@blacknebula3344 - great scores! I’m not a business program expert - but I will weigh in that UTD has a ranked program in the Naveen Jindal School of Management- in some rankings it is positioned higher than Mays (in certain areas).
With your scores you will get in. UTD does have higher middle 50 percent SAT and ACT scores than TAMU - but it is not at selective. Meaning, if you have the scores you are in. I would expect JSOM and the CS program to get more selective in the next 5 years (JSOM already has posted minimum scores and those to programs are the only ones you can’t switch into during orientation- it has to be done at a later date)
UTD is a very different campus than TAMU. It does not have a football team or the trapping that come with it. It is also exceedingly ethnically and culturally diverse.
I’m actually on my way home from freshman orientation there now. My daughter really likes it. We feel very comfortable with the campus learning environment, culture and student support.
@BlueBayouAZ Thanks for the advice! Tbh I’m not a fan of football and I’m asian so I feel like I would fit in to UTD. The only concern I have is the job opportunities. Even though TAMU is ranked lower than UTD I have heard that getting a finance job out of TAMU is easier than UTD. I also want to become an investment banker in the Houston area and those jobs are very competitive. How are the job opportunities at UTD? I really want an investment banking job after college.
UTD is experiencing a huge amount of growth. If you want on campus housing apply early. I know some people look at it as a “small” school - but it is at nearly 30,000 now. About what TAMU was in the late 70s-early 80s.
Also the AES awards (generous scholarships) are moving target and getting more competitive. (One negative you hear is UTD has to pay top graduates to go there). But it seems like the AES awards are going to students ranked in the top quarter, unweighted GPAs above a 3.5 and SATs over 1500 or ACT 34 and above.
@blacknebula3344 - I have no idea how to evaluate all the factors that go into job placement specifically in the Houston area. But on the surface UTD gets more DFW students and TAMU gets more Houston students. You are more likely to look for internships in your hometown. And internship are a great foot in the door.
And Houston has the Mays MBA program at City Center.
But both universities have offices that deal with student outcomes. And they should have specific data. These are state schools- not for profits.
At my daughter’s orientation- they did not shy away from talking about the challenges graduates face in her career of choice (animation) and when we met with someone from the department of visualization at TAMU - they were pretty clear that you needed a masters degree to be considered for work at the big animation houses.
I would STRONGLY encourage you to check out both schools, and TTU and UH. It is not going to be an apples to apples comparison. Each school is going to have strengths and unattractive features.
And unfortunately - for the class of 2019, while most people with scores/rank in your range did get into TAMU (not Mays) - there are some that got PSA. So unless you are an academic admit - you need to have a backup school you can see your going to. And if you don’t, keep looking.
@blacknebula3344 yes you do have a great SAT, but with your class rank, I’m afraid Mays will be out of reach. Every high school is competitive, in one way or another. This years incoming class at Mays was filled by mid-end October, all Top 10% and auto admit. Once 1,000 are accepted, Mays is closed.
You might have a shot at straight Finance, Econ or AgBusiness. Ags on Wall Street, I’m almost positive, is a program thru Mays (I’ve heard it mentioned during Mays info meetings).
UTD is truly on the ‘school to watch’ list. Great option! I’d also suggest Baylor, UH and Tech, for Business.
Apply early and make sure you’ve taken official school tours at all, prior to applying.
One last thing. How high was your Jr year PSAT? Any chance it was high enough to possibly get Nat Merit Commended or Semi rank? That would help.
The programs are a little different - but one factor is the same - You go to a system school for a year, make the grades in the predetermined classwork and you are assured admission.
At TAMU - you declare a major and you follow a plan for that major. If you complete the requirements you are admitted to that major. But not all majors participate and for the highly sought after majors that don’t participate, you are rolling the dice if you will ever be able to change into your desired major. You are cautioned to not sign up for PSA with the intention of changing majors.
At UT - you are not guaranteed any major if you complete the requirements. Just admission to the university in the College of Liberal Arts. You then try an transfer into your desired major.
Since many of the highly sought after majors at TAMU are not offered, this can be viewed a “soft rejection.” But if the major you want is offered PSA - It is a wonderful way to get onto the College Station campus after a year, without the hassle of transferring.
@nukerules My son was a review candidate for Engineering. He was accepted into the Texas A&M Engineering Academy at Blinn. He will be living on main TAMU campus this Fall in the Engineering Community dorms. He will take classes at both the Blinn campus and TAMU main campus and will transition to full A&M if he makes the grades. He has a sports pass, fish camp etc. All the opportunities as a full admit. It’s a nice option. Fortunately there are several pathways for Engineering so being review is not a loss.
My son just finished his first year going the TEAB/Engineering route initially as a review admit. In our experience it has been fabulous and he has successfully transferred to A&M as a sophomore and got his 1st choice Aerospace. It is very doable if they adjust to college well and find a balance. Once you are there everyone is at the same place. It doesn’t matter how you arrived and how many AP classes they have accumulated. It’s a great program.
Does anyone have insight into how competitive the Mays Masters programs are, particularly the ones that are integrated into the undergraduate years, such as the Master in Finance (msf program). Acceptance rate ?
My son has looked into it. GPAs are pretty close to 4.0s and they need to do well on the quantitative portion of GRE (not too high but greater than 50th percentile to be considered). It’s a great program for STEM and Econ majors to work towards. I believe they take around 50 students per cycle (as in cohorts) even though they may apply throughout the year. Have your student go to an informational meeting. My son met with them over the summer and they were extremely nice and helpful (and encouraging). And I believe this is the only program in Mays that offers undergraduate acceptance/start. But I could be wrong.
My daughter is a holistic review. She is in the 10.3% of her very competitive high school class and scored a 29 on her ACT. I really thought she’d be in pretty easily with those scores, but still no word. She’s applied to Communication/Public Relations.
@ATX2024 doesn’t matter what kind of high school your kid goes to-highly competitive or not-they all get an equal shot. ACT really needs to be at least 30; have her try again.
@BlueBayouAZ Could you please elaborate more on the word “trapping”? I’m still trying to pick up all the information about tamu before we make the commitment. Thanks.
I think this is a good advice. I’ve seen some applicants with really early submission but not convincing scores. IMO if someone wants to get in a school they want, if time allows, s/he should try to make their application as attractive as possible. And re-taking to improve test score is certainly one of them.