Chance Me (OOS)

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

Unweighted GPA: 3.333 / 5.0
Weighted GPA: 4.381 / 5.0
SAT: 1300 (620-M, 680-R)
SAT II: Chem 620, Biology M 680, U.S. History 750
ACT: 30 (English 34, Math 26, Reading 32, Science 30)
ACT superscore: 31
State Of Residence: FL
Male
Hispanic (Puerto Rican)
Class rank: top 24% (out of nearly 550)

AP’s:
9th: AP World History, AP Environmental Science
10th: AP Bio
11th: AP English Lang, AP Chem, AP Spanish Lit, AP Calc AB, AP U.S. History, AP Physics 1
12th: AP English Lit, AP Physics 2, AP Studio Art: 2-D (aka AP Photo), AP Psychology, AP Statistics, AP U.S. Gov, AP Microeconomics
–AP Scholar

Extra Curriculars:
-100 volunteer hours
-Volunteer at a Rehabilitation Hospital with PT and OT and occasionally the pharmacists
-Spanish club all 4 years, Treasurer 11th and 12th
-Spanish Honor Society, inducted in 10th, Vice President in 12th
-FBLA 9th and 10th, Vice President 10th
-March of Dimes 10th, helped with march of dimes walk
-American Cancer Society, helped with Relay for Life Event
-High school varsity swim team all 4 years
-Club swimmer all-year round (afternoon AND morning practices (too much swimming!!))
**Not an EC but I worked at a rehab medicine doctor’s office the summer going into 12th

Major/Field of Study:
Biochemistry (maybe with Pre-med, still deciding)
I’m also considering double majoring in economincs. Or political science/ business administration/ finance. I’m still deciding.
–The long term goal is to go into either medical school or politics

Essay: I wrote about the memory of Monica Puig winning Puerto Rico’s first gold medal in the Olympics while listening to my grandma, (she was in PR I was in the US) who believed she wouldn’t live long enough to see such an event and how I am motivated to succeed based on the constant calls from mi abuelita urging me to do my best and make her proud. I promise the essay sounds 3000x better than this awful summary.
**This essay was written before Irma and Maria hit P.R., and I fear that admissions will see my essay as trying to earn pity points and/or wooing them with my minority status.

Mother has college education in PR
Dad has college education from Iowa State and is unemployed.
We are upper middle class

I applied to UCF (accepted with scholarhsip), Auburn (accepted), Alabama (accepted with scholarship), FSU, UT-Austin, UNC-Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt, and UF. UF is my first choice.

Comments:
I know my test scores and gpa definitely aren’t the best, and I definitely don’t have a lot of volunteer hours and extra curriculars, but I’m hoping they will see that I at least challenged myself and got involved with EC. Also being a competitive swimmer and taking all AP classes is a lot of effort, so I hope they take it into consideration, but I doubt it. I don’t necessarily view UT-Austin as a reach.

Also is it true that OOS students have a harder chance of getting in than in-state students? If so then what are my chances?

Thank you!!

2

Always hard to assess with OOS students, as UT is highly unusual in its admission criteria (<10% of incoming freshman seats for OOS students). You are surely a motivated student overall, but UT (major Biochem) looks to be a reach given your GPA and test scores. And with merit dollars unlikely, the return on your investment at UT without a scholarship would be low even if accepted.

If you’re seriously considering med school as a grad option, don’t spend OOS or private-type tuition anywhere, as your high performance in one of the undergrad Florida schools or Alabama (great merit scholarships!)–with low or zero debt–will be just as effective in med school applications as any other high-priced school.

3

Thanks EngPII! I’m aware that UT really prefers its in-state students, and chances of getting scholarships (TexasExes) are VERYYY slim, so I’m not set to attend there. I applied partly out of curiosity, and also because I was born in Texas and I just feel a special bond. I’m more focused on getting through my undergrad education with no debt at all. Thanks for your input once again!

4

Those stats could technically get you into UT-Austin, but 85% of their applicants are reserved for Texas residents. Chances are you’ll get a decline. It’s an overrated school anyway. Most med schools are interested in grades and MCAT scores. I would go for whoever offers the best scholarship value.

5

Update: I got in!!