@pinkcactus456
That makes a lot of sense. If a student had tons of STEM experience, by all means show them on the resume/essays. But I suspect most kids probably don’t know much about what different majors really mean, with the better ones perhaps know the rough direction such as STEM without further specifics. For sure there are exceptions, but I don’t believe those who know exactly what they want to do can outnumber what UT can take. I am afraid many, if not most, kids were forced to pick something to write about when staring college application.
Some further thoughts below on majors, not necessarily related to essay writings.
Given that most of my college classmates in Engineering Mechanics are not working in that area (I’d be surprised if it’s more than 15% stayed if not counting those still in academia), I don’t believe picking a major is that critical in most cases; there is a high probability you will switch to something else. The most valuable trainings I got from my engineering education (10 years total from the most rigorous engineering school in China) was the analytical thinking and quantitative skills, and that can be learned from any other STEM majors. Those trainings definitely helped me to get into UT graduate school in business, and definitely helped me in my career, but again those are the generic trainings you can get from any STEM majors. If you didn’t get your dream major, that’s not the end of the world, especially given the multi-disciplinary nature of most of those cutting-edge areas today.
I see a lot of STEM oriented kids are assigned to liberal arts by AA. That’s unfortunate. But you probably can check out the research by UT economics professors, and you will be surprised how much STEM is required for that line of work. I took many economics PhD level classes at UT, and there was this undergraduate kid taking a few of the same classes with us; he also took PhD level classes in the business school with us. I am sure he had done well after graduation.
Excellent post. My daughter was accepted in December. Her essays, ECs, expanded resume, and even her letters of recommendations all pointed and emphasized her intended major. You really have to sell the admission officers your entire story with your essays, ECs, etc…
I would definitely appeal for those that did not get their intended major. It doesn’t hurt to try.
If I am an auto admit who didn’ t receive my major, can I appeal? The only information I’ve found is that I can internally transfer. Could you perhaps provide some extra information or a link about appealing in my situation? It would be beyond helpful.
My son is AA. He was admitted in December to CNS as a math major. He is 19/583 with 13 APs. He did not submit test scores for admission, because he hadn’t taken the tests since Aug/Sept junior year. He took them in Sept/Oct and decided to submit them in Nov, even though it was listed as too late. We thought they might still look at the scores for major consideration and his math was high for both, English, not so much. That said, I agree with a few points above.
Major Fit - He has taken 6 HS math courses (doubling up junior year with AP stats) and taking AP Calculus BC now, so going through the highest level of math at his school. He also has taken 3 years of computer science courses and that is often seen as math. He always new he would be a STEM major of some sort and went from ChemE to Pharmacy to BioChem to Applied Math (Stats).
Essay - He is not a good writer, so it was not flowery or extra special, but it told who he was. A paragraph about why he took the HS courses he did and always took the top level offered of any course to challenge himself. A paragraph about taking Stats in HS inspiring him to major in it and how he could apply it in different areas. A paragraph about what he learned in sports (varsity swim 4 years) throughout his life. A paragraph about volunteering with kids and volunteer swim coaching little kids for 3 summers. A paragraph about a physical challenge that he dealt with in HS.
Early - He applied to 4 schools and all within the first 4-5 days of August after applications opened. He wrote his essay over the summer, so it was ready to cut/paste into his applications.
No optional resume.
No super special EC, just 4 years varsity sport, NHS, SciNHS, plenty of volunteering though
Summers - volunteer coaching/teaching swim to little kids
No mention of UT specifically in his essay
I’m guessing that my kid showed up as well rounded enough (athlete, volunteer) and an academically good fit for his major.
I’m wishing all of the still hopefuls good luck. Just be yourself in your essay and tell who you are. If they want you, then you are a good fit. If they don’t, there are numerous other schools that will choose you and in the end will likely be a better fit. There is not only one perfect school where you can be successful, there are many. You have the power to determine your success more than anything else.
You can appeal but it usually won’t work unless you tell them new information they did not know before. However, there was one year where a bunch of appeals were granted.
I don’t think this is the year an appeal will work. For this year, UT got to put anyone they wanted in majors without regard for rank or grades. They got to choose the factors to consider.
My friends are planning but you should be thinking UT as a reach now. The time line simply won’t fit, you won’t wait until April or May for the decision as you have to commit to some other colleges by then.
Surprisingly we have seen more rejections than acceptances? Are they sending acceptances next week? Last year, the same discussion thread was filled with acceptances.
I genuinely feel like it does not hurt to appeal, ESPECIALLY this year and ESPECIALLY if you are AA and did not get your major. A lot of super qualified people got denied their major, and I believe it can’t hurt for you to make sure they take a second look at your application. Appeals do work sometimes and you never know until you try for it. This year is drastically different, so anything could happen. Do not get discouraged, if UT is your dream school, write that appeal essay and keep hoping for the best:)
Thank you for this! I am currently in this situation. I am AA and I applied for public health in CNS and was given liberal arts undeclared. I want to submit an appeal although I’m not too sure what to include in it. My grades this past semester were the best they’ve ever been (five 100s, one 99, and one 98), and I can work on getting another letter of recommendation, although not too much has changed in terms of ECs. Any advice?
I am appealing too, and I just updated my resume (new leadership, etc.), and submitted a new SAT score. I’d say also mention your passion for your major in the essay. best of luck to us all in this situation!!!