@lessonwitch2 I was speaking about TXSKer being accepted into Dwight Look College of Engineering, not just being accepted into TAMU.
With the holistic approach for engineering, it is going to be much more competitive. That said, auto/academic admits may still have an advantage.
You should apply for engineering, if that is really where you want to be. Best case scenario, you get full admissions to engineering at College Station. If you are auto/academic admit, you will likely find out relatively soon of your offer, so apply as early as possible.
My son waited until mid-October, when marching band competitions were over, when he had all of his rec letters from his engineering internship in order. Don’t do that. Just get the apply Tx app done asap. Upload the other stuff by Dec. 1. My son received his acceptance within 2 weeks.
With TAMU rolling admissions, the auto/academic admits find out sooner than the UT auto admits, where acceptances come in waves. My niece was an auto admit to UT, (Notified in September I think) but did not find out her major of ChemE until January.
The worst that can happen is you are offered an alternative route, which is not a bad thing at all. Like UT, I do not believe any in state student is outright rejected for admissions. While some may be rejected to College Station, they are offered Gateway Summer, program for system admissions (PSA) Blinn Team, and engineering candidates are offered Engineering at Galveston or Blinn Engineering Academies.
Galveston is the only A&M campus that is a branch and offers the aggie ring and other perks.