My graduating senior (34 ACT, 2/600, 4.0 uw gpa, instate) was not accepted into engineering at UT and chose physics from the available majors. He plans on applying for an internal transfer at UT to the COE once he meets the transfer requirements even though he heard the UT advisors strongly discourage students from attempting this. If he is not able to get into engineering he plans on transferring to biology (?!) Meanwhile he was accepted to engineering at A&M (College Station). I am hoping that someone can give me an idea of how difficult it is for an internal transfer to get into chem eng or mechanical eng. I realize that it will depend on the space available and the qualifications of other transfer applicants. I just need info that I can share to help my student see that this is not a good plan. Thank you!
Transfering internally is not impossible to COE, he just has to maintain a 3.5 GPA to be considered. It is not impossible but it requires hard work 
Engboysmom, your senior had excellent stats. Can’t believe how competitive it is. My son had the same ACT but lower rank/GPA but was able to get into Electrical/Computer engineering. I told him that if he did not get into his major of choice, I was not going to let him go to UT. My cousin’s wife’s nephew ended up graduating with a Chemistry degree from UT recently because he was never able to transfer into Chemical Engineering. I don’t know what his GPA was but told my son that I thought his chances to get in were best as a high school student since it just keeps getting harder.
@Engboysmom What did your senior ultimately decide? A&M is a very solid route, even if it’s not his first choice.
A&M is definitely a solid choice for engineering. My younger son made that choice and he has had a good Freshman year. He did not get his major (chemE) at UT with a 35 ACT, 2290 SAT- but outside the top 7% (11%).
He never gave UT a second thought after the opportunities he got at A&M - Honors Engineering and Honors College with large scholarships. I think he would have chosen A&M anyway because he liked the friendly/family feeling on campus (Aggies take care of other Aggies is the spirit taught at leadership camps from day 1), the opportunities he was given and also the ability to decide on an engineering major after a year of classes .
Entry to major (especially Mechanical) engineering is competitive at A&M. But if you have a 3.5 GPA you are guaranteed your choice of major. ChemE, biomedE may also be competitive.
Because A&M gives huge scholarships to National Merit Finalists there are many smart students which raises the performance bar.
It is a tough decision for sure. All the best.
Thank you for your responses. Until we went through the application process I had no idea how competitive UT COE is! In the 11th hour my student choose A&M. It was not the happy day that we envisioned but are we are thankful that he has A&M as a great option. He may still try to transfer into UT COE at some point but may also find that the school where he landed is the perfect place for him. Thanks again for sharing your stories and pers
Congratulations and best of luck to him!