Howdy! Daughter’s stats:
1330 SAT (taking again end of August)
3.73 / 4 GPA
Top 32% (tough school…950 in her class)
9 AP classes
-Not a lot of extracurricular. -Creative Writing Club President and Special Olympics Volunteer
What are her chances? (Major: Prelaw/Psychology)
Is it beneficial to apply early and why?
Thanks for any insight. All new to this!
@Mullybirds , @AggieMomhelp can definitely give good advice.
Rank & gpa will count against her, competitive school or not. SAT is good, but would definitely help if closer to 1400. Has she taken ACT?
A&M is very competitive, many applied 12:01 am August 1. There’s no benefit to waiting to apply (none that I see). Dorm selection goes by time stamp housing deposit is made (and you can’t put down deposit until you’ve been accepted), several majors are small, so when they fill up, that’s it.
If she’s not Top 10%, she goes into the Holistic pool with the thousands of others. Waiting to apply puts her down the list to have her application reviewed.
Psychology/Liberal Arts is a major, I don’t think Pre-Law is. Decide on a 2nd major. You can look on A&M website to see what each college requires for acceptance.
GPA of 3.73 out of 4 will count against her? Rank is ridiculous, as this is a very competitive school and I don’t quite understand why colleges do not take this into consideration. Had we lived 30miles away, she’d be top 5%. Irritating. Is it worth it to wait to apply until she takes SAT again, or apply now and send results when in? Do essays matter THAT much?
@AggieMomhelp can answer about the essays & submitting another SAT-she’s the guru!
Gpa isn’t bad, but the rank isn’t strong.
I hear ya on things being frustrating. Personally, the state Top Ten% rule isn’t fair across the board. Even within our district, a student who is true Top Ten at one school, wouldn’t even be Top Ten% at another school.
A&M is very competitive. A&M has the highest number of National Merit Scholars in the state. There are some seriously smart kids applying. Those that don’t qualify for Automatic Admission need to really ‘stand out’. There were a good number of students on College Confidential last year who were just outside Top Ten%, who didn’t get in.
Yes… the rules of top 10% or top 6% at UT are not fair at all. Add to that, the issues of an online year- during what many consider “the most important year of high school.” Sigh. Regardless, I thought her load of 9 AP classes, decent GPA and solid SAT (I know it could be higher…if A&M super-scored, she’d have 1400.) would be enough to have a decent chance. Somehow, you’d think colleges would consider students who have a decent work/family life balance. She’s frustrated. I don’t blame her. I am too. Thank you for your input!
@Mullybirds no one really knows what they’ll be looking for in the holistic review. Even last year, admissions were crazy-some that you’d think were a shoe in (12%, class officer, varsity letterman, tons of volunteerism) didn’t get in, while others were pretty average & they did get in. 
I think a lot depends on major choices, too. Some majors much larger and not near as competitive to get in.
There is a current thread on CC about what some admissions ppl say NOT to write about in your essay. Definitely worth scrolling thru that thread.
@mullising @52AG82 gave you all the info I would have said. Everything matters. So don’t phone it in! Ranking will hurt but another strong sat will help. They do like to see extracurriculars in their interest. My son I mgmt pre law and loves it.FYI
Hang in there. The whole process is frustrating at times but it’s a process. Lots of help on this site so feel free to ask away!!!
We are kind of in the same boat. My daughter is not top 10, shoot she’s like 40% at her high school which is ranked nationally and in state even with an unweighted 4.0. Top 25% at her high school starts at weighted 5.6 and become incoming sophomores to most colleges. Her SAT & ACT are within the average range of acceptance at TAMU and she’s got lots of extracurriculars like varsity golf, working 20-30 hours a week and well over 300 hours of volunteer service and starting a non-profit. Given all of that, we have no idea what her chances are. From her friend’s stats last year, we saw kids with 3.5s and seemed average get in and others outside of top 10, get denied. Her counselor said it’s hard to predict if your child fits whatever profile they are looking for to round out a diverse freshman class. Basically, how many other kids are similar to your child looking for admission…who else has applied that is similar to them to compete for same spot. A bit maddening to not have anything set to gage on.
The chosen major is a big deal. Also, grades, course rigor, test scores and leadership. I’ve noticed that sport captains do well. Your A&M admissions counselor hopefully has some sessions at the high school. Since your school is highly competitive, they know it well. You might also check Naviance if you have that.
I’m not an expert on college admissions but for me at least SAT scores were really important, once I attached my 1460 to my admissions portal (I was a homeschooler) I literally was accepted days later…I’m not sure if I would have been accepted that soon regardless, but I would personally take the SAT again and apply later, since I don’t think psychology fills up this quickly only majors like business or engineering I think it’s better to apply early for.
oops saw date of op
Thanks all… my daughter did retake her SAT with a higher score, but has now been contacted by multiple colleges with hard to resist scholarships- so we are seriously considering those options. She was a bit turned off by this whole process, and felt a bit defeated to be honest. College admissions are certainly not what they use to be!! Thanks for the replies 
@Mullybirds good for her! Congrats on the scholarships! Always nice to know you’re wanted. Agree that this process sure isn’t what it was when I applied to college in 1985…I mailed in a couple handwritten applications.
Give me old school anyday!