U Texas Ding

[ElizaB]

Got dinged at UT too (last year I was deferred then dinged).  UT can kiss my ass.

I didn't want to bring up the whole AA thing, but when it comes to UT, it always pops into mind.  UT prides itself on admitting as many Hispanics and Blacks as they can.  They've been the #1 law school for Hispanics for several years in a row, and no doubt want to maintain that ranking knowing they'll never move up any further in the national rankings.

They don't make any secret of the fact that they go out of their way to recruit Latinos, Mexs, etc. all over Texas.  Unhappy with the Hopwood decision, they went out and hired a black woman to serve as admissions director and a Mexican man as Assistant Admissions Dir.  They're both still there.

Not that I'm that bitter.  I think it's the wrong law school for me anyway.  And like a previous poster, I have a parent who wanted me to go to UT more than I did.

On that note...I can only speak of one case, but my brother's friend got in to UT Law.  He was a complete jack-off...but he was hispanic.  My brother was shocked that he even got accepted into any law school with his grades and completely shocked to find out he got into UT!  At any rate, he ended up failing out.  By no means am I saying that this is the norm, but I do think that the students who are admitted to a particular school with significantly sub-par numbers will have a harder time succeding at that law school....so maybe UT (or any school for that matter) isn't really doing these students a favor.  Maybe they are actually putting them at a disadvantage by admitting them to a school where they don't have the capabilities of being competitive.  Just a though.   

[UT law 2008]

Got dinged at UT too (last year I was deferred then dinged).  UT can kiss my ass.

I didn't want to bring up the whole AA thing, but when it comes to UT, it always pops into mind.  UT prides itself on admitting as many Hispanics and Blacks as they can.  They've been the #1 law school for Hispanics for several years in a row, and no doubt want to maintain that ranking knowing they'll never move up any further in the national rankings.

They don't make any secret of the fact that they go out of their way to recruit Latinos, Mexs, etc. all over Texas.  Unhappy with the Hopwood decision, they went out and hired a black woman to serve as admissions director and a Mexican man as Assistant Admissions Dir.  They're both still there.

Not that I'm that bitter.  I think it's the wrong law school for me anyway.  And like a previous poster, I have a parent who wanted me to go to UT more than I did.

I did notice quite a few hispanics on their student orientation committee when I attended the prospective students day last April..it kind of threw me off at first...I mean I have nothing against hispanics and have a lot of hispanic friends but during a Q&A session with students the panel was like 80% hispanics and it didn't make me feel comfortable..I felt that they should've had a more proportionate representation of white/black/asians but I guess the hispanics just happened to be the ones who wanted to do the student orientation thing...but it did make me question what is the % of hispanics at the school...i looked it up and I think it is around 12-13% so I guess that is not overwhelming or anything but still up there if compared to other schools...but anyway Sport...I think if your numbers weren't competitive to begin with then there's only so much you can complain about...and like Eliza said if they are letting in URMs with low numbers and these guys can't cut it then they will fail out or perform miserably...maybe UT will be a little more cautious about letting in URMs who don't deserve admission.

[Rudy Huckleberry]

FWIW, I have a good African-American friend with decent numbers, TX native, really intelligent who was denied at UT.  Wanna trade one anecdote for another???

[ElizaB]

FWIW, I have a good African-American friend with decent numbers, TX native, really intelligent who was denied at UT.  Wanna trade one anecdote for another???

My point wasn't that this guy was hispanic or a "URM"...it was that he was admitted with sub-par numbers and ended up failing out.  My point is that when a school takes a student who is not functioning on the same academic level as the majority of the rest of their students, regardless of the reason, they are doing that student an injustice because they are not setting that student up to be successful. 

I had a professor in a graduate education class that used the term "them that has gets" in reference to this phenomenon.  Students that start out with better study skills, more knowledge or more intellegience learn and achieve exponentially more than the students who start out deficient in any of these areas.   

[RobinHood]

God, all this stuff about UT has really got me disappointed. UT is def. my first choice, but it seems like they admit only people on LSN who seriously excel their standards, and based on this thread, it seems as if they're hellbent on admitting URM's. Plus, the admissions staff is hostile and now there are charges of incompetance against their deans. Of course, much of this may be the stuff of fiction/subjectivity, etc...but it's still kind of dispiriting. Every day that passes and every conversation I have with people there sours me, which sucks...

[burghblast]

God, all this stuff about UT has really got me disappointed. UT is def. my first choice, but it seems like they admit only people on LSN who seriously excel their standards, and based on this thread, it seems as if they're hellbent on admitting URM's. Plus, the admissions staff is hostile and now there are charges of incompetance against their deans. Of course, much of this may be the stuff of fiction/subjectivity, etc...but it's still kind of dispiriting. Every day that passes and every conversation I have with people there sours me, which sucks...

I think it's realistic to have relatively pessimistic hopes for UT.  I would be much more surprised if I got into UT than Northwestern or Michigan, even though they are ranked higher (Not that I give myself even a 30% chance at either).  UT is a great school in an outstanding location.  They probably get as many national applicants as any school in the T14, but their mandate to educate Texas residents drastically restricts the number of out-of-state applicants they can consider.  For someone who doesn't live in Texas, you would be fooling yourself if you thought it was easier to get into UT than any school in the T14 (With the possible excpetions of YHS).

[fluffysoft]

Somehow I got admitted ED out-of-state....white/165/3.86 (in engineering)/good ECs.

Based on LSN and my own acceptance I get the impression UT weighs GPA a little heavily.

[RobinHood]

Somehow I got admitted ED out-of-state....white/165/3.86 (in engineering)/good ECs.

Based on LSN and my own acceptance I get the impression UT weighs GPA a little heavily.

In the event that they do, I should be in decent shape, but I've actually heard they REALLY care about LSAT scores...Are you gonna go?

[ElizaB]

I'm pretty sure it was the 3.86 in Engineering.  That seems like a pretty exceptional Engineering GPA.

[ccast]

UT doesn't arbitrarily "prefer" its own residents, only ensuring it fulfills its prima facie duty as a PUBLIC INSTITUTION to provide qualified attorneys for fellow residents of the state.  i do not disagree with the basic thrust of your argument, but i also don't think you further your argument by playing the "asian quota" conspiracy card.