What are my chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Texas A&M University
1

Hi I don’t have the highest rank but my test scores are decent. I was wondering what would be my chances with these scores to get into the business or engineering school of A&M:

Rank: 258/598 (43%)
SAT: 1490 with sub scores of 690 on English and Reading and 800 on Math
ACT: 32 with sub scores of 34 English 30 Math 34 Reading 30 Science
AP scores of 5 on statistics and 4 on Chemistry.

I have taken upper level courses every single year for math and science. I’m also taking organic chemistry as a senior (my school offers it).

2

Your rank is low, although your scores are really, really good. Rank counts for an awful lot, probably more than anything. Can you explain in your essays or so about your rank? You cannot claim that your school is competitive, because everyone says that, and A&M has reasons why they ignore any such claims. If you have a good reason for your rank, you might fall into the Gateway admission pool or so. You must come up with a very, very, very good reason for your rank for business or engineering, I would say. We are here to support everyone, and please write back for further advice as needed. I believe there was a student in an extremely similar situation last year, the only person I saw with a perfect SAT math score and a rank very, very similar. He offered good reasons and was ultimately admitted.

3

uhmmm, would you be willing to help critique my essay? I’m not the strongest at literature so it would mean alot if you could help me :D!

4

Oh wait that emoji is really ugly!!! whoops :’)

5

@Sacredpro, @MomHopesNxtGenAg is giving you some solid advice. Make sure your essay explains why your rank is what it is - has it improved over the years, meaning did you have a hard freshman year? Or, any changes in your family? Anything like that can be explained. Like @MomHopesNxtGenAg said, stay away from the excuse that your high school is super competitive. Also, be careful asking for other people to critique your essay. You don’t want it to be found anywhere online and even though we know @MomHopesNxtGenAg is legit, you need to ask someone you personally know, like your English teacher or counselor. When kids get to their HS senior year, there are so many people on your HS campus willing and able to help with college admissions. Find them. Good luck!!

6

Thank you so much!!! Thank you for the replies and advice. I really appreciate it

7

@MomHopesNxtGenAg Do you know if the student in the similar situation i’m in was admitted through blinn team or full admission.

8

@sacredpro Mays will be a no. Mays takes only 1000 freshmen and those spots are taken by the early applying top 10% and academic admits. They do reserve a few spots for highly qualified review applicants and your rank will keep you out of that consideration.

Engineering is going to look at your math readiness, and that is after/if you are accepted into the university.

Review applicants are just so hard to chance due to the variables that no one else but the Admissions Officers see.
One thing they do is take your class rank and your scores and using algorithms, predict a GPA that you would earn at A&M and then they add in everything else (EC’s, essays, leadership, etc).

While these are not scientific in any way but it might help give you an idea that there is a chance.

From the 110 engineering applicants that participated on the forum last year, There was one applicant who was second quarter who received admission in Nov with a 1360 but that student was also a National Hispanic Scholar.

There were two other review, second quarter applicants from last cycle who received full admissions in January. One was 28% and a SAT1430 (no subscores provided) and the other was 2nd Qtr (no % provided) with a ACT 32 (33M, 28S, 35R, 31E 8E )

Five second quarter applicants received Engineering Academy at Blinn.
2nd Qtr (no % provided) SAT 1330
Second Qtr (no % provided) 1390 (780M)
2nd Qtr 43% 1430 (new 1510, 800M) Out of State and Aspergers
2nd Qtr 29% SAT 1330 ACT 31
2nd Qtr 31% SAT 1350 ACT 30

There were others still who received admission offers to Engineering at Galveston, which is considered full admissions, you just spend your first year at the Galveston campus and then transition to College Station after entry to a major completion.
There were not any applicants on the forum in the 40 percentile but here are some 30’s. Some in second quarter also didn’t give a %, so I am not including those.

31% SAT 1380 (730M,650R)
31% SAT 1390 (700 M, 690R)  ACT 30 composite (30 Math, 27 English)
32% SAT 1360 (680M, 680 ERBW)
39% SAT 1320
32.5% SAT 1420 (760M,660ERBW) 740M SAT II

I hope that helps! Good luck! Once you apply, stay a part of the forum as everyone goes on the “review watch”. Lots of support in a nerve racking time.

9

@Thelma2 recapped admissions recently. That individual received admission to the Blinn-Bryan Engineering Academy. This is a really great outcome if one is applying to engineering. Almost all full admissions were auto or academic admits. If you read last year’s threads, you will get a good feel for things and how to improve your overall application with maximum essays, references, a separate midyear resume, etc. My son was a review engineering admit, and he and many other review applicants such as yourself waited 6 months or more for a decision. Business at A&M is super competitive. But if you have a story to tell in your application, Admissions reviewers will listen.

10

If you are interested in business, you need to submit your application right away.

11

I would say your chances as a review admit into business are extremely low, as those spots seem to fill up by mid fall with auto admits, but it appears your interests lie more in math and science. Good luck to you. We are here to help.

12

I was wondering if my essay is too long. Currently I’m at 800 words and I’ve tried making it as concise as possible. I’ve gotten my friends to read my essay and they’ve said it doesn’t feel long while reading it because of how much info I had to offer. Do you think I should try and cut the words down and lose some important details or should I keep my essay as it is? My peers have said the essay sounds good and has an impact. @MomHopesNxtGenAg @Thelma2 @trish02 . BTW thank yall so much for helping me this much already!!!

13

Please have an English teacher read your essay, or at least another adult/teacher etc who is familiar with college essays read and critique yours. Don’t just rely on the opinion of your peers.

14

@sacredpro You are getting great advice above! You are smart to listen to it! By your test scores and course rigor, you are obviously a smart cookie. Your essay should be closer to 500 - 600 words. I think there is even a cap on apply texas if I remember correctly. They want you to be concise and precise as possible. Cut down the fluff. There are 3 essays to write. Between the 3 they will be able to capture a glimpse into who you are and what you are capable of! Best of luck. Super exciting time for you. Hang in there!

15

Please write all the 3 essays before finalizing any. Yes, none of them is optional if you want to be competitive. This will help you have essays of equal strength and interest. Typically the topics are such that any material you take from an overly long essay has some chance of being useful in another. You cannot resubmit essays once you finalize your application.

16

I went to a college boot camp today and the college representative said that they only want Essay A and wouldn’t look at B & C. Also I took the ACT one last time and got a 32 again, with subscores of 33 english, 32 math, 36 reading, and 28 science haha… really messed up science cause of a stomach ache, but can’t use excuses :’), I was wondering if I should send this score in or my last one which was also a 32 with subscores of (34 english 30 math 34 reading 30 science). Thank you so much for all the responses!!! y’all are all so helpful and im really grateful for all of the support i’m getting. I’m thinking about submitting my final essay tonight after getting an adult (a teacher who knows me very well) to review it like suggested :smiley:

17

We have always been told that you should do all 3 essays unless your are auto/academic admit (and don’t want engineering).A&B have always been required. Is B not showing required now on Apply Texas? And I would turn in all ACT scores. They will use the one that helps you the most. Cannot hurt to send everything in.

18

The only one that shows required is A ( unless you choose Engineering, that could be more) on Apply Texas. But at an admissions meeting just this spring, they advised only doing A.

19

Wow… lucky! That’s the most stressful part! lol Yay for incoming hs seniors.

20

@sweeney1996 At Aggieland Preview Day a few weeks ago they said differently. Are you hoping to get any scholarships at all? Top 10%? Merit? etc. Did you fill out the Scholarship Application on Apply Texas for A&M? If so you should really consider doing C. JMO