@Thelma2 Here are my son’s stats -
When did you apply: 12/28/17
When did you get your UIN: 1/1/18
When did you receive your (engineering) admission decision:2/13/18
Auto-admit? Academic Admit? Review Admit?: Holistic Review/Review Admit
Major/College of Choice: Mechanical Engineering
Did you get in: A&M Galveston
Honors program: Applied
Class Rank: Does not rank; parochial school; 28 students; top 7 ; 3.93 GPA
ACT: No, now I think he wishes he did
SAT (with Math Subscore): 1260 (640 Math)
EC: Eagle Scout; 5 sport varsity player; tons of community service; two mission trips in state; NHS, Student council; Two Scout High Adventure trips; Wendy’s High School Heisman School
3 essays
I am so confused. My child only received Galveston as an admission option but many others have had several options like change major, Blinn or Galveston. I don’t understand why we only received Galveston and no others. Is it possible to apply directly to Blinn-Bryan or Blinn-Brenham and get into an A&M Engineering Academy that way or can you only go that route if A&M College Station Admissions gives you that option? We REALLY prefer being at/near College Station and not down in Galveston.
you can tell I’m a newbie cuz I tried to edit the post and it wouldn’t work. I see that only CS admissions lets you into Blinn-Bryan so that’s not an option but would applying to Blinn-Brenham directly and going that route make sense over Galveston?? Guess I’m asking what the benefit Galveston has over just going through Brenham so we are closer to College Station.
@SoConfused2022 The most significant difference in Blinn Brenham Engineering Academy vs Galveston is that at Galveston you are a fully admitted A&M student with all the rights and privileges. Your sophomore year you just transfer to CS. Blinn Engineering Academy in Brenham you ARE NOT and A&M student and the slope is steeper GPA wise to get to CS. If offered the choice I would pick Galveston. Easy. If cost is a major factor then Brenham would be cheaper but you are not an A&M student. Al you have to do at Galveston is pass your courses and you can transition to CS. If you make a high GPA you will be more competitive in getting the major you want. Same wth Brenham.
@SoConfused2022 I will do my best to explain but @thelma2 has the best answers in regards to engineering. Galveston is full admit to Tamu. Your son would only do freshman year there then move to cstat. Blinn engineering academy cannot be applied to but your son could choose to go to Blinn in cstat (no need to go to brenham) and apply to transfer after completing 24 graded hours. So dual credit and any college course work counts (not ap in this instance). If he takes prereqs that most freshmen take aside from actual engineering course then he would be a good candidate to transfer. As in look at eng degree plan and try to follow what you can for freshman year. Make the grades. Write a great essay showing passion for whatever eng he wants to do and BAM… he’s in!
So there are options. Not sure why he didn’t get the other options but just know getting Galveston is basically a full admit. Very exciting. Congrats and hoped this helped!
In looking at the TAMU Course Equivalency https://compass-ssb.tamu.edu/pls/PROD/bwxkwtes.P_TransEquivMain
Blinn Community College in Bryan does not offer Engineering Calculus Math 151 and 152 (common Course Number 2413 & 2414, nor Engineering Chemistry 107/117 (would have to take 101/111 and 102/112 to satisfy the requirement nor do they offer Physics 208. These courses may only be taken at Blinn Brenham (other than A&M of course) and may be restricted only to students in the major.
@SoConfused2022 As others have said, the Galveston admissions is considered full admissions to A&M, they just ran out of seats in CStat. It is the exact same curriculum and when a student satisfactorily completes the freshman engineering core curriculum, they will apply to Entry To A Major and then transition to CStat to complete the degree. A 3.5 guarantees auto admission to first choice major. Less than 3.5, all applications go under review by that specific department. Galveston has much smaller class sizes as well because the engineering student count is in the hundreds, not the thousands. Here is the info on ETAM https://engineering.tamu.edu/academics/advisors-procedures/entry-to-a-major
If you do not want to go to Galveston, and would rather attend A&M in college station (not in engineering or May), you might give them a call and see if that is possible. It may not be, since you were not offered it, but the worst they an say is no.
I know of an applicant who received CStat admissions to engineering but thought the Galveston campus would be a better fit to ease them into college and they were permitted to switch (It would not work in the reverse) so it never hurts to ask. Keep in mind, it is where you finish, not where you start.
Read through the older posts. Lots of great information there and the Galveston thread.
Students at the Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Blinn-Brenham are actually co-enrolled at Blinn AND A&M. The analogous thing happens at the other Texas A&M Engineering Academies around the state. Some classes at each Academy are taught by A&M faculty wherever that Academy is located. It’s an unusual program.
http://engineering.tamu.edu/academies.html
Because of the unusual nature of the Engineering Academies program, it seems worthwhile spreading the news for those who might be interested.
https://www.blinn.edu/teab/faq.html
This site includes answers to frequently asked questions about the Blinn-Brenham academy and the difference between it and the Blinn-Bryan program (where students also take classes on the TAMU main campus and are admitted through TAMU main engineering admissions).
It ~might be more straightforward to get a 3.5 GPA at an academy. It’s worth thinking about whether a 52% transfer rate onto the main campus sophomore year is worth spending a year at an academy. It seems likely that students that apply themselves will be at CS after one year. It can be tough to think in these terms, admittedly.
A few weeks ago I called the Brenham campus and spoke with the lady that advises and reviews applicants. I can’t remember her name. She reviews applicants every Tuesday. Basically you submit your test scores and apply to Blinn. If you math score is high enough (she didn’t tell me what that would be) you are given access to an A&M application portal and then A&M grants final approval. She said A&M mainly looks at your math score on SAT/ACT. My son scored a 30 on the math portion and she said it would be a 99% chance that A&M would approve him. However, we live in Austin and if my son is not admitted to A&M he plans to do the Academy at ACC. ACC wants your test scores but they also require you to take a test at one of their testing centers to demonstrate Calculus 1 readiness. The freshman engineering class is taught by an A&M professor. To get guaranteed admission to the major of your choice you must have a 3.5 from your ACC/Blinn classes AND your engineering class taught by the A&M prof. They are calculated separately, not averaged together. The A&M application portal open March 1 so if you are contemplating this pathway I recommend getting your application to Blinn in soon so you can apply march 1. I was also told that if you had a 3.25 after the first year you should still be in good shape to transfer in.
My son filled out his application on his own and I have no idea what the instructions were. Are freshman required to choose “general engineering” as freshman? If they were to choose a specific engineering major (Petroleum, aerospace, etc.) would their application be pushed and they would not be admitted until after all the other freshman who chose general were seated first in College Station? My son wants to start and finish in CS ad join a fraternity. He isn’t sure about living his first year in Galveston.
@aeromum at TAMU all engineering majors are placed in general engineering their 1st year, they apply to their specific major in the fall. This gives them exposure to all types of engineering their first year so they can make an informed decision.
Is “Texas A&M Engineering at Galveston” considered a better deal than Blinn Engineering Academy-Bryan? I don’t think my son views it that way because it’s not close to the main campus, even though you’re already admitted. Also, what happens if, while doing Engineering at Galveston, he discovers that engineering isn’t for him? Is he stuck on the island?
@aeromum On their apply TX application, they did chose specific majors but they are all put into general first year.
To pledge a fraternity, all of their events are held before school begins.
@GLYToo lol no he won’t be stuck on the island. But there are worse places to be. He’s an Aggie so if he decides to change major, he would go to advisor and complete necessary paperwork. If he gets into that major then he would move up to cstat location. It’s not a transfer. Just a major change like 80% of college freshman lol!
@trinley, @soconfused2022 I feel compelled to clarify a few things based on your responses. Yes, Galveston A&M is a full admit. However Blinn-Brenham and Blinn-Bryan engineering academies are the same except for one thing. A&M places the applicant at Bryan and the candidate can apply to Brenham. If a student attends either Blinn Academy they are CO-ENROLLED at A&M and Blinn and get the same rights and privileges except NCAA sports participation as they do at A&M. No matter where the engineer student goes they are all in General Engineering the first year and take the same courses. Blinn requires a minimum2.5 GPA A&M a 2.0 but no matter what they pick they will all need a 3.5 to ensure they get the major of their choice when they all fill out the Entry to Major App the spring prior to their sophomore year. What is nice about Brenham location is the student is about 45 minutes from CSTAT so attending games, midnight yell,etc is a lot easier than being in Galveston.
Also the student is not transferring from Brenham to A&M they are transitioning (@Thelma2) words because they are co-enrolled.
@tad1985 another difference between Brenham and Bryan is that at the Bryan program you take 2 courses on the A&M campus (ENG and a core class, 5hours) and you can live on campus. At Brenham all your courses are at Blinn and and A&M “Prof” teaches the engineering course. Galveston is a full admit. All you have to do is pass and you apply to your major just like a CS student. Each option has there pros and cons but they are not equivalent. I have spoken directly with admissions counselors at both Brenham and ACC. I don’t think we are saying anything different.
@trinley In your response you stated students that attend Blinn are not A&M students. Brenham students are co-enrolled at A&M, can join organizations, etc. Enrolled students, co-enrolled students are Aggie students.