@Jpgranier …have you visited UA?
To say we were very surprised is an understatement.
The Texas engineering admissions game has changed a LOT in the past few years.
A&M engineering admissions is by holistic review. Even if you get in, you still have to apply again in the next year. They make it clear you are competing with all the other crowd (Blinn bridge team, etc.) for the spots.
UT-looking at the stats from last years admissions cycle makes me very leery. We’ve been in touch with a kid who was valedictorian and almost a perfect SAT and she did not get in. She was accepted to the school itself of course, but not to engineering. And even if you are accepted directly to your major–what happens if you get in and realize you want to do Civil E instead of MechE? They make it clear that switching to another major is almost impossible.
You really really should visit Alabama before you swipe it to the bottom of your list.