UT Austin Chance Economics Major

My son is a high school senior and he just submitted his Texas application last week. Here are his stats and I’m wondering his odds for admission:

3.8 GPA - school doesn’t rank
30 ACT
NHS
Hispanic Student Club
Founded a culture awareness club
Business Club
Stock Club
Cancer Awareness Club
More clubs that aren’t listed
Summer international mission trip
Lead counselor at summer camp for special needs children
Over 100 volunteer hours
4 years sport - 2 years varsity

Part time job for 2 years
Strong Rec letters from Math and AP Science teacher

Any idea if he has a shot at Texas?

My brother is an econ student there so I could prob answer, do you live in TX?

Yes! We are in state

My brother is an out of state (CT) and got into the honors program with a 31 and a 4.2 (weighted GPA). I don’t know if the 3.8 is weighted or not but judging off of what I see, if your son has good essays, I believe he has an extremely solid chance of gaining admission.

Thank you! This is helpful and hopefully it all works out.

I think it could go either way, but leaning more towards unlikely (sorry). As an RD resident his competition is other in-state students not really OSS applicants and the in-state pool is more competitive. I’d feel more confident if he had a slightly higher ACT score. My DD was was offered alternative admissions with a 4.6 GPA/28 ACT and very similar ECs.

@labegg thanks for the response. I feel the same way - i think it could go either way but realize it may be a stretch. Hoping he has a chance - I’ve heard kids being accepted to Texas with less rhyme or reason than other schools. Maybe they are looking for something in particular in their review admits.

@papimama501 My son got in with similar grades, in state. 3.8UW/4.2W and a 30 ACT. Similar ECs and also got into the Liberal Arts Honors (LAH) program. He is thriving at UT!! He did not receive his decision until 3rd week of January even though we got his App in before Nov 1st. Hang in there and good luck. What other colleges did he apply too?

Thank you for the encouraging post @TXDad56. He’s also applied to OU & LSU and been accepted with good scholarship money. The other school we are waiting on is TAMU, which seems like it could go either way They have slotted him in second quartile (his school doesn’t rank) but his SAT score is strong. If he doesn’t make it into the two Texas schools, then he will be at OU. We are keeping the faith he will land where he’s meant to be.

@papimama501 The good thing about ECON at UT and Aggieland is that it is in the College of Liberal Arts (COLA), and not McCombs or Mays respectively. I’m almost certain my LHS would not have gotten into McCombs. We thought it was, much to our surprise. Another school to think of is Tulane. The application is free and if you write a good “Why I want to go to Tulane” you might get a decent 4 year scholarship. It was still more expensive than UT, but food for thought. My son got $20Kx4 in scholarships. For OU, did your son get more than the OOS tuition break based on his Test Scores??

@TXDad56 I’m hoping he has a shot since they are both in the COLA but I’m worried about second quartile. Good advice regarding Tulane - so far he hasn’t applied to any private schools but TCU might be a possibility. For OU, he’s received the initial scholarship based in ACT and he’s submitted an essay for additional scholarships. He should hear back early next year.

Math preparation is an important factor for Economics admission. Most important: ready to take Calculus as the first college-level course, AP/IB/DC calculus even better. They also recommend a high school statistics course, if available at your school. See https://liberalarts.utexas.edu/economics/undergraduate/prospective/Admission%20and%20Declaring%20the%20Major.php#Freshmen .

Agree - my son is in Calculus at the moment and hopefully he will have a strong foundation for the next step. He also meets the minimum Math score based on the ACT. Thank you for the information @PastePotPete.