By this time, however, he had decided to further his education at a first-rate university. His first choice was Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. But he soon realized that he probably would not pass Vanderbilt's tough entrance examinations. So, in 1895, at the age of 28, Lomax matriculated at the University of Texas at Austin, majoring in English literature, and undertaking almost a double course load (including Greek, Latin, and Anglo Saxon) and was graduated in two years. With a touch of Texas hyperbole, he later wrote: