@sorashiro@Mills6 test scores don’t strongly correlate with academic success and a four-year graduation from UT (which is very important right now). High school rank and a more holistic evaluation of the applicant (GPA, course selection, extracurriculars, etc) is a stronger “correlator”. There are plenty of easily distracted and unmotivated good test takers out there … I know of them. They have a great memory and deductive reasoning skills but it’s takes more than that to be an exceptional scholar and graduate on time.
I read a comprehensive study about it recently by Princeton U. researchers. They concluded the above, basically preferential treatment shouldn’t be shown to students who simply do very well on standardized test b/c once again it’s not fully indicative of consistently strong and promising students.
Apparently they dont care about GPA which sucks… my gpa on a 5 point scale is around a 5.66(14 AP courses so far) and I’m only ranked 30(3.6%) at my school of 836 people. I’m not trying to be toxic CC here, but another school in the same district as mines has people in the top 10’s with 5.3 gpas.
@gettingschooled yes they did eliminate an essay choice- however, those 3 essays are accepted and used at every school in texas except rice- so anyone who applied at TAMU wrote 2-3 of them anyway. You can use them also for TCU and the other schools. I think the point of going to three short answers in place of a second essay is to make people do something specific for UT. Two years ago they required topic C and you could pick from A and B for the second when almost every other school in Texas was requiring A and B. i did not pay close attention to what they did last year- did not have an applicant.
Well you qualify for automatic admissions, I thought you were out the automatic admissions range.
And I’m sure those people with 5.3s in the top 10 are deserving of it. Have you thought maybe their teachers are more challenging and they likely would have 5.6s at your school. You just never know. If i was you, I would be less concerned with disparaging other public schools and be more focused on a smooth transition into UT Austin. @sorashiro
I didn’t clarify this but my school is ranked top 150 in the nation while theirs is not even in the top 1000. We also produced 11x more NMSF’s(6 vs 66 people) this year than theirs while the class sizes of both are in the 650-700 range which probably means our school is a lot more competitive. That’s why I am a bit salty. @NuScholar
@wickedwarrior777 Hi! I recently submitted my application and the anxiety is starting to seep in. I am aware that these “chance me” threads aren’t necessarily an accurate prediction seeing as none of us know what admission officers are thinking, yet I can’t help but take you up on your offer.
So, I am going to list my stats, PLEASE be as honest as you can.
UT is literally my dream school and the wait is actually starting to drive me crazy and it’s only been a little less than a month…
STATS:
African American Female
In state
UW gpa: 3.46
W gpa: 4.15
class rank: 49/340 (14%)
ACT: 24
EC: co-founder/president of a club at my school, Junior class treasurer, senior class treasurer, Math and Ready Writing UIL for two years, AVID club for two years, and I currently work 15+ hours a week.
Volunteer hours: about 150, between church, various schools in my district, community events, and 36 hours at an AVID conference my freshmen year.
Intended major: dietetics/nutrition
APs: biology, w his, psych, eng 3, us his, environ sci, eng 4, govt/econ, ap stats (only passed 3 exams so far but i’m planning on taking two more at the end of senior year).
*I think my essay was pretty good, I feel like I wrote about a unique topic (how my love for grocery shopping transformed into a desire for a career in nutrition).
I know my stats aren’t the best but i’m trying to be optimistic. Everyone on here is crazy smart and I’m aware that (academically speaking) I am below average. However, I feel like I’m very well rounded and can bring a lot to UT. Besides my ACT score my biggest fear is that I may be rejected because I have not taken calc (currently enrolled in AP stats) and apparently that’s some sort of requirement for CNS??? Still, do you think I have some what of a chance being African American and having an undesirable/less competitive major?
Can anyone chance me for Biomedical Engineering and/or Honors?
I’m an auto-admit in the top 2% in a veryyyyy competitive school, 1560 SAT score (8/6/8 writing)
Over 400 hours of community service
I work 2 jobs 30+ hours a week to help family
4 5s on AP tests
President of Amnesty international, physics club
Leadership positions in religious club
NHS, National Spanish honor society, Spanish club, all those little clubs
Good essays
(I’m a girl if that matters)
Ok so lets break down your admissions profile. Your GPA is a little bit under the CNS average (I think. Call the admissions office or check online to confirm this). I am not sure how competitive of a major nutrition is, so you GPA might be ok for getting in. Also, your extracurriculars seem pretty strong so that helps also. I am glad that you are confident in your essays and resume as that is just as important to your admissions profile as your grades. All in all, I think that you have a decent chance of getting in. Stay optimistic. I know that the wait is long, but power-through and stay focused on school right now. Let me know if I can help with anything else.
I was wondering, what do you all think are my chances of getting into biology at CNS with a pre-med track.
Hispanic
Im 19% of my school with a 4.12 GPA. 24/125.
1350 SAT
I took 1/4 AP classes my school offers- Macroeconomics.
Honors courses throughout and Dual Credit classes. Ill have 53 by graduation.
600+ hours volunteering at a hospital shadowing doctors, etc. Also attended classes at a med school in the city, and have a Basic Life Support Certification.
100+ hours of other community service.
Founder of a big organization in the city and co founder of another. Also vice president in another school org.
NHS and NEHS.
Great essays and letters I believe.
Thanks!
From what I’m reading @ComplexX your ECs sound really impressive. You really show interest in what you want to do! I think especially with the holistic process that will stand out.
@nadiaSW Thats what some of my counselors said. My rank is not the best, SAT is okay, but my strong point is EC. Im hoping its enough with the holistic review given the fact i chose pre med.
@NuScholar I am kind of torn on what i think about test takers- I have seen plenty of high school honors students not be able to handle college too- high school in most cases is just a lot easier than a place like UT. I like the holistic approach that some colleges try to take. having said that- most of the ones i have seen will jump at a good ( not great) student with high test scores over a solid A student with just good but not great test scores. my son was not even top quarter at his competitive prep school- literally had an F on his transcript from 11 grade- still got in almost everywhere he applied because he had a good resume and solid test score- did not get the ivy he applied to nor the 1 top 20 school he applied to . He pretty much got everything else.
@soroshiro
your rank is probably fine for almost any program at UT- provided that your test scores fall into the level needed to make AI hit where it needs to. I am not sure why you are upset?
does anyone have any idea where AI needs to be for business or engineering to be in the A pile? ? Also, any idea why top AI for SAT is a little lower than top ACT academic index? Do they use different a scale/chart?
@Mills6 The problem is you can have a high AI but if your PAI is too low, you miss the cutoff. So using made up numbers, a person with an AI of 3.6 and a PAI of 4.0 might get in but a person with an AI of 4 and a PAI of 2.0 might not. Someone could tell you they got in with a certain AI but they don’t know their PAI. And it’s relative to the year you apply. A top 6 percent kid with a 1500 SAT might get in one year but not the next depending on who else is in the pool. If the comments above hold true about high stats applicants foregoing applications because of the three questions added, then that could be good for this year’s group.
All that aside my son got in McCombs two years ago at top 6% and a 1450 SAT (old score CR+M). Auto that year was top 8%. I’d guess he had a PAI that was better than average but not off the charts.
@tb2000 Well every school is different, but UT has historically been more partial to holistic reviews. I’ve seen kids post on here that were denied admissions or offered CAP with very high test scores but were lacking in everything else. UT also doesn’t offer full scholarships to students that are National Merit Scholars (great test takers) unlike UT Dallas and OU. UT is just not a standardized test driven school and I feel it’s the reason why it produces more well-rounded students.
It just so happens that most students that are interested in UT have high test scores. Some private schools in New England have made test scores optional for admissions … it’s the new trend.
A small wave of major decisions typically come out the Friday before Thanksgiving Break, which is next Friday. Best of luck to everyone during this painful wait!
I am applying to McCombs and I’m a bit worried that my test scores will ruin my chances of getting in. I’m in-state, in the top 4% of my class at a very competitive high school, have tons of EC’s and leadership positions, started my own community service organization, got 2 great letters of recommendation, and I’m very very pleased with my essay and short answers. I got a 1330 on my SAT and a 28 on my ACT, but I’m waiting for the October ACT to come in… my goal was to pull of a 30+ this time around and I felt very good after the test. How do my chances look?