is it impossible

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

<p>hey, sorry but i'll just get to the point. so i'm a junior in CA, who is curious if applying to UT OOS is worth it or a big waste. it's been a rough last 2 years, with my mom having to move away and my granmother being really sick (both in my essay) so in anycase, here's my profile:</p>

<p>[ *] ACT Composite: 33
[ *] SAT IIs: Span: 770 Lit: 710
[ *] AP's: Span: 5 Eng: 4 US Hist: 3
[ *] Weighted: 3.53 (to give you an idea of how hard my courses were, i got a 3 out of a possible 4 rating on difficulty that my school has)
[ *] ECs listed on app: football, track, clubs
[ *] Job/Work Experience: did finances for a family friend's company (receipt stuff) and also had a job at a toy store lol
[ *] Essays (subject and responses): already started so they should be good
[ *] Teacher Recs: better than great
[ *] Counselor Rec: great
[ *] School Type: Private, does not rank
[ *] Ethnicity: Hispanic
[ *] Gender:M
[ *] 2 summer courses at a local comm. college- pysch and creative writing, both got A's.
* also got 4 awards at our honors convocation, but not sure that means much really. </p>

<p>thanks</p>

2

<p>Uh, why? I would rank Davis and San Diego as good as UT overall and the amount of tuition fee is going much higher than in-state. Unless there's a specific major that UT has over the UC schools, is it worth the extra 17k in OOS fees?</p>

<p>Just a small question</p>

3

<p>haha well Davis has nothing there. i have friends who go to UC Davis and they say "if you like cows and cowtipping, you'll love it, if not then beware". as far as UCSD goes: it's the same as UT, but i want to get into business and i think UCSD's more known for sciences/etc and not so much for business. and there's more to do in Austin too.
but i am looking into both of the UC's</p>

4

<p>Davis and UCSD are nowhere near as comprehensive as UT. They may offer good undergraduate programs, but they lack FAR behind UT in resources and overall strength as a university. Cal Berkeley probably surpasses UT, UCLA is about even, and the rest are not at the same level, to be frank.</p>

<p>Plus Austin is an amazing town, just a fun place to go to school.</p>

<p>But honestly, I probably would not choose UT OOS unless I was doing an honors program.</p>

<p>It's hard to give you an evaluation without a class rank, which is the single most important factor for admissions at Texas. If your school doesn't rank, they will determine one for you using a school profile, so if you could estimate I could help you more.</p>

<p>Are you from a socioeconomically deprived family? UT doesn't use race as a factor due to legal decisions in Texas, they use income for AA.</p>

<p>You have average ECs. Your essays are going to be on specific topics, so you may not get to write about the sick grandma and all except on a special circumstances paper, which doesn't matter as much.</p>

<p>Your ACT is very good, but then to get in OOS you have to be really good. You are above average (30) so that will help.</p>

<p>Honestly, it is getting to the point where UT will not be taking any OOS students due to a certain state law. The class of 2013 (I'm assuming that's when you are applying) will be 2-3% OOS from the US. It is more difficult than getting in to an Ivy.</p>

<p>Write some good essays, become a leader in your ECs, and improve your GPA and rank and you will stand a very strong chance. If you can get the ACT to 35 or 36 it will also really really help you.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

5

<p>And DON'T already start your essays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>They change the topics yearly!!!!!</p>

<p>DON'T make that mistake as I did! Wait until they change them for the next year!</p>

<p>They WILL be different!</p>

6

<p>holy crap. 2-3%? wow</p>

<p>um my school doesn't rank, but it's prob top 40% for sure, but i have no idea above that. my class is out of 140, so i'm guessing i'm 40+ out of 140.</p>

<p>to your question: Are you from a socioeconomically deprived family? </p>

<p>yes. </p>

<p>haha and yeah i'm just doing the personal essay, i haven't looked at all of the specific essays yet, i'll do those in the summer when i get the app. if i decide to apply that is, i have a few schools i'm just wondering about so i'll trim the 17 i'm thinking about to about 10-11.</p>

7

<p>loneranger, just wondering.. why do you say thay you probably wouldn't go if UT OOS unless for honors program?</p>

8

<p>Because I would not want to pay the $40k on my family's income.</p>

<p>We don't get any need-based aid at our level up to $40k. We can't afford $40k. I promised myself I wouldn't take a loan.</p>

<p>There are lots of positives to UT. But if I were from California, Michigan, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, or Florida in particular, I would take the flagship public school in-state over UT. It would be as good of a school with cheaper tuition.</p>

<p>Plus the reasons I picked UT were basically a lot based on honors, the weather, and how close it is to home. If those didn't apply, there would be no benefit.</p>

9

<p>Yes, it was about 10% OOS (half American, half foreign) up to this year. This year it is 6%.</p>

<p>They started with 50% Texas top ten when they started the law in 1996. It hit 60% about 2000, and hit 70% last year. This year it jumped to 80%. This year IS the largest number of graduating seniors in American history, and will be for a long time (the echo baby boom is dying down). So it MIGHT get easier. But they are expecting it to be at least that bad. If it goes up to 90% top ten, they will probably make the school 96-98% in state, and there could just be 1% OOS American. But I think 2-3% OOS American is much more likely.</p>

10

<p>that's sounds a lot like UNC hah</p>

11

<p>UNC is 18% OOS by state law. You have a much better chance to get in.</p>

<p>UT's state law says that if you are in the top ten percent of a Texas high school, you are guaranteed admission. The number of kids accepting the offer has grown with the number of graduating seniors, yet UT's freshman class has actually gotten SMALLER since the early 2000s. So it is more and more difficult to get in.</p>

12

<p>i stand corrected.</p>

13

<p>what was the acceptance rate of OOS for this year? Are those figures out yet?</p>

14

<p>No I don't think so. If the percentage of applicants has stayed the same, though, here's the math. I'm going to assume the yield for OSS is slightly lower. For the whole school it's 60%. I'll assume it's 50%. I have no clue if that is accurate or not. Some kids may have applied using UT as a safety (though I don't know if they knew how hard it was to get in). Others have it as their first choice and are definitely coming. I think it may be similar to the Texas kids, but I'm going to assume the financial status means a lower yield. If anyone knows the actual numbers, please post them.</p>

<p>Last year: 10% of enrolling students = 750 OOS students. Yield of 50% = 1500 accepted. 30% acceptance rate means 5000 out of state applicants.</p>

<p>This year: 6% of enrolling students = 450 OOS students. Yield of 50% = 900 accepted. If the 5000 number doesn't change, that means 900 of 5000, or 18%, were accepted.</p>

<p>I bet the actual number is probably just about or exactly 20%.</p>