<p>As far as engineering is concerned, both UT Austin and TX A&M have top ranked programs in the country:</p>
<p>[Best</a> Engineering School Rankings | Engineering Program Rankings | US News](<a href=“http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings]Best”>http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-engineering-schools/eng-rankings)</p>
<p>To the OP’s original question. It depends on what high school you go to. For example, 16% of the University of Michigan’s freshman class comes from only 20 high schools. In terms of acceptances, 148 Ann Arbor Pioneer students are accepted each year, while 121 Ann Arbor Huron students are accepted. Neighboring Saline has almost 60 students accepted each year (almost 14% of its senior class). Michigan has easier requirements for students at these feeder schools. One can score a 28 on the ACT and get in; where as it takes a 32 or 33 to get in from out of state. If a student from Saline has above a 31 they are essentially guaranteed a spot at Michigan. So yes, students can essentially be “guaranteed” admission to a good school; however, factors such as proximity play a huge role in it.</p>
<p>Once you get off the first page of the US News rankings, it is pretty predictable by the stats. My experience has been that admissions decisions become unpredictable (i.e holistic) once you get below a 40% acceptance rate. Otherwise, if your kid’s stats are above the median you will very likely get in. </p>
<p>My daughter got into 10 of the 11 schools she applied to. Totally a function of being sensible in making the list of schools to apply to. She had only two reach schools – got into one and not the other. With the Common App and $50 app fees, there’s no reason for this to be a concern. Just push the button on a couple more schools a notch lower down the food chain. </p>
<p>Another reason to do that is that the safety schools (where your kid’s stats are at/above the 75th percentile of the school’s applicant pool) will tend to be your merit money schools too.</p>
<p>I don’t have a problem with the URM accepted from our school at Stanford - they all had acceptable stats and either legacy or sports. It just bugs me that no top student had ever been accepted last I looked. It’s okay, but I would never recommend that a student from our school fall in love with Stanford. My son applied because he’s a comp sci kid. However he did such a miserable job with the extra essays, he deserved to be rejected. No sour grapes as far as he was concerned. He ended up with a great experience where he ended up and had other good choices. Our school is large enough that Naviance works well for most schools, but as always, your child may set the new low point for a school, I know my younger kid set a GPA low point for a couple of schools, though his SATs were very good for those schools.</p>
<p>I volunteered to help an URM girl this year with her applications. She goes to a well-regarded public school in an affluent town (her parents are divorced and her mom opted to remain in town afterward, possible bc her father owns 4 McDonald’s and provides good child support). W/o a doubt, her acceptance at UChicago will baffle future kids at her high school when they look at naviance. She never placed into an AP or honors class, had a 3.5 average w/ grades ranging from C+ to A, and a 29 ACT (she’s LD, had double time and was extensively tutored). She was ultimately rejected by Dartmouth (ED), Macalester, JHU, Tufts (ED2 initially deferred), Tulane (EA initially deferred), UMichigan (EA initially deferred); waitlisted at Middlebury; accepted to Dickinson (w/ $40,000 merit), Wheaton (w/ $50,000 merit), Northeastern, American and George Washington. She had legacy at UChicago and it looks like she’ll attend. Not sure how she’ll perform there as her writing ability is weak and she’s never been a reader but she’s very excited to attend. As she’s interested in international relations, i’ve counseled her to seriously consider GW because I think she’ll be challenged there but not as academically overwhelmed. however, she and her parents are very rank, prestige-conscious (hence the list of reach schools), and put a premium on that over good fit. I like her a great deal and would like to see her happily thriving the next four years but i’ve had to let go bc they’re just not listening to me at all; and of course, ultimately, it’s their decision.</p>
<p>helping her this year has certainly made me acutely aware of the stress i would have if i sent one of my own children to a school that they’re not quite ready to handle.</p>
<p>I haven’t read the whole thread so I apologize if this has been said already --</p>
<p>Many, many colleges have guaranteed admission and merit money for National Merit Semifinalists. Off the top of my head, I remember UT Dallas and the University of Arizona.</p>
<p>Also, if a school has a guaranteed merit scholarship for certain stats, admission is probably a sure thing too, unless you have terrible recommendations or something.</p>
<p>Edit: One exception to the above is USC. National Merit Semifinalists are guaranteed a half tuition scholarship, but not all National Merit Semifinalists get in.</p>