Take this with a grain of salt since I’m a rookie here and not an expert but…we do live in Texas.
Moving right before a kids junior year can be brutal. I’m sure it is brutal anywhere, but especially to Texas. Admission to the two most selective state schools here is based heavily on class rank. A&M is top 10% and UT is top 7-8% for automatic admission.
These kids have been playing the GPA/rank game since 7-8th grade. They have been taking weighted classes since 8th grade and in the biggest and best school districts it is “game ON” for these kids. If you move, some of her classes may not transfer as weighted the same and she could lose a LOT of footing. Also, she will have to dig in to her ECs and it could be an uphill battle. We have met a kid who moved from the mid-west…high GPA, class president, etc. It was a really really rough year for her to transition. Jumping in to a brand new school and finding a leadership position was daunting. Very daunting. Sports might be easier since skill seems to be more transferrable and it sounds like she would be very competitive there.
I’m sure it can be done and I’m sure lots of kids do it. But if you don’t HAVE to do it…I wouldn’t.
Even if you do get IN state tuition to Texas, your costs won’t be what you need. UT gives very very little merit aid an the total cost of attendance will be close to $27,000 per year. I wouldn’t count on getting $10K in merit from them at all. Texas A&M = might get a smaller merit scholarship with good stats, but still $22-25K yearly.
Sounds like a better plan would be to stay put and hunt for merit.
JOKING…but if you are determined to move, perhaps a better move would be to move to a state with a historically low cutoff score for NMF and let her take the test there and stay there all year, lol!!! (totally joking!!)