For sure UC Berkely and UCLA are National Elite public schools. Not sure about UT, at the very least, I would say in the state of Texas UT is pretty Elite.
From most recent ranking… Berkeley (engineering) is above ut but ucla is actually below ut and tamu.
Very fine and rigorous schools for sure. However it makes me wonder what those rankings are based on.
For sure UC Berkeley is definitely considered IVY league Public school.
@tristatecoog
<<“Hard to consider UT a nationally elite university when the majority of admits are AA/in-state.”
Aren’t the UC schools the same? They get over 100k applications and are ranked top 25 nationally (UCB and LA).>>
Well, do not compare UT to UC Berkeley and UCLA. The latter two are international powers in science. UT is below that level. On Graduate school level, in National Ranking, UC Berkeley is #2 in math, #3 in physics, and #1 in Computer Science. UT Austin is #14 in math and #17 in physics, and #10 in Computer Science.
I always watch the grad school ranking because it reflects the quality of professors (and hence, the quality of teaching), i.e., emphasizes the academic aspect, as opposed to other (and to me personally, less important) aspects.
Admission to UC system is much more academic based. Much less “state” based. My kids experienced this OOS admission process, and I know it.
@bh8690 look up the reasoning for the top 6% rule - it has to do with a lawsuit that made it illegal for the school to use race as a factor in admissions. This is the way that the school guarantees they have a diverse student body with representation from all over the state. If some mediocre student hadn’t sued the school for not letting her in years ago there would have never been this legislative action and the school would have more leeway.
And as a Texas state taxpayer, I am bristling a little that out of state parents feel like their kids are entitled to a spot at the table because of high test scores and good grades. There are many, many kids (head over to the reddit page) and see how many in state auto admits with 1500+ test scores who are being denied their first choice majors in engineering, CS and Business. We have the second highest population in the country. There are simply not enough spaces for even TX families whose children are outstanding students to study what they want to study at UT. If my son applied to Michigan (my husband’s alma mater), or Berkeley, or UCLA and was less likely to get in with his 4.0 and 1590 SAT than poor kids from inner city Detroit or the the Castro Valley who had high 20s on the ACT, that would be within the university’s discretion and I would have no complaints. It is right and just for tax subsidized schools to have a preference for in state students. Anytime a student decides they want to go to a public school out of state, they are taking a big risk. It’s up to you and your student to decide whether it’s worth the risk or the time and money.
I am not trying to be snarky here so please don’t read my post that way. I am trying to explain that we are state booming in population growth and we just don’t have the spaces for even locals.
Since there’s been a good amount of engineering acceptances, does anyone know when engineering honors results are expected to come out? Have they come out? I haven’t heard of many/any.
@Jennibc
Kuddo to their 90% ruled by the state. It’s certainly a big advantage for tx residents but not taxpayers necessarily. What do you think was the reason that those kids got rejected? Do you think the tax dollars are used fairly (for taxpayers)? I do not think so. And I don’t think cal schools give its residents as much advantage as you think or they say they would.
http://www.admission.ucla.edu/prospect/adm_fr/Frosh_Prof19.htm
https://www.latimes.com/nation/la-me-ln-uc-admit-20150702-story.html
Congratulations for the acceptances!
@RayTX - did your DD do subject SAT tests? If so, could you please post the scores?
Also, what are her ECs ?
@InTX216, Just to update stat after reading other posts: DD20 was just accepted to CS, non auto-admit, in-state, 6.5%, GPA 3.9/4.81 over 4.0, SAT 1600, SAT Subject 800 Math, 760 Physics, PSAT 1500, leadership and EC are just so-so, nothing out of ordinary, and IMHO, CS is a major that needs people to calm down, sit and think quietly, applied 10/16/19.
Still waiting on OOS acceptances.
@jennibc
I have no problem with state mandates, quotas, etc … the institution needs to adjust the application process accordingly. As previously stated, consider a two-phase application process (AA/IS then OOS … forget “priority” app as it becomes meaningless. Certainly, UT has no problem taking $50 (housing) from every one of its applicants.
@tristatecoog
not affiliated with UT, nor in a state with so-so state university; not sure what you’re getting at.
@ElenaParent
Splitting hairs on rankings is ridiculous … UT is a nationally and internationally recognized institution. Ranking 14 out of thousands universities and considering it of lesser quality to UCLA/Cal is foolish.
Thanks @RayTX . Great achievement!!
@bh8690 if you’re in a state with a top public university (NC, CA, VA, GA, FL, MI, etc) how did you become highly interested in UT?
The only ones that the top 10% rule “hurts” are those in large, wealthy high schools. If one is in a wealthy school the student had beneficial teaching and peers along the way that will serve them well in college and life. If they’re also wealthy, they probably had many other benefits like tutoring and test prep. The state of TX is trying to level the playing field a bit with top 6% auto admits for UT and top 10% elsewhere.
A couple years ago my niece was top 5% at a large East TX high school. She had a single parent making $35k with two jobs. She didn’t take the SAT. Early that fall I encouraged her to apply to UT but she said she’d already been accepted to the local juco. Huh? Anyway she has a 3.9 GPA in a nursing program. She’s the type that would benefit from the top 6% rule and encouraging counselors and adcom reps. If she can do fine, I’m confident the non-AA kids will be too.
Wouldn’t some UT alums want to lower the instate contingent and let in more higher qualified OOS applicants to boost rankings?
@bh8690 IS AA and IS NonAA and OOS do not compete with each other… each group is processed holistically… the AA 75% is processed first for their first major and then if not scored highly enough then for their second. Same with each of the groups.
I don’t know why EA/Priority and RD need to be dispensed with… seems like its working.
I know lots are having a hard time with the waves… i guess we could all be waiting around for the 2/1 deadline… but frankly the reason the waves work is for those AA who aren’t getting their first/second choice majors are given an opportunity to pick another major before they fill them up. Seems like a nice accommodation to me, one i would appreciate if my child needed it.
I feel for OOS applicants. I read the UT is the hardest State Flagship to gain admission if you are OOS. I hope OOS applicants can appreciate just how hard it is before they apply because complaining about the process afterward seems strange…
I see some discussions here about OOS vs in state… Just want to add my perspective as a parent of an international applicant… OOS and international students add diversity to the school; They are high achievers, and after graduating from UT may stay in Texas and further contribute to the community. Having OOS and international students is not a bad thing. DS20 was admitted to ME at Cockrell. He has won international and national awards, is a leader and core member of his high school’s robotics programs, taught robotics at his high school as well as local high schools in our host country, helped host country start its regional robotics competition, interned at top universities in our host country, helped edit and publish scientific manuscripts. On top of that, he is also an accomplished musician with international recognition. We are US citizens living abroad so there are no in-state public schools for us.
Can anyone here confirm that AAs who were denied their first majors were given until January 20 to designate a fallback major? One poster several pages back made reference to this, but that was the only reference I have seen to that.
If true, then it seems like that is important for non-AA who are waiting for COLA decisions, which I gather are many/most.
@RayTX Congratulations!
@Auntlydia Expect to hear no later than March 1st. The decision could come sooner, but don’t expect it to. The decision might come on March 1st.
Every student will get a full holistic review. And, UT will admit more students than will enroll (yield). So, yes there will still be availability for OOS applicants. However, admission chances for OOS applicants are much lower than in-state applicants. Texas statutory requirements require the vast majority of UT admits to be from the state of Texas.
It’ll take about 3-5 days. Give or take. I’m sure cyclical mail cycles might impact delivery time as well. It’s tax season, and certainly college mail bombardment season! 
Given that Monday is a federal holiday, assuming you didn’t receive it yesterday (Saturday) I’d expect it by mid next week. And, congratulations!!!