Hey guys, it seems like there’s always a new forum about this every year, so I guess we should keep the tradition going.
I’m planning on internally transferring into McCombs for Fall 2015. My GPA is 3.75 (which will probably be higher by the end of Spring semester) and I have met all requirements. I know that last year’s admission rate was around 57% or 58% with about 250 students admitted out of 450ish applicants. I was hoping some of y’all might share your GPAs and maybe any of your wisdom with a fellow Longhorn.
Hook 'Em!
Do you or anyone know if those internal transfers included PACE students?
@punctiliouseye I’m in UGS School/Undeclared. I’m not positive. I have a friend who’s a PACE student planning on transferring into McCombs. I’ll make sure and ask and let you know.
@BurntOrange27 I am interested in knowing what courses you took in preparation for applying to McCombs as an internal transfer and how hard was it to register for the classes thru UGS?
Hey @marfalights, I finished up all of my prerequisites for McCombs (Calc 1, Calc 2, Macro & Micro). I also took
EDP 371 which is a statistics class that can be counted as your STA 309 for McCombs. I also finished up all the classes that I’m required to take in the core curriculum. Registering through the School of UGS is the same as registering from Liberal Arts. Every one has specific times they are able to register for classes and you get the classes that you’re able to. Of course, you’re not able to register for restricted courses since they’re for specific majors or upper division. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! Good luck to you and Hook 'em! 
@BurntOrange27 thanks for the info a few more questions though - if your desire is to transfer to McCombs is it better to be in UGS or Liberal Arts or it doesn’t matter? Also with respect to contingency plans (since McCombs transfer is competitive) can you apply to internal transfer to 2 different schools say McCombs and College of Natural Science at the same time? Thanks
Marfalights - It doesn’t matter what internal college you transfer from, you just need to have your prerequisites completed (and of course high grades). Having said that, if your desired path is business (which I am assuming since you want to get into McCombs), I would suggest starting in Liberal Arts as a prospective Economics major. The prerequisite courses are the same, so if you don’t make it into McCombs you are still on track for an Econ degree. Plus Economics is the closest thing to Business outside of McCombs. With good grades you should have a lot of opportunities.
Couldn’t have said it any better @texansfan1 
Thanks for the info! BurntOrange27, did you take all your prereqs (calc 1, 2, micro & macro) at UT, or did you take some at community colleges and transfer the credit in?
You mention Fall 2015, but don’t you do your transfer request in the Spring? It seems like with a 3.75 GPA you have a great shot - good luck!
@Gigem86 I finished all of my prerequisites at ACC so it wouldn’t hurt my GPA, which was a great idea since Calculus at UT is a tough class.
I apologize if I was unclear. I applied Spring 2015 (so this semester) for admission in McCombs beginning Fall 2015!
I spoke with my counselor, and she said if I want to be on the safe side and not worry about being rejected, I should shoot for a 3.8, so fingers crossed for better grades this semester.
What about you? Are you planning on transferring or have you already gone through this process?
Thanks again for all the info - when my son called UT today to ask about transferring to McCombs they said Undergrad Studies was the way to go - not sure why but they indicated it was hard to transfer as an Econ Major from Liberal Arts.
@BurntOrange27 How hard would you compare getting a 3.75 to the courses in high school(specifically AP courses)? And how did taking prereqs like Calc at ACC work? Did you take them before freshman year during the summer or did you take them at ACC during the school year?
@marfalights I’m not sure exactly why they said that, because the difficulty of UT is determined by the courses you take. The actual major doesn’t matter for the most part since the first year or two is more focused on getting the UT core curriculum finished. Of course it helps to be in the major you would like to be in since you’ll be ahead of the game, but it won’t hurt your son that much in the long run especially if he figures out his four year plan. Please, if you have any other questions, I would be more than happy to help.
@Decision2015 I think AP courses in HS were more busy work so it made it a little difficult to juggle every AP class you were taking. I took 4 my junior year and it was a lot of work. The work ethic that you learn from taking AP courses will help you when taking college courses and since you have fewer graded assignments. In my opinion, its easier making a 3.75 in college, but that’s different for any person.
I took Micro and Macro over the summer or if you would like, you can take Micro and Calc 1 over the summer at ACC. Since these are indicator courses, you want to avoid taking them at UT since they will eat you alive.
The fall semester, I took 12 credit hours at UT and took Calc 1 at ACC. Spring semester, I took 12 credit hours at UT and calc 2 at ACC. REMEMBER that ACC math system is really crazy!! You have to take lots of classes before getting to that level, so if you want, you can take Business Calc 1 & 2 at ACC and transfer those over, but ONLY McCombs counts those as acceptable Calculus courses. Let me know if I can answer any more questions.
@BurntOrange27 Thanks for the great info. I have a few more questions(I’m really struggling to make a decision whether to go to UT and try to transfer or play it safe and attend one of my other options such as TAMU where I’m guaranteed my major).
What if I’m leaning towards trying to transfer into Computer Science? Would you still recommend me doing Economics instead of UGS?
What exactly is UGS(what classes do you take/get to choose)?
Would you recommend taking Calc 1 at a community college during the summer or is it better to do it during the actual fall/spring semesters?
What do you mean by you have to take classes beforehand before you can take Calc 1 and 2? Do you recommend doing that instead of taking Calc at UT?
Thanks so much, you’re helping me big time with your responses!!!
@Decision2015
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I think it is VERY important for you to know what you’re doing if you’re thinking of internally transferring into McCombs. I knew from the beginning that I wanted to be an MIS major, but my chances of getting into McCombs out of HS were slim, so I applied for UGS.
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UGS is the school of Undergraduate Studies. This basically means you’re an undeclared major. You take classes that everyone else takes besides the restricted ones and the upper division ones. For example, some of the classes I’m taking include Anthropology, Biology, Computer Science (I’m a comp sci minor) and Statistics. To sum it up, you’re taking classes that you need in order to graduate just like any other Freshmen at UT. Everyone has (I think) 48 credit hours of classes that are REQUIRED by UT. So while you’re waiting to internally transfer to McCombs, you can finish those up along with all of the prerequisites.
So, I don’t think it would make a difference if you were an Econ major or Math major the first year since you’re going to be taking all of these classes → http://www.utexas.edu/ugs/core/requirements/2014-2016
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Going back to the 1st point, the only reason I think its important for you to know what you want to do when deciding to internally transfer is so you don’t waste your time or money with classes you might not need.
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So getting into calculus 1 has a bunch of prerequisites at UT. If you took Pre-calc in HS and made an A (I think), then you can take the class without taking college algebra, trig, etc… https://sites.google.com/a/austincc.edu/math-students/choose/courses <— this link will show you what the steps are. Of course if you’re great at math, you can test out, or if your SAT scores are good enough, you can go straight into Calc.
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I most certainly recommend you taking Calculus 1 & 2 at ACC. There is a campus that’s in Downtown that has a bus that will drop you off near the campus.
Just out of curiosity, are you from Austin?
HOOK 'EM
My suggestion on Economics was a practical one, not a requirement of some kind. If you are going to take 2 semesters of Calc and 2 semesters of Economics, then you should want to be able to use those classes towards your degree if you do not get into McCombs. All four of those classes count towards the Economics degree curriculum. For example if you decide to be a biology major, 2 semesters of Economics is not required. If you decide to be a History major, neither Calculus nor Economics is required. Since McCombs is hard to get in to, in my opinion this approach makes sense as a backup. In addition I am assuming you have an interest in topics related to business and finance, which also works well with the Economics degree.
@BurntOrange27 I’m actually not from Austin(love the city though) - DFW.
How were you able to take the courses during the summer and claim that credit when you were at orientation registering for classes? Did you attend orientation during the latest time?
Does taking courses at ACC/Community College instead of at UT have any impact when the admissions staff are evaluating applications?
Honestly, I am unsure whether I want to major in computer science or business(I have an interest in both) - would you recommend doing UGS or would I still have flexibility to take CS classes if I went the Economics route?
Thanks again, I should probably be asking a counselor about all of this info but always give vague responses that aren’t necessarily helpful when making decisions.
@Decision2015 If you’re in the courses during your Spring semester, they’ll take a look at your grades once professors have posted grades for those courses. And orientation times are AFTER McCombs sends out your acceptance or rejection emails. I went to the earlier orientation they offered. I’m not sure about your last question, but I know that McCombs only looks at GPA when you’re internally transferring, so shoot for a 3.8-4.0 range and you should be good.
I think you should look into majoring in MIS at McCombs. I was on the same boat as you; I wanted to major in CS or Business. MIS is sort of the best of both worlds. You get a feel of computing and learn how to apply it in the real world.
I think CS needs Calc 1 & 2, so maybe the Econ route. Like @texansfan1 said, it would be a great back up.
Also, you can look into getting a certificate in CS (that’s what I’m doing along with my MIS major)
Take what counselors say with a grain of salt.
Your best option will be to go straight to McCombs and see a counselor there. I’m sure they would know more about the process and help you make better decisions than I can (lol). Its really important that you see multiple counselors so you have a better idea of what you might be getting yourself into.
Good luck!