Aspiring UT Austin Applicant from Arkansas...Chance Me/Advice

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

Hello!
I am entering into my junior year at my high school with ~900 kids in my class. While I am strongly looking at UT Austin as my dream college, I am also curious to see how exactly I can bump up my chances. I’m fortunate to have a lot of time to see what I can do to help my chances, and I am also curious to see if there is any financial aid help to pay for that OOS tuition. While I do not have a set major in mind, I am interested in the Butler School of Music. Here are my current stats as of August 2018:

Grades
Unweighted GPA: 3.75
Weighted GPA: 3.9375 (Have some B’s unfortunately)

Test Scores
Current ACT Score: 28
Current PSAT Score: 1100 (Not great score-hoping to raise it for national merit but it may not happen lol)
Have not taken the SAT yet…Should I take it if I’m applying to UT?

AP Classes
No AP classes offered freshman year at my high school
Sophmore: AP United States History-4
Junior: Currently enrolled in AP World History, AP Language and Composition, and AP Music Theory, along with Pre-AP Precalculus

Extracurriculars
Symphonic Band in ninth grade (top band then): All-Region Bassoonist (no all-state for JH level)
Symphonic Band in tenth grade (second band at HS): All-Region Bassoonist and qualify for All-State (hoping to make it this winter)
Wind Symphony in eleventh grade (top band in HS)
In competition band with the Color Guard: this year will be my second year in it
In the Winter Guard that inaugurated this past winter of 2018: again, this winter will be my second year
Art student, for now, five years starting this fall, working to get into AP Studio Art: Won student’s choice in ninth grade and smaller first places in art shows throughout my years in art.

As for clubs, here are the ones I am currently in
AP Academy
National Honors Society
Mu Alpha Theta
Junior Civitan
Art Club (applied for National Art Honors Society for the following spring

I understand UT is particular mostly about academics and class rank especially. I won’t know what my class rank will be until the end of junior year, so it leaves me hanging on where I am in my class. I also need to work harder on my test scores, as they aren’t quite as competitive as I have hoped them to be. Besides that, any chances I so far, may be admitted into UT Austin, and if not, how can I make them better?
Thank you so much!

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UT is not known for it’s help in offsetting the cost of attending, so don’t count on any from them. They don’t have to offer incentives for high quality applicants to attend and the state of Texas doesn’t want to subsidize OOS students when it’s making cuts for it’s instate students.
Out of state applicants have a very small chance of attending as review applicants and those without stellar stats, even more so.
Your scores are low for UT and they do look at class rank a lot.
I would be in touch with the Music school, if I were you, and find out exactly what you need to do as far as getting your tryouts scheduled and what you can do to improve your chances for that college in the University.

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@Lorafaith27

The application to the music school is a two part process. Here is more info about that. https://music.utexas.edu/apply/undergraduate-admissions

If you really want UT, follow the link I included and perhaps contact the music school directly to find out specifically what you can do this year that might help your chances. Your admissions will be based on through your Jr year, but maybe there is something that could help you with your auditions you do this year.
We have a good friend whose son was not an auto admit but he is a fabulous musician and we was admitted to UT and the Butler School of Music and is excelling.
Good Luck

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@Thelma2 Thank you very much! I’m hoping to raise my ACT score this year and perform academically better than my past prior years. I’ll keep in touch with Butler, and work hard to raise my chances. I appreciate your input greatly!

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Can your arents afford to pay 52k a year from income /savings?
If not, look into other colleges.
(UT won’t offer any financial aid; you can borrow 5.5k, that’s it for freshman year. )

For a strong music student (provided you raise that test score by quite a lot - aim for 1350+) excellent recommendations would include St Olaf and Lawrence. Run the Net Price calculator to see if either one would be affordable.

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@MYOS1634 Thank you for the input! This summer I have been applying to find scholarships for my needing. UT is a very expensive school, and my goal is to make it as less costly as possible. I do have potential interest in St. Olaf actually and is on my list of colleges I am planning to apply for.