I am a rising senior, while I really like the idea of going to school in Texas (more specifically, near Houston), I don’t know if applying to Texas A&M is really worth my time. I’m from Pennsylvania and I went to an admission session and tour last June, but I frankly don’t remember if I enjoyed it or not. I am mostly worried about if my applying would be a waste of time, as I am in the top 5% of my class and currently have a 1480 on the SAT (I retook it this past Saturday, fairly confident that I exceeded 1500). I am aware that I qualify for automatic admission, but my main concern is about Texas A&M offers good programs for their top students. If anyone has experience with this or more information, I’d be happy to know:)
This is a common misconception based on data about admissions here. Your stats (although good) are not going to put you “miles above the rest” as you imply above. Over 80% of the freshman admits qualify as automatic admits for the college station campus full admits-- stats quoted for the school are for all types of admits at various campuses. TAMU is #2 in the nation for National Merit Finalists, #2 school for job recruiters too, so yes - there is a big market for the talent going in & coming out of TAMU. There are many excellent programs here and a loyal alumni job network that money can’t buy. This school also offers merit scholarships which many other schools have opted to abolish, so competition is stiff for those. Do some research into the field that you are interested in pursuing. Applications open July 1 this year - and majors are filled by rolling admission with the exception of the college of Engineering which has a second admission round for entry. It is a very popular school, so if you’re interested I’d suggest you apply early to guarantee your major is available.
Your stats are okay, maybe average for some colleges at Tamu. Don’t expect big scholarships because you are out of state. Consider yourself very lucky if you get a competitive scholarship of 4k or more to get out of state tuition waiver. What do you plan to study?
@DoctorWho2016 I honestly don’t know what I’ll study because they have so much to offer. my main concern is more about if it’s worth applying as an out-of-state student, as I know that A&M is comprised of 96% texas residents
Are you wondering if it is worth applying because not sure you would get admitted or not be able to get enough scholarship? Your stats look good enough that you would get in under an academic admit. Getting enough in scholarships to get to the magic $4000 for the waiver is difficult as an out of state student unless you are a national merit finalist. I think sometimes strong numbers along with being in the corp can get you there as well.
@rosegeo i’m wondering if it’s worth applying because 1.) I am an out of state student and their student body is almost exclusively Texan and 2.) I am not quite sure about how good the school is because it is so large
First of all you should decide what you want to study before you look at colleges.
Second, ask you parents how much are they willing to spend for 4 years? Ask for a exact number.
@DoctorWho2016 my thinking is that I will apply to engineering and money is not an issue
It is definitely worth applying to if you might be interested. Then you can see what all of your options are once the acceptances and scholarship offers are in from all of your schools. Yes, it is a huge school. This has benefits and disadvantages. you will need to decide what you are wanting out of your college experience. We also live out of state but the almost all Texas students didn’t bother me or my son. Once again, a personal decision. Is the geographic diversity something that is important to you. A&M is a very good engineering school so academically it would almost certainly meet your needs.
I could be wrong, but I am pretty sure auto admit only applies for OOS students who qualify for Texas residency or something. I don’t remember reading OOS students getting in automatically, even if it is in the academic admit category.
@RMNiMiTz no where does it say that
RMNiMiTz is correct. You have to have attended an high school in Texas (or be a Texas resident attending school elsewhere) to qualify for auto admit: http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted
@MaineLonghorn for top 10% admit, yes that is true, but for academic admit, that is not true
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Academic admit is for everyone. Top 10% is for Texas residents only. See the first clarification on the top 10% listing which is NOT there for academic admit qualifications. http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted Academic admit has always been open to OOS, but it was not widely publicized in the past. Vast majority of OOS students here are academic admits.
I must be wrong then, I thought it said on applytexas or something it was only either in-state or in-state resident.
As you mentioned you might want to apply for engineering and from Pennsylvania, I thought I might be able to shed a little light. My husband and I went to Penn State (engineering), which I am guessing you are familiar with if you are in-state there. We relocated to Texas for employment reasons. Our two daughters both majored in engineering at Texas A&M but they were also both accepted into Penn State’s engineering program at University Park (as we are huge fans LOL) and have about a half a dozen nieces and nephews (cousins) who are majoring/majored in engineering at Penn State. For purposes of comparison and just our opinion, Texas A&M and Penn State have somewhat of a similar feel as they are both have large engineering programs, located in rural locations (State College and College Station – both are towns with the university at the heart of the city.) Obviously, they are both large universities and both have a huge College Career centers, well known by recruiters. As far as the programs, my Mechanical Engineering daughter interned and currently works with Penn State engineers at her large national company and it seems the intensity of the degree program and experiences they received are very, very similar. Hope it helps!