I am currently an in-state junior that attends a reputable school district (Katy ISD) with an UW GPA of 3.96 and W GPA of 4.6.
My score for the new SAT is a 1450 (720 for math and 730 for reading) and an 18 on the essay section.
I will finish senior year having taken around 10 AP courses.
As for extracurricular activities, I am a member of National Honor Society, Science National Honor Society, Key Club (volunteering organization), and I play for the varsity tennis team.
Are these enough to get me into my major of choice, Chemical Engineering, in UT Austin?
The big question - are you in the top 7%? If you are, that definitely enhances your chances. Even if you are, you need to consider it a reach. I know last year, a friend of my daughter who was 6th in a class size of over 600 did not accepted into Chemical Engineering. I do not know his ACT/SAT scores but I do know he was a NM commended, so his scores were good. He had similar ECs. So, if possible take the SAT again and try for a higher math score, write a great essay and make sure you have another school that is your safety school.
There is no such thing as a safe score for CS and engineering at UT unless you have close to a perfect score. I have seen too many kids with +1500 scores not get accepted and they were in the top 7%. Some were first in their class. I have seen kids with much lower scores get accepted. I don’t understand how UT does their selection. It is very holistic compared to the other state universities. So, the higher the score the better your chances but there is no guarantees. Have a good safety school.
UPDATE: I retook the SAT and got a 1480, it’s likely just a marginal improvement, but hopefully that can help my chances.
Because my prospective chances at getting into UT Engineering are fairly low, is A&M Engineering a solid safety for me? If so, would the honors program at A&M be a reach? And how good is A&M Chemical Engineering program compared to UT’s?
I would say A&M could be considered a safety. The 75% percentile for engineering is 1350 with a 710 in math. Apply somewhat early August/September. Do know that you won’t be accepted to ChemE but just to engineering. You have to apply to ChemE late in the freshman year. They do look at GPA and EC’s in deciding. The stats on who go admitted last spring were GPA avg 3.3 and 5.2 hrs/week of ECs. Also, how good is the program - it is not ranked as high as UT but I don’t think that matters. You can get a great education and a good job with an A&M degree.
UPDATE: I received my admission into UT Austin. I was auto admitted due to my rank. I took the SAT again and got a 1510. My math score improved by 40 points from 750 to 790, and I’ve heard that the math score is heavily considered for engineering majors. Will this be considered in their review for my major decision? I ask because I sent the score after I already got my university admissions decision.
Also, when should I expect my admissions decision given that I applied well before the priority deadline? Thanks for all your responses btw.
Congratulations on continuing to improve that math score! That will definitely help in getting accepted to engineering. It will be considered. They consider all scores until 12/31. The major decision can come from late November until I believe late February with the vast majority of the decisions coming in February. Now, you just have patience. A 790 is a great score and should definitely help.