DS missed top 6% by ONE spot in class…he wants to study computer engineering/CS and is very strong in math and science. SAT 1430 (1st try) and ACT 34. THAT .1% - How badly will it impact his admission chances? 5.2 Weighted GPA 3.91 unweighted- almost all AP classes.
Apply early. That’s his best chance. His odds are not good with not being in the top 6%. Don’t submit the SAT score; go with the ACT.
https://admissions.utexas.edu/explore/freshman-profile indicates that UT Austin is likely a reach for applicants who are not in the automatic admission category. That does not even include the fact that engineering and CS majors are additionally competitive and not guaranteed even for those with automatic admission to the campus.
@wildtexasrose…I know it is frustrating for your DS to be that close but yet so far. There are over 3200 high schools in the state of Texas, so there are literally thousands of kids in the exact same position in their class as your DS.
He is obviously still within striking distance, so it is certainly worth applying (as long as he tempers his expectations). As previously stated in this thread, top 6% just gets you into the university (Liberal Arts). There will be many auto-admits who will be rejected from Engineering, Computer Science, and Business.
If UT is the ultimate goal, then your DS should pour everything he has into his application. He should write, re-write, and re-write again the essays to really try to distinguish himself from the thousand of other applicants. He should clearly communicate to the admissions office why he wants to study Engineering/CS and why he wants to study at UT, specifically.
In talking to parents who have had children go through the UT application process before, the students who were on the “bubble”, and who got accepted, were the ones who really put time and thought into their applications. The ones who were denied over-estimated their chances and did not put forth the effort to submit a meaningful application…simply put…(pardon the pun)…they just “mailed it in”.