@Mommydoodle & @nervoustamumommy, you all might find this link and information helpful:
http://provost.tamu.edu/Provost/media/Assets/pdfs-essentials/TexasA-Messentials_Freshman-Overview_ew.pdf
TAMU HOLISTIC REVIEW:
Academic index of class rank and test scores, plus personal achievement and distinguishing characteristics.
@Thelma2 gave you a very accurate (you can always try reaching out to one of the regional advisers for confirmation) description of how the Admissions office determines an academic index for each student, and how each application is scored. @Mommydoodle, it seems that youāve taken the general idea of the weight of an essay, and made it very literal. Itās not that āthe essayā carries equal or greater weight than other application attributes, itās that āpersonal achievement and distinguishing characteristicsā carry equal weight to āacademic index and class rankā. ONE way that applicants might demonstrate those distinguishing characteristics is via the essay.
That said, and Iām trying to be as gentle and diplomatic about this as is humanly possible, parents are are pretty much never the best judges of whether or not our own childrenās achievements and distinguishing characteristics are outshining someone else. Weāre a little biased towards our own kidsā strengths. And, a little too dismissive of the strengths of others that may be a weakness for our loved ones. As parents, we pretty much believe (and each of us knows that weāre right) that our kid is the best, most accomplished, most wonderful, most extraordinary, kid on the planet. 
And, we are right, after all! The problem is that all of those other parents are right too.
An Admissions committee isnāt tasked with seeing applicants through a proud parents lens, nor giving greater weight to the attributes that we, as parents, see as our own kidās strength or edge in the process. All of the talk about ālower stat kidsā gaining admission when so-and-soās kid had āhigher statsā is Proud Parent talk not āTAMU Admissionsā process. Stats (gpa, class rank, test scores),in holistic admissions, is only ever one piece of the puzzle. For exampleā
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A student with a 3.4 gpa, 2nd quarter rank, and an 1100 SAT score could be an amazing musician with a demonstrated knack and passion for composition and teaching. In her application, not only is she a solid student (above average), with an above average (everywhere except College Confidential, Ha!) SAT score, but her personality, her passion, and her plan for what she could give to and take from the A&M community shone through. Sheās left an impression on her high school (evidenced by her rec letters), in her community, and with the AOs who read her file. Her essay was more than just an answer to a question, but made the AOs smile, and laugh, and cry, and truly see her on campus, and sharing that gift that her grandmother shared with her. They know she will, because it clearly meant so much to her. They can already tell that sheās got extraordinary leadership abilities and that sheās a doer, because she didnāt just list a bunch of school clubs with officer titles, but she was able to convince an obstinate school board to use gift money that she initiated for instruments for elementary students with no music program. Then, she volunteered her time, and convinced a retired music teacher to volunteer to get the music program going. She put together a musical that served as a fundraiser for music books and more instruments for the younger kids at her old elementary school. She got over her fear of public speaking, went to Austin, and gave a short but compelling speech before the State Board of Education on the value of music in education. While sheās never been a straight A student, there is a strong upward trend in the strength of her academic abilities. Sheās from a poor district, but she demonstrates her grit by taking the most difficult classes that her school offers, even if she gets more Bs than As. In one of her rec letters, her math teacher noted that sheās never met a problem that she wonāt work hard to master, and talked about a time that she used a musical anecdote to help herself, then her classmates understand a difficult concept. Her teacher ended the recommendation by saying that she has an extraordinary gift for teaching others. Sheāll be the first person in her family to attend college. She wants to double major in Elementary Education and Music. She wants to be an elementary music teacher, and return to her old school to teach.
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There are a great many kids who have great grades. Some percentage of those kids donāt even have to try hard to get them. The average SAT score nationally is about 1068. TAMUs average is much higher, so almost all TAMU admits (even my imaginary music loving student) have āabove averageā test scores. While itās great to be in student council, NHS (or insert honor society of your choosing), chess club, , DECA, etcā¦ Lots and lots of kids do those things. So even if your kid is amazing, it may not be as easy or as obvious as you think to distinguish themselves from the pack of other amazing kids. And, musical girl above is no less deserving of TAMU admission, because she didnāt rise to the first or second decile of her class, or manage to get an SAT score in the 99th percentile. Her ability to demonstrate potential and opportunity for success, distinguishing herself from her peers, isnāt diminished because her āstatsā arenāt better than a random somebody else. She can tell her story better than the last applicant, and the next. If she does, she may very well gain the advantage.
None of this is to say that any kid is undeserving. To the contrary, I think that most of the kids showcased in this thread will or would thrive at A&M. The point is that thereās no definitive formula to give you. Thereās no right or wrong mix of awesome attributes. Itās a combination of the story that is told from your childās academic profile, other distinguishing characteristics, and the perception of those things by admissions. There is no question that your kids are accomplished and deserving. But ālower statsā does not, by default, mean ālesser applicantā.