Worried about McCombs

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

<p>Hello UT forums,</p>

<p>I have been a long time reader of this site, but I just created an account to ask this question I have been worrying about. During the summer, form July 19-21, I attended the UT Austin Honors Colloquium and I was highly interested in pursuing an engineering degree, but since many of the engineering sample classes were filled I took a lot of the business ones. After attending the luncheon at McCombs Business School, where we got the chance to talk to some professors, I am now really interested in doing a business degree. </p>

<p>I was just worried about the admissions at McCombs because it has one of the best undergraduate business programs in the country and from looking at the average stats my SAT Math+Reading is 1450 (their average is 1352), my rank is in the top 7.1% of my class (their average is 5.7%), and I have a few clubs (I am an officer in two) and sports (team captain in a state qualifying Powerlifting team). I also have about 200 hours volunteering in various organizations. (Note: these are their admitted averages, not the averages of those enrolled in McCombs)</p>

<p>I was considering taking my SAT once more to increase my chances and I was wondering if an increase of about 50 points is going to help my chances of getting in. I am really worried because my rank is low, but I am hoping it will increase because I did really good last year. </p>

<p>So, should I retake the SAT, I really don't want to because I have already taken 3 SATs and 2 ACTs, or will it not help me much.</p>

<p>Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.</p>

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<p>I think your SAT is fine, but if you want to retake, it is up to you. I think you have a fair shot of getting in, just get letters of recommendations to send with your application since pretty much everyone is doing that these days.</p>

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<p>Your chances are ok. Your SAT is obviously great but your rank isnt, which is what they consider the most. I had two friends, both with 2300+ SAT’s and a similar rank that were not admitted to McCombs and had to transfer after there sophomore year. I would say you have a 50/50 chance which is better than most.</p>

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<p>Keep in mind that McCombs does not predicate its admissions decisions solely on class rank as in the past. The holistic method began for the 2012 freshman class. My DD has a friend who was admitted to McCombs with a 29 ACT, ranked in the top 6.9%, and had no leadership positions other than band section leader. He was admitted in early December after switching first choice majors on his application from Music to Business. After all of that, he decided to attend Baylor for music. Go figure.</p>

<p>Comparatively speaking, the OP’s standardized test score is much better and the class rank is similar. The part of his resume that sets the OP apart from my example is his leadership positions and volunteer hours. McCombs is looking for these as part of a well rounded candidate. </p>

<p>Infernal, you have a very good chance. Make sure your resume really emphasizes your leadership experience (with examples) and polish your essays. Good luck.</p>