I am applying to Aerospace Engineering, and my current 2nd choice major is Ocean Engineering. I’m worried that if I am not able to get into Aero, then I won’t be able to get into my second choice major as well. Should I change my second choice major to a non engineering major?
Yes, he transferred at the end of his junior year from a private HS in Texas to a public HS in Texas.
The college counselor at his current HS said that his grades from the old school would be rank against the grades up until the Junior year of the students he will graduate with. I found this quite unfair because of how his old school doesn’t have as many PreAP class as the new school (for example, the old school missed out on PreAP Algebra 1 or PreAP Chemistry) which result in him having a lower weighted GPA and thus, a lower class rank.
He had included both class rank in the SRAR. I’m just wondering if there is any chance TAMU would take a look at the class rank where he is ranked against the students whom he studied with rather than the students whom he would graduate with.
Thank you for your advice! I would discuss it with my son.
I would definitely change second choice to non engineering if you’re goal is to get into Tamu. All students for engineering are admitted as general anyway, so doing 2 engineering majors seems worthless.
What is considered a sufficient amount of AP courses (assuming avg SAT scores and top half rank)? Not PAP, but actual AP classes. Regardless of testing.
Doesn’t need a lot of AP (although many students blindly enroll in as many AP as the schedule allows). For instance, if applying for Psychology, both A&M and UT state “having strong background of social science” means having AP Psychology, AP Macro and Micro Econ, US History, Government, World History, AP Human Geography, Comparative Government and Politics. Science subjects would be optional but nice to have such as AP Biology and AP Statistics. Having AP Calculus/Physics may not help much on Psychology.
So for most majors 7-10 relevant APs are sufficient.
For admission, having core AP classes “A” on transcripts are more important than SAT scores, or getting “5” in College Board exams (but of course getting 5s will likely get student honor programs in college) That explains why college care more about UW GPA not the inflated Weight GPA.
Past few years there were postings about someone got higher GPA/SAT/rank but didn’t get in, or auto-admit but didn’t get their preferred majors were mostly because of the course strength issue. And most of those students got CAP (for UT) or Blinn team (for A&M).
I agree with AggieMomhelp, second choice as Social Science (e.g. Econ). All engineer students will be admitted as “general engineering”.
Don’t worry about ranking. Ranking is mainly for determining auto admit. Once it is determined to be non-auto, the review is holistic (i.e.) course strength, EC relevancy and the essay.
FYI - My guess is that each of the items below are scored and plugged into a formula which gives more weight to some items (very important) than others (considered) to give every applicant a final score.
“Rigor” could be based on what is offered at a students high school or based on other applicants.
“Talent/Ability” could refer to overall ability or specifically talent towards their intended major.
From Tamu…(2019-2020) Relative importance of each of the following academic and nonacademic factors in first-time, firstyear, degree-seeking (freshman) admission decisions.
Very Important
Rigor of secondary school record
Class Rank
Academic GPA
Standardized Test Scores
Extracurricular Activities
Talent/Ability
Important
Application Essay
First Generation
Geographical Residence
State Residency
Volunteer work
Work Experience
Considered
LORs
Character/personal qualities
Level of applicant’s interest
Not Considered
Interview
Religious affiliation
Racial/ethnic status
https://dars.tamu.edu/Student/files/2019-2020-Common-Dataset.aspx
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@nguyen1975 So…he finished his junior year at the old HS, and then transferred over the summer to the new HS?
If so, his rank on SRAR should be from the old HS (using his transcript from the old HS at the end of junior year) and he would be auto-admit. Just trying to understand exactly when he transferred because SRAR is based on what an applicants record looks like at the finish of junior year. If he finished junior year at the old HS, he could request that the old HS send his transcript to Tamu to confirm he was top 10% at end of junior year.
The new HS has to determine a way to rank him for the end of senior year but his rank at the end of his senior year will not change his application.
does anyone know how to change their second choice major, and if that would effect anything with timing on the application?
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Yes, he finished his junior year at the old HS, and then transferred to the new HS once the 2020-2021 academic calendar started.
So in your opinion, what should I do now?
@Eggscapgoats, @AggieMomhelp
How much financial aid does TAMU usually give out? My family just migrated to the U.S this year and I’m still looking for a new job (hence why my son need to transfer to a different school.)
My son felt in love with Texas A&M but I’m not sure if I can afford it. He had submitted the fafsa application a week ago but still haven’t heard back from the school yet. What should we do now?
No it will not. We changed it after week of submitting. AIS took about 3 weeks to update it.
I have no idea about financial aid. I know merit is hard, but financial aid through Fafsa May be good. 
@nguyen1975 If it were my son, I would definitely encourage him to ask his old school to send his transcript to Tamu since he was top 10% at the end of his junior year. All top 10% need to send their transcript with their application to prove they were top 10% at the end of Junior year.
Hope this helps, but I think his stats are great anyway and I do believe admissions will definitely take notice of his high SAT score, especially math.
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I thought the same about my son. He is barely over top 10% without SAT scores. He applied 11/20/20 and was admitted 12/2/20. We thought we would not know anything until January at the earliest. Good luck!
@nguyen1975 a friend of mine got half tuition at A&M paid for with FAFSA. He ended up at UTD because he applied too late to get Mays business. Hopefully you get some aid like he did. If so, A&M is worth the investment with loans and PT work.
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So this is making me concerned. We let my daughter do her own thing with the application. We wanted it to be all her and we’re hearing all these people are hearing back right away. Is there someone I can talk to to find out if my daughter’s app has something wrong? We’re still waiting and I feel like she has pretty strong stats to get in. Yet here we are waiting…
I am not sure if they are using an algorithm or not with the SRAR input. My son’s HS doesn’t factor in his high school credit grades he received in intermediate nor do they factor in his dual credit grades he received. Hang in there.
can you ask her for her portal login? you can check it to see if anything is missing. it’ll also tell you if the application is in review in which case it really is just a waiting game. and if you’re still concerned, be sure to have her UIN number (she’d have received it when they received her application) and give them a call just saying you’re a concerned parent. I’m sure it’s not the first parent they’ve heard from!! 
good luck! (we haven’t heard either but don’t expect a response until late as it’s a holistic review for my kiddo)