Thank you… I think you said this better than I did. I am not trying to upset the original poster, but I am just recommending some reflection that will serve them in their future lives. The statement is likely something I would have said when I was a senior in high school and I can just hear my dad saying the same thing to me as I did.
Thank you @Agmom94, @AggieMomAgain, and @Scotsfi for the feedback. I think you are all right, I’m jumping to a conclusion that may not be completely right just yet. I have been anticipating getting something any moment since the change in Howdy and AIS and thought this was it. I will definitely update when something happens either way - this forum has been really helpful to me and hopefully our experience will help others in the future.
@AggieMomAgain My sons stats are not stellar and we did NOT expect a full admit (especially for engineering) but were hoping for TEAM, Gateway, or PSA. He’s a first generation college student, GPA is 3.75/4.0 (with a few AP’s he’s at 4.4/5.0) and he’s in the 27% of his class of >600 students. SAT/ACT scores are not great as he has ADD and tests are a challenge - he took the SAT a few times and only got up to 1200. He plays varsity football and varsity bowling, is in NHS and Spanish NHS, lots of volunteer hours, and worked in his junior and senior years (held 2 jobs over the summer), had a fantastic essay about the challenge of time management that was reviewed by professionals though a college coach service.
He’s the oldest of 5 kids and as much as he’s resigned himself to Texas Tech (7 hours from home) and I’m delighted about that my heart is holding out hope for some path to A&M (1.5 hours from home).
i completely understand what you are both saying. however, it frustrating for my friends and i when we hear of those types of statistics getting in… and as far as i know i dont think tamu is concerned with diversity in comparison with UT… regardless someone should not be given an upper hand because they are black, native american, or hispanic — affirmative action should not be a thing but rather admissions should be based on a socioeconomic level
I think this sentiment gets a little too political than is appropriate for this forum, but I would recommend that you do research on systematic discrimination and biases towards these populations to get more perspective.
@arkeldi - Not sure of TAMU’s stance on diversity. However, Affirmative Action is such a hot topic. However, then again, since TAMU’s admission is holistic, then you will need to just trust that Admission reviewed your application, and it seems like they did as they are taking time to send us their decision.
But on a different coin of affirmative action in Private and Ivy schools, how fair is it for alumni kids, huge donation, sports admits to be able to have a lower stats and still get to be admitted into these dream schools for so many as compared to those who didn’t have the privilege?
As for those population that you have listed, you should do your research on how they were treated historically, before making such blanket statements. Affirmative Action might seem unfair on the surface (trust me, AA is not helping my daughter at all, in fact, it might work against her), however, I can see how it helps those that really need a second review to get into college.
You don’t know what goes on in someone else’s life that the Admissions office has determined that they will be successful even with what you deem as low stats.
You just have to have a plan B if you are not happy with the outcomes. We are frustrated with how UT and TAMU handled the admissions policy, but at the same time, am grateful that there are CAP, pathways, and alternatives.
Trust me, after you get your first job, no one will ask you where you go to school. As long as you have the drive, you will be successful.
I would stop mulling about what admissions has done, and probably look for ways to make what you think is a bad situation now to be a better outcome.
@ccjjmm Your son should be very proud of what he has accomplished and his stats. There are many good engineering programs besides UT & TAMU in the state of Texas and Texas Tech is one of those.
I am sure if he applies himself the same ways he did in HS, he will be a success wherever he goes - it’s not about where you start, it’s about the journey and where you end up.
@TexasMTDad i completely understand both sides of the “argument” (for lack of a better term). my first SAT i scored an 1180 and i thought it was good enough. but i realized it definitely wasn’t and i worked to get it higher and now my highest is a 1290, which i submitted for admissions. its pretty average but my essay was a creative essay about my grandfather’s death- i guess admissions liked it because a lot of other people with my stats got psa while i got non-eng waitlisted. people with lower scores than me are getting pathways into tamu and im sure they are well deserved- tamu wouldnt give away seats just to anyone, especially with 40k+ applicants.
and i can also relate to the whole low score thing. my boyfriend got an 1100 every single time the two or three times he took the SAT. however he has good work ethic and has suffered through two knee surgeries due to sports, including tearing his ACL during lacrosse season his senior year. he’s realized that engineering math is getting progressively difficult and he had though about changing majors, but right now he’s stayed put and powered through his classes. that’s how you show people who you really are- having low test scores but incredible work ethic that well benefit you in the long run + in the workplace.
(btw for any future readers- he is in florida and did not apply to tamu or get admitted to tamu! but the point still stands.)
anyways sorry for my rambling- it’s probably my frustration coming through with being waitlisted and having no idea when my decision will come through. and sorry if things don’t make sense! im not good at putting my thoughts into coherent sentences lol.
Question for those of you who are very familiar with the TAMU admissions policy, I’ve searched but haven’t found anything on the topic so I’m guessing TAMU doesn’t have this type of policy in place. In 2017, a valedictorian from a very small school in Texas lobbied against UT for their denial of admissions, because she did not fall into the top 7% for automatic admit. There were only 10 in her graduating class, so even as #1 she wasn’t in the top 7%. She contacted her superintendent and local representatives to plead her case. After many phone calls and letters, UT reversed their decision and admitted her and then changed their policy to state that any valedictorian would be considered an automatic admit as long as there were at least 2 in the graduating class. After all that, she enrolled at TAMU. LOL. Was wondering if anyone knew if TAMU had a similar policy.
I think that this is a healthy perspective. If you put in the work, you’ll succeed no matter where you start.
I was accepted to UT out of high school. My parents did not have any resources to help with college. I mean $0. I paid for my own food/gas/car insurance, etc. I couldn’t even fathom affording to go to UT and paying for my own housing.
Fortunately, my grandmother lived in Arlington and had a place for me to live. I went to UTA and have had a very successful career. You don’t always have to go to UT or TAMU for that.
and… I would argue that UTA is a much better institution than it was 25 years ago.
if you don’t think aa is fair, what makes making decisions based on socioeconomic levels fair?
@ccjjmm it appears that what your son received was a an invitation to go 2 years at Blinn and then transition to one of the system schools (not Tamu). But I echo the advice of others and you should call admissions to double check. The RELLIS alliance is a cooperative between Blinn and those system schools designed to help students get a four year degree at a lower cost. It is not a PSA pathway to TAMU. If lookin to major in engineering at TAMU, have you investigated the engineering academies ? My son attended the one in Blinn Brenham and is now full time at TAMU. It is co-enrollment at Blinn and TAMU with all classes taught on the Brenham campus. It’s a great way to get into top 15 engineering program and it will save you some money. My son chose this option over Auburn and Texa Tech. Here is a link to he discussion. http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/2173399-engineering-academies-option-for-those-not-admitted-to-tamu.html#latest
The problem may actually exist in the way you are rationalizing “pure inconsistency and unfairness”. TAMU admissions hasn’t ever publicly communicated a minimum or maximum standard for full admit Gen Engineering at College Station, or for their alternative engineering academy offers. You’re making up your own standards, and trying to ascribe them to TAMU.
What we know, concretely, is that Engineering review applicants receive a holistic admission. The sum total of application attributes for some students will outweigh and persuade TAMU, even if cherry-picked attributes of someone elses application may be “higher/equal to/lower” than the next.
You may not believe that some students are “worthy”, but TAMU (who has the exclusive right to decide, and set the admissions standards) did. And, they did so, with full knowledge of the entirety of the applicants credentials, not just a few “stats” that students share in forums like these.
Not being allowed into the inner circle of admissions doesn’t mean that there isn’t a valid methodology that attracts, recruits, reviews, admits, and retains talented students who have made TAMU what it is today.
If you feel that AA has been unsuccessful, perhaps you should consider TAMU PRIOR to AA.
My daughter got a PSA offer on February 4th and received the ‘TAMUS Academic Alliance at RELLIS’ offer today. While this is not something she is interested in, it is a very interesting program. From my research, you spend all 4 years at the Rellis campus with the first two years as a Blinn student and then you transfer into one of the participating system schools to earn your degree. You do not physically transfer to the system school. The caveat is that you have to choose from specific degrees which are associated with specific schools and the choices are limited. https://rellis.tamus.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/41/2019/06/19003-Academic-Programs-06122019.pdf If one of these majors is what you are interested in and you just really want to live in College Station and get a degree for less money, this seems like a great option.
Actually, your son has outstanding “stats” and a very impressive resume. 
Here on CC, high performance gets distorted into an unrealistic and atypical standard for “high achievement”. Your student has a high gpa, and well above average (for both Texas and the U.S.) SAT scores, and is an active and productive member of his school and broader community. That he’s a first generation applicant makes it all the more impressive. Kudos to you for not only helping your student navigate the tangled web of admissions, but for raising such an outstanding young person. If he chooses Tech, he will have an amazing experience, and you will be delighted as well.
When did you apply: October 2020
Class Rank: 8 of 76
SAT (with Sub Scores) 1450
ACT (with Sub Scores) 32
When did you receive your admission decision: November 2020
Are you an Auto-admit or Academic Admit or Review Admit: Auto-admit
Major/College of Choice: Mechanical Engineering/Engineering
No need to worry. TAMU remains one of the least diverse of the big Texas Universities.
students can be black/ hispanic/ etc and be the son of millionaires. everything will be afforded to them: exclusive sat prep/ camps, huge donations to the school, easy way into internship, paid engineering/ science camps, tutor at home… everything you need — yet because they are black/ hispanic they will have an even GREATER chance at taking someones spot who has grown up in a working class family— its not hard to understand why it should be based on socioeconomics
That’s really not how that works, as I personally come from a lower to middle class African-American family but thanks for talking about how we have an easy way into internships. Your judgements are unjustified, and I don’t appreciate it. But please, continue to offend with your comments… it won’t get you anywhere to call out how you individually believe persons of color are getting “handed opportunities”. Take it elsewhere.
Wow. Just Wow…“Taking someone’s spot” ?!
You’re really going off the rails here.
Mods, I think the comments about race/affirmative action etc are getting out of hand and offensive.