A repost from the Texas Colleges forum, I didn’t know where to post
I’m a high school junior this year planning to apply to UT Austin once fall rolls around. Can you guys give me an estimate of my chances of getting in? I’m planning to get into electrical engineering at the Cockrell College of Engineering. I’m a student in the Houston suburbs. Not too sure of my school’s “competitivity.” This year I’m taking 6 AP courses out of 8 courses, at the end of this year, I’ll be finished with 10 AP courses under my belt. Pardon me if I don’t follow peoper stat formats, this is my second post on CC.My school has 8 classes and is on an A/B day alternating schedule
Intended major(applying to) Electrical Engineering, haven’t decided on what to choose for second choice major yet, probably another engineering one
Run down of my stats
Rank - not sure but definitely in 7-10% so no auto admit (everyone above me is binging on AP courses like me so my rank is going to stay in place throughout this year) and we have a class of slightly over a hundred, I believe
SATs - haven’t taken yet, but PSAT were 1200/1520
GPA Unweighted - school doesn’t do this kind but I believe it to be around a 3.2 - 3.6 using a college’s GPA calculator
GPA Weighted - 4.03(predicted by end of junior year) - my school gives extreme GPA inflation to AP classes
Freshman year bombed with a 3.0 with a C in an English class - 1 AP class, some difficulty transitioning to high school, honestly no legitimate excuses here
Sophomore year - stepped up with 3 AP classes - made it through with only B in history, rest is all As
Junior year - 6 AP , and have two Bs only in history and AP Spanish
ECs - Quizbowl 2 years, haven’t participated in any competitions, only participated after school
Science Olympiad - 2 years
Track team - 1 semester
Achievements - Placed in school science fair, 10th
AP Scholar Award
Science Olympiad State, 9th grade (regional finalist)
Also took two community college classes at the end of sophomore year in the summer
Planning to volunteer somewhere this summer along with more community college classes.
1st generation college applicant, neither parents have a 4 year degree
Income bracket is 20k - 40k
And I’m Asian so academic expectations of me are probably assumed to be higher
Please give your honest opinion on my chances because I’ve already had enough optimistic talk from my counselors. Some advice on what else I can do at this point to drag up my chances, even little, will be appreciated!
Thank you for your replies and good luck to anyone else applying to UT!
@xrocker Are you saying you are, or are not in the 7-10%? You said, “not sure but definitely in 7-10% so no auto admit”… not sure but definitely in 7-10%, then you said so NO auto admit lol I am confused… or blonde…
Anywho… electrical engineering is quite competitive. It seems that the SAT and the percentile you graduate in are the most important aspects for a freshman. You really need to get an excellent score on your SAT. Make SAT prep YOUR LIFE for a few weeks before, maybe months. Take SAT prep courses, do everything you can to get an excellent score.
Engineering is tough even for auto admits. Just FYI, most engineering students found out their majors in February so you may be in for a long wait. Get ready for one and be pleasantly surprised if you get in earlier. Learn about PACE and CAP and decide if those are good options for you. Also be prepared with a plan if you are admitted to the university but not Engineering. Math and Physics fill up fast so don’t count on those being open. Look at this year’s threads to see what was open- mostly Liberal Arts.
UT admits based on an academic index combined with a personal achievement index. Depending on you essays, you’ll probably score better than average on the PAI. You AI is going to be low if your SAT looks like your PSAT score, so yes, you need to prep for SAT/ACT. Take both if you can and submit all scores. They use the one that helps you the most and they do NOT weight the sections equally. With the new SAT, it is unclear how they will weight the sections but they do not use the science section of the ACT in their formula for example. Read the end of this report.
What is your safety? Your rank will get you into A&M but you are not guaranteed engineering. look at Tech, UTD, UTA. Give yourself options next Spring.
Lastly, figure out what your EFC will be. I am guessing pretty close to zero. UT does not meet full need. That means you will get a combination of grants and LOANS. It is time to talk to your parents about what they are willing to borrow and if the answer is zero, you have to find a school that is affordable.
Thanks guys, you’re awesome! I got Texas State, A&M, and UT Dallas/San Antonio/Arlington in the back of my head. Advice taken, I’m stockpiling on SAT practice books! Also, about costs, they shouldn’t be much of a problem with FAFSA, right? Though I really worry about my ECs, they look jumbled and all over the place :-??
Read this thread. I don’t know a lot about UTs financial aid program but the OP got the Federal Pell grant and loans with a household income in the same ballpark as yours. There are a few other posters with only loans.
I’m an Asian in New York and got accepted this year in an Electrical Engineering major at UT Austin.
Here’s a run-down of my stats (really don’t know how much it’ll help):
Class Rank: My school does not do rankings
GPA: (Weighted 4.1 Unweighted 3.95)
SAT: 1520/2260
ACT: 35
Took AP World History sophomore year (got a 5)
Junior year: AP USH, Comp. Sci. A, AP Chem. (all 5’s)
Senior course load: AP Calc BC, AP Physics 1 & C, AP French (along with a college economics course)
Never received anything less than an A throughout high school
Clubs: VP of a cooking club, Treas. of a club sport and a robotics team (I used robotics in an essay to connect to my interest in electrical engineering and computer science)
Volunteer: 150+ hrs at the local public library
Awards: AP Scholar with Honor, National Merit Semifinalist
My advice is to take both the SAT and the ACT twice each (if both are offered). And in your application, try to present yourself in the best way possible. Make up for your lowest points with your recommendations, finding faculty that can attest to you working hard to overcome obstacles. And make your essays count, they should tie together all your strong points and declare clear goals for your college life, especially if you can use them to help the university.
Your EC’s are pretty good, use anything even remotely related to STEM to present your interest in Electrical Engineering. Anything else can be used to portray you as a hardworking student who can adjust to college life through the flexibility of your various different activities.
Just my opinion, though.
And with money, sorry can’t help you. My out-of-state status makes me unable to get nearly enough financial aid to cover 15% of the tuition. I can’t afford UT Austin (they want me to pay like $60,000 a year or something!), but if you live near Houston, you should be perfectly fine. Tip: APPLY FOR AS MANY SCHOLARSHIPS AS YOU CAN!
@xrocker Just a general comment, the Dallas-area UT schools are really coming up in the world, they have great reputations. UT-Dallas and UT-Arlington. They are getting a lot of profs from out-of-state college counselors as great bargains.
You will not get in to the EE program, I am sorry. The demand is very high, they really consider the cost of a student not making it and thus “wasting a seat that another, more qualified student could have filled.” Most EE’s that made it through, when I was there, were valedictorian/salutatorian/magna cum laude types. They had a minimum GPA of 3.2 to make it in to upper division and that was tough to make, because of the grade curving.
Sorry but that is the truth. UT-Austin has a lot of other great majors, however. Anthropology, Geology, the School of Education, etc.
@gettingschooled “Math and Physics fill up fast so don’t count on those being open.” I found your comment in this other thread. But didn’t you say applying early will not help chances? Then how is it possible that spots fill up? Doesn’t that mean applying earlier is advantageous?
I believe I was referring to the part of admissions where those who did not get their first choice major have to choose from any open major? Post the link and I will be happy to look. If it is what I think it was, then application date was not the issue but when the applicant logged in to choose from an open major. @TheAvidSeeker
Again no real harm in applying in August except that any awards and accomplishments from beginning of senior year won’t be on the app. My own S applied in August.
Ahh never mind I see. READ the whole paragraph. I am specifically referring to a case where the person is admitted to the university but not their chosen major. Okay @TheAvidSeeker… You have worn me out. I can show you answers but if you won’t read them, it does not matter. Good luck to you in your application. I wish you all the best.
I’m still set on EE no matter how difficult it is to get in. The list of college I plan to apply:
TAMU
UT Austin/Dallas/Arlington/San Antonio
Texas State
All local to Texas. Got any opinion on those six?
One more question - Does UT or other colleges read your app before the SATs come in because my essays are ready to submit in about three weeks or so after some edits and the next SAT test date is wayyy in October. I’m planning to retake because my SAT is a 1300 (650 M, 650 CR) and 2.5ish on the essay.
Good for you going for it and applying to these schools. My kids attend 3 of them.
UT Arlington has a very respected engineering department. I know of a lot of kids who go there, as it is in my hometown. The campus life is getting better and the university has really grown and expanded in the last decade. You would be in the entertainment capitol of Texas. Arlington is a great city and while a college town, it doesn’t have the college town feel you will get from UT or A&M. Our middle child will attend there this fall after coming home from out of state.
Our youngest will be heading to A&M this fall. The spirit and traditions are huge there. Most students love that aspect and some don’t. The Aggie Network is fabulous and the school is ranked very high. College Station is a decent sized town and you won’t want for anything. It is out in the country though and a decent drive to other towns. The metroplex, it is not. It has every major chain you could ever want in food or shopping. It is a true college town with a rich history.
Texas State on the other hand is a great school. My eldest is there. Wasn’t even on his radar and some circumstances came up where he decided against his first choice and had about 3 weeks to apply somewhere that had open enrollment. He determined he would like San Marcos more than Lubbock. He is a very smart guy but was not always a top student in high school. TX State is not uber competitive and now that he applies himself, he is excelling in the atmosphere. He has loved most of his professors and they have been very good to him because he puts forth the effort. It is probably the prettiest of campuses. Also, it is all uphill.You do go downhill some, but to get anywhere, it is uphill. It is in the Hill Country of TX and the views are spectacular. San Marcos is 30 minutes from Austin. It is a cool, hip town with the laid back vibe.
He hated his first semester due to his own fault of being anti social but second semester made his circumstances change and loves it. So much, he elected to stay there this summer and work full time at the cement plant for double major of concrete industry Business Management with Entrepreneurial Concentration.
UT Arlington, Texas State, UT and A&M have completely different vibes. If you can, I suggest you visit all of them and get a good feel. They each have their own things that make them great and unique and their drawbacks as well. Find where you fit.
Sorry, can’t help you with the last question. I do not know.
As an Asian minority especially, it’s not wise to gauge schools only on their academic reputations … you should also question and assess if it will be a great cultural fit.
Texas A&M: As an Asian student it’s highly likely you’ll find Texas A&M culturally stifling and off-putting. Texas A&M is a haven for obnoxious bible-thumping hypocritical white males and is way behind when it comes to embracing and celebrating diversity. I know a liberal Asian guy (studies show liberals are smarter and he is, he graduated with 4.0 GPA) who graduated from A&M and since he graduated in 2011 he has not been back to visit or go to any alumni events.
Texas State: I don’t think you’ll like it much there. Less than 5% of the population is Asian, diversity isn’t a major thing there, and like A&M it’s a haven for obnoxious bible-thumping hypocritical white males/females which of course isn’t a good thing.
UT-Arlington: I think you’ll like it there. Diversity is big at UTA and it has a thriving Asian community and from what I understand they break the stereotypes of being socially inactive and simply bookworms (in the last 2 academic school year there was a Asian homecoming queen, Asian homecoming king, many Asian elected student leaders, etc). Also UTA has an Asian (Indian) president and a strong partnership with China universities.
UT-Austin: UT has a pretty big Asian community however they’re not as visible as they are at UT-Arlington. Despite UT-Austin’s strong diversity, it’s still a very white school that’s pretty much ran by rich white kids from major cities in Texas. But at least many of those rich white kids are liberal leaning which means they are more pleasant to be around unlike the kids at A&M and Texas State. From what I see, the Asians students are not as empowered and comfortable outside the classroom as they are once again at UT-Arlington.
I just wanted to share my observations on four schools. Happy Hunting! @xrocker
@NuScholar , thanks for sharing with the community. Not many of us know this. Can you elucidate a little on fit for Asian-Americans at Texas universities? Asia-Americans and Asia itself are vastly diverse. What’s your take on the breakdown and the fit of each to the campuses? Thanks!
@EngPII Asian-Americans and Asians are different to some extent but they still share many similarities. 90% of the Asian-Americans I know are really no different than the native Asians I know … they speak or understand the language, they know the history, they have the same mannerisms (almost), they are normally top-notch students, etc etc
I can be very wordy so let me break down this way.
The Top 5 “big” schools that’s great for students of Asian heritage in Texas (no particular order):
UT-Arlington
UT-Austin
UT-Dallas
University of Houston
Rice University
The Top 5 “big” schools that’s the worst (no particular order):
Thanks. The breakdown I now understand. So the next logical question is why? With 330,000 students last year alone from China studying at US universities, it would seem that there are still a good number of Asians (not just Chinese) at universities in your top 5 worst schools. Japanese, in particular, love the Cowboy, Jungian architype, so wouldn’t Texas A&M be a dream for an Asian with dreams of riding horses into the sunset? Texas in Austin is liberal, funky, artsy, gender-choice tolerant, the exact opposite of conformist East Asian cities and cultures–why would an Asian go there instead of Texas A&M? It would seem that Asians would be far more drawn to the smaller Texas schools so they can be cowboys living the dream, no?
For UT Dallas, the undergraduate Asian population is American Asian vs international. Their Asian % is close to 30%, but international is only 5%. The graduate level programs are much higher for international students. UT Dallas does draw from the local area - Plano/Frisco and I’m assuming the industries in that area must employ many Asian workers whose children choose UTD. They do draw from other parts of the country - my DD is part Asian from Austin and her roommate is Asian from San Jose. I do know many people consider UTD to be a suitcase school but with at least a third of their undergrads living on campus, it appears to be changing. UTD is in a suburb which has its good/bad points. All necessities of life are close - grocery stores, Target, restaurants. It is lacking the bar scene. They are building a drag across the street with additional housing and they do give you a DART pass that can take you many places in the Dallas area. Unfortunately, Arlington is not on the DART line.
