No, don’t change it. Admissions will change it to second choice or general studies if 2nd choice isn’t available. This has already happened with one student on here. AND it was early on, so it goes to show that it is student first then major.
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Deadline: the time by which something must be finished or submitted; the latest time for finishing something.
Any unwritten “admit until we’re full” policy for any major is extremely misleading. The stated application “deadline” on Texas A&M’s website for Fall 2022 incoming freshman is December 1, 2021. Nowhere is there any caveat warning prospective applicants that they should get their applications in earlier than the stated deadline if they want a better chance of admission to a particular major. The A&M website specifically states, “…applying early does not guarantee an early decision”.
Those of us on CC and various other forums are “in the know” (or are at least aware) about how things seem to work regarding the A&M admissions policy. But what about an applicant who does not have an overly-engaged parent or guidance counselor who can advise him/her that they really should apply way before the stated deadline to be competitive?
For example…I am a student who ONLY wants to major in accounting whether that be at A&M or some other school. I see that A&M’s deadline to apply is December 1, 2021. I decide to timely apply on November 30, 2021. Then I learn, AFTER I SENT IN MY $75 APPLICATION FEE (which A&M gladly accepted), about the unwritten rule that I would have been more competitive for Mays if I had applied earlier in the admission cycle. I am not interested in and will not accept an offer of admission to economics or agribusiness. I would not have wasted my $75 if I had known that my application would be somehow at a disadvantage because I did not apply early enough.
I know A&M will most likely say that it doesn’t matter when one applies…everyone has the same chance for admission, etc., etc. etc. However, I have followed this forum for a couple of years and have consistently read about “applying early” and “majors being full”. I just think there is something inherently wrong with even a perceived policy of “admit until we’re full”. It is misleading and has the effect of being a “bait and switch” ploy to generate more applications (and application fees).
Saying “that’s just how it is” or “other schools do the same thing” seems like a cop out.
Gig 'Em
Class of '90
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I totally hate that there are those out there that do not have the resources to better understand the process. One reason why I do what I do and the service I provide outside of this forum is to help combat that.
I will say it is also a learning exercise for most, in general. While TAMU doesn’t say majors fill up and you’ll be outta luck if you apply closer to deadline, they do say this… “We make admission decisions on an ongoing basis throughout an admission cycle. Applying early does not guarantee an early decision.” From that one should understand that the earlier the better your chance. Your chances aren’t guaranteed, but your chances are better to get desired major. For every bubble student or a student that will not have a chance of getting in, there will be a wait. For those that are super scorers and not top 10%, they will hear pretty quickly since not considered bubble student.
This process is frustrating and nerve racking. I don’t know how they could do it better tho unless they did a one day release for everyone with a decision. Then at least the anxiety would be subdued until right before that day.
Love your post and your frustration is shared by many. Hang in there.
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@RealityCheck13 it does clearly state on Mays website how many they will enroll, and to apply early.
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Metrics for this years entering Freshman. It is as close to what we can expect this year as Tests are optional and only Top 10% are guaranteed. Filters: College Station, Undergraduate, First Time at level… and Top 10% for those specific numbers.
Here is a spreadsheet I made from the metrics above. (All of TX - TX Top 10 = TX not Top 10%)(US - All of TX = OOS). It shows raw numbers up top and acceptance rate and yield below by major… there are some issues with the numbers:
- There is a delta between majors and total undergraduates… there are some majors/programs I left out.
- If you don’t get your first pick and they offer a 2nd choice it is PROBABLY counted as applied to 2nd major and not 1st…
- I would bet that any Engineer options outside of full time College Station, but in College Station are part of accepted and enrolled… (guess)
- This may seem crazy but the Applications for Freshman look slightly down from the previous class and acceptance up. I’ll wait for something to confirm or deny this. I’m just showing 2021… you don’t see 2020.
- Flame away. No way I didn’t make a mistake somewhere.
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Your dedication to this thread has provided a great deal of information and has quelled a lot of anxiety for would-be-Aggies and their parents.
Because my D22 did not apply to Mays and is not interested in A&M at all (much to her ol’ man’s chagrin), my “frustration” stems from being a former student who thinks the university has gotten too big.
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One way for a future applicant to learn the ins and outs of admissions, is to visit the Tamu website and get on the mailing/email list for future students. This should be done early Junior year so they can lean about upcoming Aggieland days, typically in the fall and winter, and can hear specific admissions presentations - ie learn that Mays and Viz tend to fillup in Oct/Nov. Also by being on the mailing list for future students, they can learn about admissions presentations before the application opens, and again hear that Mays/Viz fill-up and also learn about ETAM for engineering.
But yes, if a junior future applicant does not know to be proactive in this way, they will miss out on alot of helpful info. Its almost like Tamu is “penalizing” future applicants who don’t visit/explore the university first. Then again, if a highschooler is interested in a college, shouldn’t they being making an effort to learn everything possible about that college instead of waiting to learn about it when they are applying?
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Touche…that was a pretty deep-dive into A&M’s website to find that disclaimer. It took me 15 minutes and a lot of clicking to find it, and I knew exactly what I was looking for!
@Eggscapgoats…I see your point. Perhaps a strong argument can be made that any student who wants to be a business major bad enough at A&M should either somehow know about the “apply early” necessity already or should exercise enough due diligence to be able to find this information on his/her own.
I don’t have a problem with the “first come, first served” policy. The amount of applications is staggering, and I understand that there simply are not enough seats to go around for the most popular majors. However, the fact that it says NOTHING about the “first come/first served” policy on the “Admissions” portion of the A&M website is what is concerning. Either put the “first come, first served” language conspicuously on the “Admissions” portion of the website or announce on the website when certain majors are already full so applicants don’t waste time, money, and effort applying to a major the university knows it cannot accommodate.
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Excellent data. Do you think that OOS Mays’ applicants might apply closer to the stated deadline and therefore are rejected at a much higher rate than other OOS applicants? Overall OOS admittance is pretty strong at 52%. The OOS engineering acceptance rate seems high at 72% but the applicants are reviewed more holistically and it’s A&M’s top major so strong OOS students would be applying.
Education major has pretty low acceptance rate outside top 10% and for OOS. Lower stat applicants that aren’t meeting A&M’s general admittance guidelines?
Just Mays is first come first serve.
The rest, not even engineering is like that.
Your D22 will be fine. Still quite a number of CoLA to come.
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I literally typed in ‘Texas A&M Mays Acceptance’ into Google tool bar, and it took me straight to the page. I wouldn’t call it buried.
I do agree that perhaps there needs to be some * on main admissions page, sending ppl to the page I took screenshot of, to Eng ETAM page, Viz home page. BUT, having gone thru this with my now ‘23 Mays Aggie, she researched all the schools she applied to, we toured 12 large universities, and she knew exactly what the requirements were at every school, for her desired major. She researched the application openings and knew acceptance timelines. That was her job. We also attended Aggieland Saturday, official campus tour, took a Mays tour, etc.
My husband is ‘82 Aggie. We both are in agreement that TAMU is WAY TOO BIG. Bigger definitely isn’t always better. The infrastructure on campus and around town can’t keep up, traffic is horrible, not enough campus parking spots or dorm rooms, class registration is crazy & stressful, on & on. It’s mind boggling how huge it is…and my Mays Aggie is thriving, wouldn’t want to be any place else. So they’re doing something right.
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Yes, my son’s classmate review admit applied engineering after early action deadline, got acceptance last week.
I think my son is still 3tabs (hope he is not), he insists checking AIS after winter break… Obviously I don’t have access… 
All majors (except eng) is first come basis. As soon as full, you’ll get second choice. Psyc in Cola fills up by January. Econ as well. Just using those as examples.
But let’s be clear… change of major is easy peasy for most majors once in your freshman year. So there’s a positive!!!
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I know plenty of parents think A&M has gotten too big, but how do the current students feel? I’d like to see survey results about how STUDENTS feel their experience is going in relation to the size of the student population. Many students I know are thrilled to be there, but of course you will have some who just aren’t comfortable in that large of an atmosphere.
If a student is REALLY interested in attending Texas A&M, they most likely would have attended some college presentation, either at their high school or virtually, or reached out to their TAMU Admissions Counselor to ask questions. In EVERY presentation I’ve heard they have mentioned applying EARLY and that Mays is first come, first serve. I also agree with you that instead of just verbalizing this at presentations, they need to print it on their Admissions page, front and center.
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Genuinely curious - is it really easy peasy to change majors once in your freshman year? If a student doesn’t get their first choice major, can they count on switching into it once enrolled? For example those who posted above that they didn’t get in to mays or viz. What are their odds they will be able to switch into it their freshman or sophomore year?
I know my daughter is interested despite the size. It is definitely in the cons list. She felt more comfortable at other school visits that are smaller campuses. But the size is just one factor.
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Mays is extremely competitive to switch into as a current student and or transfer student. They take 100 each per YEAR, not semester. Need to have near perfect 4.0 and have all required courses completed with As for the most part. I have no idea on Viz, but can do some research on it.
For most other majors, it is an easy switch BUT each major has their own requirements. For instance, some require 30 hours completed at TAMU, certain GPA and 2 maths completed. Others may be 12 hours and a 2.5 gpa. I’ll go find the link for how to change your major.
AS for incoming freshman, once you are accepted and you decide you want to change major before the NSC, you can reach out to admissions and or an advisor in the desired major and ask how to go about this. If there’s room like in Econ/ag/psych etc, then they just change it for you and you’ll then register for the correct NSC.
Here’s the VIZ requirements to apply for change of major:
3.00 Visualization (VIST)
- Must have completed MATH 151 & PHYS 201 at the time of application
- Preferred Coursework: ENGL 104 & MATH 152
- Must have at least 12 hours completed at Texas A & M
- No more than 60 total hours
Note: Acceptance is limited
Change of Major Deadlines:
- Fall 2022 : May 17th 2022 – June 28th, 2022
Fall applications only
Here’s Mays:
3.50 BBA in ACCT, FINC, MGMT, MKTG, MISY, SCMT
- At least 30 graded TAMU hours
- No more than 60 total hours
- 3.50 or above on at least 4 qualifying courses, including completion of both required math courses
Change of Major Deadlines:
- Spring 2022: December 21st, 2021- January 24th 2022
- Summer 2022 : December 21st, 2021- February 14th 2022
- Fall 2022 : May 17th 2022 – June 28th, 2022
Here’s the link for all of them:
https://tap.tamu.edu/Change-of-Major2
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Yes, I wonder about the students, because the Aggie parent Facebook pages are terrifying. Making me rethink everything.
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Viz next to impossible to transfer into.
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