If your student is auto, there is no need to apply to both College Station and Galveston. Just apply to College Station. But if your student is concerned of not getting auto-admit status, then apply to both.
Galveston is definitely not easier than College Station. The test difficulties are the same, the only downside on Galveston is fewer choices of sessions.
If applying to both, the AIS and Howdy will have two sets of results, you can easily identify them by “Locations” field.
So is the SRAR already available? From everything I read, I thought it wasn’t available until July 1?
Can someone please give me some information and their opinions on the Engineering Honors program? My son is considering applying but he wants to know more about it before doing so.
Also, if he applies and is admitted to it, is he automatically in or does he have to accept it?
Student applies to Engineering Honor after admission to university. It is a separate application requiring a separate essay and LOR. Engineering honor students are not required to live in engineering honor dorm. Only the ECOS members are required to live in the specific dorms.
Detail here
Good luck to all who are taking their SAT today! I pray that you get the score that you have worked so hard for and will be proud to submit with your application.
good luck to the new comers
yes good luck for the SAT! I think it’s the new digital one and some said it was pretty hard.
Thank you for all the helpful info!
Is there a separate essay question to complete to be considered for scholarships and if so anyone know what that is? I know they don’t give many merit scholarships but still good to apply right? 
Eldest is current student at Galveston and looked at CS and Galveston prior. He decided to go Maritime Transportation so not quite the same situation as your son. Some plus/minuses to consider though:
Galveston is much smaller, 2500 students vs 75,000. Completely different vibe for good and bad. It’s quiet and safe but not nearly as much to do.
Class sizes are MUCH smaller at Galveston. Largest one is about 75 and most are 30 or less. Teachers are much more accessible.
The students at Galveston are a different type than CS. Most are from smaller HS’s or from the Coast or area. You also have a large contingent who are going for one year planning to transfer because they couldn’t get in regular. Thus your son will be one of the strongest academically qualified kids and will have a significant advantage compared to CS. At CS you have a lot of kids who were Top 10% at the strongest HS’s in Texas, very few of those at Galveston. The Top 10% kids in Galveston tend to be from the small schools unless they specifically wanted to major in something related to Galveston only. My elder son was Top 50% from a very competitive HS and has a 4.0 and will graduate in 3 years, has taken 19+ hours for 3 Semesters. The classes aren’t easier but the competition isn’t the same and the profs are much more approachable. A kid that knows how to study and be engaged will do well.
Football tickets are awesome, you draw before CS. My son has had 1st Row on the 3rd Deck for 5 games in 2 years including Alabama last year. A lot of folks from Galveston have no connection to CS and are there because of the major not A&M so for those that are it’s a big advantage.
The size of the campus is night and day and was a big plus for my son. You can walk the entire Galveston campus in 30 minutes. A&M you can walk for 3 hours and still only get to part of it. It’s far less intimidating.
Biggest drawback is lack of activities. My son plays flag football and softball in the Fall and after that it’s pretty limited. The gym is small. There just isn’t that much to do except study or go to the beach much of the time. CS you have a million activities and clubs to get involved in and there is always 100 things going on. There the key is self discipline. Just a completely different culture from that perspective. You are a number in CS but not Galveston, Col Fossum is walking around all the time as well and is very approachable.
Everyone at Galveston lives on campus outside of a handful. CS it’s mainly Freshman on campus and then folks live Off Campus. You also have a LOT more food options in CS, Galveston you have to buy the meal plan and the food is decent for what it is but really you only have a few options.
My advice is to go ahead and apply to both and get accepted at both and then visit both. Don’t do the tours though. Call the Departments and speak with an Advisor and current student. That’s how you can really know which one is the right feel for you. Also if your son does Spend the Night in CS typically the last thing they do is go to a class with a Corps member. That was very helpful for my son to understand what life would be like for him and really see beyond the sales pitches (it wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected). Homeschool to CS is a big transition but it’s really about self discipline and how your son handles new things. Good luck!
Great intel and insite. Thank you for sharing that.
It truly is so different.
Our daughter is planning to apply in August and wants to use the Common App since she finds it a more user friendly option. How does she share her interest in being considered for Honors (University as well as Biology) if she is not using Apply Texas?
She should apply using the Common App and once she gets an ID from TAMU, then apply for Honors. From the website Honors FAQs - LAUNCH (tamu.edu)
You must first complete your application to the university and obtain your NetID (login ID) and password. The process between submitting your application and getting your NetID sometimes can take up to a week, so we recommend applying early.
Incoming freshmen apply to our program between August 1 and December 15 each year. Prospective students can indicate their interest by checking the appropriate box in the ApplyTexas or Common App application. This action will generate an email with a link to our application. Because we require students to live in the Honors Housing Community, students also have to apply for on-campus housing by the deadline.
Continuing students, those who are already enrolled at TAMU, can apply to the University Honors Program between December 1 and February 1 each year.
See Apply to Honors for details on both application processes.
Thank you for the information!
Here’s the link for Biology HNR program (google can send you to every website, link etc).
Personally, I think the major/college HNR programs are FAR superior to UH (University Honors). Bio HNR will be incredibly competitive, but doesn’t hurt to apply!
June 1st SAT scores are out. I am so proud of all of the hard work our son put in over at Kahn Academy prior to taking the test. It all paid off! We saw a 210 point increase from his first full length practice test to his actual SAT score.
The stats that my son will be submitting to A&M Engineering: #1 out of 18 in his class, 4.0 unweighted GPA (our school doesn’t do weighted GPA) and a 1480 (730 Reading/Writing and 750 Math). His english teacher will be proofreading his essays before he submits them. It looks like the stars are aligning for our son to become a second generation Aggie.
Yeah he will have zero trouble being admitted first round to Tamu main campus engineering. Well done. No stress except get that application in in August.
Kid officially moved up one spot and is now top 10%! So I guess that means auto-admit and with his 1490 SAT I feel pretty confident he’ll get into engineering. I guess I need to look into dorms and honors programs now. His SRAR is done and he started working on the main essay, but I know there are a bunch of other little essays he needs to do too. Unfortunately we have to wait till the counselors link the Common App to Schoolinks to send the transcript, but I’ll make sure his part of the app gets done early August. Any other tips?
Congrats on all the great stats!
Good news here too. End of Junior year transcripts and rankings came out this week and mine is still in the top 2% and 4.0(unweighted). She’s going to start working on the SRAR and extracurricular/activity list, and then in July work on the essay.
Would you submit a 30 ACT score? It’s not needed with being auto-admit but wondering more so for any honors programs etc. I think it’s a good score (and would be 31 if superscored which TAMU doesn’t do) but doesn’t seem as high as far as aligning with ranking and GPA.
Did you say what major? I would submit a 30.
Applying to Mays Business school. I know their honors program is super competitive so is very much a long shot!