To Aggies and Longhorns and Everyone Else,
I recently came across an article detailing why A&M is supposedly the real university of Texas. Not to mention that the words "University of Texas" are a part of UT Austin's name, there are some counterarguments that I would like to share.
Here are ten reasons why UT Austin is the real university of Texas:
1. We may not have the highest number of enrollments, but:
We have 17 libraries that contain, altogether, 8 million volumes. The picture above displays the PCL (Perry-Castañeda Library), one of our most, if not the most, important libraries on campus. It looks like a prison, but that's okay because it has the ability to save grades and give birth to never-before-seen levels of productivity.
Also, our student-to-faculty ratio is 18:1 while A&M's is 20:1. This means that, despite our smaller enrollment number, we have more faculty members per student, and we tend to have smaller classes that allow for more personal time with the faculty. This might mean more torment for the students, but it also means more options for research mentors and recommendation letters.
2. Don't worry. We give chances to persevering Longhorns, too.
UT Austin offers PACE (Path to Admission through Co-Enrollment) and CAP (Coordinated Admission Program) to students who do not get accepted but who still want to try to get in.
With PACE, students who are in the top 10% of their class but are not able to get in can co-enroll in the Austin Community College (ACC) and UT for their freshman year. If the students are able to complete at least 24 hours in residence, at least 6 of which must be from UT, and achieve a 3.2 GPA for the ACC classes and a 2.0 GPA for the UT classes, they will be able to continue their studies full time at UT Austin after their freshman year.
With CAP, students can enroll in another university in the University of Texas system. After they complete 30 hours in residence, they can transfer to UT Austin and complete their studies there. Also, CAP'd students can choose to go to the University of Texas in San Antonio and be comforted by the Six Flags amusement park there. It's like a consolation prize for not getting into UT Austin right away.
3. We love our freshmen in the same way that Longhorns love tacos.
That means we love them a lot.
To welcome incoming students and help them get used to campus, UT offers Camp Texas and orientation. At Camp Texas, students can meet their future friends and get acquainted with some of the best faculty members on campus. Alongside attending seminars, participating in competitions, and partying at a luau, students learn to navigate the campus and find ways to get involved before even starting school.
4. "The Eyes of Texas"
5. Let's talk money.
In general, the early to mid-career salaries for UT are $52,200-$97,200 while the ones for A&M are $55,200-$98,300. Though the salaries for A&M are higher, they are not higher by much.
Let's look at the salaries on a smaller scale. Females from UT make $36,932-$81,046 while those from A&M make $36,132-$75,835. UT students with an MBA (Master of Business Administration) earn $60,834 - $138,982while the A&M students earn $53,829-$115,567. The salaries for UT students with PhD's are $50,177-$133,825 while those for A&M students are $54,191 - $123,524. Keep in mind that MBA's and PhD's are some of the more popular degrees for both A&M and UT, and in these areas, UT makes more.
Unfortunately, this topic requires giving and taking. UT and A&M beat each other in certain areas and lose in others, so it's difficult to find a definite winner.
6. We carry our university in our wallets.
Texas Exes have the option to receive a credit card that allows them to show support for their school while earning cash back. Sure, A&M has a credit card, too, but does it allow their alumni to receive "a $100 cash rewards bonus after making at least $500 in purchase(s) within the first 90 days"? I don't think so.
7. What starts here changes the world.
This is one of the most important things that the students learn at UT. From orientation until graduation and even after that, we repeat this motto to ourselves and to other students to remind everyone that we can change the world. We can give back to our communities. We can come up with innovative technology. We can better the world one person at a time. And it all starts here. At UT. With the students.
8. We transform lives for the benefit of society.
Our core purpose is to "transform lives for the benefit of society", and our core values are: learning, discovery, freedom, leadership, responsibility, and individual opportunity. We care about our campus, Texas, the world--everyone.
9. Our mascot is cool.
There's no need to put down other mascots. They're all cool. Ours is just slightly cooler than the others because it has horns. Our Hook 'em hand sign is based on those horns, and we wave that hand sign everywhere.
Can I also mention that those horns are as sharp as our sense of style? Nothing says fashionable like burnt orange. We bleed burnt orange.
10. We give more than 2%, also.
In fact, we put in so much effort into our partying that we've gained a reputation as a party school. We put 100% into partying, 100% into studying, 100% into living life (because Austin has so much to offer in terms of nature, music, food, and politics), and 100% into everything else. 400% is a lot.
In the end, I think both A&M and UT Austin are pretty great. They might have some history between them, but I think students should be considered lucky to be able to go to either of them. Even though it's fun to jokingly put each other down, let's remember to bring each other up sometimes.
Thanks and Hook'em.
