I was planning to apply for Chem Engineering for my first choice and non-eng Chem as my second as it’s easier to get in. So, should I apply for it instead or will it not make much of a difference what my first choice is?
When my DDs applied several years ago, UT did not consider the second major. I don’t know if that has changed. You basically got your first choice or were put into the pool for choosing a major from all open majors at the end of the process. As of 2 years ago, my DD’s friend, top 1%, high scores, good ECs did not get accepted to Chem E, was not offered 2nd choice but was offered something totally nonrelated or desired.
You do not mention whether you are in the top 7% instate. If you are, you can be a UT student. You could apply to Chem E. Your back up plan would be to take whatever you get, do your GE work, get close to a 4.0 GPA and try internal transfer. Apply to other schools as well for whatever major you really want to do and make sure you have a choice next spring vs just accepting whatever UT gives you.
If you are not in the top 7%, same path as above but your odds of getting even accepted to UT are drastically decreased. The other schools become much more important. Find some other schools that are more of a safety, that you can major in what you want to major in and make sure you have some options.
When my son applied for fall 2015 he did exactly what you are suggesting…ChemE 1st and Chem 2nd. He was top 1% with excellent test scores. He was not accepted to either major and was given a list to choose a major from. Guess what…Chemistry was on the list. That leads me to the conclusion that 2nd choice was not considered at all. He ended up choosing BioChem from the list. ChemE is super hard to get so unless you are super high in ranking and test scores, I would recommend putting Chem first. JMO.
What are your stats and class rank?
@MYOS1634
ACT: 32
Class rank: School gives updates every 2 years, so I’m not sure, but it’s not in top 7%.
GPA: 3.81
SAT:1370
President of a club, on the principal’s handpicked leadership council, close to 100 volunteering hours, especially during Harvey, MAO, SNHS, several others.
@Vrael101 :
ChemE is one of the most competitive majors even for top 7% students so if you’re not top 7% your odds of getting it are nil.
BTW submit your ACT not your SAT.
So, apply for chemistry at UT; for ChemE apply to other colleges where your strong GPA+act will give you a better shot and where your ECs will matter more.
Umn twin Cities and UDel have some of the best ChemE programs in the country, and both would be matches for you.
@MYOS1634 gives excellent advice. Sorry to say chances of getting ChemE are almost non-existent. Also look at some of the other UT schools since you may get CAP’d as well. UT Dallas is excellent. I’m not sure what their engineering program is like but they offer some great money to students with good stats.
UT Dallas has excellent engineering and the AES scholarships along with CollegiumV would make for a great offer. UHouston has a strong Honors college and strong engineering but I don’t think it’ll be quite ready in the fall, alas 
.
Unfortunately, UTD does not offer Chem E. They do have a strong EE,CE, ME programs. UH, TTU and A&M offer Chem E.
@MYOS1634 @Vrael101 NOT TRUE ABOUT CHEM E. I Know several auto admits who got declined their major in Engineering and I personally know of 4 kids who got CHEM E and petroleum E in the past two years who were not auto- one was not even top quarter but he had a perfect Math SAT. it’s easier if you are auto for sure though.
@Vrael101 CNS claims that they do look at people who look at them for second choice- its one of the very few colleges in UT who does though
Chemistry and ChemE have nothing to do with each other. ChemE is mostly about mathematics and computation around how to process chemicals at large scale getting into topics like transport phenomenon, reactor design, so chemistry is a very small part of what you need to know.