Concerned High School Junior; University of Texas Engineering

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1 
Hey guys, asking here as I'm a Junior, soon to be applying to colleges, from Texas. I am aspiring to be a Mechanical Engineer, with a specialization in Aerospace. Sadly, my Freshman year of high school went horribly, as I had a hard time acclimating to high school, and my grades suffered from it. Although Sophomore and Junior years have been very good so far (All B's and A's), I'm afraid my Freshman year grades will affect my chances drastically. 
My GPA is 5.6857 out of 6.5714 (my school uses a weird scale), which equates roughly to 3.46, weighted GPA, only factoring in core classes. I am at the edge of the third quartile out of 627 students, and have taken 3 AP courses this year, and will be taking 5, possibly 6, next year. My SAT scores are decent, but I know for a fact I can do better, and will be taking it again over the summer. Not sure if it is worth taking the ACT.

TEST 1: READING: 700 MATH: 580 WRITING: 650
TEST 2: READING: 700 MATH: 620 WRITING: 620
Not sure if this matters, but I have also participated in several leadership programs over the past summer’s (People to People, Envision, ID Tech) and have started 2 clubs at my school (Car Club and Aerospace/Aeronautical Club), while also participating in multiple other clubs/community service. I am applying to NTHS next year, and possibly NHS, though I doubt I will be accepted, as the cutoff GPA is 5.9000 (3.59), although there have been exceptions to this rule in the past.
I also will most likely be taking Chem II AP next year, rather than Physics C or Physics II AP; I hope this does not lessen my chances of admission.
I realize that UT automatically accepts the top 8% of my state, and that I have a low chance due to not being anywhere near that number, and an even lower chance of getting into the Cockrell School of Engineering, as I hear they are much more selective. On the other hand, I have heard from others who did not get in that applying to one of their satellite campuses and then transferring to UT is the best solution. I have a much better chance of getting into one of said satellite campuses, but can you really transfer as an engineering major, and do you guys think that is really worth the risk of getting rejected as a transfer?

I do apologize for the wall of text, but I hope to hear back from someone on here, you guys seem so knowledgeable. I just hope I didn’t jeopardize my college chances due to my below-par freshman year, and I’m hoping my hard work posterior to that year will pay off.

Thanks so much to any that can help me out!

2

My suggestion is to apply to UT knowing it is a long shot. Visit the other schools in the state that are good in engineering which include UTD, UTA, A&M (again, a possible long shot), Tech and U of H. Find two of these other schools that you would be willing to spend 4 years at and apply there as well. These other schools will give you a great education and as many opportunities as UT.

3

Agree.

UT engineering is very, very difficult to get into even for auto admits. Your rank is a problem and your SAT scores are still a little low for engineering.

The program you are referring to is called CAP. You are guaranteed transfer into Liberal Arts. You can attempt to transfer to engineering via CAP but it is very difficult to transfer into engineering period.

You should apply but you should find some safeties- schools where your stats are in the top 75 percent of kids applying.