<p>I heard University of Texas has a rule where if you are an applicant from Texas in the top 10% of your class, you are automatically admitted. Which makes it significantly harder for students outside the top 10%. And yeah, a lot of state schools just look at grades, class rank, and test scores and input those into a formula. So, many students are automatically admitted (and know either beforehand or right after the application was sent). This generally becomes less true the more competitive a state school gets.</p>
<p>She will probably have trouble at privates like the ivies and such, as they care a great deal about essays, ECs, and teacher recs. These schools want to see a passion (or more) that this student doesn’t seem to have. She still may be admitted, but (even if she were a more active person outside of school) the top privates are a crapshoot.</p>