The University of Texas - Arlington

Date: Dec 31 1969
Major: Engineering Department (This Major's Salary over time)
As a graduate student who attended a reputable, "spirited" school in the SEC before moving back home and making the boring but economical decision to commute to school, I must say I am surprised with both how much I have liked UTA so far and how unhappy some reviewers here seem to be with this place. I feel as though I ought to assure prospective students that the reasons for complaint about UTA exist at other schools too, and reputation and school spirit are overrated/not as important as a quality education and career preparation, a philosophy UTA seems to share.

I'll start with a brief elaboration of cons. Administration first comes to mind. This school has given me the run-around when trying to accomplish small tasks such as registration, admission, etc. I often shoved several dollars into a parking meter over the course of a morning/afternoon as different departments/misunderstanding administrators told me

No, you must go to so-and-so to get this hold lifted, to pay this bill, to update your information,

insert more b.s. that makes no sense, and it has been a headache. This is mostly due to the fact that this is a commuter school with a wide variety of student backgrounds (transfer, transient, TONS of international students, part-time, etc.), and thus it's somewhat understandable. It's still annoying.

Con two - perceived safety - I don't understand why people are worried about on-campus safety. People these days are too scared of other people. UTA doesn't have a history of alarming crime. Be aware of your surroundings and you'll be fine. Though I will say the areas just north/east of campus are in need of revitalization or at least a little illumination and aren't particularly attractive or alluring. Do take more care right off-campus.

Pros - The engineering departments here are great. Great emphasis on job-placement. (Of course being in the heart of DFW helps in this regard.) There are those professors who aren't particularly helpful or easy to understand, but many of them are great and really care about student success, and the bad apples are at every school. EVERY school. Classes I have taken within the math department have also blown my experience with the math department at my undergraduate institution out of the water. Students here are hard-working. They have often not just gotten by in high school and are used to asking questions and putting forth a lot of effort. They are not distracted greatly by an absurd social life or university athletics. That's not really the point at UTA. And having experienced both ends of the spectrum, I'm glad UTA knows what's underrated and what's of real value.

I also absolutely love how diverse UTA is. People-watching is fun, and you can truly be whoever you want to be without feeling pressure to act/dress a certain way. You can be fratty or nerdy, simple or dressed to the nines, mainstream or "hipster," younger or older, and no one is going to judge you or think twice of you. The campus is also diverse - no old-school classic college architecture, just a lot of bright, unique, modern buildings, most of which are in great shape. Some state-of-the art facilities and decent landscape architecture (Texas isn't exactly lush and green and exciting. UTA sure beats A&M though.)

I cannot speak for the other departments, though I will remark regarding complaints from students in liberal/less professional departments. You will experience the same problems in any other school, unless you want to fork out 50K a year to some liberal arts school the average employer hasn't heard of. If your experience is bothering you, I recommend considering a change in major before considering a change in schools. That's my two cents.

My bottom line - Give UTA a chance. It's on its way up and has a lot to offer the average student.