasCowboy]

5 or 6 business days.

[Jericwithers]

5 or 6 business days.

Ouch, I give them 2 days before I call and harass them.

[philosoraptor]

So apparently Linda in the fin aid office was not entirely truthful when she told me at ASD that I would get some token grants. No OOS funds available. Sigh. Guess that would make the pre-August acquisition of real property in Texas all the more crucial. I know Texas at sticker is still cheaper relative to peer schools, but geez, even if I get in-state 2L and 3L, it's still a $150K total COA. Argh.

[soonergirl]

So apparently Linda in the fin aid office was not entirely truthful when she told me at ASD that I would get some token grants. No OOS funds available. Sigh. Guess that would make the pre-August acquisition of real property in Texas all the more crucial. I know Texas at sticker is still cheaper relative to peer schools, but geez, even if I get in-state 2L and 3L, it's still a $150K total COA. Argh.

you know you have to spend a year working down there out of school to get residency, right?

[Jericwithers]

Austin is the most expensive city in Texas to buy or rent a home. Good luck for those looking for non-trad housing!

[soonergirl]

Austin is the most expensive city in Texas to buy or rent a home. Good luck for those looking for non-trad housing!

yeah, but the market's way down!

[Jericwithers]

Austin is the most expensive city in Texas to buy or rent a home. Good luck for those looking for non-trad housing!

yeah, but the market's way down!

Where did you hear this?

[sternc]

What are these grants y'all keep mentioning?

[Jericwithers]

What are these grants y'all keep mentioning?

Financial Aid award from finaid.utexas.edu which include Texas Public Grants and Texas Tuition Grants. Have you gotten a financial aid award released email yet? Requires FAFSA.

[philosoraptor]

you know you have to spend a year working down there out of school to get residency, right?

That's what I had thought, but apparently there are other ways -- Linda told me about them and they're listed on the UT Web site (http://www.utexas.edu/student/admission ... aq.html#q1). It's impossible to do it for 1L year unless you live there for 12 months beforehand, but provided that you buy land or a house/condo or get married to a Texas resident 12 months before 2L year, you can get in-state tuition starting that year (because that plus living in Texas for 1L year appears to be enough to "presume" domicile for residency purposes). Based on current tuition rates, two years of in-state would save ~$32K minus the cost of the land, so I'm definitely going to investigate it if I sign on with UT.

Obviously I'm going to talk to people who can confirm that this is in fact possible, but Linda made it seem like a really common thing and even brought it up in a you'd-be-stupid-not-to-do-this tone. Anyone have any experience with this or other ways to gain residency?

[soonergirl]

you know you have to spend a year working down there out of school to get residency, right?

That's what I had thought, but apparently there are other ways -- Linda told me about them and they're listed on the UT Web site (http://www.utexas.edu/student/admission ... aq.html#q1). It's impossible to do it for 1L year unless you live there for 12 months beforehand, but provided that you buy land or a house/condo or get married to a Texas resident 12 months before 2L year, you can get in-state tuition starting that year (because that plus living in Texas for 1L year appears to be enough to "presume" domicile for residency purposes). Based on current tuition rates, two years of in-state would save ~$32K minus the cost of the land, so I'm definitely going to investigate it if I sign on with UT.

Obviously I'm going to talk to people who can confirm that this is in fact possible, but Linda made it seem like a really common thing and even brought it up in a you'd-be-stupid-not-to-do-this tone. Anyone have any experience with this or other ways to gain residency?

I don't know. I called the "office of impeding student establishment of residency," and they made it pretty clear that no matter how you want to establish it (land purchase, working, marrying, parents), you have to be not-in-school for a year for it to count. I have no idea, though.

yeah, but the market's way down!

Where did you hear this?

It's just a fact. you can look up the real estate data for the area. Prices are way down and supply is way up. But a down market in Austin is still, well, yikes.

[castellon]

I went down to Austin for SXSW, had a blast, but not sure if the scholarship is enough to lure me down. The girls were great and the city was awesome, but I am really looking for a change, although Austin was a lot more fun than Norman, it didn't feel that different to me. It may be a liberal city, but when you're in Austin you KNOW you're in Texas. I stopped by the school, and although it was spring break, they could have made an effort instead of handing me a map of the school and telling me I could walk around.

I know I would have fun in Austin, but not sure I can stay in this part of the country any longer, and I def don't ever want to live in Houston or Dallas. I met a recent UT law grad who still didn't have a job to, so that was a little worrisome (though more and more schools are having this problem).

Damn I have some tough decisions to make...

[louboutin]

put in my deposit!! woohoo!! now to find a place to live, and a roommate. how is everyone searching?

[soonergirl]

I went down to Austin for SXSW, had a blast, but not sure if the scholarship is enough to lure me down. The girls were great and the city was awesome, but I am really looking for a change, although Austin was a lot more fun than Norman, it didn't feel that different to me.

There's something really funny about all this.

[soonergirl]

Texas wasn't in the running until today, so I think I'm going to go down and visit. I'm wearing an OU shirt at least once a week though if I wind up down there.

I would HIGHLY advise against that. Seriously, you might get hurt or your property damaged if you run into someone stupid enough. We respect diversity and differing opinions, so long as you don't wear an OU shirt. I wouldn't wear a Longhorn shirt in Norman, and I hope you would have the same respect and common sense lol.

However I am curious as to how people would react, since I have never seen someone wear an OU shirt here in Austin.

Being a UT fan doesn't bother me, I just get so sick of the whole Texas attitude.

I will for sure have to come down and just get a feel of the place, I may have rooted for Bama, I may even root for OSU against Texas, but I cannot deny the beauty of Texas girlsYeah, now that I think about it I haven't seen too many UT shirts in Norman...

I've seen them. They usually come out the day before the RR game, or the day after if they win. Didn't see any in January, though.

I'm so not giving up my crimson, btw. I do root for the Longhorns against non-conference teams, though.

[castellon]

I went down to Austin for SXSW, had a blast, but not sure if the scholarship is enough to lure me down. The girls were great and the city was awesome, but I am really looking for a change, although Austin was a lot more fun than Norman, it didn't feel that different to me.

There's something really funny about all this.

I just mean it wasn't a huge change. It was kind of like a way better version of Norman, if that makes sense...