Hi! I applied to the University of Texas before the priority deadline (October 15), and I’ve been wondering what that means. Does that mean I’ll be hearing back earlier? I applied as an English major, and I’d like to know my chances of getting in (I know this question is asked a lot, but if you could let me know what you think I’d be extremely thankful!) I’m not top 10%, and I may not have the best scores, but I’d still like to know what you guys think of my chances. I have a lengthy resume and take rigorous courses, and I wanted to know if that was enough to give me even the slightest chance! Again thank you so much!
About Me:
White/Latina Female (Dad is American, Mom is Brazilian)
REVIEW ADMIT
Rank: 38/126
My school is extremely competitive and we have about six students competing for #1. I’m at the very top of the second quarter (literally #1 of the second quarter).
SAT: 1200 (R/W: 650, Math: 550)
I retook the SAT last month and I have’t gotten my new score back. But I don’t think it will improve much.
ACT: 26
I can’t access my scores right now for some reason, but I have a very high reading and writing score, a low math score, and a somewhat high science score. Almost perfect essay score.
GPA: 5.667 out of 6, which is roughly a 3.4 on a 4 point scale. A’s and B’s, but mostly B’s.
Major: English, getting a teacher’s certification, hoping to go to Veterinary School after completing my undergrad
Essays: Did all 3 essays (A,B, and C)
They were very well written, all exactly the word limit, and multiple English teachers said they were very, very good college essays. They made my parents cry, too. So I’m hoping that’s a good sign.
Leadership: I don’t have much leadership, but I am involved in many clubs. I am the President of Rho Kappa National Honor Society, which is a Social Studies Honor Society.
Volunteering: I have TONS of volunteering hours, including CAP, Summer Camps, and multiple English-related volunteering hours.
Classes: I’m taking full IB. All of my classes from Junior year and senior year have been International Baccalaureate. I have taken very few AP courses as well.
Extra Curricular: I’ve been on a competitive club swim team for the past ten years. I’m in Advanced Choir as well. I enjoy photography, painting, and writing. Also have an Odyssey of the Mind team who has gotten to world competition two years in a row.
I’ve also published a book at 13, which I included in my resume, so I’m hoping that will help me get into the College of Liberal Arts at UT.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read all this and give me feedback!
UT doesn’t have a priority or an early deadline. This is an unfortunate misconception that seems to have caught hold. However, all of the honors programs, except engineering, do have a recommended or priority deadline of October 15.
UT doesn’t consider the competitiveness of the school you attend. They also don’t consider your time of application - there are no bonus points for applying early. Some exceptional students, though, may find out early. They would have gained admission regardless of when they applied.
Your academic profile is below average for the typical admit. 98% of students come from the top quarter, and though you are close, your SAT is about 100 points below average. It sounds like you are doing a lot of cool things outside of classroom, so hopefully the weight of your essays and resume can give you a strong “personal” score.
UT should be considered a reach, and it is important to have at least a few safety schools where you are 100% guaranteed admission.
As a point of clarification, the holistic reviews done in the various programs do indeed consider the rigor of your high school as well as demographics to gain the geographic diversity mandated as a public university. @bellakess your strengths in writing make you an excellent candidate for admission to UT. Keep up the good work.
Please refer to page 32 of this document that states what UT considers as part of holistic review, for either the Personal Achievement review or the Academic Index calculation:
High school rigor is not a factor. UT is only concerned about how you did relative to your peers within your academic environment. Many universities do consider the caliber of your high school. UT isn’t one of them.
This link clarifies this point further: http://catalog.utexas.edu/archive/2014-15/general-information/admission/undergraduate-admission/freshman-admission/
- Strength of academic background, in that context, means both the quality of courses you take and exceeding the minimum state requirements for graduation, like taking an additional language or math course. A small bonus is given to those students, but in practice, almost everyone does this.
As you rightly observed, they are concerned about the context of your application - family income and education levels, urban/rural, race, etc.
The only point where your school may be considered, and this is only in a very select few situations, is if you are a high scoring student at a historically low-resource school.
So do you think I might not have a good chance of getting in? @KevinRMartin
@bellakess it is a low chance, yes.
This isn’t meant to be discouraging, only to be realistic about the potential outcome. If you get in, wonderful! It is important to prepare accordingly and make sure you apply to some universities where you are guaranteed admission, of which there are many Texas publics where that is the case.
@bellakess Like @KevinRMartin said, consider it a reach for full admissions. If you are in state, you will be offered the CAP and PACE program. Have some back up schools. Be prepared to receive your decision in the last wave (last two years has been the 3rd Friday in February) but could go to the end of March. If it comes sooner, great. Review admits will not be denied full admissions before the last wave. Even most Auto admits found out their majors in the last wave so if your decision does not come until then, it doesn’t mean you will be denied.
@Thelma2 @KevinRMartin Thanks so much guys! I know UT is a reach, but I just wanted to know what other people thought since my parents keep telling me I can get in (I think they’re hoping for the best). I’ve applied to some other schools that I’m automatically admitted to and I’ve applied to TAMU, which I might have a slightly better chance of getting into than UT. But again, you never know. These forums are chock full of amazing applicants and it all depends on the competition!
Policy is one thing but the empirical information is quite different. If those formulas were adhered to rigidly as suggested then you would see even admission statistics among the various schools and majors. This is not the case. The more rigorous programs take their vast pool of possible acceptances given to them from the Tower and apply their own procedures to determine admission into the respective programs. Each program looks at applicants differently and all the subjective issues such as rigor of school are a factor. Please refer to the admissions website to find what each program looks for. Verify all information provided on this site and assume all is suspect.
@CollegeParent123 So… I used to work in UT’s Office of Admissions in the Dallas Admissions Center from June 2011 until January 2014. Every application is reviewed by the Office of Admissions. The only applications reviewed by anything besides admissions are audition and portfolio programs in Fine Arts. There is no such thing as acceptances given to the tower. The only exception there are a handful of applicants identified as VIP, in practice less than a hundred or so. You can find this by googling the “Kroll Report.”
Each program doesn’t look at applicants differently, because admissions reviewers look at applicants from in and out of state and international applicants across all majors. Even Fine Arts is reviewed by them first. I reviewed thousands of files from all disciplines across the world.
All applicants are reviewed based on the Academic and Personal Achievement indices. Both carry equal weight. All applicants are placed on an X/Y access based on their college/school, and in some cases like engineering, the specific major. A line is drawn. Everyone above the line is in, everyone below is out, and those right on the line are subject to additional review.
Admissions statistics are not even across schools because pools of applicants are different. The applicant pool from Social Work, statistically speaking, are below average based on ranking and test scores. Both the applicant pool and admitted students for Architecture, for example, are above average for the typical admit.
@CollegeParent123 I worked for the University of Texas at Austin Office of Admissions. The Office of Admissions has Regional Centers throughout the state. I worked in the Dallas Admissions Center serving Dallas and Collin counties. You can view them here: https://admissions.utexas.edu/contact
I am the lead moderator on another college community website. People recommended I come here and share my knowledge.
If my presence isn’t welcome, I am more than happy to take my counsel elsewhere.
@NotSoPatient Thanks! I appreciate it. Here, I can share the specific information I know.
There are a ton of myths and misconceptions out there. I like clearing them up. Like the admit notification threads, I am glad to be here because I can learn more and adapt to new updates in the admissions process, and help interpret when they happen.
@bellakess I don’t know what your chances are but I think you should definitely apply, you have some unique accomplishments. Just make sure you have a safety school in mind that you can definitely attend – always good to have a back up plan.
My info may be a few years out of date, but I agree you are likely to get CAP/PACE (whatever it is called now) and then you can decide whether to get into UT that way. Will you get in as a freshman? Less clear. Just anecdotally I have known kids with your background both get admitted and get denied.
I have been following this thread and found it very interesting. While I do believe UT looks at some students holistically, there was a study done by UT… I cannot seem to locate it… that indicated where a student ranks in his/her high school class and GPA can be very indicative of how well they will do in college. Whereas test scores, while important, do not necessarily guarantee success. I think UT sees the benefits of admitting students who had to work hard for their spot (the ability to organize ones time and have good study habits can make the difference between success and failure). This is not always true but the study conducted I think by the NIH confirms its merits. Additionally, there are “other factors” that admissions folks would never admit made a difference in the admission of one student over another. The job of admissions is to make every potential applicant feel like he/she will have a shot to get into said school. I think it is naive to assume that folks in admissions do not have a set criteria that they use in order to make decisions. I also do not think Mr. Martin was promoting any sort of agenda but of course I am not a moderator maybe something else was going on.
I mean they wouldn’t include a class rank if it wasn’t important in the decision process, right? It’s there for a reason, I assume.
They include it because outside of top 7-8% they then look at top 10%.
I think you’re likely to get capped and, if you have good course rigor and study habits, you’ll be among those who make it.
Your profile is better suited for private colleges that practice holistic admissions, and where your ec’s will matter more (they are impressive.)
Have you run the NPC on Rice, for instance?
@MYOS1634 I’m sorry, but what do you mean by capped? And though I’d like to look at some private schools, isn’t it too late for that?
Most private schools’ deadlines are Jan 1, Jan 15, Feb 1. 
Capped = if you look like a good candidate for UT and aren’t top 7-8% nor top 10%, they offer you a conditional place: you must attend for one year at another campus and have a certain GPA, if you meet your conditions you automatically start sophomore year at UT. (Many capped students don’t meet their conditions :s).
Remember that CAP offers admission to the College of Liberal Arts only–which meets the needs of the OP. Also, the courses you take as a freshman must be selected from an approved CAP course list. If you are interested in admission to other Colleges at UT, you would need to compete with the rest of the transfer pool. More information is available at the following link: https://admissions.utexas.edu/enroll/cap/prospective-students