Wondering if there’s any current of former UT-Austin students among us? I’m looking for any general or specific things you liked/disliked about being there. Would you make the same choice again? Were you from the area or did you relocate there?
How’s the tri training around town? Looks like Austin tri-cyclist would be the place to find some people to ride with to learn the roads?
Bonus points to anyone that went to McCombs. I’m looking for some feedback from outside of the admissions marketing circle.
If anyone from Austin wants to chime in on the area in general, feel free.
Thanks.
EDIT-meant to post this in the LR-apologies (and tri-related question added)!
I am a Texas EX… but I graduated in '91 so I’m not sure if any of my thoughts are still valid today. For what it is worth it was one of the best experiences of my life. Loved it.
Hook 'Em. Graduated in 2002. Loved it. Wouldn’t change it for anything. I wasn’t a triathlete at the time, but did take advantage of all the trails for mountain biking and hiking and my favorite swimming hole in the world - Barton Springs, which is great for open water-ish training. Plenty of regular pools in town too. I think UT masters is expensive but good. I’m not sure of the other master’s swim options. Hill country cycling is great. That’s why Lance moved there from Dallas. I think that’s why anyway. Could’ve been the coeds (another plus!!).
Running - lots of trails and roads for that. Town Lake is a 10 mile loop that is great for running. Run Tex running store puts out lots of ice cold water on the trail.
The school is great. Campus is easy to get around and McCombs is top notch, though I wasn’t in business school. I know folks who were and have done quite well. Lots of diverse groups on campus depending on what you’re into socially.
Weather is good, especially if you like a hot summer! Restaurants, night life, all GREAT. Like music? live music capital of the world man. Great outdoorsy non-tri stuff options too.
Sorry to kiss Austin’s ass so much. I miss it and hope to live there again one day.
Embarassed to tell you how long ago it was when I went there. Let’s just say I saw James Street play football there.
Have an MS in Biochemistry.
Go back on business probably 12-15 times a year and have run numerous half and full marathons there as well as tri’s.
Great place to go schoolif you are used to campus of it’s size.
Business school is very competitive but if you can survive it will not regret it
I am a UT-Austin alum, or Texas Ex, as they say. I loved going to school there, and would do it all over again. I headed to Austin in 1992; yes, I am old, and I spent nine years there. No, it did not take me that long to graduate, it just took me a while to move away.
When I did move away, I went to Boulder, which is a really great place. However, my wife and I now chose to come to Austin in the winter and spring.
We are here now, and the training is great.
UT masters is awesome, and worth every penny. Barton Springs Pool is incredible, and free in the winter. The running here is very good, and the riding is great as well. You do have to contend with a bit too much traffic, but the drivers tend to be kind to cyclists.
Jack and Adam’s Bicycles has everything you need for triathlon, and customer service that is second to none. They also have an online list of some great bike rides.
Proof that there is a strong tri scene here is that there are two successful tri shops located within spitting distance of one another. Very cool.
The ATC taco ride is a good one, and after twelve years, I’ve finally agreed to stop taking credit for creating it.
I spent a semester at McCombs as an exchange student in '96, so my view should be discounted heavily due to length of time spent and length of time passed.
Having said that: best four months of my life!
Summer’s a bit hot, but the trails are fantastic for running and biking, you can open water swim all over, and there is a good fitness culture. RunTex is a good store to shop at (with decent sized drop in run groups), lots of hills to work by foot or wheel, and the food is great everywhere you go.
As for the school, it’s still a top-20 program, so it’s money well spent. Good courses on high tech management (I had one class taught by a Dell VP) and international business.
Went there in '82, got my B.S., moved there from upstate NY. Didn’t like the school, or Texas/Texans in general, though it was a good overall school academically - had (has?) a well earned party school reputation. Back then Austin was ~300,000 people and still had a big-town feel. Learned to like road biking there, though not alot of bikers back then. Loop 360 was barren, very little traffic and no lights. The hill country is nice for hiking and camping, though not in same league as CA, CO, or Oregon/Wash. parks. Some good canoeing on nearby rivers too.
After ~10 years living out west, moved back to work in Houston and now really like Texas/Texans - go figure.
I’m currently going to UT and in am finishing up the 5 year accounting program this semester at McCombs. As far as Austin goes, I couldn’t imagine a better place for training, then again I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and spent 18 years growing up in the suburbs of Houston.
For swimming UT has one of the best swimming facilities in the Jamail Swim Center open for informal rec 4 hours a day M-F. For cycling, the UT Club Team is pretty serious and theres always the infamous ATC Saturday morning ride as well as a ride leaving from Jack and Adams every Sunday with their Velossimo Racing team. For running theres Town Lake which a previous poster mentioned. There are also a lot of training groups in the Austin area for running, one of the best ones IMHO is with Gilbert Tuhabonye and his “Gilbert’s Gazelles”.
The McCombs school is equally as good as the training. I’m lucky to be graduating with a job lined up and I’d have to say its all because of all the recruiting that the school brings in. They also have the number one accounting program in the nation which is a plus with all the companies as well.
All in all, you can’t go wrong with coming to Austin and UT. Plus football games are fun as hell, and you can bet we’re going to the national championship next year. Hook 'em!
UT Austin alumn (1990’s), economics major. Loved almost everything about the school. The one exception would be that, at least back in my day, hardly anyone went to school there from outside of TX. It was very ethno-centric. The Texans are annoyingly territorial and proud of being native to the state (yeah, like Germans are native to the area just north of Mexico). I came from Chicago, so I might as well have been from Neptune to those people. Generally nice folks though.
Otherwise, the culture, food, outdoor activities, music, party scene, etc, etc, was world-class. I had so much fun that I stayed in Austin for almost 15 years. Overall it’s a great town. I live in San Diego now but love to visit Austin every few years.
However, whenever I hear people talk about the “good weather” there I want to laugh. The summers are hot as hell. The winter can get quite cold (occasional sleet, frozed rain, snow, lots of wind). There are big storms much of the year. Tornado warnings in the middle of the night are not as rare as you would hope.
Regardless, a morning swim in Barton Springs, followed by a ride out west of town, lunch at Shady Grove, happy hour at the Continental Club, Mexican dinner on the east side, and late-night downtown, and you’ll be totally hooked and may never want to leave.
Heh, asking for a UT alum is not much different than asking “any americans in here,” there are a lot of UT alums out there.
Graduated 07 with BS in Biology
First off, it’s a big F-ing school, so you will become just a number.
It’s very easy to become diluted so you need to do a lot to be noticed.
Austin is amazing, but it’s growing very very fast, and I believe the Texasation of Austin is just around the corner (Texasastion = Dallas, Houston, SA)
In one year, the cycling from campus took a huge beating when the city put up the new toll road, it’s become a lot more difficult to head out east safely.
The ATC ride is good, however I would ride (and compete) with the UT cycling club, very strong group.
UT Master swimming is probably one of the best, and cheap with UT discount. Whitney is an amazing coach.
A lot of my buddies went to McCombs, they would describe it as overrated (rated #1 etc), but I guess they have jobs… so that’s good
Overall UT is a good school, just don’t do the minimum, otherwise you will be like everyone else
Austin is an amazing city (only city in Texas worth talking about), but the rate of growth is a little uneasing.
X2 to what Mr. Lovato says.
I’m an Austin native (there don’t seem to be many of us around any more–been diluted by all the transplants) and still love my town. Good school, good training, good life. (bad traffic though)
and hijacking to say, Hi, Michael! We still claim you, of course.
Maybe I’ll run into y’all somewhere around.
I recall the good ol’ days when you were here fondly…got my first bike from you at the shop, you gave me my first hardware…aww…
“got my first bike from you at the shop, you gave me my first hardware”
So he had his hardware all over town? Geez, to think he’s one of the guys I really root for! Good thing he’s not an olympic swimmer, because that might be questionable behavior!
yikes! No!
I meant that he was the one to tell me the first race I placed in my AG at…I hadn’t stuck around for awards, because I just was so BOP I didn’t think there was any reason to!
Michael and Amanda were so cool about it! You’d have thought I qualified for Kona or something they were so happy for me! Very gracious nice people, those two.
