Texas A&M PetE

Applying to College
1

<p>Hello CC, I am a senior in high school and plan on majoring in PetE in college. I want to go to TAMU for various reasons
-One of the top Petroleum Engineering Schools
-Within Price Range
-Joining ROTC so being a Senior Military College is helpful</p>

<p>Application opened on August 1st and I think I am ready to apply, but I have a few questions before I do. I heard that the sooner you apply the better, especially for this major, however, my SAT scores are making me worried.
Math 620
Reading 620
Writing 660</p>

<p>Should I apply now or should I take the SATs again to improve my score and submit next month... I know the spots fill quickly and I really want to pursue this school. </p>

<p>As far as my ECs go I am a 4 Year varsity wrestler, Captain of wrestling team, Vice President of FBLA Junior Year, President of FBLA Senior Year, #1 in State for Computer Problem Solving in FBLA CT Conference, Boys State Alumnus, 100+ community service hours, and 4th Place science fair sophomore year.</p>

<p>I have also taken advanced courses and 5 early college courses, such as UCONN English, UCONN MACRO & MICRO, UCONN ENGINEERING, and am currently taking a second level 3D Animation using AutoCAD and 3DS Max.</p>

<p>I am top 20 % of my class and have about a 3.7 UW GPA</p>

<p>Summary: -Should I wait to take another SAT to get to 1300 math + reading, or submit now?
-What are my chances for PetE at TAMU, and if I get accepted, but not for PetE, will I still be able to switch majors when I get there?</p>

<p>BTW: I am out of state (CT)</p>

2

<p>** I meant wait until October to apply **</p>

3

<p>Take a look at this: <a href=“http://www.pe.tamu.edu/about/petroleum.pdf”>http://www.pe.tamu.edu/about/petroleum.pdf&lt;/a&gt;
which indicates that the average SAT score for PetE at TAMU was 1330 in 2010. Yours is 1240; so yes you are below average, but I suspect that you would still get accepted.</p>

<p>Perhaps it is best to try to bring up your SAT score, unless there is some deadline you need to meet. That seems unlikely however. Almost no colleges have any deadlines before November 1st.</p>

<p>With your interest in ROTC and your excellent grades plus EC’s, I recommend that you apply for a ROTC scholarship. Unless, of course, your are not interested in the military and only like ROTC for leadership training.</p>

<p>By the way, did you know that only 4% of TAMU students are NOT from the state of Texas. Since you are a “yankee” you will be doubly out of place; a proverbial “sore thumb.” You will get teased unmercifully. Do you feel prepared for that?</p>

4

<p>Thank you for the insightful post @NROTCgrad‌, I am very interested in ROTC and serving my country. I am prepared to accept the hazing and teasing for the lifestyle and education of a becoming a “fish” at TAMU. Do you think I am qualified for an Army ROTC scholarship? I believe there are three levels with one being a full tuition and another paying up to the cost of in-state tuition. Also, do you recommend waiting until I retake the SATs in October to send application or should I send it ASAP and resend my SAT scores after they have (hopefully) increased in October? Thanks so much</p>

5

<p>

Yes, you are very qualified for an Army ROTC scholarship. This does not mean that you would necessarily get one, because you have competition. Your grades are excellent. Your SAT is also excellent – top 20% percent – despite being a little low for PetE at TAMU. </p>

<p>YOUR VARSITY WRESTLING AND BEING TEAM CAPTAIN will get major attention at the ROTC scholarship board. Absolutely you should apply. You might even consider the Marine Corps option of the Naval ROTC.</p>

<p>As you can tell, I am a Naval ROTC guy. My understanding of Army ROTC scholarships is limited. So take with some salt. I know that most Air Force ROTC scholarships will only pay in-state tuition. I have never seen that type of limitation about Army, though.</p>

<p>Frankly, I am no expert on getting into TAMU. So, I will not offer further advice on that, except to say that I see no need to apply this month (August). Also, try posting the same question on the TAMU thread here at College Confidential.
<a href=“http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/”>http://talk.qa.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>It sounds like you have looked into the Senior Military Colleges. Have your ruled out Virginia Tech and The Citadel? They would make good back up choices to TAMU, if nothing else.</p>

6

<p>Here’s some TAMU info - yes, students do apply early here. It is rolling admissions for both admission to the university and to your major. The engineering major just changed to a new format this Fall, instead of going directly into your major (Pet), you start as general engineering now and take a few classes then apply to your major. This is good news for you as Pet Eng traditionally filled extremely quickly.</p>

<p>To be considered for engineering as a review admit this past year you had to have both 1st & 2nd choice majors in engineering. The great majority of students are automatic admits at this school (84% for 2018) qualifying by graduating from a TX school in top 10% or an academic admit as top 25% with an ACT score of 30 or SAT score of 1300 (out of state can also be an academic admit). Here’s the link with the details <a href=“http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted”>http://admissions.tamu.edu/freshman/admitted&lt;/a&gt; You would currently be a review admit. Your admission will be based on 50% rank and scores, the other 50% everything else.</p>

<p>The engineering major last year filled to 85% capacity with rolling admissions, then the remainder of applicants competed for the last 15% of openings (this included later automatic admission applicants & review admits). You can apply and then update your file with better scores until Dec 1 (there is no penalty for updating with better scores ). </p>

<p>You also mark on your application if you are interested in the Corps of Cadets. If you are interested in joining I would contact them directly to get your questions answered. Regarding OOS, it is roughly 6% of the university that are non-Texans but the university is roughly 50,000 students, so 3,000 are non- Texans. It isn’t a problem at all, TAMU students are known for being very friendly and my two OOS students had no problems fitting in. Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Thanks @AGmomx2‌, I just have one question. You said I will go directly to general engineering and then apply for PetE, so does this mean I should keep PetE as my #1 or should I put general engineering instead?</p>

8

<p>Also, if I apply now with my 1240, will I become an academic admit when I update my scores in October? Or will I just be moved up on the list of review applicants? </p>

9

<p>I don’t know the answer to engineering major selection- call or email and ask to verify correct answer. Here’s some FAQ to include contact numbers <a href=“http://engineering.tamu.edu/easa/areas/academics/faq-admitted#1stday”>http://engineering.tamu.edu/easa/areas/academics/faq-admitted#1stday&lt;/a&gt; Like I stated, the process for engineers has changed so they expect lots of questions. I can’t seem to find that requirement, but know from CC posters that it was in effect last application ‘season’.</p>

<p>If you apply now and submit qualifying scores in October your application status changes from Review to Academic Admit. It is faster to have your application in process and update than to wait for scores which is why people do it. They have over 30,000 applicants.</p>