Nervous Junior wondering about his chances at Mays?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
1

White male, Texas resident. I’ll be applying to double major in Finance/Economics, and I’ll put in my app as early as possible.

Academics
• GPA: UW- 3.53/4.0, W- 4.06/4.0 (upwards trend)
• SAT: 1880 (750 CR, 570 M, 560 W) (retaking because of funky disparity between section scores/low math)
• ACT: 29 (30 E, 27 M, 31 R, 28 S) (also retaking just because I can do better)
• Rank: 257/797, 32%
• APs:
Junior Year (awaiting scores, didn’t take Physics)
• Psychology *
• Physics I
• English III Lang/Comp
Senior Year (predicted)
• Calculus I AB
• Government
• Macroeconomics
• Statistics I
• Chemistry II
• English IV Lit/Comp

Activities
• (school name) Speech and Debate – Executive Council Member (2014-2016), Co-President (2015-2016), Lincoln Douglas Debate Captain (2015-2016); competitor, leader, researcher, fundraising, social events, banquets; 2013 – present
• (local middle school) Speech and Debate – Founder, President; writing curriculum, scheduling tournaments, scheduling and leading tutoring sessions, talking with administration, participating/heading debate club at elective fairs/club days, advising debaters on out-of-school resources like camps, tutors, boosters, etc.; 2015-present
• (school name) Beta Club Chapter – Founder, President; competitor, fundraising, social events, organizer; 2015 - present
• (local vet hospital) – Veterinary Technician/Assistant understudy; shadowing Dr. Y and Dr. X, as well as certified veterinary technicians/assistants; 2015 – present
• Support Our Soldiers – Honorary Council Member; organizer, fundraising, leader, looking to host benefits and other social events in 2015-2016; 2014 - present
• Tech Club – Member; helped raise funds to send (school name) students to the local competition in 2014 & state competition in 2015, volunteer tutor in computer drafting and design, experienced with advanced drafting programs such as Inventor 2013, AUTOCAD, and Photoshop; 2014 – present
• Peer Tutoring* – Independent volunteer peer tutor; tutor in Pre-Calculus, Engineering Design and Presentation, English II, Debate I, II, III, & IV, World History, and Creative Writing

Community Service Total hrs: 165
• (school name) Debate – Debate tournaments, judging debate rounds, Elective Fairs, tutored first-year students and monitored practice rounds after school; 2013 – present; Hours: 110 hrs
• (charity organization) – mentor to underprivileged and maltreated children, 2015-present; Hours: 6
• Peer Tutoring – Independent peer tutor, tutor in multiple subjects (see *); Hours: 51
• ASPCA – member, activist, 2015-present; Hours: starting soon

Awards
• (school name) Novice Debater of the Year, 2014
• (school name) Novice Circuit King, an acknowledgement of profound success in novice debate, 2014
• Qualification for the Texas Forensic Association State Championship in Lincoln Douglas Debate, 2015, 2016
• Top-125 Ranked Debater of the 1,612 debaters in the Space City Debate District, 2015
• Elimination round competitor for Varsity Lincoln Douglas Debate:
o Magnolia High School’s Bulldog Bonanza (Semifinalist - 2015)
o Hendrickson High School Speech and Debate Tournament (Octafinalist - 2014)
o Cinco Ranch High School TFA Tournament (Octafinalist - 2015)
o Cypress Creek/Westfield Swing (Octafinalist - 2014)
o Klein High School Speech and Debate Tournament (Double Octafinalist – 2015)
• Competed in the Havard Speech and Debate Tournament, 2014, 2015
• Participated in UNT’s Mean Green LD Workshops, 2014
• Varsity Letter winner – Speech and Debate, 2015
• Nomination to the National Society of High School Scholars, 2015
• Working towards PVSA Bronze level

Employment
• (barbeque joint), (town name) – interacting with customers, managing cooking times and meat rotations on the smoking pits, training new employees (all positions taught), keeping inventory, general food service duties; August 2014 – present; 10-20 hrs per week, 20-30 hrs per week during the summer

Hobbies
• Basketball – play recreationally, even played on a summer league team with friends this past summer
• Reading - Favorite book series is A Game of Thrones by George R.R Martin
• Cooking/Grilling – amateur chef/grillmaster, home taught, make a delectable Salisbury steak and buttered potatoes

2

First of all, you only apply to one major on the application (double majors or minors are declared later) so pick either economics or finance as your #1, put the other as #2. You are admitted to the university without regard to major, so it won’t affect your decision. Most people end up with a minor vs. double major in Business. Here’s some info http://catalog.tamu.edu/undergraduate/business/ Business department is full every year, it’s very popular.

You are very close to academic admit scores, so that is a good thing. Rank is what counts vs. GPA, since you’re not in the top 25% you will be in the review category. Keep in mind you can send in a recommendation and send in updated scores if you continue to improve your scores after you apply until Dec 1. You seem to have strong extracurriculars so make sure you write compelling essays. It is tough to get in as a review admit, put your best effort into the application. Good luck!

3

Shout out to your LD background; I just graduated and competed in LD for 3 years during high school!

For your chances: As AGmomx2 pointed out you won’t qualify for automatic admission, but your stats are good. I would advise showing a lot of interest and making it clear that you want to attend Texas A&M to the admissions department. Also you should emphasize your rich debate background, this will really round out your application and quickly separate you from other applicants.

If you aren’t accepted outright, Blinn College is always an option. This allows you to live on the A&M campus and basically be part of the A&M family while attending classes at Blinn College.

Good luck, and I hope you find yourself at A&M!

4

Economics is in the liberal arts college as opposed to Mays. I think you have a better shot at Econ than Mays. You have strong ECs which will help in review but by the time they get to review candidates, Mays may be full. You may be offered one of these options so read posts about them to see if they interest you. Apply at some safeties in case you aren’t offered any of these.

Alternative Admission Decisions

If Texas A&M University is unable to offer an applicant full admission, they may be offered one of the following options (fall applicants only):

Aggie Gateway to Success is a summer provisional admission program that gives students a unique chance to gain full admission to the university the following fall semester.

Texas A&M University Blinn Team Program is a collaborative admission program between Texas A&M University and Blinn College. Students are co-enrolled at both institutions.

Engineering Academy at Blinn-Bryan provides talented students an opportunity to pursue their engineering degree in a co-enrollment program between Texas A&M University and Blinn College-Bryan Campus.

Program for System Admission (PSA) offers students who are denied freshman admission the opportunity to enroll in a Texas A&M system school for one year with the intention of achieving guaranteed transfer admission to Texas A&M College Station upon successful completion of the program.