Out of State Admissions

<p>5% out of state undergrads. Why? I was just waitlisted, but this question has been bothering me for a while. I'm from California.</p>

<p>Same bro…</p>

<p>I am from NY, and I have a 1900+ SAT, 1250 Math/CR, and over a 3.7 gpa in a top 100 public school and I got waitlisted?</p>

<p>I’m not trying to hate, but I am seeing a ton of ppl with inferior stats getting in</p>

<hr>

<p>My stats are very similar. Ya. It’s just odd.</p>

<p>I understand your frustration. College Admissions is a mysterious process. If it was just a matter of who had the best stats, then you would just rank all your applicants from highest to lowest and take the top. Obviously, that is not how it is done.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, there are SO many qualified kids who “should” be accepted, but are not. Perfect example from my personal archives, my co-worker and his wife went to Harvard. Their daughter was valedictorian of a very competitive suburban high school, made a 1590 out of 1600 on her SAT’s, had wonderful extracurriculars… and was denied not just at Harvard, but at all the ivy leagues. As he said, “it is what it is.”</p>

<p>They are looking for good fits for A&M. Who knows the criteria they use to determine that. Obviously, it’s more than just grades and scores. They had a record 30,000 apps for 8,000 openings. A lot of really good students are going to be denied in that situation. I’m sorry for your disappointment. If you really want to go to A&M, keep applying for transfer. Where there’s a will, there’s a way.</p>

<p>I am from California and I just got waitlisted but I got a 30 on my ACT, so I thought that meant I was an auto admit. I am kinda confused.</p>

<p>explodefireworks - what class rank are you?</p>

<p>gxgal7 - I know you know this, it is very important to A&M to see that a prospective student really wants to go to A&M. They know this by the questions on the application, have you attended any of their events for high school jr/sr’s. Have you visited campus, have you attended sporting event, have you visited a prospective student center.
There are so many qualified students applying - but if one has attened events and another has not - they will pick the one who has shown interest in A&M.
They want to admit students who are going to ACCEPT the admission offer.
So many students discount this part of the admissions process.</p>

<p>There are two types of Automatic Admits at TAMU:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Top 10% of your class at any Texas High School (This is State law) UT has moved to the top 8%</p></li>
<li><p>Academic Admit:</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Applicants qualify for automatic academic admission, if:</p>

<p>they are ranked in the top quarter of their graduating class, and</p>

<p>achieve a combined SAT Math and SAT Critical Reading score of at least 1300 with a test score of at least 600 in each of these components; or achieve a composite ACT score of at least 30 with a test score of at least 27 in ACT Math and ACT English. Students must take the writing component of the SAT and/or ACT in order for the test score to be considered, and</p>

<p>have successfully taken all recommended coursework, and
meet the state of Texas Uniform Admissions Policy, and</p>

<p>ensure all required credentials are received by the freshman closing date.</p>

<p>Your High School, may or may not have met the required course work of the Texas Uniform Admissions Policy. This allows TAMU to put you in the “Review” catagory for admissions. If you do not meet the qualifications for an “Academic Admit” then you become a “Review” Candidate.</p>

<p>Once you take into consideration all of the “Auto Admits” and the " Academic Admits" you have about 65% of the 8000 member Freshman Class.</p>

<p>That leaves room for about 2800 Review candidates. </p>

<p>I have heard that TAMU takes Class Rank and transcripts very seriously. I have heard from admission counselors there that this is weighed heavily as it represents a larger body of work than test scores.</p>

<p>Also, TAMU looks for candidates who are willing to commit to long term Extra Curriculars. For expample Eagle Scout, Gold Award (Girl Scouts), 4 year sport or band, Community Service, Faith Based Group Activity.</p>

<p>I have personal knowledge to two kids who got in based on the fact that they were both top 25% kids who did poorly on the SAT/ACT tests. One played a sport for four years and the other did marching band. Both were very involved in numerous Mission trips to other countries and one of them was an Eagle Scout. </p>

<p>Lastly, I understand that they value the Essays very highly. Especially Essay C. </p>

<p>Hope this helps.</p>

<p>klparker & pns3456, your elaborations were excellent! That is why it is so important to look past simply numbers. A&M wants to admit people that truly want to go to A&M, and not just have it be a part of one of the many colleges students submit their applications to in order to cover the bases. We flew out from California 3 times at our own expense to make sure my son participated in admission events on campus. I’m not saying the OP didn’t have a great desire, just that we tend to get so focused on the “stats” and wonder why someone with lesser stats can get in. I think the above replies help shed a bit of light on that question.</p>

<p>Klparker:</p>

<p>Very good point. TAMU also greatly values kids who are interested in them. If you notice in the application, they ask if you have visited and how many times. They also keep a record of visits in the Prospective Student Center. My son made 4 official visits, two admissions counselor visits, Aggieland Saturday, and a football game. He made sure to check in at the PSC when he went to the football game so there would be a record of his visit.</p>

<p>One last comment. I saw a post on another message board from an TAMU admissions counselor that OOS candidates are not given any more or less consideration than in state students. Obviously, an in state student has an advantage to visit campus more often.</p>

<p>It also depends on your major. Like that 1250 for a chemE or PetrE is pretty low. But for like a journalism major that would be fine. Also essays and Ecs come into play. Its not all about numbers; they admit people</p>

<p>im in the top 20% in my class and i got a 33 on both the english and math portions of the act. I have played club soccer for 6 years, was on varsity soccer for 4 years, student council for 3 years and nhs (national honors society) for 3 years. i feel like i am very qualified. My essays were good and i had recommendations sent it. Ive also taken many ap classes</p>

<p>We are PA residents, and I have a HS junior very interested in ROTC and engineering. He wants to apply at TAMU and VA Tech because both have cadet corps and possilby a more favorable ROTC environment. He will also apply in state, of course.</p>

<p>He doesn’t have a class rank yet, the school doesn’t disclose that until the end of 11th grade. But with a 3.9 he will surely be in the top 25%. He is taking the ACT with writing next month. So, if he gets a 30 composite ACT score with 27 on Math and English, he is automatically admitted at TAMU?</p>

<p>At Pitt, a state-affiliated school, it’s “common knowledge” that an OOS applicant with 1450+ on the SAT will get merit aid. Is there anything like that at TAMU?</p>

<p>@explodefireworks: what major were you applying for?</p>

<p>@whydoicare: I would say he SHOULD get automatic admission in to TAMU. At least that’s what happened for me… I was top 10%, 30 ACT with more than a 27 on Math and English and I was fine so I’m thinking he should get in as well.</p>

<p>I’ve always wondered…I know TAMU wants you to show interest by visiting and I can see why that would be important to them but I’m curious as to if they might be more forgiving on that when it comes to OOS candidates.</p>

<p>nasagirl14 - If one Texas candidate has made the effort to visit campus and one candidate lives out of state and made no effort to visit the campus - why would they not give the slot to the Texas candidate? It is, after all, a State of Texas University that is supported by Texans… I don’t understand your logic.
Admissions goal is to pick the best candidates - that will ACCEPT when they offer admissions. How would Admissions know that the out of state candidate will accept their offer? how would they know that the oos candidate isnt just putting applications in everywhere? Forgiving? no - it is not a forgiving matter. If you want to attend - you gotta jump through some hoops sometimes. Sometimes this means making a college visit.</p>

<p>We plan to visit TAMU. I like Texas and know some TAMU faculty, but would not just send my kid to any school sight unseen.</p>