@ayalaisabella1 You just, by the narrowest of margins, missed being an academic admit, but you have very strong math scores (ACT & Calc AB), and a good top 20% rank. If you wrote a strong essay, I think you have a solid chance of making it in as a review admit.
I agree with @nomatter particularly on the rigor, thought I wish you would have had an earlier application date @ayalaisabella1 .
I just want to explain this for all of the students who post stats, for clarification, ahead of the big decision waves, because this is the source of consternation in every admission cycleâ
The Texas publics donât consider the so-called âcompetitivenessâ of your school, with regard to rank; Thatâs not a thing. Every student is only compared to the other students in their respective school environments. And, for the record, not getting into the coveted âTop 10%â does not, by default, mean that your rank is âlowâ. A top 25% finish means that your rank is âhighâ no matter what school you attended.
Further, if you pay attention to the many posts, every student goes to one of the following:
- âMy school is really competitiveâ
- âMy school is super competitiveâ
- âMy school is uber competitiveâ
- âMy school is one of the most competitiveâ
- âMy school is extremely competitiveâ
That pretty much covers every school in Texas, public/private/magnet/charter/home, LOL. And, it has no applicable meaning outside of the eye of the beholder, and the confines of the walls of your actual school. Thereâs not even a unified definition. Generally speaking, the most universally accepted definition is âhigher SEC school/district with very high graduation rates, high college placement rate, and high standardized test score outcomes (which are a direct correlation to parental income)â. TAMU/UT/UTD/Tech/UH/et al arenât going to say, "Well, if this kid from âreally competitive high schoolâ had been at âless competitive high schoolâ theyâd have been higher in rank. â Thatâs not a thing. At all. So, there is no boost, nor âforgivenessâ for rank in relation to what school you attended.
You get measured against your equally situated peers in the environment that you live/work/get educated in, with whatever benefits and constraints exist. You donât get measured against more or less advantaged applicants from some other school/district/environment where different advantages/challenges/constraints exist.
Okay, off my soapbox for today. Really! 
Actually, it is a thing. Seeing where the publics have ranked my student, in comparison to his actual rank, based on his grades and course load, it doesnât match, and everyone from my HS knows it. Yes, going to a super competitive school does matter, or students wouldnât have stopped reporting their rank. The Publics knowâŠ
And this is why Standardized testing scores matter too. Ranking doesnât always predict success in college, but standardized testing can show potential, ability, readiness.
Iâm confused, what is âactual rank, based on his grades?â Rank, in Texas, is the comparison of a studentâs grade to his peers.
Are you talking about how schools like UT and TAMU assign rank for non-ranking schools? The school profile is a factor. Non-ranking schools still provide profiles.
Like this:
https://www.pisd.edu/cms/lib/TX02215173/Centricity/Domain/2498/School%20Profile%2017.pdf
Correct - Admissions has access to each HSâs profile which documents specific criteria to ârateâ the competitive nature of each HS. Canât speak for Texas any longer, since we relocated to PA, but the âBrand Nameâ of your HS has a definite bearing on how Admissions considers an applicant vs. competing students. Not saying is the most important criteria, but we were told with our older 2 kids that âwhere you go to HSâ is as important as âwhat classes you takeâ. Not my words, straight from multiple Admissions personnel.
âŠ
No kidding. Of course it matters where one attends his/her hs. Otherwise parents were all stupid. They pay higher property taxes so their kids would be in a good district. Some pay even more to attend certain prep schools. Some even trick the system to send kids to the isd that they donât belong. It is too naive to think otherwise. It is like saying it does not matter where you earned your degree when you apply for grad schools/work. If one is to compared to a âsimilar groupâ of students, how is that going to work? Does that mean each university is expected to accept x% of kids from each school? How are they going to track that? Why is the holistic review even in place?
Hey, some parents move during their studentâs last year of HS to make sure they make it into the top 10%. That happens all day long. Why is holistic review even in place? Itâs in place to find those students whoâve demonstrated they are prepared to juggle the rigors of college. Iâve seen many kids who ranked high, but they were only able to do it because they didnât participate in any ECâs, or they never held a job, or never volunteered a day in their life. I would much rather hire the kid who held a job, was involved in their community, and had good grades, then the student who was top 10% with nothing else on their resume!
Wow⊠I step away to work for a bit and BAM, weâre getting into the annual debate of HS competitiveness. It truly happens every year around this time as we all get antsy. And itâs okay, really. The thing I have learned is that the better the school or more competitive the school, the greater chance of your students success. If one has already been put up against the cream of the crop, then coming into college wonât be as shocking. They be humbled a bit (which is always good for the generation)âŠbut it wonât take away how ready you are to compete, learn and succeed over the next 4 plus years.
So letâs now hug it out and high five our neighbor (not in the face). I do believe a round will be coming next week!!! Thatâs a hunch based on the past, not anything else.
With regard to rank: The Texas publics base their holistic reviews contextually. For example, if a student from a rural school, with little resources is in the top 15% of their school, they absolutely do NOT get compared to a student from Austin Westlake (for example), in the top 15% who has had many more resources, opportunities, and advantages that a student from a poor rural/inner city school never had access to. Poor rural school kid, and Austin Westlake/higher SEC school kid get compared to their own peers, not each other.
In other words, rural and poor inner city applicants donât get ârankâ penalized, because their parents couldnât afford a higher SEC school and opportunities. Hence the occasional angry tirades.
Itâs in TAMUâs strategic plan to increase diversity (including geographic diversity) by ensuring and expanding access by evaluating applicants in the correct context.
Of course your school matters in the overall quality of education. I certainly gave great consideration to where I chose to live in Texas, largely based on the quality of schools, and the availability of high value educational resources and opportunities. But, it was up to my student to take advantage of those, and maximize his opportunities. My studentâs advantageous education will not result in an equally motivated, hard working, and high performing (within whatever context is in play) student from a lower SEC school being penalized, because my sonâs parent commands a higher salary than some random kid whose parents work two jobs to not quite make ends meet. My student didnât get a leg up (for rank), because he attends a very high performing/high SEC school. His rigor, rank, and accomplishments were evaluated within the context of his actual school peers, as it should be. Kids from more challenging geographical and economical environments will have equal chance at access, because of appropriate comparisons.
Thatâs the primary goal of holistic admissions. Itâs not to create a class system for coveted state flagships. Itâs to open the roads to equal access.
@YankeeTexan33 , have I got a truly sad but true story about a kid whose parent tried to play the âhigher SEC must mean higher intelligenceâ game, and lost big.
In a nutshell, a very bright and high performing student attends a private school in an area that has a very high SEC âdestinationâ public school district. A few weeks before the conclusion of junior year, parents discover/suspect that student is going to just miss the top 10% cut. Outraged, they pull the kid out of the private school (with just weeks left in Junior year) and enroll the kid in a public school 30+ miles from their home (note: NOT the high SEC school in their district), because itâs in an economically challenged district. Their rationale was that their bright, high-performing, prep-school student would outshine the kids in the poor school, ensuring a top ranking finish.
ExceptâŠ
The school allowed the transfer, as it is open enrollment (not a destination district for sure). At the end of Junior year, the school ranked the students. Now, bright transfer kid is ranked even lower, at the âless competitiveâ school. He undoubtedly got a better education at his private prep-school! But, you donât get extra weight for coming from a better school. His grades were aligned with his new peers, with no âpointsâ given for having come from a better school. Oops! Parents were outraged! Again. So, they pulled the kid out of the lower SEC school, and tried to put him back in the private school. Private school wouldnât take him, because Dad sad some truly horrible things upon departure. So, what was left? Enroll in the districted âcompetitiveâ public school, where he had to go with the lower rank from the lower SEC school, until after the application deadlines. And, he will not make it into the top 10% after 2nd semester either (mathematically improbable). Heâll be a lower rank than he would have been had he stayed at his private prep-school that is known to have a relatively high percentage of applicants accepted at his school of choice, UT Austin. He does have the luxury of going to a high performing, high SEC public school that, historically, places more than the top 6% at UT Austin. However, he does not have the robust LORs, senior year leadership, etc⊠that his parents forfeited while trying to game the system.
So, yes⊠some people move their kids to âless competitiveâ schools trying to game the system. Sometimes, it backfires. Every school, no matter what area or SEC, has a class of high achieving/performing students. Having wealthier parents doesnât mean âsmarterâ or âharder workingâ or âhigher IQâ. Most importantly, grades get equated when transferring. â The Achilles Heel of some.
I completely agree with nomatter. I was worried after reading all the stats for the schools my child applied for. He is incredibly intelligent, a little on the lazy side. His scores do not equate to what I saw from larger schools but were impressive for the school he attended.
When did you apply: 12/1/19
Class Rank: 17/221
SAT (with Sub Scores) 1260
ACT (with Sub Scores) 29
When did you receive your admission decision: 12/5/19 General Admission, 12/19 Engineering College Station
Are you an Auto-admit or Academic Admit or Review Admit: Yes
Major/College of Choice: Engineering
I think you mis-read my post. âWhy is holistic review even in place?â is not my question but rather the question to the previous poster about all students are evaluated in comparison to their âgroups.â
While that is one of the ways to trick the system, I was referring to those who borrow addresses so they could attend schools out of their districts. I see your opinion about being rounded is better which I agree and my child was geared that way, many non-5 point classes were taken because he was interested. Ad com knows this too. Hence, the holistic review is in place.
Itâs hard to know what else is going on in other peopleâs lives. From my experiences, some of these kids are very well prepared, to a point that I think too much for their age. And I will respectfully disagree with you about hiring. In my opinion, without knowledge, other things only have so much values.
Does admissions usually release decisions on fridays? Could the next wave be this friday? Also, if you are accepted, do you get six tabs a few days before or does it update the day of the wave? Thanks
if i have not heard back by now, is it safe to assume iâve been rejected? (mays)
@m0tionsickn3ss
Mays was full by mid-November. So most likely, acceptances in the coming months will now be the 2nd choice major for those who had Business as their 1st choice.
Youâll notice tabs first. Then acceptance comes pretty soon (day or sometime sooner or later). Not really sure why some update quicker than others. Just be assured ⊠if you see 6 tabs, you are accepted.
@m0tionsickn3ss mays doesnât reject. They just run out of spaces. They take 1000 freshman per year. 100 transfers per year and 100 change of majors per year. Its easier to get in as a freshman if you are auto or academic. Very few holistics get in. If you take your second choice major! Just be sure to follow the outline Mays says to set yourself up to apply after completing 30 credits AT A&M. It can be done. .
@AggieMomhelp thanks for the information, i am not an auto admit so iâm thinking it could perhaps be a more viable option to withdraw my app and apply to a school i have a better chance at. i donât think i have a great chance to get full acceptance for my second choice major, and iâm pretty set on getting a business degree at this point. something to consider for sure! thank you for the help!
@m0tionsickn3ss
Why would you want to withdraw your application? Why not still apply, and meanwhile continue to apply to other schools too. You can then make a decision once all acceptances & responses come back.
Withdrawing an application would leave you with 0% chance of getting an acceptance, whereas applying and awaiting review would still give you some chance.
Will there still be full admits to the College Station campus for engineering? The wait has been killing me considering I had applied early, and have been in Engineering Review for 3 months.