Chances for UT Austin?

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

Hey guys, I’m new to this site. I’m a high school junior in his second semester, of mixed Latino/Indian descent. I just wanted to now my chances of getting into UT Austin, with no major being decided upon yet. I will probably lean towards a Business major since I’ve heard that UT has a great Business Honors program, but I’m not sure yet. Here are my credentials:

GPA - between 5.4 - 5.5, my school does it o a six-point weighted scale

Class Rank - Unsure as of now, since my school has not displayed ranks in while. Should definitely be under the top 12%, not sure if in top 7% though, as my school is very competitive.

SAT Scores - Composite - 2090, Math - 780, CR - 670, Writing - 640 (only one taken, no plans for new SAT)

PSAT - Composite - 1380, Math - 720, Reading/Writing - 660, SI - 204 (50/50 chance of National Merit Semifinalist, but definitely at least commended)

Extracurriculars - Not much here, but I am in NHS, and should have 30+ volunteer hours by the time of my application

Work Experience - held an internship at a business journalism website for a couple months

That’s all I can think of right now. I will have taken or be enrolled in 11 AP classes at the time of the application, if that’s of any value. My grades in my freshman/sophomore years were a mix of A’s and B’s, but I really buckled down this year and have earned all A’s in 7 classes that are AP or Honors. Let me know what you think my chances are of getting in (% preferred), or if you have any ideas about what I should do in the time I have left.

2

I think Business might be a long shot for you as McCombs is very competitive. You’d have a better chance at a less competitive major. I recommend you retake the SAT or take the ACT. Your admission chances (and merit chances) at all competitive schools will go up with if you bring up your CR to over 700 (I don’t know anything about the new SAT). Treat UT as a reach and you might be pleasantly surprised.

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What do you think I could do to increase those chances before my application?

4

Raise your test scores just as I have written.

5

@Seeker1999 Find out about the AI/PAI. Check @gettingschooled’s post about them. You might consider taking the ACT. Some people do better on it relative to the SAT.

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I think you have fair chance of getting into Mccombs! Your gpa seems to be within the ballpark and your test scores are there too. The average SAT CR + Math for the mccombs 2014 fall enrollment was 1361. and while your composite is 2090, your CR + Math score is 1450 which puts you well above the average for that stat. Your rank is what holds you back the most in my opinion. As of now I’d say you are around a 60% chance for Mccombs assuming you write great essays and have equally great recs. BHP would probably be around 1%-5% not because you are a bad student, but because of how high their statistics and standards are. As for what you want to do, score as high as you can on the new SAT and the ACT, raise your rank, and get more involved in your community!

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Your test scores are similar to my son’s who was accepted to McCombs this year. The rank matters a lot. Read the last five pages of this document.

https://www.utsystem.edu/sites/utsfiles/documents/institutions/best-practice-admissions-processes/ut-system-admissions-best-practices-2014-07.pdf

Take the ACT too and send that score too even if it isn’t as great as your SAT. The formulas are different and they use the one that results in the highest AI.

When you look at the formula, you’ll see the relative weight of your rank and test scores. That is the AI.

The other part is the PAI. You are probably selling yourself short in the post above. Think about what you have spent your time on. NHS doesn’t take much time in most schools and 30 hours of volunteering isn’t a lot over 3 years. What do you do after school, on the weekends and in the summers? I bet it is more than you are describing above. The internship will be great. Taking care of siblings counts too. Much to my son’s dismay Netflix and PS4 doesn’t.

You can estimate your in AI/PAI but what matters is who else applies and how you compare to them. You can’t know that. You can compare others in these threads and understand what UT values. (hint: GPA does not matter outside of the fact that it influences your rank.)

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Highly advise you to take the ACT. From what I’ve heard, UT looks at all the applicants that applied from your school and compares you to how you stack on them. They pick the top prospects from the school. The AI/PAI will be a good indicator if you have a good chance because the formulas are supposed to tell you your predicted freshman GPA.

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@musman15 UT compares you to people who applied that came from your high school?? Are you sure of this??

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@musman15 Do you know what the EngComp in the Business AI formula stands for? I did very well on the ACT but poorly on the writing section so I was wondering…

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@Seeker1999 It is the combined English/Essay score. Should be listed on your ACT score report.

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@Seeker1999 Just curious, but can you guess that a 1380 is a 50/50 shot for national merit semifinalist? Yet alone commended? If you do get commended, which should come out in September, make sure you write that on your resume, at it will improve your academic background.

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@TheAvidSeeker @Seeker1999 99 S2 was National Merit Commended with a 2110 1430 M+CR old SAT last year and it did not help him get into UT.

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Sorry but your SI does not meed the commended cutoff this year, which has already been confirmed at 209.