For FAFSA check the financial aid link in Howdy. Normally take a few days to create award letter with detail but at this strange times it may take longer.
The following info is also helpful
https://studentaid.gov/help/financial-aid-package
AggieMom,
I know you are much more involved and experienced in the admission process than we are but I’m seeing this not being the case. I know of at least 3 others that were already accepted: with lower class ranks, extracurricular, SAT scores, GPA… and all of them are non-engineering. Something must be different this year, especially after A&M extending the deadline. Makes me wonder if they aren’t getting as many applicants.
@FriscoParent I know your post is not directed towards me, but please understand that applications are “scored” on so much more than the list you gave above. I do believe A&M does a far job of “scoring” applications based on the below and then continues to accept the top ones until they have hit their limit of total acceptances. (Of course, mistakes can be made so it never hurts to contact admissions through AIS.) And who knows how an applicants answer to the diversity question plays into the below…
From earlier…
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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What you’re describing is easy to explain. Engineering will go through two processes. One for Tamu then engineering. So if you have a education major, for example, and an engineering major get reviewed and decision made on some day, then the education major will be notified. Engineering major goes through another process. Those that were auto admit got the acceptance quickly into Tamu and then waited for eng decision. Then others for ED got the same. Now it’ll be slower to come out.
As the poster above mentioned, there are sooo many factors and weights that go into all review students. I admire the admissions dept because I feel they do a great job of really trying to see the student. My daughter was PSA back in fighting class of 2019. She went to another school for a year then transferred in. Now has one semester left for her masters. Talk about a switch of quality and ability. She would not have succeeded at Tamu freshman year. Many things pointed that direction. She was top 25 but barely. She was very involved but mainly superficial. No leadership. She worked but only summer jobs. She took zero AP classes and only 3 duals. Many of her friends had similar gpa and EC but they also had more to give. Some struggled but survived.
My point to this long post is, there are many ways to get what they want. But they gotta want To work hard for it. Seeing others get in over them doesn’t mean they won’t get in or that they are less worthy, it just hasn’t happened yet.
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My daughter is still waiting for financial aid info too. She was accepted on 10/29 to engineering and her FAFSA is complete in the portal. Haven’t seen or heard anything yet. Does anybody know when scholarships are awarded or financial aid is offered?
Thank you AggieMom and eggscapgoat.
I think there’s two decision points for engineering, the general A&M then specifically the engineering group. So that first point isn’t technically admission into A&M. It’s a minimum standard. I suspect there are highly qualified folks that A&M would otherwise take if they had picked a non-engineering major.
The new SAT scores came in today and he’s well into the 1300’s. Average A&M acceptance is 1270 I believe, likely higher for engineering students. Our biggest hurdle is class rank at Top 20 texas public high school. Just outside top 25. Weighted is 4.6+. The rigor and AP’s are there. Leadership is there, which I can’t post publicly because readers from this area would know who I’m referring to. Nearly 100 hours of service. LOR from TAMU faculty and AP Calc teacher. The essays (which he did 100% himself) were reviewed professionally by a college prep group who places into Harvard/Stanford. Think it’s his rank. That being said, the Dean at Mines personally invited him and to apply there.
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@FriscoParent Yes, there are 2 points as I stated for Eng. so we are on the same page there. Your son sounds like he’s highly qualified. 2nd quarter isn’t a reach, just not ideal. but SAT is great and shows his preparedness.
Would he be open to Blinn Academy or Galveston? Have you/him researched ETAM? There’s so much that goes into Eng. at Tamu. A lot of people don’t like that you aren’t guraranteed your Eng. discipline.
@FriscoParent You said “So that first point isn’t technically admission into A&M. It’s a minimum standard. I suspect there are highly qualified folks that A&M would otherwise take if they had picked a non-engineering major.”
This is the order…first, students are accepted based on their overall application, using the criteria in the earlier post (ie Very Important, Important, etc).
Then, IF the applicants first choice is engineering, they go through another review process to determine if they are ready for engineering. This probably includes math and science ability, but I am guessing.
It is possible that someone could be accepted to the University, but then not accepted to engineering. I have not heard examples of it, but maybe others have experience with this.
But my point is, “highly qualified folks” compared to ALL the other applicants are definitely accepted. It is truly a competition!
If this is your understanding, then I apologize for my post. Its just that your comment had the order backwards but maybe I read it wrong. Truly hope y’all hear something today because that SAT is really going to help along with everything else.
One of the biggest problems facing the Admissions department is that GPA is not even calculated the same at schools across the state, even the country. A 4.09 at one high school may actually represent a better average than a 4.89 at another school. The reason for that is that there is no uniform standard the high schools go by. Some schools a 90 is a 4.0, while others it is a 3.0. Some schools even go up to a 6.0 or 7.0, then you factor in the fact that all high schools do not follow the same formula for what is actually included in your gpa and you have a large variation on results and how those results can fairly be interpreted. This is why the admissions dept says they don’t look at GPA specifically. They literally can not. They can compare the kids to the other students in their graduating class within the same high school that had access to the same courses and resources. That’s their only option. My older son was 52% with outstanding class rigor, SAT and ACT scores and a 92 GPA. He had excellent leadership and EC’s. Wonderful letters of recommendation and essays. He did not get in based on class rank. While it may not be fair to see others who seem “less qualified” get accepted, remember that the admissions dept sees so much more than what is posted on here. It is still very, very early in the process. I honestly feel like the removal of the automatic academic admit helps the students such as my own who are not striving to be engineers or doctors by giving them a fighting chance at review admission. It is possible that for the first time in the review process choice of major might actually come in to play. It will be interesting to see if that trend continues. Mays business has a high level of standards, and Engineering is headed that way as well. That is why engineering added another review. They are actually being compared to other engineering applicants. I do not envy the admissions dept at all. I will add again that God has a plan and there is more than one pathway to Aggieland. Best of luck to all still waiting.
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We are on the same page. I just wish there was an intermediate notification that said ‘yes, you have been accepted to A&M, but we are reviewing to see if we have a spot for you in engineering.” It would definitely take the edge off the waiting period and perhaps keep from losing a potentially great student.
He is open to all means of being an Aggie engineer. He is really pushing for the Corps so that limits to full admission and Blinn Team I believe.
Thank you @Eggscapgoats. I appreciate your insights as well.
I did not know about the GPA mismatch, @momsterx3. That makes it much more complicated for sure. They do have a number of admitted students from our school, and they have years past as well. I imagine this is good enough benchmarking to know the school.
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If Mays is most likely full, do most select Econ or Agbus as their second choice? If those fill up, would they be offered something else within A&M or be offered Blinn or PSA?
@FriscoParent Actually, their is an “intermediate notification” for the engineering wannabes that lets them know they have been accepted to the university (IE six tabs and you can sign up for housing etc) but then the engineers are told their application is going under engineering review, at least that’s the way it was a couple years ago. I haven’t closely followed this thread but I got the feeling the same was happening this year based on what others have posted but I could be wrong.
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Yes, this seems to be the case as well, but it’s slowing down since the auto admits and Early decisions have come out.
@txmomuv2 It’s a toss up. If the student is interested in finance or accounting, then Econ is a great choice. If not, then Ag Bus. It’s very general but you do get to take classes in Mays. After 30 TAMU graded credits are done, they can apply for change of major into Mays as long as they have the required courses completed as well.
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My son has Mays as his first choice and Econ as his second. He’s a review admit (test optional, 1Q rank, in state from a very large competitive high school…great leadership and EC’s)…at this point I’m expecting he’ll probably get Blinn Team in January 
I got accepted into Econ today as Mays was full. Was wondering if I could switch my major into engineering and wanted to know how and if this is possible?
@foodlover3459 do you mind sharing your stats?
I just got notification of consideration for the Brown Scholarship earlier this week. I am supposed to have a phone interview on Sunday and was wondering if anyone here might know what to expect or what kinds of questions they might ask?
@foodlover3459 At the bottom of the main page of AIS is “request a change of major”. Your app will most likely undergo engineering review, like everyone else wanting engineering. You could also contact admissions in AIS to ask this question
Have all Engineering Early Action applicants gotten notifications? I applied EA but my AIS is still In Review, and I only have three tabs in Howdy
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@kpfrazee, Congratulations on your interview!! Just be yourself in the interview as I’m sure you are a superstar to even be invited. My daughter is a Brown Scholar Class of 2023. If you are offered the scholarship, TAKE IT!! Mr. Brown and Mrs. Matthews (his secretary) are AMAZING—so involved and so vetted in helping their scholars be successful. They will help with getting research positions, internships, getting to the bottom of any problems or issues you encounter while at TAMU. The kids are well connected and tight knit with each other. The list goes on and on. Best Wishes and let me know how it goes on Sunday!
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