UT - Rejected and then admitted, FEW TIPS.

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

Hello everyone,

I have an interesting case I would like to share, regarding the admissions process at UT. I am a transfer student from ACC, recently admitted to the Cockrell School of Engineering.

I was a freshman applicant last year, and I managed to comply with all the requirements for transfer admission. I finished the school year with a 4.0 GPA and a number of credits that went above the 30 credit requirement. Nevertheless, my application was surprisingly rejected in June.

When I called the Admissions center, I was told the same thing they say to everyone. “Unfortunately, we received a lot of applications this year and our spots filled up quickly.” I asked if there was some way I could have a counselor review my file with me so we could find any “weak spots” that could help me in future applications, but was told that it was impossible. In short, I was left believing that there was nothing I could do about the surprising rejection I had received.

I went online and found numerous threads regarding applicants with great achievements, including straight A’s, a ton of extracurricular activities, etc. Many of them, unfortunately, had been rejected as well. Reading about them made me think that I was just one more applicant, and there really was nothing else I could do other than keep trying. I was wrong.

Even though I had given up, my father encouraged me to keep trying to get to the bottom of my case. It simply did not seem right that they had turned down my application so quickly, when only a few hours before receiving a rejection notice I had seen on MyStatus that some of my documents had not even been processed yet. I had no hope whatsoever and hated the idea of appealing to be rejected again, just like any of the other highly-qualified applicants. Nevertheless, my father kept pushing me to ask what was wrong, so I went to the admissions center to speak to a counselor face to face.

My counselor reviewed my file and found out that some of my college credits had not been processed, as they had been delivered ELECTRONICALLY. My file showed that I had less credits than required, causing my application to be turned down immediately. Of course, the error was definitely not mine, and so I decided to go through the Appeals process.

In short, I just wanted to tell you not to give up and not to be discouraged if your application is turned down. Do not compare yourself to other applicants and what they have achieved. Instead, get to the bottom of your case and speak to a counselor. If you are rejected, go to Admissions and ask if they have all your documents. The counselors are very nice and understanding. Even though they’re not very helpful on the phone, they will be glad to assist you face to face. After being rejected, there is nothing else to lose, so you might as well give it a try.

Additionally, I recommend never to send your transcript electronically. Always deliver it personally, if you can, or at least have it mailed to the university.

Apply to the university as soon as you can. Available spots fill up very quickly. Give yourself the chance to be judged based on your achievements and not just availability.

If you’re applying to a very competitive Major, always list a second option in Liberal Arts. If you miss the first one, chances are you will at least get into the second one.

Before receiving a decision, head to the Admissions center and speak to a counselor about the requirements and make sure everything is in place.

The admissions center is NOT in the UT tower. Before showing up, call them and get the right address from them.

I hope my case helps. Good luck with your upcoming applications!

2

“Additionally, I recommend never to send your transcript electronically. Always deliver it personally, if you can, or at least have it mailed to the university.”

Does this apply only to tranfsers and not freshman applicants? Or does it only apply to UT?

3

99% of records will be delivered electronically. And some/many schools will not take your transcript from YOU. They want it from the college to validate the info. Mailing it is no better. Someone at the receiving end will need to input the data into a file.

4

A transcript is considered official and will be accepted as long as it’s sealed and signed by the school. I turned in an official transcript.

5

My high school submitted my transcript without a problem. My credits were only lost when I had them submitted electronically from ACC. If there’s a way you can ensure your transcript is sent physically, I recommend you do so.

6

The admissions center is really far from the UT tower. It’s basically on I35/MLK near the Frank Erwin Center. Take any of the Riverside bound buses (670/671/672/680) to make it easier because it sucks walking there in the heat.

7

Not sure about transfers but for freshmen you can upload an official transcript (one that has a seal in the watermark) on the my status site. I recommend doing this in addition to the electronic process. A lot of people had problems with their high schools sending transcripts electronically last year.

8

Way too much speculation going on here. This is a problem pretty much unique to Austin Community College. They transmit their electronic transcripts in the national SPEEDE format from which, for whatever internal reason, they exclude credit-by-exam (SPEEDE is capable of handling c-b-e). So if you have c-b-e at A.C.C. the only way you can get it to any other institution is by having a hardcopy (paper) transcript sent. You do not need to deliver it personally, just specify a physical transcript when you make your transcript request at A.C.C.

9

My high school transcript was submitted electronically and didn’t go through to UT. Check your RIS to confirm UT has it before school starts