Recommendations please!? Texas schools!?

State Forums
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<p>I'm wondering which schools I'd have somewhat of a chance getting into. I'm mostly looking at Texas schools, just because of the instate tuition. I'd love to go to Baylor, which I'm sure I could get into, however the price is too high. And I'm in love with UT, but I'm not sure if they'd accept me.</p>

<p>ACT: 30
Weighted GPA: 3.86/5.0
Top Quarter of my class (which is about 1000)
I have plenty of leadership and extracurricular activities, as well as work. If that even counts...</p>

<p>I'm also a Hispanic girl, which I don't know if being a minority really helps in admissions anymore?</p>

<p>***ANY tips would be helpful, i'm the first one in my family to be applying for colleges, so this is completely new to all of us.</p>

<p>I also am interested in either engineering or some sort of math field. perhaps even finance/economics. What do you guys suggest?</p>

<p>Thank so much!</p>

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<p>Hi,
I’m in a position similar to yours! Also a Hispanic girl looking at Texas for engineering (: Depending on how strong your ECs are, I’d say Baylor is a high match/low reach, and UT Dallas as well as Texas A&M could be good safeties–they have very strong engineering and science departments. While being a firstgen hispanic girl will definitely help in most cases, you’re already an auto-admit to A&M and UTD.</p>

<p>UT might be a long shot. As a public school, they don’t use AA; they get all the diversity they need from Top 10. It sucks, but if you go to one of the better schools in TX you may have a chance. Again, strong ECs should help you out.</p>

<p>¡Suerte con todoo! (:</p>

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<p>Also, your GPA and ACT qualify you for a full ride from UT Dallas. Are you national merit? Because that will take care of all of your costs from Baylor as well.</p>

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<p>I’m pretty sure you could get in to Baylor. Engineering is fairly tough to get in to at UT, especially with your rank. It’s not a bad rank but Cockrell is competitive, even if you are in the top 9% you still aren’t guaranteed admission to the major of your choice, only admission to UT. I think you qualify for academic auto admission at Texas A&M, I’m not 100% sure though…I know you have to at least be in the top 25% and have a certain SAT/ACT score. If you are looking at public schools in Texas, try looking at A&M, UT Dallas and UT Arlington. Private schools, you could try looking at TCU, Trinity, and SMU. I’m sure you could get a decent amount of scholarships.</p>

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<p>hey guys thanks so much!</p>

<p>laxgirl- awesome! looks like we’re in the same graduating class as well :slight_smile: sorry if this is dumb, ec is extracurricular, correct?!</p>

<p>Really? I guess Baylor is easier to get into than I thought. However, if I don’t get a decent scholarship, there’s no way I can go there. I do go to a very high ranked high school, so I might try UT, just cause it’s my dream school and I have nothing to lose. No, I was not close to National Merit. I have never done any ACT/SAT prep, but that’s okay. And I had no idea I could get a full ride from UTD! Thanks!</p>

<p>I know I probably have auto admission into A&M, but what have you guys heard about that school? Is it true the stereotypes that it’s super conservative and people are racist or what not?
What about SMU?</p>

<p>Thanks so much!</p>

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<p>I’ve been to the A&M campus, and I honestly did not like it. It’s definitely more conservative than UT. I’m a bit biased though because I love UT, so I was never really going to like A&M anyway :wink: UT just fit me a lot better, I don’t think I’d ever feel right at A&M and I’d probably be miserable there. I don’t think the stereotypes are true, but I don’t know a lot of people at A&M. The few people I know there say there are definitely people like that there, but it’s not a large percentage of the student body. College Station just wasn’t for me.
SMU is a small school that isn’t well known outside of Texas, but I think SMU is great if you want to stay in Texas (especially the Dallas area). It’s not like you can’t go to SMU and go to a good grad school - I know TONS of people at SMU/who have gone to SMU and am pretty familiar with the school. The majority of people I know that have gone outside of Texas from SMU have been successful…just work hard. I know a few engineering majors there and a ton of finance majors/people in Cox and they love it. I have never personally experienced any racism when I have been at SMU (I’m not a student there haha but I hang out with a lot of people who go there), but I can’t say that it doesn’t exist there because racism exists everywhere…lol. The political climate is a bit conservative there as well but you can definitely find plenty of moderate and liberal people - it’s not an overwhelming majority like it would be at say, Bob Jones or Liberty.
Didn’t mean to write you a novel but I hope this helps!</p>

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<p>Ah. Unfortunately UT doesn’t factor that into admissions. So work really, really, really hard on your essays–you’re right in saying you have nothing to lose. If you’re in the Austin area, look into internship opportunities --it looks great on your application plus you can get a rec letter from a lab supervisor, which will give you a HUGE edge in admissions.</p>

<p>Baylor isn’s terribly difficult to get into as far as I can tell but for engineering, you’d be better off with A&M, SMU or UTD. SMU is pretty pricey, so you might want to consider that first.</p>

<p>Have you taken any SAT Subject Tests? Those will also help you get into UT and maybe even out of state schools.</p>

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<p>And further with UT, the college of natural science typically has a higher acceptance rate. You could apply as, say, a physics major instead of an engineering major, and then still be able to switch over without having to scramble for credits.</p>

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<p>SMU - you can get half to full aid.
Baylor - half aid.
UTD - full aid with housing stipend.
A&M - good cost, good school - their engineering is easier to get into than UT but more intense and better overall.
UT - of course the flagship. It’s easier than most people say it is to get in with the repealing of the 10% rule.
UTA - the engineering is decent, probably your lowest pick.</p>

<p>And don’t take laxgirl’s advice. Switching majors at UT is almost impossible, and I have at least 40ish friends who go there as reliable sources to say so. It’s easy to go from Business/Engineering to liberal arts/natural sciences but NOT the other way around.</p>

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<p>I don’t think that’s true unless you are an athlete or otherwise have a hook. For the average student, they will still need to be in at least the top 10% just due to the sheer number of applications that UT gets.</p>

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<p>Not true, if you’re from a very good district, then being in the top 10% is not necessary. I had plenty of friends like the OP who were in the top quarter (25%) that made it into UT. They didn’t have any hooks, but they attended well known school districts in Texas. If you can write fantastic essays and apply EARLY and make it clear that you will pick UT over other schools you don’t have to be in the top 10%.</p>

<p>EDIT - they did however have good standardized testing scores and the OP has a 30 ACT which is great, so I think she stands a good chance.</p>

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<p>Yes, I agree! I don’t really see myself at A&M because it’s so conservative, and both UT and A&M have such large populations :confused: But I loved UT. Too bad A&M is much easier to get into.
And I’ve been going to school with really rich, stuck up kinds of kids, so I’m sort of used to that anyway, but I’d love to get away from it all.</p>

<p>I decided after visiting SMU yesterday, that I think I’d be much better in the business school than engineering studies (in any school). I also fell in love with SMU, even though the students met the preppy stereotype perfectly, they seemed nice.
And like I said, 95% of the students in my high school are super conservative, so I don’t mind that much. I don’t care about people’s political opinions, as long as I don’t feel excluded because I’m not a “rich white girl”.</p>

<p>As for the SAT subject tests, i have not, but do you think I need to? If so, can I pick any subjects that I’m strong in? Or do they need to be related to the major I’m thinking of pursuing?</p>

<p>And I’m pretty positive I can get into Baylor, plenty of my friends with lower grades/ranks than me from my school have gotten in. They made SMU seem impossible to get into, but it supposedly has a slightly higher acceptance rate than Baylor? Interesting. SMU would be my dream school, even though I can definetely not afford it. I’m sure I could get tons of financial aid, however. Also, does your major have any effect on financial aid and grants, or only scholarships?</p>

<p>Also, do you guys have anything to say about Trinity? Or should I not even consider it. I haven’t really heard anything about it.</p>

<p>I agree, when I visited the UT engineering program, they all told me how difficult it was to switch into Engineering.</p>

<p>THANK YOU guys, you’re awesome! I’ll try my best for UT, if not, oh well! I still have plenty of other great choices :slight_smile: But I do come from one of the most competitive and best school districts in the state, so I hope that will help me.</p>

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<p>I am a biomedical engineer and minority. I worked as a consultant in Austin. I am familiar with Texas. I spent much of the summer living near 4th St. and Congress in one of the hotels. The corporation paid for it. </p>

<p>Texas is competitive. But I would recommend applying anyway. Your scores are good. But also look at other options and cast a “wide net.” I have a friend who graduated from the UT Dallas Southwestern Medical Center as a biomedical engineer. He studied biomechanics. It’s an excellent institution. I would recommend biomedical engineering. The fields of medical robotics, minimally invasive surgery, and prosthetics have grown really large. Texas has a large industrial base for biomedical engineering, and the jobs are plentiful. I get paid a lot. Long ago I was like one of those minorities in that movie “Stand and Deliver” and passed the AP Calculus Exam. Now I have a great career as a biomedical engineer. Learn both software and devices. Also study the FDA regulations. </p>

<p>[Education</a> Home Page](<a href=“http://www.utsouthwestern.edu/home/education/index.html]Education”>Education and Training - UT Southwestern, Dallas, TX)</p>

<p>To corroborate the job market, just go to [Dice.com</a> - Job Search for Technology Professionals](<a href=“http://www.dice.com%5DDice.com”>http://www.dice.com) and type in these search terms that typically apply to biomedical engineering jobs.

  • FDA
  • GMP
  • 21 CFR
  • part 820
  • EMR
  • radiology
  • medical imaging
  • biomedical engineer
  • medical device
  • prosthetic</p>

<p>The list is large, and the opportunities are plentiful. You can always go to UT Dallas or UT San Antonio as an undergraduate and try again for UT Austin as a graduate student if you don’t get in the 1st time. But I would be perfectly content with UT Dallas too.</p>

<p>In regards to culture, I have spent the summer in Texas and am now convinced that the new face of Texas is represented accurately by Selena Gomez from Metro Dallas. She is half white and half Mexican. I know that combination is very common in young Texans born in the late 1980s and afterwards. Old movies like “The Alamo” make it seem as if there is a sharp divide between white Texans and Mexicans. There still can be in some cases because of immigration reform. But I saw that in the young generation many young Texans have one white parent and one Mexican parent. Selena Gomez truly does represent young Texans with mixed ethnicities.
<a href=“wowp s1ep20 quinceanera part 2/3 - YouTube”>wowp s1ep20 quinceanera part 2/3 - YouTube;

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<p>I’m pretty sure UT doesn’t require SAT Subject Tests, but if you end up going to UT and got a good score on the Math II Subject Test, you’ve tested out of a general math class. </p>

<p>Normally, people choose two subject tests: one in humanities, the other in math/science. Choose your strengths, but also be sure to fulfill any requirements (if there are any). I took mine in US History and Chemistry, and I’ll take the Math II this fall.</p>

<p>You have a better chance (I think) of getting into UT’s business school than Cockrell Eng. since it’s a relatively more competitive school.</p>

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<p>There’s a lot to like about Trinity. They’re small (3000), located in San Antonio, and have vibrant programs in engineering, health sciences, and business.</p>

<p>Trinity is VERY big on internships, either for pay or for course credit, and being in an urban area there are a lot of opportunities. Trinity is very well plugged in to the local community to find intern positions for students in the real world.</p>