<p>Hi I am a parent, son will be applying by Dec 1, but is not ready with the essay. He has to write at least 2, I am freaking out! </p>
<p>Anyone here can shed some light on this - I know there is still some time but how will he manage to write and edit in less than 2 weeks? My question really is how good the essays have to be? If he writes decent, would it be worth the risk?</p>
<p>Secondly, he will be applying for Comp engr as a major, is that hard to get into.......do kids have to specify beforehand which college/major?</p>
<p>He has got decent stats, tough rigor and ACT 35. GPA is B+.</p>
<p>Yes, you apply to a specific college/major as a first choice. Sounds like he is applying to Cockrell School of Engineering and specifying the ECE major.
[UT</a> ECE](<a href=“http://www.ece.utexas.edu/]UT”>http://www.ece.utexas.edu/)
Cockrell and McCombs are hard to get into. If he gets into UT but does not get into that college/major, does he want to go to UT so much that he would be willing to start out in a different major and try to transfer into engineering later?
It would be easier to get into the College of Natural Sciences. A computer science major there might be a second choice? You can specify first and second choice when you apply.
[Department</a> of Computer Science - The University of Texas at Austin](<a href=“http://www.cs.utexas.edu/]Department”>http://www.cs.utexas.edu/)
The essays are important.</p>
<p>I feel your pain!!! My D is OOS also. The essays are such a struggle. Her english teacher helped her edit her essays. See if your son has a teacher that might offer some guidance in this process. Try to relax (I know it’s hard).</p>
<p>Although you obviously want both to be great, the content of the essays is more important than the craft. For OOS and non-top 10% students, admissions wants to see what is special about the applicant (not just experiences -unique viewpoints too), not just how well they polish their writing.</p>
<p>Also, Engineering is a restricted major -if your son has any ECs related to computer engineering, highlight those in the resume. Did he take any computer classes? A letter of Rec. from the computer teacher would be good too.</p>
<p>By the way, UT Austin is just UT. UTA is in Arlington.</p>
<p>I did my essays in about a week, and they turned out really well. I did all 3 (additional on personal struggles). My mom who has an english major read them and said they were excellent as did my counselor. It can be done very quickly if the time is put into it.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your responses, I can always bank on you guys I knew :)</p>
<p>Yes, he has done APCS in 10th grade, is a web designer and has 3 iPhone apps in the Apple store with rave reviews in Tech Crunch. He is doing an ind study this semester with the CS teacher who has written a good rec for him plus one from the Math/Phys teacher.</p>
<p>His english teacher has been sitting on his Common App essay since Oct - we were lucky to get counselor to help out and she has done a good job with it.</p>
<p>He will be fine with CS in the college of science also,he just wants to get his hands into the field for now and cannot wait. What better place than UT for it? </p>
<p>I hear what you guys are saying about the essays - yes it makes sense, the content is more important. I hope this week he will write them and actually he is a last minute guy! Always comes through, but manages to give me a mini heart attack every time!</p>
<p>Another thread mentions that Cockrell has been sending out acceptances. Even with your son’s great stats and ECs, once they reach the admissions cap, they are done. Encourage him to apply asap. and not to wait until Dec. 15.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have anything to worry about. 35 is a very good ACT score, even for OoS. Given the volume of applicants, my guess on admissions is that the AdCom only reviews borderline students.</p>
<p>Good luck pixeljig! And, it is such a relief when they hit the submit button, but a bigger relief when they see the, “congratulations!” message on their status page!!</p>
<p>My son will be a freshman next year in the ECE major, so maybe they’ll be class mates!</p>
<p>They give you a limit for entering them on the website. There are two I’m writing (one for Texas Exes, and one for a time you displayed leadership), which have a LIMIT of 20 lines of 80 characters. It’s about half a page in word, single spaced. If you’re writing the one for the Terry Foundation, it has a limit of 80 lines of 80 characters.</p>