I moved to the United States in 2012, and I was placed in on-level courses, I knew from the first day that I didn’t belong there, I should’ve been in the honors courses, anyhow, that was my freshman year, my sophomore year I told my counselor that I should be in the AP/honors courses, which she respectfully placed me in.I did fine, I may have gotten a B here or there, but mostly -A, I’m currently a Junior, with a 3.7 GPA, not have taken my SAT yet, I will in June, but the one thing that makes me insecure here is the fact that I’m not in the top 10% of my class, I’m 67/480, which my counselor said isn’t bad, but I doubt my first college options will look past this, and heavily consider accepting me, unlike some of my peers who are in the top 10%.Not to brag, but sometimes I have to tutor kids in the top 5%, because they don’t understand somethings which are pretty easy for me, that’s why I feel like the top 10% rule is kind of unfair in a very narrow way, because a kid like me who was placed in on-level classes without even requiring my consent , now most likely will not be able to qualify for automatic admissions because the people who did take honors courses their freshmen year, have a 1 year advantage over me, even if they aren’t smarter than me, and I feel that if I don’t get into my top choices, I will be a bust in my parent’s eyes.I want to be a doctor in the future, I excel in all science courses, and I will apply to the college of sciences in both of my top choices.I know I should just keep doing my best and hope for the best, but its really stressing me out, I’m probably just doing this to receive hope, lol. Do you guys think I can get into any of my top choices?
It is impossible to answer your question without knowing your test scores and intended major. Being in the top 7% of your class is what is required for automatic admission. Anyone else will be reviewed for admission. Your test scores would be the second factor and without this no one can give you any idea if you would offered admission. It is not the end of the world if you can’t get into UT or AM. There is always a school that will meet your needs.
I intend to major in either biology or biochemistry, as for my test scores, I won’t know until June of course, but I’ve taken PSAT twice, scoring 1270 on my first try and a 1300 on my second try, which I think is a good sign.Thanks
As Grainraiser said, for UT auto admission, you have to be in the top 7% of your class. But that does not mean as a review applicant, that you will not be accepted into a major. Some colleges at UT are more competitive than others and depending on your EC’s and class rigor, in addition to your SAT/ACT scores, if you have EC’s in the area of you major, that can sometimes help. You should apply anyway.
As for A&M, if you are not in the top 10% of your class, you can gain auto admittance through the academic admit process. You must score a miimum of 1360 and have a minimum of 620 Math and minimum of 660 Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW) AND be in the top 25% of your class. As you are admitted to the university (academic admit) you will be placed in your major (engineering is the only college that undergoes a different process).
With the application process opening August 1, why are you waiting until June to take the SAT? You might want to consider taking the SAT in March, then if you need to retake to gain academic admit status, you still have May and June. UT and A&M will use the best score from one sitting. They do not super score.
Applying early does not matter so much for UT as it does A&M. If you are an academic/auto admit at A&M, you receive your admission decision fairly early and can apply for on campus housing right away. With rolling admissions, even some review admits receive admissions before December 31 and can apply for housing. With A&M, you have 30 days after receiving your admissions decision to be guaranteed housing priority on campus. You also do not have to accept your admissions at A&M to apply for housing, so you can have your housing app completed with priority housing while you await your decision with UT. A lot of applicants do this. With UT, you can apply for housing as soon as you receive your UIN number and do not have to be an admitted student.
Word of advise. Drop the “it’s not fair” out of your vocabulary. Respond to the knocks in life, with how to get around them and over them. Life isn’t fair and the sooner you stop using phrases such as “no fair” or “I can’t”, you will create a self fulfilling prophesy and you have set yourself up to lose. Embrace the suck and persevere. You will need that in college. Your first semester classes at A&M or UT will contain weed out classes that are not designed to be fair or care about your feelings. They are designed to chew you up and spit you out if you are not prepared when you step foot in the class and prepared to do the work needed to keep your head above water and survive.
Go google the first year course curriculum for the majors you are considering at UT and A&M. Then look up the degree requirements and individual courses. Some majors require 2 years of the same foreign language in high school,Like Biology at A&M, so that might help in determining your senior year schedule. By the end of your senior year, will you have the foundation you need for those classes? If not, see about getting it your Senor year or in summer before senior year or after. For example, at A&M, for a Biology major, you also need two semesters of Calculus. It must be specific Calculus classes. Cal 147 (Introduction to differential calculus in a context that emphasizes applications in the biological sciences.) and Cal 148 (Introduction to integral calculus in a context that emphasizes applications in the biological sciences; ordinary differential equations and analytical geometry)are preferred. There are other calculus classes but without AP calculus BC, they will eat you alive, so something to consider. What is the highest math you have taken or will take senior year? Will you have some foundation to be prepared for this Math first day of school? Biology does allow you to take the common course numbered classes for math at a community college ( the common course number is MATH 2413 and 2414)
In a quick google search, I found this for A&M http://opsa.tamu.edu/Professional-Programs/Medical/Thinking-about-Medical-School
Do your research to set yourself up for the absolute best outcome. Good Luck
Thank You so much this was really helpful, I was just kind of frustrated that I’m not int he top 10%, but I’ll try my best.
Thanks.
I think it’s possible.
Spend the next few months on some SOLID prep. Do a practice ACT or SAT section test every other day at least and a full length test at least twice a month. Your scores are good but you really want them to shine and it sounds like you have the potential to do that.