UT Austin engineering?

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
1

<p>Hey guys thanks for reading this. So here in the next month I am planning on applying to the Cockrell School of Engineering at UT Austin. However, I have recently started to stress out because I don't have that competitive of stats.</p>

<p>My first choice major is Petroleum Engineering with Chemical Engineering being my second option (^dream).</p>

<p>I am an in-state Texas resident so I am guaranteed admission into the university but not the school itself.</p>

<p>Class rank: 6/102</p>

<p>SAT: 1890 (690 Math, 590 CR, 610 Writing) I've always hated english...</p>

<p>GPA: UW: 4.0/4.0 W: 5.126/5</p>

<p>Only took 2 Pre-AP classes my freshman year which really brought my GPA/Class Rank down.
Have taken all Pre-AP classes since and continue to climb up the ladder.
Junior year: Dual Credit History, AP Microeconomics, AP Spanish 4, AP English 3, Pre-AP Precal, AP Physics AB,
AP Chemistry
Senior year schedule: Computer Science On-ramps (basically Dual Credit), AP Calc 1, Dual Credit Statistics,
AP Spanish 5, AP English 4, Dual Credit Government, and an independent study class.</p>

<p>I have roughly 150 hours of community service.</p>

<p>EC: Leo's Club x 4 yrs
Varsity Tennis x 4yrs
Spanish Club Officer x 2yrs
Spanish Club Member x 1yr
Spanish Club Vice President x 1yr
National Honor Society x 2-3 yrs
Spanish Honor Society x 3yrs
FCA x 2 yrs
UIL Number Sense
UIL Mathematics</p>

<p>Awards:
Ronald Reagan Student Leader Award (was the only one in my grade who has been given for this award in HS)
Regional Qualifier in Varsity Tennis Boys Doubles
Leo's Club Excellence Award
Spanish National Honor Exam - Silver Certificate</p>

<p>Letters of Recommendation: Very Good. Both teachers wrote very personal essays as I have been in their classes for over 3 years now and they have really gotten to know me.</p>

<p>Essays: I honestly can't judge my own writing skills. Hopefully they turn out good. I really do hate English to the point where I learned a completely different language just to avoid it.</p>

<p>Last but not least, I will be applying the first day that the Apply texas application becomes available in hopes that it helps makes up for my low SAT.</p>

<p>Whoops I accidentally lied... I'm not finished. I have one quick question.
Would it be worth listing an easier, less competitive major as my second choice that is still within the Cockrell School of Engineering so I don't get declined by the school altogether?</p>

<p>Thank you very much for reading this. I really appreciate any help/tips you guys could give me.</p>

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<p>Yours stats are really good, I dont think you have to stress at all. I also want to apply to UT but my SAT is about 70 points lower :(</p>

3

<p>you’re rank is good. you’re EC’s are great! You’re SAT is okayish. Id say you have a good chance. </p>

<p>Just to let you know Texas A&M is ranked better for Petroleum engineering.</p>

4

<p>Thanks for the replies, I greatly appreciate them!
To talk to the A&M response, I must say that I have given a great deal of consideration towards going there as well, however, I don’t really enjoy the atmosphere. I plan on applying there as well in case things do not work out at UT but given the choice UT would be my number 1.</p>

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<p>Is geosystems engineering easier to get into than petroleum/chemical? Would I have a better shot at Geosystems Engineering? </p>

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<p>Apply early and there honestly is no reason UT PE should deny you.<br>
Because UT Austin uses rolling admissions, you could be “Einstein” for all they care (2400 SAT with 800s in 3 subject tests, research, officer positions in several clubs, perfect GPA, countless hours in volunteer service) and still be rejected from X major because all spots have been taken.</p>

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<p>tell us if you get in pleaseeee!!! :)</p>

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<p>Will do. Applied roughly 3 weeks ago so now I only have like 6 months to wait right? #-o </p>

9

<p>im not too sure…</p>

10

Did you get in?

11

No, I did not get in. I submitted an appeal hoping I could get in to Geosystems but it was denied. What I learned from the whole process though is that I should have listed Geosystems as my first choice as I didn’t have good enough rank/scores for Petroleum Engineering.

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For any prospective engineering students reading this, if I’ve learned anything from this whole applying to Cockrell fiasco, it’s that Cockrell focuses on pure numbers more than anything else. This guy had great extracurriculars and GPA (and I assume he applied really early) but his class rank percentage (not rank number) and SAT were just too low. Cockrell likes top 5% and 2000+ SAT (or ~31+ ACT) for admits. It varies by major, too; I don’t know about every major, but Petroleum and Biomedical are much harder to get into. I was admitted to ECE with a 33 ACT and I was in the top 2% of my class. Of course there are exceptions, especially for URMs, but Cockrell admissions are not nearly as holistic as they claim.

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I agree that numbers are everything. I’m OOS and was admitted for ChemE. I was about the same as OP in rank (top ~6% of my class when I applied), and my SAT was 2160, ACT 34. Honestly, they don’t even look at GPA. I transferred high schools freshman year and never submitted my grades from my old high school, if that’s any indication. My ECs and essays were average. I would say that OP’s test scores are the main reason why he/she wasn’t accepted. Holistic review my butt.

14

That sucks OP.

What major in cockrell do you think is the easiest to get in? I want to do EE but am worried that my SAT scores are not high enough.

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Someone posted admittance numbers for each engineering major and EE was the highest so that’s your safest bet I suppose.

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http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-texas-austin/1756960-easiest-engineering-majors-to-get-into-or-the-one-that-accepts-the-most-transfer-applicants.html#latest

Here’s the link to a similar thread.

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@caveman232‌ Electrical/computer engineering is the largest department and is therefore the (comparatively) easiest to get into. It’s the largest by number of students, at least, but as far as I can tell there’s currently only one professor that teaches the ‘intro to computing’ course so I guess it’s not the largest staff-wise… :-/