I am an international student and I am yet to receive a decision
@Goo123 You nailed it. It’s not for everyone. It’s really competitive and academically challenging in many of the majors. The admissions process is crazy. Top kids don’t get in. Great kids who don’t have the top stats get in. Makes for a really diverse smart and interesting class. Rank doesn’t mean much to employers - they want kids that are smart, hard working and prepared to contribute. Making 5 comments in a row trashing UT just sounds like someone is still really angry over the admissions decision. Time to move on…IMHO.
Yes, my kid was CAPed so you can call it sour grapes if you want…
This is my take on CAP/PACE/Blinn/PSA/PLAN/Bridge and any other alternative admission paths (Texas is not the only State that has had to resort to alternative admission plans!). If a student is sitting on a full offer of admission at a similarly “ranked” school (in our case, DD has full admit offers at University of Florida, Fordham, Texas A&M, Florida State, University of South Carolina, Auburn etc) I simply cannot see the real value in taking an alternative admissions offer, particularly if you are talking about the highly ranked “desirable” majors where you gain no real admissions advantage over an external transfer candidate; unless we are talking about students that have financial restrictions or need to remain in state, but even then Texas Tech, U of H, UTD are excellent options in their own right!
Maybe I just don’t understand the concept of “dream” schools? IMO, no school is THAT fantastic. Why would a student accept an alternative admissions path if there are other, essentially equal, full admissions offers on the table? I understand if a student had UTSA (and the like) on their list independently and it was a school they are already seriously considering, then why not take the CAP offer and leave all the avenues open…otherwise, there are other great schools that will provide similar outcomes. Schools where the student is not under the added pressure to perform because they have to meet a GPA bar to transfer (freshman year is hard enough), they aren’t limited in the classes available to take, they can fully use their AP and dual credits, they don’t have to pack up and move their life after a year of forming friendships, getting to know professors, learning the “system” etc.
Perhaps, I am being short sighted, but honestly, why would a student want to attend a school that wasn’t willing to accept them, unconditionally, the first time around? The school was in a sense saying one of two things: “We have concerns that you might not be able to hang here academically, so you need to prove yourself”; or that the student is qualified but there is no spot available; in which case you are not their first choice over the holistic review student they took instead. The 10% rule here in Texas means schools have to take some students who may not be ready, academically, to thrive at UT or A&M. There is a certain anticipated level of attrition, those students will fail/drop out and students in the alternative admissions programs are the warm bodies meant to fill those vacated spaces. Academics is not sports, students should not be some school’s back up plan, second string, option, particularly when the student can go be a starter on an equally “impressive” team.
Absolutely, alternative admissions plans need to be looked at thoroughly. We actually fully reviewed the alternative admission paths at both UT & A&M before DD even applied because she was not a guaranteed admissions candidate and we knew that might be what she was offered. Be sure to read the fine print, weigh the options and most importantly, understand yourself. It may well be a good decision for some students, but, in general, I truly do not see the appeal. For my CAPed liberal arts psychology major kid, CAP may even have been a good guaranteed risk (UTSA was actually already on her list as a safety school here in Texas). But, in the end, there was no compelling reason to take the offer just because UT is a great school and she really likes it.
At our house we say: Bloom where you are planted! Best Wishes to everyone no matter where you end up or how you get there!
In our case it had everything to do with affordability. We bought Texas Tomorrow plans for both of our children at birth. We selected the 4 year in state plans for both because that’s what we could afford. Our kids grew up to be artists. UT was the school and the city that had the most appeal to them for a host of reasons. Our older daughter was offered CAP and opted not to take advantage of that. She got scholarships to a small liberal arts school amounting to what we would’ve spent out of pocket for UT. She hated it and transferred to UT as a sophomore and had a great experience. Our second daughter got into UT as a non auto admit Freshman. The other very fine in state universities just didn’t appeal to our kids. We were kind of in a box with the TT plans but they also turned out to be a God send for us financially. I hope every student and parent makes their decisions based on their own circumstances with their eyes wide open. Incidentally, our second daughter successfully transferred internally to her dream major. It is possible. Wishing all students and their families the very best!
Completely agree with you @labegg ! Your DD has some wonderful choices! My DD has gotten acceptances and scholarships from a few colleges that make them competitive with UT. In fact, Florida State is cheaper in both tuition and housing than UT for her. For example, my D1 lived in Callaway House her freshman year. Think it’s over 2k a month now. They have a “Callaway House” by American Campus at FSU and it is only $900 a month. Housing in Austin is so pricey which can make OOS colleges comparable in price with scholarships. For your DD, my understanding is that psychology major at FSU is superb.
Wishing everyone the best and if you need some guidance, an old friend of mine, Frank Bruni wrote “Where You’ll Go Is Not Who You’ll Be” and I highly recommend it. It speaks of the madness of the admissions process. It certainly seems crazier than it was back in my day.
Actually Texas isn’t the only state that has alternate admissions. GA Tech for one has a couple of different sophomore guarantee transfer paths. The GA Tech alternate paths aren’t as big but have a similar focus (i.e. kids that are not engineering majors may be offered this transfer path at GA Tech because they believe they will have space after the inevitable attrition).
Has anyone heard back from dean’s scholars?
@coolguy985 Yes.
@minimango when?
@coolguy985 It was last week
Just got accepted into Engineering Honors Program! Anyone know where/when can I find out about the scholarship?
I just received my rejection letter. I’m an OOS student and my intended major was economics.
1440 SAT
740 Math 1 subject test
720 Marh 2 subject test
3.85/4 GPA
Taken every AP course my school provides and I’m currently self-studying for another AP and going to take a dual-credit calculus course in April.
4 year varsity basketball player
3 year varsity cross country runner
4 years of club basketball (AAU)
I have been volunteering as a coach for my basketball club for 4 years as well
I am apart of oregons adopt-a-road program for which I clean the road that my school is located on.
Currently a math tutor at a nearby elementary school.
I have gone on multiple mission/service trips
My essays were ok. If I had written them now they would be a lot better, but I’m still surprised that I got rejected.
@abstract6 hey, what major did you apply for?
@sreeja I applied for International Relations under College of Liberal Arts
My twin sister got into engineering honors!! 1550, 36, 4.0 UW, 4.7 W, I’m very proud of her!!!
Accepted to College of Liberal Arts for Economics
32 ACT with 10/12 in the essay
Above average essays
Very genuine essays
1 recomendation
A couple of hours of community service
Very involved with school and environment
Showed real passion for subject
Very Happy with the decision
Has anyone received a financial aid offer from UT?
Accepted to College of Liberal Arts for Economics!
International Student.
@Longhornalum2 You really need to move on-- its borderline psycho to stock a board for a school your kid didn’t get into last year. i Mccombs( top 10 in virtually every major in their college and top 1 in accounting) is very interested in the whole student. you should have done your homework and prepared your student for that type of an application. I did and have t two non auto admit kids from private schools now attending UT -one into an honors program. Their approach clearly works for them because they are ever- improving in their ranks. the school you are so proud of- ranks 42 in their undergraduate business program. So you aren’t being honest with yourself or this forum when you claim that it is a MUCH higher ranked program. CAP is not something I would have chosen either but your rage around that program is not warranted. it works for many people and some people get to schools other than COLA from it. You can apply to any major- you are just Guaranteed COLA if you meet the CAP requirement.
@minimango Nope! Still waiting! I am not very hopeful, however, as my D is OOS.