The CAP program is not “junior college”. The universities offered under the CAP admissions program are, in fact, 4-year universities. They’re also respected universities, in the UT system and beyond. There are a lot of kids who get CAP (contrary to popular belief, every in-state Texas applicant who does not gain admission to UT Austin is not offered CAP-- students have to qualify for the one of the assured admissions levels for that system school) and end up staying at the system university because they like it there. UT Arlington and UT San Antonio, in particular, are great universities. They have solid academics, resident life, etc…
I’ll also add some comments about CAP.
As noted several times, CAP is not a JUCO path to UT Austin. It is not the same as the Blinn-Team admission at Texas A&M, although it might feel like it is. CAP allows UT Austin applicants to start their studies at one of a subset of other university system schools (UTA, UTSA, UTRGV, UTEP, UTT, UTPB - not UT Dallas) and automatically transfer to UT Austin after 1 year if certain criteria are met. The student is automatically admitted into Liberal Arts and is treated as a transfer student for all other majors. So, if you want to be a CS/ECE/etc. major, you should carefully review transfer statistics and likelihood in your desired field.
CAP students are typically not eligible for the general academic scholarships offered by the CAP school. You should review that, too.
@alttg My daughter applied to arch OOS and is still waiting to hear. But she applied reg decision 12/1. How about you?
@texmommm What major? Most of the majors I have seen posting have been engineering and business. I couldn’t even compare to another biology major and definitely not an option 3 major. My daughter applied regular decision on Dec 1 and wanted to go through holistic. She is an excellent writer and had 17 years of military kid experiences to write about.
While I def agree that the state is growing and the two flagship schools aren’t able to keep up, although I will say A&M does at least seem to be trying.
As to the bolded part, sure GPA, Test Scores, class rank may be only part of the puzzle, but in my mind, a pretty damned important piece.
I will stand by my comment about ‘more qualified’. You can take issue with me using the term ‘a ton’ or ‘a lot’, but the fact of the matter is there will be a significant number of these top 6% auto admits that will pack up and head home before their soph year because they simply aren’t prepared. I know that sounds harsh, but it’s reality. I grew up in a small town and went to a small school in Texas so I def think there needs to be a mechanism so that these kids aren’t left out in the cold, but I can tell you as a parent now of a kid in a more suburban 6A Texas HS that is highly competitive, there is just no comparison to how some of these kids are prepared next to some of the one’s I’m referencing that will be leaving after their first year.
Again, this may come across as harsh to some, but it is the reality and while UT can tout how selective they are, I think it does hurt the university in the bigger picture.
And you are right about there not being enough spots. I’m not 100% on the stats, but i read that from 2013 to 2018, UT’s enrollment has actually gone down a bit. Now, I know UT is somewhat landlocked so I’m not sure where the growth would come from, but if they keep accepting the top 5-6% of each class in a state that is growing at an amazing rate, this issue is only going to exacerbate itself.
The kids frozen out of TAMU might beg to differ as to how hard TAMU is trying… It’s a matter of perspective, or “acceptance”.
With regard to the myth of the scores of Top 6%ers being unprepared, and either flunking out or giving up… That’s really not true. UT’s numbers don’t bear that out at all.
The fact of the matter is that the biggest challenge to persistent matriculation is, in fact, not academics, but funding-- the ability to afford to stay. Even before UTs updated tuition guarantee that will take effect this fall (I think), UT actually has a well above average success rate for returning students. There is no student who gained admission via the Texas Top 10% policy (or 6% for UT) who didn’t meet uniform college readiness standards that matched UTs college readiness standards. It’s a myth, that gets perpetuated during admission cycles each year, that inner city, rural, poor, DACA, home-schooled, etc… successful applicants really aren’t ready, and that they weren’t as qualified as… the so-called “competitive” school applicants (aka wealthier, primarily white suburban schools in high SEC areas), hence they really have no chance to succeed. Not true at all. And, the numbers don’t support such claims. One of the things that I love about UT is that they have an exceedingly good support network to keep motivated kids from falling through the cracks.
However, it is true that some students will find college life too challenging without regard for where they come from, or what their rank was. Some kids will have been too coddled by Mom and Dad, and find it hard to function and communicate without that safety net. Some kids will be too far from home, and homesick. Some kids are going to melt down the first time they don’t get an “A”, or a whole bunch of “Not As”. Some kids will have chosen a school based on criteria that they shouldn’t have. Some kids will have chosen a major that they don’t love/found too challenging/too boring/too not them, and are thus unmotivated. Some kids are going to take their first drink or drug, and not stop. Some kids are going to have a little too much fun with the freedom of it all, and fail to attend classes. Some kids are going to think that the extracurriculars are the feature event and neglect academics. Some kids are going to find that that their high school BF/GF’s school is more fun, and hang out there, more than at their own school and classes. Some kids are going to be working so much that studying becomes secondary. Some kids will find that the challenge isn’t enough, become bored, and find something more meaningful to do. Some kids are going to have such a big gap in funding that they just can’t find a way to continue.
These things aren’t more or less likely to happen to a high-performing kid who happened to be on the low side of 6% vs. another high-ranked kid in the top 25% of their class. High performing students (whether in the top 1, 2, 6, 10, 15, 20, 25, 33%… because they’re all considered to be “high rank”) generally share some key attributes. They work hard, no matter what hand they were dealt socioeconomically or geographically. They tend to rise above their peers. They’re motivated. They find the tools that they need to succeed.
UT is made up in large part of the Top X%ers. Has been for a couple of decades. UT’s success is due to its students.
I apologize…guess I am a little bitter but it is sort of a joke seeing what kinda students were rejected. Not talking about mine as much. She has good stats but not extraordinary ones.
But it was a little unfair to only pick the bitter part of my comment and not the rest of what I said and why I said it.
Wow, these rejections were brutal for so many OOS. Makes it sting just a bit less seeing the amazing stats of the other McCombs denials- crazy competition for spots! Our consultant said statistically, you are more likely to get into Ivy than Texas OOS. But I cannot argue with Texas taking care of their own. I would be furious if I was a Cali resident and my kid had less of a chance at admission to Stanford than international students. My son’s stats: 35 ACT, 4.0/4.6, 1/325 CR, some interesting leadership positions and started his own business. Got a Canfield BHP interview, then rejected from school. That seems weird to me- one of the top students considered for HONORS, but not enough to get in. I know different people make those decisions, but seems like it would miss some great talent. Oh well, I will focus on the amazing school he did get into - it’s time to spend some money on their gear! LOL. Good luck to all those that haven’t heard yet!
I have to wonder if the waived tuition and increased tuition assistance for lower incomes may be increasing applications. I know money was already out there for say auto admits from Title 1 schools, but it’s got to be an easier process if it’s through the school. It starts this year.
@Davef2024 your student is going to be great, of course, and will greatly benefit from your sage guidance and perspective! I’m truly sorry it’s not UT, but I love that other great doors are wide open!
Congrats to your daughter!
My daughter applied to Moody, so definitely not one of the upper popular ones. However she would have likely not chosen UT anyways. OOS is too expensive…it may have made us move to get back Texas residency for following years since my husband has hazelwood benefits left that he could have given to her. Maybe for grad school.
This year’s pool of applicants was predicted to exceed last year’s record-breaking size. I imagine that a lot of students (even outside of Top 6/10%) will be more motivated to apply to UT Austin with the tuition guarantee (waiver for incomes below a certain threshold and support for higher incomes, but below a certain threshold). It’ll be interesting to see if “Waitlist” makes a eye-raising return to UT Austin as well.
thanks for all the info! I did not know any of that. I apologize, I guess I was a little bitter and did not understand all those details. Honestly, my husband is an Aggie, guess my view is shaded. We lived in College Station for 10 years and we did pay taxes to the state. That won’t matter since we moved in 2016, I am aware.
Son Denied today (already chose a different school anyway but figured people would want to see stats).
OOS
4.33 w/3.88 uw
Linguistics
ACT 31
Legacy
@UpstateSCmom there’s no need for apologies. I think that everyone understands the frustration and even some bitterness that is part and parcel with high-stakes admissions. These kids (in-state, OOS, international, Top-whatever %, high stats, talented, gifted, industrious, resilient, etc…) put so much time and effort in, and we all want to see it pay off for them. It’s frustrating, and sometimes mind-boggling, especially because we don’t get to the “whys”… we’re left with the handful of measures that we can tangibly see, and those don’t always make any sense in relation to the decision. The aspects of holistic review that we can’t see would give us the answers, but not necessarily make the decisions any more palatable. So, we get it.
When your kids put so much effort into development (high school stars) selection and application (for college), you want to see it pay off. It’s okay to be a little bitter. Your kid IS qualified, and will thrive wherever you all decide to set down roots.
I am aware of several students who were admitted after appealing their decision in 2019. Not sure if it is relevant to 2020, but it might be worth the effort for some.
As a graduate of 2 highly ranked public universities - one of which is UT Austin - I can say without a doubt that Legacy Status does not matter in the admissions decision process.
thanks for understanding and your kind words!
Wow what a comment. I know a lot of “6A” suburban kids not even prepared to go to a large college away from home. Some on baseball scholarships. Many return after one semester. It all depends how they are prepared, not where they come from. A lot of great qualified kids from small towns.
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UT Austin has a 90.5% freshman retention rate, which is above the national rate of 72% and the Texas rate of 67%.
Ref: https://www.collegefactual.com/colleges/the-university-of-texas-at-austin/academic-life/graduation-and-retention/
Retention rate is now a significant part of the rankings systems of many periodicals. And universities are far more concerned with student debt, cost of education, etc. As a result, universities are also concerned about retention and they have implemented programs, support systems, etc. focused on student retention.
The days of high washout rate at state flagship universities is a thing of the past.
Denied
OOS
ACT 35
3.92 weighted
Applied Mathematics
Bummer!