University Scholarships - Office of Scholarship Services can be an automatic full ride safety, but the OP would need to do political science as a major, since it does not have economics as a major
@ucbalumnus the link above goes to Prairie View A&M…a HBCU
His safety is getting admited to A&M after a year elsewhere in the system. He is very lucky that A&M offers that ( and even more possible paths).
Yes, Prairie View A&M can be an automatic full ride safety for the OP, if the OP is willing to study political science. Being an HBCU does not mean that it cannot be an automatic full ride safety for the OP.
How will the OP pay for a year elsewhere in the system if the parents will not pay? The obvious option is the automatic full ride at Prairie View A&M, which is part of the Texas A&M system.
@wesleyapokluda have you shown demonstrated interest in A&M? Attended Aggieland Saturday? Taken an official campus tour? Met with local A&M recruiter? A&M very much takes demonstrated interest into account.
Why didn’t you apply August 1st, when application opened? Did you check the box to be considered for Blinn TEAM?
I know your parents would like you to attend A&M…but do YOU want to?
Prairie View is not for everyone. It is highly unlikely to be a fit for this student. Tuition at community college is almost free in Texas if his parents refuse the likely Blinn Team and PSA offers, and then he can transfer to A&M.
Texas schools are tough but so are you!
You are a resident. (Big advantage over OOS who can’t get in because they don’t reside in your state.)
You achieved a 1410 on your SAT
You’ve completed and passed 10 AP classes with ~3’s or better
Your essays have been rated as being good.
You are a legacy (even though they claim they don’t look at that)
You intend to major in Econ/Poli Sci
Apply. It sounds like you are being very harsh on yourself.
You never know how the admissions acceptances will go.
I think your chances are good. They will want to look at students who bring something special to the table.
Good Luck!!
We don’t know anything about what would or would not fit the student other than (a) economics or political science major, and (b) no parent money for anything other than Texas A&M. Likely another community college would be as unacceptable to the parents as Blinn Team. Also, starting at community college (Blinn or otherwise) would mean another admission process to transfer to Texas A&M.
So the choices for the OP are:
I think it is fair to say the overlap of kids who apply to A&M with kids who apply to PVA&M is close to zero. OP knows his options. Now he just has to wait.
I’ll weigh in.
SAT is good.
Rank isn’t good but we have seen 2nd Q get accepted or offer team or gateway.
Essay, good based on you, but we can’t hang our hat on that and it’s not weighted heavily.
AP courses show rigor, 3s show understanding not mastery. Not all 3s will be accepted in lieu of a course tho, so you’ll work with your college advisor before accepting.
ECs?
Any Dual credit?
Econ BS or BA? Just curious
What’s your end game after college?
You most likely won’t hear back til January or February.
Have you thought about applying to Tamu Galveston? You can go there for a year and change major (not apply cause you’re already an Aggie) to something up in college station. Many students start off there and end up loving it and don’t change campuses, but it is definitely an option and way easier to get in. You would most likely be admitted within a week.
Also, it is truly Tamu and not a system school like prairie view or Corpus Christi. Etc so maybe your parents will pay as if you were on cstat campus.
Have a lot of experience with this and I think I can give you some good advice.
For admissions with your scores your choice of Major will have a big impact. If you are Engineering or Business the odds aren’t good, most others your chances are solid.
If you don’t get in straight up you have a better chance of Blinn Team or Gateway. Those are GREAT programs and honestly I know a lot of regular admits that would have preferred it. Why? You literally get all the benefits of being a regular student with the only exception of not being able to play D1 Sports (which I am guessing is not an issue as this would be a different conversation). Gateway is nice because you get a Summer to get in the groove and it’s pretty easy to pass. Blinn is great because you get to take half your classes at Rellis with small class sizes vs at CS with 300+. You end up in the same place and can still do everything, it’s also a little cheaper.
The other thing you need to do RIGHT NOW is apply to Galveston separately. Why? You should be a virtual lock for Galveston with a decent essay and it is by far the best option for folks wanting to go to CS. It is an Adjunct College and NOT a System school so after a year you can simply change majors and move to CS. It’s easy as can be with the only exceptions being getting into Business and Engineering which you likely need a 4.0 to have a shot but you will have that problem changing majors at CS anyway. Galveston is the best kept secret out there. It’s 2500 students and the largest class is about 70 kids with most being in the 20s. Quiet campus and laid back, much easier to adjust to college. It also has a lot of kids looking to transfer and a lot of kids that are from small schools. With your background you will be a very strong student there and set up to succeed. If you stay your degree will be from A&M, you get an Aggie Ring, and you are in every way an Aggie unlike any of the other System schools. You also get first pull on tickets for football games BEFORE CS. My son is has been first row 40 yard line 3 times already and he is a Sophomore at Galveston including the Bama game last weekend. Literally he just walked up and got his tickets vs the kids in CS that camped out for a week and probably didn’t.
BTW, there are 3 “Premium” Majors at Galveston. Maritime Engineering, Maritime Transportation, and Maritime Business (which is affiliated with Mays). The first 2 are the highest paying Majors in the State, my son is MART and loves it. You have to enjoy being on a ship and working with your hands though, it’s great for someone that doesn’t want an office job, likes to explore and do new things, and doesn’t mind being away from home. They make really good money, most are in 6 figures right out of school. Maritime Business is also high demand and has great paying jobs. If you want to work in Ports or do Logistics it’s one of the best schools in the world for it and they have an awesome Study Abroad program in Copenhagen that is at no additional cost. You can also get a Masters in 5 pretty easily if you make grades.
The rest of the Majors there are cool (Marine Biology, Fisheries, etc) but not as great in terms of after school job opportunities. You can also just do General Studies if you know you are going to transfer to CS.
For some additional context my son had lower scores and grades than you and was immediately accepted, though he did make a compelling case for MART. He’s crushing it there, he’s got a 4.0 and is not tracking to graduate in 3 years. Fewer distractions and profs that speak English and care about you. It’s a lot easier to stand out in classes with 25 kids. He enjoys fishing and going to the beach as well. The campus is on Pelican Island across a drawbridge so it’s kind of isolated from Galveston proper but it’s 5 minutes away.
I know of 2 kids that actually did the transfer to CS and actually wish they would have stayed in Galveston. I know another kid that was at CS and came down to Galveston after a year and loves it. It’s not for everyone and there are a fraction of the student activities. That said the size of CS is just overwhelming at times even for a big school kid with having to cover so much distance and it is very hard to get much in the way of extra attention and help by comparison. 72k students is a lot. My son actually did Spend the Night with the Corps and met with the Ag Business folks and then toured Galveston. While we were still waiting on CS he knew Galveston was his choice even if he had gotten regular admission.
Just apply NOW so you can get that option, you can always go another way. You just want to be in early so you can get your spot secured.
Your score should get you in TEAB if you apply engineering. Your HS should have annual GPA cut off report for all four quartiles. If you think you should be in first quartile, you should ask a question via AIS to challenge that. Sometimes TAMU AO adjusts that.
I can relate with that. My wife and I are '93 and my Dad was a Yell Leader in the 50s who was about as fanatical of an Aggie as ever lived. That’s why you need to explore some of the other A&M options like Galveston and don’t feel like Blinn Team is a negative if it comes down to it. The key is taking steps now to cover your bases and prepare and then if you get regular acceptance all the better.
The good news is that with your grades and SAT coming from a highly competitive HS you are set up for success. Top 10% gets a lot of kids in that really get their butt kicked at A&M because they were used to being the smart kid at a small or not great HS and they are not prepared for the competition. You have to be disciplined and study hard or else A&M will chew you up and spit you out. When you go to HS’s like yours you are far less likely to be overwhelmed and know what it is like to have hard teachers that make tests from hell that you better know the material backwards and forwards. A lot of small school/mediocre school kids just haven’t been in that setting and they have to adjust.
Sending positive thoughts your way!
Gig’em!