Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
if you are going carless again you want to stay from any university in the dallas metromess
unT has a horrible shuttle bus system, UTD is an isolated campus (like it actually has tons of vacant space it owns and is next to a large TAMU Ag Experiment Station) and UTA will not be much better on buses
you need to be looking at A&M, UT Austin, or Texas Tech for better shuttles and better on and off campus campus housing that is still close to stores and jobs
you can also consider Tx State for a smaller town you can get around or SFA for the same deal it is small and cheap to live and easy to get around with no car
Angelo State is kind of on the edge of San Angelo and would be more difficult to get to places away from campus VS Tx State or SFA
UT and A&M run the best shuttle bus systems by FAR followed by TTU then it really drops off
A&M will be cheaper to live than Austin and probably a bit cheaper than even Tx State.......SFA will be cheaper than all the above to live
Lubbock is pretty cheap to live, but bumping up as Tech grows, but you would be on campus the first year anyhow and that gives you time to network and find places and people to live with
if you toss out some options for a major and your anticipated high school grades/admissions I can help narrow it down further
Check out SMU - you could live on campus or next door without a car - I've known many who did that (of course, later they got a car usually) - next to Mockingbird Station and there is the free Mustang Express Shuttle which serves the adjoining apartments. Stores on Greenville Avenue, Mockingbird Lane (and station), Hillcrest Avenue and Snider Plaza.
UTA is in Arlington and Arlington has NO city bus system--and don't think there is one on the campus--my daughter went there about 8 years ago and there was nothing then I can remember...
my son went to UNT and there is campus bus system that goes around town--
it is not convenient but considering how far the parking lot where your car is assigned is from where your classes might be--taking a shuttle might not be that bad IF you live fairly close to campus
there is also a direct shuttle bus that runs from downtown Dallas and couple of other locations (one in Carrollton/Lewisville area by Vista Ridge Mall is the last stop) and that is FREE with your tuition/registration payment...just show your ID card...
my former DIL used it for about a month before she started working for DCCC and did not travel to Denton
You need to research and not just guess what defines a 'resident' of a state when you are a student. Will your parents still be carrying you as a dependant? Probably....that makes a difference. Unless you are independently wealthy, you need to check it out carefully.
I am actually going to be a senior at UT Dallas this fall and I recommend my school for anyone looking to attend a university in the DFW area.
It sits on the Richardson/Plano border but in terms of driving time, it's no more than 15 or so minutes from Dallas. U.S. 75/North Central Expressway will get you anywhere in that city fairly quickly.
As for the school itself, the education is among the best in Texas. Most people will crow that the school is not "traditional" in that there isn't an obsessive amount of athlete worship and that the school lacks football and other "traditions." I can agree that these things tend to take away some of the excitement that campus life can bring but the flip side is that you live in a major metropolitan area that has considerably more to offer than any college town you will find. The student body (based on my opinion and opinions I've heard from students that have attended other schools and visited UTD..like my girlfriend) is more mature and focused. The typical MTV, Animal House idea of college doesn't really exist at UTD. Students are much more focused and competitive despite the fact that many hold part-time and even full-time jobs...and I'm not talking about working at the campus bookstore. I think you learn as much here (or more) as any other campus in the state but the students seem much more prepared for the professional world because there is such an emphasis on applying what is learned in the classroom to the real world.
UTD is what you make of it. If you just want the comfort of going to a large school and being hidden and not really contributing much to your campus except throwing some parties...this isn't the best place for you. If you want to have fun, you've got to join groups and make things happen for yourself. UTD is for self-starters and highly motivated people. If that description fits you...it's time to become a Comet.
If you go to UTD, you will find that the school has a shuttle in conjunction with DART. The school controls more land than UT Austin but only uses a fraction...in other words..you will not need a shuttle to get around campus...only for leaving campus if you don't have a car. UTD's student union offers free yearly DART passes that allow you to travel anywhere for free using DART (light rail, TRE, all buses etc.)...and I guarantee you that DART is better than any "shuttle offering" you will find at any other school.
If you go to UTD, you will find that the school has a shuttle in conjunction with DART. The school controls more land than UT Austin but only uses a fraction...in other words..you will not need a shuttle to get around campus...only for leaving campus if you don't have a car. UTD's student union offers free yearly DART passes that allow you to travel anywhere for free using DART (light rail, TRE, all buses etc.)...and I guarantee you that DART is better than any "shuttle offering" you will find at any other school.
DART would not come close to matching the service offered by the Capital Metro for UT Austin this is just a 100% fact
and from the point of view of the college student it is probably not close to College Station and the TAMU shuttle as well
Dart might come close to the shuttle at Texas Tech
DART would not come close to matching the service offered by the Capital Metro for UT Austin this is just a 100% fact
and from the point of view of the college student it is probably not close to College Station and the TAMU shuttle as well
Dart might come close to the shuttle at Texas Tech
Actually it would...UT Austin is a large campus that can require a shuttle just to get around on campus. UT Dallas can be navigated on foot quite easily. You don't need a shuttle to get around UT Dallas...what you'd need is a shuttle/bus system/light rail system that could connect you from campus to every major point in the Dallas area.
DART has the largest light rail in Texas (has been around since the 90's far ahead of the curve when compared to Houston or Austin)...Capital Metro just added light rail this spring. DART offers service to over 12,000 stops (Austin has 3,000) with 38 light rail and 10 commuter rail stops on the Red, Blue, Green and soon to be Orange Lines.
Capital Metro may serve an important role as the public transportation option in Austin...and I'm sure it does a fine job. However, UT Dallas (and even SMU students, Richland CC and El Centro CC students) can tell you that DART covers enough ground. It was a winner of the "Best Metro" award..the top transportation agency in north, central and south America during 2009.
Actually it would...UT Austin is a large campus that can require a shuttle just to get around on campus. UT Dallas can be navigated on foot quite easily. You don't need a shuttle to get around UT Dallas...what you'd need is a shuttle/bus system/light rail system that could connect you from campus to every major point in the Dallas area.
DART has the largest light rail in Texas (has been around since the 90's far ahead of the curve when compared to Houston or Austin)...Capital Metro just added light rail this spring. DART offers service to over 12,000 stops (Austin has 3,000) with 38 light rail and 10 commuter rail stops on the Red, Blue, Green and soon to be Orange Lines.
Capital Metro may serve an important role as the public transportation option in Austin...and I'm sure it does a fine job. However, UT Dallas (and even SMU students, Richland CC and El Centro CC students) can tell you that DART covers enough ground. It was a winner of the "Best Metro" award..the top transportation agency in north, central and south America during 2009.
this ad brought to you by DART that while broke can still afford to have people paid to post on the WWW to hype them
the fact that you say one would need to take the shuttle to get around UT tells me you have never set foot on the campus much less been a student there
UTD has ONE BUS ROUTE for campus and while it does connect to DART DART itself goes no where that any student would be interested in going without multiple transfers and a great deal of time and the vast majority of places DART goes no one in their right mind would care to go to much less a student
UTD is so landlocked that to do ANYTHING that is not right on campus requires a LONG HIKE or it requires you to get on the ONE BUS and then go and make a bunch of transfers
who cares about light rail when DART light rail is a LONG way away from campus and Austins light rail while still a LONG way away from campus....it still will probably go to places a student would WANT to go to VS DART that who cares where it goes
here is a map of the SINGLE route that goes through UTD
here is a map of the multitude of routes that ARE SPECIFICALLY DESIGNED FOR UT AUSTIN STUDENTS
System-Wide Shuttle Route Map | Parking & Transportation Services (PTS) | The University of Texas at Austin (http://www.utexas.edu/parking/transportation/shuttle/austin-bus.html - broken link)
if you want to go somewhere from the UT Austin campus you can WALK right over to the drag and have a multitude of things to do......UTD you can walk around a vacant field or the TAMU experiment station......I would pick walking to the drag even with the drag worms
if you want to go to a grocery store from UT you just hop on the Red River bus and you are dropped of right at the front door of the massive HEB on Red River
UTD would have the super target and you still get to hike across the lot with your items VS being right at the door of HEB with Capital Metro
other than that on that route you can take a tour of an average suburban neighborhood.....fun for any college student
or you can go the OPPOSITE way that most would want to go for a couple of miles so you can catch the light rail before you then ride it for miles and miles to anywhere that anyone would care about going.......you could have already WALKED dozens of places right off the UT campus in that same time period
UT Austin has DIRECT EXPRESS student routs to about a dozen different student housing areas not to mention the regular Cap Metro routes that go to all the night spots and shopping or work areas
again as it says LIMITED STOPS.....because they are FOR STUDENTS
so the choice is to live on a campus that has a multitude of things to do, off campus places to live, and places to work right on the edge of campus and in easy walking or biking distance much less all the shuttles for students that have limited stops, will be filled with students, and will go directly to more student-centric areas
or you can live on a land locked campus in a suburban setting with a single route that takes you to super target or the opposite direction before it dumps you on regular old city routes requiring an hour+ and multiple transfers to get to anywhere fun or interesting
I think anyone that has even sniffed UT Austin and their shuttle system for STUDENTS VS the single routes to boredom at UTD would know 100% for a fact there is not even a close comparison between the two systems as far as any STUDENT is concerned
all the rest of your trivia about DART, silly awards from stupid public transportation fanboy groups, and the length of the light rails means nothing from the perspective of your average college student
because at the end of the day the single route for UTD is a near afterthought that dumps you onto just another city bus system VS a very well planned, student oriented, and easy to use system that CATERS to students in Austin.....not to mention all the rest of the regular routes
again from a student perspective miles and miles of light rail going to the ghetto, suburban housing, a dead downtown, or requiring multiple transfers does not come close to matching what UT Austin, TAMU, or even TTU offer in the way of STUDENT transportation
lastly look at the hours the UTD system runs.....have fun being stuck on campus on the weekends or hiking back across campus at night after your regular DART ride
again there is not even a comparison between the UT and UTD systems all your DART public infomercial trivia aside....because there is no comparison for a single route that dumps you on a bus system VS a well planned and long existing student focused system that goes to a multitude of student focused areas all over Austin often with express routing VS stop after stop after stop and transfers
Allenk893, this is long winded and repetitive, but again....
Take it from someone who lives 4 stoplights from UTD and whose husband routinely rides DART for a mere 4.6 mile commute to his office--beginning on the very same bus you'd be boarding from campus--relying on DART's limited schedule and routes can be a study in frustration. (Just last week, one tardy bus driver caused a one-way commute to drag out to TWO hours; it's not an uncommon scenario, but one made miserable when it's 100 degrees or if you value punctuality. That's because to travel this itty bitty distance he has to take that bus to the light rail and then on to a shuttle. Yep. And if he wanted to do this same 3-step commute on a Sunday or hours outside rush? Forget about it!!)
Do NOT move here without a car.
There are precious few areas in the entire metroplex where you can conveniently get around without owning some sort of motorized transportation. And even in the neighborhoods where it's possible, for many months out of the year our Dallas weather will test even the hardiest of youthful constitutions. Richardson, while one of the more DART-friendly burbs, is not the town to test this.
It's really easy for people who have car in the garage to tout an area as pedestrian friendly, truly 'walkable', or super DART-accessible. We're ultimately fans of DART and grateful for the alternative, but hopping on the lightrail to a hockey game or riding it downtown a few days a month to help save on gas is not the same thing as using the bus system for your sole transportation. Adding a lack of savvy on the lay of the land, you're at an even greater disadvantage. You'd need your apt, school, job, and shopping essentials to all have perfectly ideal, nearly adjacent locations to truly benefit from daily DART use. If you never leave your house in the rain or after 9PM, that would help too. There are certainly people whose current lifestyle requires it, but do not be fooled that it's ever remotely convenient--no matter how impressive DART's network is becoming.
UTD is a great school and if you have your heart set on it I'd then just start saving for a cheap car or scooter. But depending only on your feet, friends' generosity, and DART to get to school, work, and leisure activities is just a horrible idea...unless they start making 30 hr days.
I could go on and on about the good, the bad and the ugly of DART, but ultimately you'd be bored silly in a town that shuts down after 10PM (even the Starbucks nearest to UTD doesn't offer night owl hours). You've already been filled in about the super suburban feel of Richardson, the demographics of students and the limitations of the location....
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Go to UTD
