jmcomicÂþ»­

Absolute garbage. I would recommend this school to absolutely no one. Parking is nonexistent unless you want to pay $1,200. Online interfaces are terrible. Everything is under construction. Denton is gross and apartment monopolies will charge you thousands for a rat infested hole. Dorms are terrible with no privacy as you are subject to frequent prison style checks. It's not like you are paying thousands for the squalor of a dorm. It's awful, and my biggest regret in life so far is attending this... Read More university.

University of North Texas initially caught my eye because of its close proximity to my hometown of Dallas, Texas. I was also persuaded by my mother and my aunt who are both proud alumni of the university. Along with the fairly low cost of attendance, I was sold. I was headed to UNT. When I entered college, I knew that I wanted to be a teacher so I was certain that I would be majoring in education. However, because I wanted to teach secondary education, I needed to major in my subject of choice. This... Read More led me to focus more on the sciences which was one of the best decisions I could've made. Initially, I had very positive experiences with UNT. After my first semester ending in a 4.0 GPA standing, I was certain that this was the school for me and that I'd made the correct decision. Once the second semester started, I received an email stating that I could not return to the campus unless I'd paid off my housing debt. I was stunned - housing debt? What debt? I had accumulated over $3,000 of debt from merely staying in my assigned dorm. UNT had a policy in 2011 (which they have since eliminated) where the financial aid only paid for tuition. You would receive a financial aid refund and were to pay for housing manually with the refund, presumably. This policy wasn't explained to me during orientation nor my first semester. I later discovered I only received one email per month reminding me to pay the housing bill of $811. As a new college freshman and barely 18 year old, this obligation was tremendous, in my opinion. Needless to say, I couldn't afford to pay off the $3,000 debt by the next semester so I was released from my academic duties that next year. The debt went to a collection agency where they added an additional $800 just for processing. I left UNT for 2 years and attended community college during that time. I obtained my first job in Fall 2012 and paid a small portion of the debt as often as I could. I ended up obtaining another job and worked these two jobs for months until the debt was paid in full. I returned to UNT in Fall 2014 only because the majority of my college credits were at this institution. I was quite livid with UNT after this situation but I was determined to finish what I started. I no longer stayed on campus but rather commuted from Dallas via bus and train for the next two years. I wasn't able to participate in many school activities or clubs because of my frequent absence from campus. However, I did want to participate in something before my tenure at UNT ended. I started a honor society at UNT and we participated in Homecoming 2015. It was a great experience. Although I had some great times at UNT, the initial leaving in 2012 left a bitter taste in my mouth even to this day. UNT was very unsympathetic in the situation; in fact, many of the students I met my freshman year were also kicked out for the very same reason and never returned (or I never saw them again). Furthermore, despite my good grades, I only received a $1,000 general scholarship which I no longer qualified for after the debt situation. Yet, during my time at UNT, they were able to build a new football stadium and union building - which I'm sure totaled millions of dollars. (But they couldn't give their high-performing students some scholarships?) Also, many of the professors in my degree program were tenured which meant that regardless of their teaching performance, they would have their jobs. In my experience, these weren't always the best professors. My degree program was Biology with an emphasis on Secondary Education. I do thank UNT for that opportunity because not many colleges offered Teacher's Certification along with Biological Sciences emphasis as an undergraduate student. Overall, the activities at UNT are great from Homecoming to pep rallies to football games. However, when it comes to the students' academics, it seems that they are very hands-off. Not many funding opportunities, not the greatest teachers (at least in the Biology degree plan), and they literally charge for everything. You would think something in the tuition would pay for some of these things. It is important to note that UNT is located in Denton, a small country town in Texas, so UNT is very much a "collegetown"-type of campus. It is rumored that UNT is trying to compete with other Tier 1 schools like UT Austin and Texas A & M. So, they spend lots of money on their sports programs (hence the new football field) - which aren't the best. To make a long story short, they charge a lot to compensate for these programs and they definitely could be more understanding with certain situations...particularly mine. However, I am grateful for my degree and I expect it to bring forth many more opportunities not afforded to me previously.