Financial problems and chances of getting in

<p>I have a gpa of 3.8-3.9 UW and 4.15 W(very sad story) and I'll be taking a lot of AP courses next year. I have a 2080 SAT and I'm positive I can get 2200 in October, maybe 2300. My EC's aren't stupendous nor do they have leadership roles. I'm Asian if that matters. My mom and dad don't make a lot of money (laid off for a long time). My questions: Can I get into UT? If I don't get in, should I transfer from UH or a community college? Should I transfer in 1 or 2 years at UH or the community college (will this sojourn there affect my job prospects too much)? My goal is to get a degree in chemical engineering at UT while minimizing my to be debts. </p>

<p>If you’re in-state, UT Austin should be easy to get into. Your unweighted GPA is very high and, if I remember correctly, UT Austin automatically admits students who rank within a certain percentage of their graduating class–I believe it was 10% a few years back but am not positive of the current numbers. Also, if you’re <em>positive</em> you can get a 2200 or even 2300 (which, by the way, I wouldn’t count on until you actually have that score under your belt), I think you have a very good chance of getting accepted.
Now, your lack of leadership in EC’s isn’t ideal and I would try to work on that part.
Also, if money is an issue, you should definitely consider the CC route and then transfer to UT. And in answer to your question, it probably will not impact your job prospects because if you transfer and graduate, you end up with a UT degree. If you’re in-state, UT should be relatively easier to afford because you only have to pay in-state tuition so that’s another aspect you should consider.
Good luck! </p>

<p>My goal is to get a degree in chemical engineering at UT while minimizing my to be debts, maximizing my chances of getting a job. </p>

<p>Thank you whitetopaz. I’d like to add that my rank is low-- I don’t know even if I’m in top 25% (it’s on a 5.0 scale btw).</p>

<p>Another question: If i do go to a CC first, I would have to maintain a near or perfect 4.0 right? That’s not too hard right? I’m also worried that even with a high gpa I might not get into UT from a community college.</p>

<p>Are you a junior or a senior?
If you are entering your junior year this fall, you’ll have plenty of time to raise that GPA. Also, UT Austin is Texas’ flagship state school and an overwhelming majority of its accepted applicants are from Texas, as they almost always are with state schools. Therefore, I wouldn’t stress too much about not being in the top 10% because there’s still a high chance of you getting accepted.
And in answer to your question regarding getting a 4.0 in CC, I don’t believe it’s absolutely necessary to maintain a perfect GPA. I know many students who transferred into the flagship state school in my state who have gotten a couple of B’s, maybe even a C here or there. Of course, this isn’t ideal, but it’s just to give you perspective. Also, whether you can maintain a 4.0 or not is based on your own work ethic coupled with the difficulty of your courses. </p>

<p>Rank really hurts man because ut cares a lot about rank </p>

<p>If you don’t rank in the top 7% and thus can’t get in automatically, it is harder to get into more popular majors at UT. Make sure you have top 25% rank and at least A&M will autoadmit into engineering (which is top 20 chemical but #1 for Petroleum) and should be very affordable and about as good in the long run (probably a little cheaper too) as UT. The transfer story is dicey for engineering - doable but a pain due to the prereqs.</p>

<p>The issue about transferring is not about job prospects (who cares where you spent the first year of college?) but about graduating on time and struggling with the transition from other colleges or CC which can be hard for those wanting to go into UT or A&M engineering as a transfer (based on the experience of my nephews among others that I have met). Better to graduate on time than waste a year due to transfer. Also no guarantees about transfers into engineering given the capacity of these popular majors.</p>

<p>The experience of my son’s classmates was that A&M had MUCH easier merit aid money to get than UT (and of course full rides for some who are National Merit)</p>

<p>Thank you 2018RiceParent. Now that I consider your thoughts, I worry even more about transferring. I’ve decided that I won’t go to a CC, but I have a new dilemma now. Should I go to Texas AM or UH? I live in Houston (30 minutes from UH?) and I don’t know if I should go to Texas AM for my freshman year-- if I don’t get into UT-- or UH for my freshman year. If what 2018RiceParent said is true, how can I augment my chances of getting into UT sophomore year? Should I participate in many clubs during my freshman year or focus on gpa?</p>

<p>Well A&M is less than 100 miles from UH so you may be closer than that depending on which side of Houston you live in. UH isn’t really an engineering school, while A&M has about 14% engineering students including 5 or 6 very well regarded engineering programs, UH far far lower percentage engineers. That doesn’t matter as much for the first year, but it gets tough to find exact course matches for upper level courses that are guaranteed to transfer.</p>

<p>Transferring into UT through CAP is apparently possible but it looks like you don’t have any local colleges that participate so I wouldn’t count on it.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/cap/2014-2015/”>http://www.utexas.edu/student/admissions/cap/2014-2015/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Go to a&m trust me choose it after a year them transfer but based on your stats scholarships are available and financial aid
Also a texas a&m if your parents make less than 60k you will get enough grants sand scholarships to cover everything. I know this because my parents income was 25k and I got a full ride with a 3.5 gpa and 25 act so if that’s possible for an idiot like me then a genius like you will get it</p>

<p>Apply right now I applied august 1st but it’s not too late with scholarships and grants it’s first come first serve so sign up quickly please</p>

<p>Can you tell me what scholarships and grants (link?) I should apply to? I haven’t done any applying for scholarships because, for one thing, many are only 100-1000 dollars each with essay requirements and, for another, I might not even get them. </p>

<p>The apply texas app has the app for scholarships you want to apply for it is included in the app for texas a&m on apply texas I said the same thing but I got it. Plus you have nothing to lose and lots to gain so suck it up and applyyyyyyyy</p>

<p>You said that you applied August 1st but school hasn’t started yet, so how did you apply for the scholarships (assuming that one needs to submit the applications before applying for scholarships… actually I don’t know how applying for scholarships work for the applytexas app)</p>

<p>Theres a lot that happens with an out state student. My brother is starting his first year at UTA and its really exciting for him and our entire family. With this excitement theres also a downside. Well for starters I’ll tell you about my brother. (This info should help a lot becaude it’s the latest) My brother scored a 1970 on SAT and his composite ACT score was 29. His uw gpa was 3.9 and weighted was 4.3. Now you may be wondering, how in the world did he get into the school. Let me tell you one more thing, he got into the school with a gateway scholarship and up to their masters program for Electrical Computer Engineering for 5 years. This scholarship didnt give him money but kept the best classes for him that are locked for other students. Now let me tell you how he got in. He was valedictorian. That’s it. That’s what got him in. Keep in mind that he too was out state (We’re Californians). One more thing for being out state. You have to pay full tuition (If you obviously don’t get scholarships which they barely gave this year) until you have a Texas residency. My dad is paying 50k this year for my bros tuition but my bros trying for merit scholarship which help a lot! And to become resident you have to work for one entire year. I hope I didnt miss put any info and if you have any more questions please ask! Hope this helps!!!</p>

<p>@indelliblename‌ it explains it to you so simple its step by step

Do it its easy to finish </p>

<p>The scholarship application will come up seperately as you fill out the application for the certain school, you just have to go in order. Which is really strange because it won’t just let me jump around to other parts of the application. @indelliblename Also, you should apply to them. If you can get higher stats and your EC’s/ Leadership is good, they have this thing called the Forty Acre Scholarship which provides a full ride and it is given by the Texas Exes. This year 52 freshman recieved it
<a href=“http://scholarships.texasexes.org/”>Scholarships | Texas Exes;

<p>@sadiea5252‌ Do you mean UT (ie UT Austin, the flagship) or UTA (University of Texas at Arlington)?</p>

<p>@2018RiceParent‌ University of Texas at Austin. And guess what guys, according to shanghai ranking UTAustin is ranked number 5 in the world for their engineering!!! </p>