UT CS Chance Me + Question

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

TX Resident
GPA: 3.52 (UW) 4.04 (W)
Rank: School does not rank (Rigorous)
SAT/ACT: 1460 (730 M/730 R)/ 29 (29 M)
Good Essays
Applied: 10/30/2019 (Priority)

Majors:
1st Choice: Computer Science
2nd Choice: Computational Engineering

EC:
National Honor Society
National Spanish Honor Society
President of Robotics Team (won lots of awards over the years)
Treasurer for Asian Cultural Organization
Member of Powerlifting Team

Volunteering:
Organized multiple blood drives and health camps in my community
Volunteered as a curator at a popular science museum
Volunteered at various camps for underprivileged children

I know my stats and ECs seem lackluster but I’m really confident in my essays especially since I specifically talk about how I want to pursue a career in Bioinformatics in the future which leads me to my question. Does it help that I talk specifically about something I want to pursue at UT? I know that UT does not have a Bioinformatics major but I know that they conduct Bioinformatic research and I was just wondering if my significant interest in that would make UT want to offer me admission since they want a more diverse student body as well as more engagement in research. A lot of people have told me different things and I was just wondering what you all think.

Thanks and good luck to you all!!!

2

Most of the CS students are selected as auto-admits from the top 7% of their class. If your school doesn’t rank, it’s unknown how UT will evaluate your application, because they base admissions on class rank. You have a decent chance of getting into UT.

As far as getting into the CS school, a 3.5 is not going to be competitive. If you don’t get in to CS as a freshman, it’s near impossible to get in from the outside. A few manage to get in with a near 4.0 college GPA, but most get rejected and transfer out.

Keep a good list of schools. There’s plenty in Texas. Nearby, there’s Texas State Univ and UTSA. Texas A&M is also competitive, but you might have a better shot if you apply early. You could also try Texas Tech, UTD, UT-Arlington, and University of Houston. As a programmer myself, I can tell you that you don’t need a prestigious school to make a comfortable living in computers. It’s a high demand field.