@lessonwitch2 Thanks for your opinion! Like I said, enough people have to sign up for the class. There’s like 7 Juniors in the class right now and the other comp sci class has like 8 Juniors. Overall, 20 people need to sign up for a class for the class to be a class, however there could be exceptions if parents complain. So, even though I signed up for it, the likelihood that it’s even a class is slim.
Also, @lessonwitch2 , I’m unfamiliar with Corp. What do you do in the program?
I am not a current member of the corp- I speak solely from my experience of initially not liking the corp. The scholarships were attractive, but their programs look like genuinely fun! Its easier for your to learn about the corp online here.
http://corps.tamu.edu/
here is what their schedule looks like
http://corpsofcadets.org/cadet-life/
Most of your commitments are in the morning, night, and during meals. So its worth mulling over.
@lessonwitch2 So you were a former member right? Why didn’t you stay for the rest of college? If you do it freshman year, does the waiver go throughout college?
The guy who got in with 1210 SAT was probably either legacy or an athlete.
As for instate, I am also instate so it doesn’t really matter there.
@Thelma2 @lessonwitch2 @RMNiMiTz apparently I need 4000 dollars from TAMU before I qualify for in state tuition, how realistic is this dollar amount for me?
It sounds like it is pretty hard to get the waiver unless you are a national merit scholar or in the corp.
The corps scholarship do require membership, they also count towards the $4000 scholarship amount – being a member of the corps does NOT automatically get you in state tuition, you have to have the $4000 total. It is an achievement to get the waiver, the ‘easiest’ route for scholarships are through the corps & the guaranteed amounts for NMF. The competition is fierce & the quality of student that gets the waiver are normally those who would also get tuition waivers/significant offers from other schools.
Also being a legacy does NOT count on admission criteria anymore. Holistic review means that the rest of the application counts not just the scores & rank, so it could be a powerful essay or special circumstance that is revealed in the essay, or extra curricular activities/awards that are outstanding. A few years ago an admissions officer revealed that scores & rank are 50% of the decision, the other 50% is everything else.
@slingam00 It is not easy to get the tuition waiver but there are those that do. The scholarships must come from A&M and be competitive. There were some OOS who were close to the amount but didn’t reach the threshold, therefore, no instate tuition. There were others who got the amount needed.
DARS TAMU Enrollment for fall of 2016: https://dars.tamu.edu/Data-and-Reports/Student/files/EPFA16.aspx
College station has 45,734 undergraduates enrolled for fall 2016. Of the total undergraduate enrollment, there are 1362 students paying out of state tuition and 1250 that have a tuition waiver. So, in a nutshell, out of 45,734 undergrads, there are 2612 non-residents, of which 1250 have a tuition waiver. These stats are when the tuition waiver was set at $1000. The new standard of $4000, does not affect current students, only the incoming fall 2017.
because your application to engineering will be reviewed holistically, you need to do everything you can to make your application stand out. That is why I suggest you take Calc BC if you could. True, not every school offers Calc BC as @lessonwitch2 mentions, and those applicants are not punished for their school not having it to offer. But what they do and will look at is your math and physics readiness, your class rigor, and what you did take advantage of that your school DID offer. Not saying it will make you a shoe in, but which one do you think makes your application look better qualified? Review applicants can be reviewed many times, and you want your app to be as strong as possible.
Calc BC includes everything Calc AB does but it covers extra topics. In fact, if you took the AP Calc BC exam, you would get an AB sub-score.
@lessonwitch2 Once you are at A&M, you and my son need to meet. Besides engineering, he also is a composer of music. Y’all just need not get carried away with it and neglect your studies, LOL.
I’m not so sure those numbers can work exactly – there is also an instate exception for students of active duty military & those with home state of TX. They do NOT have to get the scholarships to qualify. There are quite a few military connected students at TAMU. https://veterans.tamu.edu/Texas-Veteran-Benefits/Additional-Benefits#0-Non-ResidentTuitionWaiver%2CExemption%2CorPayment
Here’s the list from SBS: not sure how they document everyone in DARS, some may be classified as residents (?) http://sbs.tamu.edu/accounts-billing/forms/waivers-exemptions/
Do you guys know someone or have received the President’s Endowed Scholarship, Lechner, McFadden. How hard are they to get? Do I have a chance?
Oh wow @AGmomx2! There are so many other ways to get waivers and exemptions. I knew there were others, though I am not familiar with them, but did not realize there were that many.
I went back and looked at the DARS sheet for CStat and under Tuition Status on page 3 of the document (page 11 of the whole PDF) it says Tuition Exemption/Waiver, so my guess is that they are lumping them all together for the DARS report. Would you interpret it that way?
I am sure they have them all broken down elsewhere internally but that information sure would be nice to know.
@slingam00 I’m sorry, no I am an incoming freshman who wants to do the corp and the marching band. (since I found scholarships else where, my mom is hesitant about letting me join!) But I guess I won’t find out if I’m really doing it until my NSC!
$4000 is a difficult goal to reach so I advise that after you submit your application early, you continue to update your application with new test scores, letters of rec, resumes, and class ranks until that December 1st deadline. Also, apply to university and engineering honors because they also have a private, specialized pool of scholarships that will help you reach your goal. And apply for Fafsa REALLY EARLY AS WELL!
After you do all that, I’d say spend your spring high school semester looking for local scholarships in your city and near college station. I applied to over a hundred in my city and it gave me unbelievable results! Remember, if you can find enough scholarships to cover your first year, you will be capable of competing for engineering major specific scholarships that will help go toward that $4000 total!
@RMNiMiTz He did archery in high school and middle school (but I don’t think that got him into engineering!) It think an applicants level of interest is a big factor because a strong enough passion for the school will help motivate a student to succeed in school.
@Thelma2 Really!? How awesome! It’s great to hear about other engineers that enjoy producing art for fun!
From what I am reading, his local (Washington) scholarships won’t count.
Not sure if I am reading it right, but the 4,000 total has to come from A&M.
@RMNiMiTz yeah that’s true. But what @lessonwitch2 is just suggesting would help a lot just to bring costs down.
@RMNiMiTz @slingam00 Exactly! That’s the best part of being a Junior on this board - you get to use your time to your advantage! In the event that you don’t meet the 4k requirement (and get say 3k) all you need are enough local scholarships to pay for a year of college so you can compete for engineering scholarships. However, you clearly would need to do well your freshman year in order to win, so its great motivation to keep your grades up for that missing 1k!
No @lessonwitch2 , the 4000 dollars has to come from Texas A&M, not local scholarships.
@slingam00
Here’s an example if A&M gives you 3k per year in competive scholarships , you would be paying about 45-55 k per year to attend right? If you won 50 k in local Scholarships you would be able to pay for your freshman year right?
During your freshman year you apply for engineering specific Scholarships ( Because engineering saves their scholarships for current students instead of freshman) earn a great GPA with great extracurriculars at TAMU, and you will likely win another 1k per year in merit from engineering (if you hold your other awards)
With that 1k per year you will have 4k total in competive Scholarships and will receive the waiver for OOS for your Sophomore,Junior , and senior year. Make sense?
@lessonwitch2 ok. Thanks!