Worried About Admission

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

<p>I'm a Hispanic student about to begin my senior year in high school and of course start applying for college. My number one choice is currently UT Austin, yet I'm worried about admittance. My first major choice is Business and second will be Communications. I am fully aware of the difficulty of acceptance into McCombs, yet I'm willing to at least give it a shot. </p>

<p>I'm currently ranked 25 out of 337 which places me at top 8%. I understand top 8% is automatic-admission, yet I've heard that this might not apply to schools of my size.</p>

<p>Here are my SAT & ACT Scores (aware that these are quite low):
Reading: 550 Math: 530 Writing: 530
ACT Composite Score: 23</p>

<p>1) In School Activities:
- Class President
- Varsity Cross Country
- Show Choir elected Vice President
- National Honor Society elected Vice President
- Spanish Club elected Secretary
- Texas Association of Future Educators elected Reporter
- Key Club
- Varsity Vocal Ensemble</p>

<p>2) Out of School Activities:
- Numerous volunteer hours from the Human Society, local food bank, nursing home, etc.
- VERY involved with church youth group: lector, retreat team member, music ministry, etc.</p>

<p>3) Recent Awards and Activities:
- All-Region Choir
- Texas State Solo & Ensemble
- Distinguished Achievement in the Senior Group Documentary at the Texas Historical Association's 2012 Texas History Day
- University of Texas McCombs Future Executive Academy </p>

<p>1, 2, and 3 will be a part of my resume which will be typed in as much detail as possible. Although the resume isn't a huge factor in admittance, I know it will be of some benefit.</p>

<p>I plan on working very hard on the 2 essays required for application but will also be writing the third essay due to difficult circumstances I have gone through.</p>

<p>I also plan on sending in a letter of recommendation written by an unbiased person.</p>

<p>With all this in mind, I would very much appreciate feedback and any last minute suggestions in applying.</p>

2

<p>If your school is in-state and ranks, then auto-admission should apply. Resume is not a huge factor of admission to UT. To McCombs, however, it is essential. I’m not too worried about that aspect of your application. It looks like EC wise, you are in great shape. Letters of recommendation are not necessary. I’m not even sure there was a spot on the applytexas application to submit one. I’m against writing a third essay (lots of lengthy reasons). You definitely want to state the difficult circumstances, so try to incorporate it into essays 1 or 2 in some way. If you do decide to write a third essay, keep it short and succinct. The part that really worries me is your SAT/ACT score. I would advise you to retake the SAT. You have about three months. Study super hard, and try to raise it at least 400 points (if not more, to compensate for the rank).</p>

3

<p>Top 8% means you will be admitted to UT but I would say you will not be getting admitted into McCombs. Your rank isnt at their average og about top 2-5% of highschools and your SAT is way below what is necessary. You will likely be admitted into Undergraduate Studies and then will have to transfer into McCombs after your freshman year if you make the grades (3.7+)</p>

4

<p>TexasStudent123</p>

<p>Why do you choose Business and Communications as 1st and 2nd choice?</p>

<p>These 2 majors are very different.
And I don’t see a lot of related activities. </p>

<p>The only business related is University of Texas McCombs Future Executive Academy. </p>

<p>Communications related are (if I am not mistaken, I am not sure what it is)

  • Distinguished Achievement in the Senior Group Documentary at the Texas Historical Association’s 2012 Texas History Day
  • Texas Association of Future Educators elected Reporter
    And they are from different areas - journalism and RTF.</p>

<p>With your not so stellar rank and test scores you have to show significant level of interest in chosen majors. Where is it?</p>

5

<p>You’re EC are well above-average. But from looking at stats and asking around, you’re rank (8%) isn’t exactly ideal for McCombs. However, keep in mind that some people have gotten in with lower ranks, but they made up for it with spectacular test scores; which are lacking for you. </p>

<p>My friend (class of 2012/2016) had around a 1550 on the SAT (out of 2400), and was in the top 2% at his high school, but still got placed in UGS and not McCombs.</p>

6

<p>I’ve been researching other majors that I might be interested in (assuming that Business will be my first choice with slim to no chances of being admitted) and the school of Liberal Arts interested me with a major in International Relations and Global Studies? What is the likely hood of me being accepted into this?</p>

7

<p>Hayacostbh: Why are you against writing the third essay?! I thought it was a good idea to show how interested you are… Should you write it about something in relation to the major you want to be placed in? IE Cockrell/McCombs… I’m confused.</p>