I applied to COLA for economics as my first choice and Undeclared for my second.
is it just my account or UtDirect is down???
Why does UT take so long to announce decisions? The universities that I got accepted into want me to commit by May 15th, and UT could send their decisions after that date.
I was wondering if taking honors courses ups your chances by any means?
@hookem2016 I’ve been told by other UT students that the rigor of your courses doesn’t matter. Only GPA. So as a transfer student, honors won’t do anything for you. A 4.0 is better than a 3.8 in all honors classes.
Rigor means technical classes completed with good grades. For example, if applying to CNS… Biology 1 and 2, plus physics, and calc… compared to one biology class and the rest electives. They want to see you taking challenging courses, not just elective junk. (How I understood it, as a transfer applicant)
I think rigor DEFINITELY matters. If the admissions reviewers are comparing 2 applicants both with 3.75 GPAs, the person with more rigorous courses will most likely be admitted over the other person with less rigorous work. Getting an A in AP US History means less than an A in Calculus.
@britni12 I’m referring the school at which you did the class at. Calculus at Harvard is viewed the same as Calculus at your local CC to UT.
What classes you took comes down to curriculum completion, not rigor. If you have pre-reqs done, then it’s looked favorably upon, but just taking hard classes alone doesn’t improve your chances. It’s straight GPA they’re looking at. A person with a padded GPA full of junk courses who has the same pre-reqs complete will be at an advantage at UT.
I had a C- in a Physical Education class I was forced to take, and it was used to calculate my GPA for transfer with a negative impact. Once you take the expected CNS science courses, padding absolutely does work. That’s why current UT students have such a hard time doing internal transfers. They’re competing against external transfers who padded their GPA with easier courses while the UT students got lower GPAs from taking UT courses. UT grades on a +/- scale, while Texas CCs don’t. It works against current UT students trying to internal transfer.
This has all been confirmed on the UT Reddit by current students. It’s not fair, but that’s how UT operates.
We are talking about 2 different things lol I wasn’t adressing your comment either, I was just adding my 2 cents for the OP’s question.
But, I don’t agree that GPA is the most important thing. Just from what I’ve read on the UT website and various forums, and learned from talking specifically to an application evaluator, they look at the courses you have taken as well as your GPA, also essays, academic growth, and personal achievement are big. But, you and I aren’t experts here lol We can only give our opinions. I’m not saying you’re wrong in any way 
@BlueMoonArmy That’s not how it works. My high school cs teacher is good friends with Calvin Lin, the Director for Turing. He explained to my teacher how CNS evaluates apps. I can’t say about any other college.
The metric changes each year because the applicant pool gets increasingly competitive. What they judge last year’s candidates on won’t necessarily be the same things they look for in this year’s pool. In essence they look at 3 factors. GPA, prerequisite completion, and course rigor. The look at prerequisite completion first. High volume of students means there is little room for students to enter who are significantly behind. Then they look at GPA within the prerequisite classes. What good is it if you can get an A is history but you get a C+ in a core class? It’s not favorable to admit a student who is just barely getting by in his major. After they narrowed down the candidates based on that, they have a pretty good idea on who’s standing where. Then they look at course rigor. Course rigor doesn’t just mean taking the most difficult class, it can also mean taking the most number of challenging courses. Let’s say you’re majoring in CS. You have 4 classes that you can take this semester. You take Algorithms, Data Structures, History, and Intro to Sociology. Meanwhile Johnny is taking Algs, Data Structs, Calc 2, and Intro to Sociology. Johnny’s course rigor is more than yours because of the extra difficult class that applies to his major. In other words, he shows more interest in making progress with his degree track faster. He’s willing to challenge himself more than you.
Once they get to that level, then they start reading candidates essays and resumes. Turns out Johnny has an arrogant personality, which shows through his essays, and he has no internship experience. You on the other hand have interned as a software engineer with a local company. That speaks volumes too. This is where the process becomes holistic. This is where you see someone with a 3.9 get in over a 4.0. Maybe the 4.0 was just an ahole with no expirience? There are a myriad of reasons why someone would with lower stats would get in above a 4.0. These are just some examples. The essays and resumes are what they use to make the final decision.
After all is said and done they go back to look at the would be rejects. Maybe they can find a diamond in the rough. Maybe someone has a special circumstance that made their GPA be low. Maybe someone was a veteran and they couldn’t complete all their prereqs, but the have a 4.0. There are multiple reasons why someone could be picked out of this pile.
In the end, everyone’s essays/resumes are read. We all have an equal shot
@utairplane28 interesting info, thank you!
As a fellow CNS applicant, I have a relatively low overall GPA (disaster first year, it’s been great since then), but a 4.0 in all my major courses (mathematics). Do you think CNS will put significantly more weight on my 4.0 major GPA considering all my “bad” grades are in irrelevant courses?
To add, I’ve taken College Algebra, Trigonometry, Calc I, II, and III, Differential Equations, and Introduction to Mathematical Proofs - received an A in every single one of them, while working part-time as a supervisor of peer tutors in my college’s math help center.
@utairplane28 That was exactly what I was saying! Haha, you said it much better and with more detail, so kudos to you haha
@Clintonwk I have a crazy low GPA (UT calculated it to a 3.21!!! Talk about almost fainting!), but only because of when I went to college 10 years ago. I have gotten a 4.0 in the last 4, soon to be 5, semesters, with good biology technical courses including an education class with an internship, also 2 essays clearly describing the lessons learned from failing college at first, and an experience during my field work, which clerly defines my statement of purpose. I am in review still, so obviously, GPA isn’t THAT big of a deal. When UT says transfers get a holistic review, I really believe we do, or I would have been rejected 1st cut… (at least I hope some people have been rejected for CNS so far, or else my logic is out the window and I will cry).
I have the same question as well. I attended another university and made a C- in Chem. I decided to go back to a CC and at the CC, the Chem is count only as introductory. Now I am taking the Chem that is actually required for the major and I am doing well in it. Would UT Austin still calculate the C- into my GPA even though it is only an introductory course? If anyone can answer this, it’d be great.
@xkarebearr ALL classes you have ever taken are counted in your transfer GPA. (Words from an application evaluator)
I dropped a class last semester so I didn’t receive a grade for it. It counted toward my 6 course drop limit. Will UT calculate that class I dropped into my gpa? because the class I dropped is an hour I attempted. attemped hours
i have talked to several (count: close to a dozen) advisors, and none have said that specific classes matter. i think the biggest thing is a positive “trend”-- getting better, or staying on top of your grades, rather than the classes you took.
however: honors classes does help, i’ve been told, especially if you’re active in the honors society.
@UTplsicri you recieve a W for the class, which has no effect on your gpa. however, more than two W’s is looked upon negatively by admissions.
From UT’S website to clear up:
The admission grade point average (GPA) is computed on all transferable college coursework the student has undertaken, whether passed, failed, or repeated. The Office of Admissions uses the University’s numerical equivalents as described in Academic Policies and Procedures when computing GPA for transferable coursework.
GPA is computed by dividing the total number of grade points by the total number of semester hours pursued. (Credit hours and grade points earned on the quarter system carry 2/3, or .66, the numerical value of those on the semester system.)
Transfer credit is not given for courses in which incoming students have earned a grade of D+, D, D-, or F. However, if such courses would normally be eligible for transfer, they are included when GPA is calculated.
During transfer GPA calculations, an A or A+ earned on transferable coursework is awarded four points.
Each instance in which a course is taken is counted when GPA is computed. For example, a course that a student takes twice in an effort to raise a grade is counted twice when the GPA is computed. However, transfer credit for a repeated course is counted only once.
Also, classes taken DO matter, see below from UT’s website
The Office of Admissions considers the following items when looking for evidence of a strong academic background:
Substantial coursework from a challenging academic institution or program
Evidence of relevant coursework and experiences related to requested field of study
Required and appropriate courses for specific areas of study
Evidence of a positive academic trend
@castlerock1 are you waiting to turn in your final transcript by June 1st or have you already turned in and are just waiting for a response? I am a COLA applicant for econ too but I have to turn my final transcript in by June 1st than wait to see if I got in or not.
Relax every one, relax