The Texas A&M engineering major admission procedure is described at:
https://engineering.tamu.edu/academics/advisors-procedures/entry-to-a-major
https://engineering.tamu.edu/academics/advisors-procedures/entry-to-a-major/application-recommendations
It does look like a 3.5 college GPA automatically admits to the first choice major, bypassing the uncertainty of evaluation of essays or being placed in a second or third choice major (students are required to apply to at least three majors):