<p>I'm from a top 50 high school nationwide from the bay area. Extremely competitive environment and classes, so GPA is not as stellar as it could be due to a couple of C's. I do have stellar test scores, EC's, and teacher recs. </p>
<p>-3.60 GPA (unweighted)
-33 ACT (36 Math, 36 English, 34 Reading, 25 Science)
-Opinion editor on school newspaper</p>
<p>Will the school recognize that I come from such a difficult academic setting? Also, how much harder is it to get into McCombs?</p>
<p>Thank you</p>
<p>You have a great ACT score. Make sure you are in the top 8% and you will have great chances</p>
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<p>Thanks! The thing is my high school doesn’t rank because of all the talent in the student body. Thinking UT would just compare my GPA to the school average. Or would they use some other method?</p>
<p>You have nice stats–good work! Yes, they’ll estimate your rank. See <a href=“http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen/after-you-apply/factors[/url]”>http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/freshmen/after-you-apply/factors</a> and this report–read pages 4-5 for the holistic review rubric, footnote 6 at the end re: rank and footnote 9 re: Business School formula. <a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/HB588-Report13.pdf”>http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/research/HB588-Report13.pdf</a>. Also, be sure to look at McCombs admission site and to put them as your first choice of major.</p>
<p>UT caps non-resident admissions at 10% of the freshman class, so it’s competitve for OOS. McCombs is even more competitive. They especially like indicia of leadership and either business education or experience OR the development of “business” skills in non-work contexts, e.g., planning, organization, management, use of business apps or spreadsheets, presentation, public speaking, etc. You can brainstorm how things you did in class, as school paper editor or for volunteer projects, clubs, teams, personal pursuits, etc. demonstrate skills acquired and then reflect them in the expanded resume, which UT relies heavily upon–read all examples and links in Be A Longhorn and take full advantage!–together with essays, to see who you are beyond your stats. </p>
<p>Good luck, and hook 'em!</p>
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<p>Thank you TXArtemis for such a well thought out answer. Those are great resources.</p>
<p>Unfortunately they dont look at the competitiveness of your highschool if its a public school. If its a private school they do somewhat but if you are not ranked then with your SAT/ACT scores you have a better chance</p>
<p>^Ummm…UT will consider competitiveness of publics. They are intimately aware that top 25% at any number of Texas publics means way more than top 8% at others. For OOS applicants, they will have to rely more on school profile plus what the GC says about the school and the level of rigor demonstrated on the applicant’s transcript and grading policy/grade distributions. In other words, all HS are not equal, and UT knows that! An individual applicant isn’t favored or penalized on account of their school vs. others. You are evaluated in the context of what your school was like and how you performed relative to your peers at that school.</p>
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