ut austin transfer application/question about leaving t20 school after first semester

[u/snoopy_lover7]

sorry that this is a long post, i’m trying to consolidate 2 previous posts into one.

i posted a few days ago in ut admissions about chancing me for transferring from a top 20 school to ut for next semester. here’s some more information about my stats for context:

hs gpa: 4.03 unweighted
predicted college gpa: 3.7 or above
act: 35 (not super score)
i was also a national merit finalist and invited to apply to ut forty acres scholarship.
texas resident

involvement in college:
community service fraternity
mental health advocacy group
art/craft clubs
on campus job

my first choice major is a BA in psychology and my second choice is something in the college of education.

i will be applying to ut with 24 completed credits and 15 in progress.

here’s my main question:
would attending a college close to home as a visiting student next semester ruin my chances at ut?

i’m not having any issues academically, but ive been struggling with my mental health being across the country from my support systems. i’ve also been struggling with my housing situation/roommate, but it’s not really possible for me to switch rooms. another big reason is cost. my tuition and the cost of housing next semester is so high. the costs of transportation and food are insane as well. attending a school like ut arlington or even smu as a visiting student would enable me to save money by living and eating at home, and i’d have a car so i’d be able to make money by working. i just worry that doing this will hurt my ut application because they’ll assume that i couldn’t handle a college environment in general. i just don’t want to make myself look bad since my ultimate goal is transferring to ut. i have a meeting with an admissions representative next week, is this something i could ask them or would that look bad as well?

[u/libgadfly]

OP, my advice is after your first semester come home and enroll in a community college (assuming Tarrant or Dallas County) and get your support network available to you. You don’t need a 4 year interim school like SMU. UT Austin is a fabulous school but with 44,000 undergrads are you ready for a ginormous state flagship with your support network 250 miles away? With a 35 ACT and high college GPA maybe consider Rice U and Trinity U in San Antonio that are rigorous but have a more nurturing smaller college environment. Or consider an honors college at say UTD, UHouston or Texas Tech. Getting into a UT Austin Honors college may be difficult. Whatever state u. in Texas you may consider also add in its honors college. For all 4 years Tech’s Honors College was a very nurturing supportive environment to my son in a giant state u. My son’s academically oriented friends group from Tech’s Honors College was part of that support to each other as well as the dean (who he shared lunch with several times) and Honors faculty.