<p>I'm not one of those smart people, and I'm totally clueless about which colleges I can apply <em>and</em> have the chance of getting into. </p>
<p>I'm a junior in Texas right now and my rank is in the top 25% only. I haven't taken the SAT yet, and my PSAT score wasn't that great. My un-weighted GPA is about 3.36. Pretty much, I fail in life and I'm really depressed right now. </p>
<p>I want to attend UT Austin, but like I said above, I'm no where near the top 8%. I heard there is still a chance to get into UT, so I'm hoping for that. My counselor was doubtful that I would get into UT, so he suggested for me to have a list of backups. I'm clueless about colleges and with the grades I have, I'm not sure what my options are. I want to major in psychology. </p>
<p>If I do choose a school out of state, I'll have to get scholarships, or else my parents probably can't afford for me to go anywhere. </p>
<p>So what are some of my options? I want to at least be able to go to a school that I've heard of, and not a community college.
What would I have to get on the SAT to maybe have a better shot at getting into UT? Any advice for me?</p>
<p>I don’t know much about Texas schools, or how difficult it will be to find a college. But a mix of As and Bs and an occasional C or below (3.36 GPA) is hardly a “fail in life”. You’ll find something, and it will be good. Lots of people start in community colleges - they don’t fail in life either. And after you go from there and transfer to another school, you will earn your Bachelor’s degree from that school, not the community college. Take a deep breath, and start looking at realistic schools based on the school-finders on this site or College Board.</p>
<p>You can get a start for schools you know of by googling “college board [college name]”, and then go to the SAT/AP/CLEP link. This will give you the middle 50% scores of the students that go there (or get admitted, I’m not sure).</p>
<p>To get a fleet of schools that match your criteria, use the Find A College link on the College Board website.</p>
<p>@GeekMom63: I don’t really want to attend a community college… I’m looking at some other options right now, since I want to major in psychology, I’ve been looking at schools with a good psychology program and a high acceptance rate. Is there any way I can bring up my GPA? @happy1: Thank you! I have some other schools in mind now</p>
<p>A top 25% rank student in Texas with sufficiently high SAT or ACT scores and otherwise meet admission requirements can gain automatic academic admission to Texas A&M:</p>
<p>“I’m not one of those smart people…Pretty much, I fail in life and I’m really depressed right now.”</p>
<p>This is holding you back more than your grades or test scores. Interestingly, the ‘real world’ rewards different things than school does - good social skills, kindness, integrity, creativity, empathy, hard work, to name just a few characteristics - and you’ll be amazed at how many people make successes of their lives without having been perceived as one of the smart kids. Rather than being down on yourself, spend time reminding yourself every day of what you are good at. </p>
<p>Try volunteering at a nonprofit where you can have an impact on the lives of people (or animals) who need help. You’ll feel a lot better about yourself when you see how much good you can do and how much you are appreciated for that effort.</p>
<p>As for schools, yes, admissions officers know how academically competitive the schools in their geographic area are.</p>
<p>This is another problem…" I want to at least be able to go to a school that I’ve heard of ". I am willing to bet that I can name lots of great schools that you have never heard of…some that you can get into, others you can’t.</p>
<p>It sounds like your best bet then is the Texas state schools…A & M, Tech, Texas State, UNT…nothing wrong with any of those.</p>