<p>^ OP, I think your evaluation is on target. </p>
<p>Unless someone can articulate how your chances of admission to COLA will actually be hurt if you list McCombs as first choice, your application strategy is appropriate (and as you note, you have the backup of undeclared in UGS). I think the key is simply presenting a picture of who are are, your strengths and interests and your goals, in a way that makes you attractive to both colleges. Honestly, imagining your HS curriculum and noting your writing skill, I think you’ll know exactly how to handle this. Here are a couple of links that provide food for thought:</p>
<p>[UT</a> College of Liberal Arts](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/cola/student-affairs/Academic-Planning/Prospective.php]UT”>http://www.utexas.edu/cola/student-affairs/Academic-Planning/Prospective.php)
[Plan</a> II Honors Program](<a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/plan2/admission/]Plan”>http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/plan2/admission/)</p>
<p>If obtaining a business degree is really and truly what you want, then you’d be wise to think hard before banking on internal transfer vs. matriculating as a freshman at another business school. This is what McCombs says about admission as an internal transfer:</p>
<p>“It is not recommended that students enroll in another college at UT Austin on the assumption that they will transfer into the McCombs School of Business.” </p>
<p>You can read the details and stats on internal transfer admissions from 2003-2011 here: [Getting</a> Admitted | McCombs School of Business | The University of Texas at Austin](<a href=“http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/BBA/Prospective/Admission/Internal%20Transfer.aspx]Getting”>http://www.mccombs.utexas.edu/BBA/Prospective/Admission/Internal%20Transfer.aspx)</p>
<p>So, your chances of making a 3.8 freshman and sophomore years, plus meeting all the other internal transfer requirements, may indeed <em>prove</em> better than your chances of securing admission as a freshman…but before you even step foot on a college campus, how can you compare the odds? </p>
<p>Right now, you recognize your test scores are your Achilles’ heel. Everything else looks great, and strong writing is a huge plus! Studies show it’s unrealistic to expect a significant score increase on retake without commensurate effort, which may take more time (and interest) than you have! Neither of my kids could stand for much test prep, so instead of paying for weeks-long prep courses, I paid for them to have one expensive session ($150/hour in our locale) of one-on-one tutoring to learn tricks/tips in improving narrowly targeted problem areas that accounted for significant point loss, e.g., tutor told kid 1, your past test shows you consistently miss type A, B and C math questions, here is the test strategy for dealing with type A, B and C math questions. Both of them responded well to focused test prep and got the point increases they needed. You don’t need to hire a tutor to accomplish the same success–the point is simply to use the detailed score reports from your past tests to identify what types of questions cause you the greatest point loss. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>