Can I get into Texas A&M University?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
1

Hi! I am currently in my junior year of high school and will be a senior starting August 2017. I just wanted to get an idea of my chances of getting into Texas A&M University College Station. Here’s a little back ground…

Unfortunately, I did not take any AP classes but I will be taking one my senior year. The reason being is I did not believe in myself and I know it’s too late to go back so I’m just looking forward and hoping for the best. I took all on level classes for english with the exception of pre ap english freshman year. I didn’t continue the AP route to english because my teacher freshman year was awful and I didn’t learn much. I’ve taken biology, chemistry, physics, and anatomy & physiology (on level) and am planning to take forensics science, health science theory and practice, and AP psychology next year. For history, I took world geo, world history, and us history (on level) and am planning to take dual credit government and on level economics next year. For math, i’ve taken algebra I and II, and geometry and am planning to take pre cal next year. For electives, i’ve taken BIM, art, health science, speech, gym, child development and guidance, principles of education and training, principles of human resources, disaster response, med term,and life time nutrition and wellness. I also took two year of sign language.

For my stats…

I have a 3.8 GPA on the 4.0 scale and a 4.3 on the 5.0 scale

my rank is about 270/ 780 (not sure about the exact numbers)

on the 2016 SAT I got a 1150… 570 - math and 580 - reading & writing
I know my SAT isn’t the best, but I am the WORST test take… like EVER (this is one of the reasons I decided to not take AP)
I am planning on take the ACT so hopefully that will be a bit better

For my grades in classes, I have all A’s. I’ve gotten 2 academic awards (freshman and sophomore year) for have a 4.0 and above. I was also asked to be in NHS (national honor society) but I unfortunately could not do that due to me moving to a new school ( I would have to attend that school for at least a semester and I did not), but my counselor said that I will most likely get it next year and then I could apply.

For extra curricular’s…
I am not an athletic or artistic person. No sports, paining, or instruments. I have been in HOSA, med club, outreach, Leo club, and learning leaders.

Now, you’re going to laugh at me for the thing i’m about to type out next… I technically don’t have any volunteer hours because i’m dumb and didn’t realize that I needed a sheet to document them on (ughh). I feel so dumb for letting that happen. I originally had many volunteer hours, but I did not document any of them so this summer i’m going to have to start over and make sure to document them!

I had a job for about 2 months, but quit because of school and am planning to get another job this summer.

I know I’ve made mistakes, like not take AP classes or not documenting hours, but that’s in the past and I cannot change the past. I just hope to get into college because I truly love to learn and am excited to go onto college. I know I wrote a lot and I am so very thankful for anyone who as read this far… haha. I know my grades will only get me so far in the admission process, but I know I can write incredible essays that will show my true characters and get amazing recommendation letters as well. My dream school is Texas A&M University College Station and I just want to know chances of getting in with the information above. I know that no one knows for certain but I just want to get an idea.

Thank you for anyone and everyone who read this and who will (hopefully) reply. It truly means a lot to me. Thank you for taking the time to read this! :slight_smile:

2

@mary77

Not going to lie, but the chances are very small. (btw post this on http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university , where people from TAMU can comment and see it)

Maybe for an uncompetitive major like education, you could possibly get in. Other routes are Blinn or another CC (Community College).

Witha 34% class rank, that leaves out the possibility of auto or academic admit. Review admits have very low chances, as you will basically be picking from the leftovers.

Texas A&M is also my dream school (and I am also a junior), however, my chances of getting in are also pretty small.

To put it into perspective, I am an academic admit (My Stats-20% Rank+1380 SAT) with possible National Merit Finalist (won’t know until the cut comes out for sure). My GPA is a 3.89 Weighted out of 4 (I know it is super bad), while I only have 14 AP classes (and the rest mostly PreAP). My EC’s also aren’t that good (only about 200 hours, a couple awards, and only two leadership roles), and I only have 2 sports.

With people on CC telling me I have low chances, I honestly don’t think you will have a chance at all.

3

Who is tell you @RMNiMiTz you have no chance at all. This thread is pretty encouraging, by people with already admitted students and students alike. Your chances are not bad. In fact, pretty good. http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1966379-am-i-screwed-extremely-low-sat-p1.html

@mary77 It is impossible to say exactly what you would be offered from A&M if you apply, because we are not privy to your application file and and are not admissions counselors. Your rank and SAT are not competitive but I have learned never to say never. If I had to guess, based on stats I have seen of applicants the last two years, you will likely be offered PSA. That said, I have seen some lower stat applicants be offered admission to Blinn Team or Gateway over some higher stat applicants that were offered PSA, Like I said, none of us see the whole file.

4

First of all, @RMNiMiTz , you qualify as an academic admit by score & rank, - you will be admitted to the university as long as you submit a complete application. The next issue is Engineering majors - unlike other majors- they compete for admission to the engineering college through holistic review (everything counts) you will be offered something - TAMU engineering, Blinn Engineering (which is NOT Blinn TEam), or Galveston Engineering. Your chances are not ‘low’, they just involve holistic review which takes into consideration preparedness for major as well as strength of application. That is very different, it is tough to predict. It’s still a pretty new process, so whether or not your GPA will have much of a negative impact is not well established ( 14 APs & weighted 3.89 means lots of B’s in APs -those are considered college courses) however, they will be looking at your entire application.

@mary77 rank is what the admissions look at here - they are divided up to quarters but your score within is also noted. Yours is 35% as quoted above. That is 2nd quartile, which puts you into the review category. 1150 is not very competitive when combined with 2nd quarter. Your best bet is to get that number as close to academic admit standards (1360) as possible and trying the ACT is a great move too. If you are referring to volunteer hours - they don’t have to be documented - not all schools do that (ours did not). So, yes you can claim the hours you did volunteer work (we learned that TX has a very broad definition of volunteer hours) on your application. The way applications work here is that you apply to the university first then if accepted, you can pick any open major EXCEPT engineering (that is fairly new). So it is not easier to get into the university based on your major. That being said - there are other options - look into Blinn Team, that might be a realistic pathway for you. You go part time to BlinnCC & part time at TAMU. Your essays could certainly help your situation - that’s where you get a chance to explain your issues/hardships etc. Do your best to finish out the year strong & study hard for the exams, carefully create essays and get your recomendations on file.

5

@Thelma2

Ironically, it was you saying

Idk, maybe I overinterpreted your statements.

6

Yes, I think you over-interpreted. I was pointing out your challenges that you could improve on.

All of your stats were not in one thread, so I more I saw of them, the better grasp I had on your chances.

In second statement, I think you were in pre cal, wanting to take Calc AB over BC and I was encouraging you to take AP calc BC over AB if your school offered it.Engineering is looking for readiness for the major and BC covers all of AB plus other topics. On the AP test, you will get an AB sub score. My son had an A in 151 all the way until the last 10 days of the semester, until the last semester exam and final (which were 10 days apart). It was much tougher at the end and only 5 questions on the test. It will also look better on your app if your school offers BC and you have it listed to take on your apply TX application.

I want to see you accepted into engineering and I want you to have as few struggles that could possibly be eliminated now.