Hi I’m a junior and am looking at attending and undergrad business school. I have heard McCombs is really hard to get into OOS. I have a 3.8 UW Gpa and my SAT is 740 math, 730 CR and 610 writing. Would McCombs be a huge reach?
I don’t believe that McCombs is a huge reach, but it is difficult.
It is one of the hardest schools to get into at UT Austin - I applied this year and got rejected (though I was accepted at Cornell, Notre Dame, Berkeley, Northwestern…etc) so it is pretty competitive in my opinion.
I would recommend raising your GPA - if you can, at least to a 3.89/3.90 (although you are already good). Your SAT is good as well, but there is always space to improve if you can.
Also, I would highly recommend participating in EC’s that show interest in the business industry… making sure that you take leadership opportunities. They also will interview you I think (if you’re going the honors program as well) - show your immense interest in UT.
You want your essay for UT to be original, different, creative - not just expository stuff… write a story if you want…etc something like that.
Take many courses your senior year that show your strengths in math and english as well. If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me!
@Snowbells you aren’t talking about Business Honors? Never knew the regular McCombs Business School was so rigorous…
@Snowbells Yeah I could raise my SAT, but I don’t really have time with the subject tests coming up. Do you think my low writing score is a problem(for other schools too, like my number 1 NYU Stern)?
@elee21 I am talking about the regular McCombs, yes. I was shocked as well, I honestly thought I’d get in but that wasn’t the case. They are increasingly becoming more competitive to gain higher recognition for sure. The honors program is even harder to get into
@sternbusiness Your SATs are fine if you don’t want to take it again… though yes, your writing score is on the lower end and I would HIGHLY recommend improving it more than anything else especially if you’re looking to go to NYU.
One thing with schools like UT and NYU is that they are trying their best to move up on the recognition totem pole although they are pretty recognized, so they can’t afford to take anything but the most competitive students… although they claim that they are holistic, they often look for one significant thing more than anything… like essay or gpa… or scores (in NYU and UT’s case). NYU wants to see great scores… so I’d improve that writing one and take the SAT II. Also, if you have time, I’d try out ACT as well - I thought it was much easier lol… whichever one you do better in, submit it.
Good luck again