Texas ASD 2010 Forum

[JordynAsh]

Any Texans know how easy/difficult it is to get from the Houston airport to Austin?

Not that bad...

Assuming you make it out of Houston alive.

Seriously, not a good idea. Its about a 3ish hour drive depending on what part of Houston and traffic is typically horrible. I'm assuming you can't fly into Austin Int'l for some reason?

+1. Fly into Austin if at all possible.

[JordynAsh]

shane i couldnt resist posting this. i was joking with adrib that i couldnt post this on thethread publicly but i cant resist.. must.. do ... it....... sorry in advance

--ImageRemoved--

LULZ. Almost wish I was going on the tour after seeing this.

[John J. Rambo, Esq.]

Any Texans know how easy/difficult it is to get from the Houston airport to Austin?

Not that bad...

Assuming you make it out of Houston alive.

Seriously, not a good idea. Its about a 3ish hour drive depending on what part of Houston and traffic is typically horrible. I'm assuming you can't fly into Austin Int'l for some reason?

Ugh. I can fly in Austin, but it is cheaper to fly into Houston from my present location.

Cheaper than flying into Houston, renting a car and driving 3 hours one way then driving back?

Probably not. I thought I read somewhere there was an airport shuttle from Houston. I didn't realize it was a 3 hour journey. In my home state, 3 hours of driving in any direction will get you across the border.

O, how I wish UT had given me a travel scholarship.

[brewinbruin]

just booked my flight for ASW!!

the activity on this board really picked up today--I wonder if that accounts for the price increase in flights to austin since yesterday

i'm only getting there thursday night, but im looking forward to meeting everyone and checking out austin's weekend scene friday and saturday night i'll probably try to book a room where most people are staying (mentioned earlier in the board). what's the count up to as of now?

[catharsis]

just booked my flight for ASW!!

the activity on this board really picked up today--I wonder if that accounts for the price increase in flights to austin since yesterday

i'm only getting there thursday night, but im looking forward to meeting everyone and checking out austin's weekend scene friday and saturday night i'll probably try to book a room where most people are staying (mentioned earlier in the board). what's the count up to as of now?

sweet! the count is still the same.. as far as i know no one else has booked a room at the Doubletree who has posted on here and that i havent put on the list. if you do, let me know so i can add you! either way we all look forward to meeting you!

[adrib]

Awwww, I got on the crap Segway tour at noon. I didn't know all the cool kids were going at 2:00.

Everything I just said could be accurately translated thus: "OMG SEGWAY SEGWAY SEGWAY."

shane i couldnt resist posting this. i was joking with adrib that i couldnt post this on thethread publicly but i cant resist.. must.. do ... it....... sorry in advance

--ImageRemoved--

i nominate catharsis to be UT's own FloridaGirl...really, can y'all imagine any more win than UT + LOLcats? I think not, my friends.

[bigred82]

If I can't bum a room from some Austin contacts, I'll probably get a room in the hotel previously mentioned in the thread.

[02122015]

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[catharsis]

Awwww, I got on the crap Segway tour at noon. I didn't know all the cool kids were going at 2:00.

Everything I just said could be accurately translated thus: "OMG SEGWAY SEGWAY SEGWAY."

shane i couldnt resist posting this. i was joking with adrib that i couldnt post this on thethread publicly but i cant resist.. must.. do ... it....... sorry in advance

--ImageRemoved--

i nominate catharsis to be UT's own FloridaGirl...really, can y'all imagine any more win than UT + LOLcats? I think not, my friends.

sounds like pure winz to me.

[catharsis]

If I can't bum a room from some Austin contacts, I'll probably get a room in the hotel previously mentioned in the thread.

lmk so we can add you to the list

[catharsis]

I'm going to the mini-visit day on April 9th (GULC and UT have their ASWs at the same time and I'll be in DC that weekend). I haven't booked my flights yet (since they went and spiked up $30 overnight so I'm gonna keep my eye on them for a few days) but I've RSVPed and booked my hotel room a couple of miles north of campus. I got the $200 reimbursement offer so that's nice. I have a friend who lives right by DFW, so on Saturday I'm taking the Amtrak up to Fort Worth, and I'll fly back from there. The hotel was $100 for two nights and the train was $25. My airfare from Minneapolis to Austin plus DFW to Minneapolis will hopefully not be more than $330 (i.e. what it was going for last night before jumping up to $360 today).

How easy is it to get around on the buses? I've looked up schedules and it seems viable enough for just a two-night stay, but are they reasonably reliable? Or are they always late? Safe? Dangerous?

MSPeast I'm sure you have this information but incase you don't I looked up the Austin Metro system for you and found their website which seems informative: --LinkRemoved--

There you will find route information and even has a link for UT-specific routes. Again, you probably saw that but wanted to share it with you just incase.

From what I've heard speaking with people who live in Austin they've mentioned the bus system being really reliable and very easy to use. The general feeling I had was that people were very happy with it and in no way felt unsafe using it. Hope that helps.

[UTaylor526]

I know that one of the great things about TLS is the anonymity but how does everyone feel about a facebook group for the ASD? That way we can at least recognize one another's faces when we all meet. Of course it would be private and by invitation only.

[02122015]

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[novagrad09]

I know that one of the great things about TLS is the anonymity but how does everyone feel about a facebook group for the ASD? That way we can at least recognize one another's faces when we all meet. Of course it would be private and by invitation only.

Great idea! I would definitely join.

[jelizabeth88]

I know that one of the great things about TLS is the anonymity but how does everyone feel about a facebook group for the ASD? That way we can at least recognize one another's faces when we all meet. Of course it would be private and by invitation only.

Great idea! I would definitely join.

+1

[UTaylor526]

K, it is ready. PM me your email and I will send you the invitation to the group.

[UTaylor526]

K, it is ready. PM me your email and I will send you the invitation to the group.

Update: It will only let me invite you to the event if we are friends. So anyone that sends me their email I will then send a friend request. After the event, feel free to delete me if you want to. Or who knows, we may actually become IRL friends. Crazy.

[Havaianas]

Update:

If you book a room, post here so I can add you to a new list I'm going to create below this post for CONFIRMED students attending the hotel. Hopefully with at least 7 rooms booked, I can talk to the sales team (they are off for the weekend) who is in charge of handling group rates. I'm going to try and get our rooms even cheaper to save everyone some money and they will go back into your reservation and adjust the rate accordingly. They do not charge your credit card over the phone, it is only used to reserve the room and you have up to 24 hours before your check-in to cancel your reservation without penalty! I'm going to speak with them Monday to give us an even lower rate but before then they need to be sure that we have a real active group! I'm also going to ask that we be placed on the same floor, or at least have the rooms in close proximity so it's easier to meet when we arrive and go out to 6th Street in the night lol. So let's get booking!!

Doubletree University Area

Phone: 512.479.4000

Ask to be transferred to reservations. Give the person helping you (I had a nice woman named Jane) your booking details. She'll ask you if you're a member of any frequent flyer program because they will give you points added towards it. If you dont have the number handy it's okay because you can present it at checkin.

Ask your representative to give you the $109 rate for a room that was renovated in 2009 (this rate is also posted online). I got a king size bed in my room but you can also get 2 queens if you want to share a room. Please let them know youre with the admitted students weekend for UT law so when I call on Monday they definitely know people called over the weekend.

It's such an exciting time... I can't wait to meet you guys!

Where did you guys find the $109 rate?

[catharsis]

Havaianas, that's just their standard rate for the room. If you call and ask for it they should still have it.

*edit- you're right. i just noticed the rates went up my room went from $109 to $139 (King bed, 1 adult). ugh, that sucks. maybe try calling them and speaking with them about price matching the $109 price you saw just a few weeks ago?

infact, i need to call them as well. i decided to spend an extra night there and leave on Saturday instead of Friday because i dont want to drive back late.. esp. if we do some 6th Street celebrations

[catharsis]

UGH! the doubletree is sold out on Friday now lol.

[brewinbruin]

booked my reservation at the Doubletree, looking forward to meeting the TLS crew!

[Havaianas]

Havaianas, that's just their standard rate for the room. If you call and ask for it they should still have it.

*edit- you're right. i just noticed the rates went up my room went from $109 to $139 (King bed, 1 adult). ugh, that sucks. maybe try calling them and speaking with them about price matching the $109 price you saw just a few weeks ago?

infact, i need to call them as well. i decided to spend an extra night there and leave on Saturday instead of Friday because i dont want to drive back late.. esp. if we do some 6th Street celebrations

bummer that they're booked!
I'm going to try to renegotiate tomorrow when there is another person on the desk....

Also - do any of you know how the travel scholarship works? Will they seriously just hand you $200 or will they give you a piece of paper saying that you can take $200 off your tuition in the fall?

[catharsis]

booked my reservation at the Doubletree, looking forward to meeting the TLS crew!

sweet! added you to the list!

[catharsis]

Havaianas, that's just their standard rate for the room. If you call and ask for it they should still have it.

*edit- you're right. i just noticed the rates went up my room went from $109 to $139 (King bed, 1 adult). ugh, that sucks. maybe try calling them and speaking with them about price matching the $109 price you saw just a few weeks ago?

infact, i need to call them as well. i decided to spend an extra night there and leave on Saturday instead of Friday because i dont want to drive back late.. esp. if we do some 6th Street celebrations

bummer that they're booked!
I'm going to try to renegotiate tomorrow when there is another person on the desk....

Also - do any of you know how the travel scholarship works? Will they seriously just hand you $200 or will they give you a piece of paper saying that you can take $200 off your tuition in the fall?

yeah, big bummer =/ hopefully something frees up.

i honestly have no idea since i wasn't offered one. each school does it differently so i think that's something you'd have to either read on the offer itself to see if it mentions it or call in and ask if you really want to know.

[bigred82]

Well, that sucks about the price increase. I think I am going to use the Doubletree about 5 minutes further north. With the DT-University's price increase, the DT-Austin location is almost half the cost at $76/night.

If anyone is coming from OK and wants to carpool/split a room, let me know.