<p>Mizzougrad – chill out. If you are in the top 20% at a strong private or strong public TX high school, taking a difficult course load, with an SAT that would be expected of a strong student like that, and with reasonable EC’s, recs, and essay, you will be admitted to any TX university. The non-10% slots are tailor-made for such students.</p>
<p>Also, there is a lot of movement in the ranks from freshman to senior. A lot of people don’t get it, or don’t care to play the game, and don’t take or master the difficult highly-weighted classes. Also, sadly, a lot of top-10% freshmen just get off track in several well-known ways before graduation.</p>
<p>If this were football, your daughter is behind by a field goal in the first quarter. Not to worry, just stick to the game plan.</p>
<p>I agree with all those who say to relax and not worry about top 10%. I also would not be surprised to see the 10% rule stick around a little longer. Last year the legislature spent time debating whether to regulate the uniforms that cheerleaders were wearing in high school. Their priorities are a little odd.
The only schools whose admissions are significantly affected by the rule are UT and A & M. Other TX public schools don’t see nearly as many 10% admissions. In addition, there are many excellent private schools in TX that offer generous financial aid. My D has merit offers from Baylor,Southwestern, and Trinity that make them almost the same price as UT, and she is in the top 11% of a challenging HS with a 650V and 700M SAT. She didn’t apply to the big state schools because she wants something much smaller. I don’t know if she would have gotten in and I don’t care.<br>
Lastly, a lot of the “buzz” in TX high schools about making the top 10% and going to UT or A &M is generated by Texan parents, teachers, and GCs who grew up here and attended those schools themselves. It’s an important tradition to them, and Texans are proud of their traditions. I’m not knocking that at all, but if you’re not from Texas (and I’m not) it’s important to not get the idea that they are the only choices for college. Our school started the push for “playing the GPA game” in junior high. I too was in a panic, until i started researching, and esp. reading this forum, and realized there are a lot of great schools out there.</p>
<p>I am also a Texas parent. Mizzou- you better do some seriously chilling, or you and your daughter will melt down before junior year! I can’t even begin to tell you all the things that can happen/change in the next few years. To the complete shock of our entire family, our daughter wound up begging to leave her top prep school in Dallas and go to boarding school for junior year in high school. Off she went to Interlochen in northern Michigan to pursue music and academics. The academically and athletically talented Wild Child got kicked out of his prep school in March of sophomore year and spent a year getting his life back on track before doing a repeat junior year at a northeast prep boarding school where he is now a senior. He will be going to Penn next year. My point is- where my kids wound up could never have been predicted during freshman year in high school.
You have to be prepared to roll with it- the good and the bad.<br>
Carolyn is right- there are so many neat schools beyond the two Texas crown jewels. Your daughter might be so ready to experience a different part of the country that she might not even care about the Longhorns and the Aggies.</p>
<p>Also a TX parent and teacher. Sure, top 10% means automatic admission, but not everyone is top 10% that goes there. Other kids from our school we also admitted. Others went to another school, and were able to transfer in (easier to do that and there are specific feeder schools that pretty much guarantee your getting into A&M and UT after a year or 2 there, like Blinn). That’s not to say that she will go that route, just another option available. The next 2 years will determine where she goes, not freshman year. And UT has other campuses around the state that your D should have no problems getting into. My D also applied to Trinity, received merit award, and made it cost as much as UT or A&M. And even tho D swore as a child that she wanted to go to UT, and even had a UT cheerleader costume for Halloween, when the time came, she said, please don’t make me go there! She is in a top LAC in the northeast, instead. So don’t worry, let your D do what is best for her in HS, and she will wind up in the right place for her.</p>
<p>Welcome, MizzouGrad! Another Texas here. Given that we’ve currently got the worst set of state legislators in the history of Texas, I’m not sure when or if the 10% rule will be changed. Urban and rural areas love it, suburban areas hate it. While it has some influence at A&M, the major impact is on UT. There are many, many options for prevet in Texas besides A&M. Since A&M is the only vet school in Texas, you will need to research possibilities in other states. </p>
<p>Also, A&M’s vet school has an annual open house on a Saturday in March - very informative and fun. If you are anywhere near, your daughter might be interested in visiting.</p>
<p>Here’s a press release with the open house info:</p>
<p>COLLEGE STATION - Drug-sniffing dogs and exotic pets will be in the spotlight Saturday (March 25) when the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) hosts its annual open house.
The event, scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., attracts thousands of visitors each year.
Events will include shows by the Round Rock Police Dogs along with horseback-riding and canine agility demonstrations. Also featured will be the Friskies/Alpo Frisbee World Champion dog.
In addition, exhibits featuring the Owens’ Sausage team of miniature horses, exotic pets, Fredrieka the fistulated cow and live animal surgery will take place throughout the day.
The popular “teddy-bear surgery” booth will also be back and youngsters are encouraged to bring in their stuffed animals to be surgically repaired in a fully equipped operating room.
Question-and-answer sessions with CVM faculty members and self-guided tours of the small- and large-animal teaching hospitals will also be available.
All events are free and open to the public.
Established in 1916, the College of Veterinary Medicine at Texas A&M is one of the largest and most renowned institutions for animal health care and research in the world.</p>
<p>The picture changes with the economy and the culture.</p>
<p>Once upon a time – mid to late 60s – the vet schools were looking for men who would work with dairy cattle and other agricultural livestock. There was a strength test – lift a 100 lb calf – and admissions was heavily weighted towards men.</p>
<p>In the 70s – things began to open up for women a little. There were 13 vet schools in the country taking 1400 students per year. Or something like that. And they ALL took their own state students first. And then filled their contracted student spaces with those students. And then there might be one or two slots for a out of state, non contracted student – with 100 applications for those slots. All qualified. </p>
<p>In the 80s, I spoke with the Dean of Admissions from a southern vet school. He told me that they had 11 out of state spaces in the most recent round, and 13 qualified applicants. The difference, he told me ruefully, was that those really bright kids who could do vet school, could also do chemical engineering. The kids were looking at 4 yrs of ChemE (or other hot engineering topics) and graduating with $50K job offers. Or, they could do 4 yrs undergrad, 4 years vet school, and graduate with 20K job offers slogging around barnyards. (We were looking at a bulletin board at a vet conference with job offers posted. )</p>
<p>It’s still tough to get into vet school – the requirements are essentially the same as med school and there are still fewer slots than med school, even though there are more schools. </p>
<p>My advice – as a former pre-vet major currently working in the animal industries – work for a vet weekends, after school, and summers. When you go to college, keep your options open by fulfilling the pre-vet requirements – and explore all the possibilities for science + animals as a career. It’s not limited to the DVM degree!</p>
<p>Thank you guys so so much!!! I am chilled trust me. I just did not know this stuff. That is why I am here. So much more to know these days. And I since I recently moved here I am trying to figure out the “Texas stuff”. </p>
<p>Thank you all for the Vet info, she will appreciate it alot. Yes she has spoken with people that were trying to get in and been rejected at Vet school. I think that is what freaked her out the most.</p>
<p>She does know she has to have a back up or explore other options. What we don’t know, she has time to think.
That is why I am here. She is 14 now and can’t get a job yet but she is going to volunteer at some of the Dog Rescue groups, until then.</p>
<p>Thank you fireflyscout, what a wonderful way to go college scouting around here.<br>
AggieMom, thanks for the link. </p>
<p>She has TONS of time to think. Undergrad school is a chance to expolore and discover new interests. Most 14-year-olds are not in a position to decide what they want to do as a career - and they shouldn’t have to think about college as being the place where they have to decide, either. Many paths are open… And, if you wouldn’t mind clarifying, (I’m just curious ), why is it that you think she cannot take any honors or advanced classes in her sophomore, junior or senior year to help her attain top ten percent rank? (Not that she has to be top ten percent to get into UT or A & M… we know many kids who got into U.T. who were not top ten or even close.)</p>
<p>If your child is attending a super competitive school in TX with a disproportionate number of honors students then certainly UT and TX A&M know that. </p>
<p>Sounds like you are doing the right things – working on her math, getting her ready for AP courses, etc. </p>
<p>Anxious mom is right. Your 14 year old may be too young to know what career is right for her. If she finds that she hates chemistry &/or AP Chemistry (or some other necessary pre-req), she may realize that her love for animals won’t extend to being a vet. Many young girls talk about wanting to be a vet because they love animals, but they soon find out that they don’t have the real desire to excel at the math and sciences needed for the job. Your daughter may have “what it takes” and that is great. (I don’t want to be discouraging, just open-minded.)</p>
<p>You’re on the right track, getting her prepared, as I wrote in the first paragraph. Best of luck :)</p>
<p>Believe me, I do know that she may not make it, in fact I would prefer she explore other things, but right now I am just trying to stay on the right track. </p>
<p>She signed up for PreAP Chem for next year. She said she is determined to do well.</p>
<p>I am trying to walk that line of supporting her, helping her with her school deficits, and making sure I get her some good and correct info.</p>
<p>Check this out. For example, my school sent 72 kids in 1996 which is probably about how many were in the top 10%. BUT obviously not every single student in the top 10% went to UT. I would say maybe half, taking into account students going to A&M and out of state. So there is hope even for UT if she is not in the top 10%.</p>
<p>Also, my personal advice as a student. I would not worry about the SAT yet, but would worry about her catching up in math. Alg 1 is absolutely necessary for the other high school math and science courses and of the SATI, of course. In my school. Honors Chem used some Alg 2, so she might want to rethink that if she’ll be taking Geometry next year.</p>
<p>While UT-Austin and A&M are the frontrunners in Texas, as a growing state several other state universities should be on your radar screen. I would say especially Texas Tech. Most of the other schools including UT and A&M have ways to get in, if not directly such as satellite UTs and BLinn JC in Colelge Station.</p>
<p>
[quoteShe is not pulling an A in Algebra 1 and this is basic Algebra. Right now she has a C. She has alot of “make-up” from public school in Missouri.
I have contacted a tutor, she has been getting help from the teacher, but she keeps blowing the test. The teacher keeps telling me how hard she is working so I know she is really trying.
[/quote]
One thing to consider here is that is she is putting in lots of work, she’s just not working on the RIGHT things. It’s a funny thing, in 12 years of school they never actually stop and teach you HOW to study various subjects. You’re supposed to figure it out on your own. College is no different. For example, as an engineer you’re supposed to be able to think thru problems logically and have good study skills, but I can assure you that in 4 years of education at a solid engineering school there was never even 10 minutes spent discussing this.</p>
<p>There is a book I recommend highly that may help your D. It is called “What Smart Students Know” and is written by a cofounder of the Princeton Review Prep service. I have never seen a clearer explanation of how to study various subjects, figure out what is important, get the most out of textbooks, etc. It is no magic solution, you still need to work hard, but at least you’ll know the work put in is being done effectively.</p>
<p>One other tip that I’ve found useful for math and science classes. There are lots of books available titled “worked problems in Algebra” or whatever the subject is. These are worth their weight in gold. Find the chapter on what you’re textbook is covering. Try to answer the 1st problem while covering up the solution. If you’ve got it, great. If not, look at the solution and see how they did it, then cover it up and make sure you can do it yourself. Go on to the next problem. Repeat until you’re solving them without using the solutions in the book. Works great for math, chem, physics, any subject where there is a clear path to the correct solution.</p>
I can’t even begin to tell you all the things that can happen/change in the next few years. To the complete shock of our entire family, our daughter wound up begging to leave her top prep school in Dallas and go to boarding school for junior year in high school. Off she went to Interlochen in northern Michigan to pursue music and academics. The academically and athletically talented Wild Child got kicked out of his prep school in March of sophomore year and spent a year getting his life back on track before doing a repeat junior year at a northeast prep boarding school where he is now a senior. He will be going to Penn next year. My point is- where my kids wound up could never have been predicted during freshman year in high school.