Jump to content

Surly kids who can't get into UT


texasdago

Recommended Posts

4 hours ago, Tailgate said:

I was a C student in H.S. I was a diehard Horn and like someone else said, woke up my junior year and worked my tail off. Still didn’t have grades or test scores to get in so I went what’s now called the CAP route. I believe perseverance and hard work will win all day. If he’s got that, he’ll find his way. 

When did you graduate HS? 

 

You guys know what organizations look at 8th grade PSATs? I remember the Duke TIP used to in the 90s.  Anyone else?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On one of the first pages, I talked about this book and it deserves repeating.  

This journalist spent a year at Washington, Emory, and Davidson in the admissions department learning about how selections are made and how merit aid is given.  It's a quick read and really eye opening about the entire process.  Because of my kid's chosen major and her academic profile, we tailored her college list based on what I learned in this book.  As a result, she's gotten into every school so far and all but one has given her the maximum amount of merit aid.

 

  1705083603_WhoGetsInandWhyAYearInsideCol

Edited by CooterBrown
  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/11/2024 at 5:50 PM, SurlyGator said:

Senior daughter (no pics, ya pervs) has a 32 ACT and a 4.3 GPA and lives in an affluent zip code here in metro Nashville, so we are getting boatloads of mail from private schools.  UChicago has sent her a metric fuck ton.  SMU quite a bit, Cornell, Johns Hopkins.  Likely either going to a Christian school or Honors program in-state.

we got soooo many UChicago mailers, which is surprising considering their acceptance rates is miniscule.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/17/2024 at 9:25 AM, MinerProphet said:

Appreciate all the responses @Tailgate @troph @Born to Run @jimmyjazz @Texas Jeff

Follow-on question: while being a Solid-B student is generally not gonna get him to where he wants to be without some sort of CAP, etc., is the phenomenon from back in my day of being a B-student but doing awesome on the SAT's still work? Essentially, can a 1400+ (or 1500+?) SAT score do the heavy lifting that the average GPA can't do in college applications? To be honest and I've told Jr. this-- that is how I got into UT back in the day.

Times are so different that I don't even understand what "Test Optional" applications mean and if you should still send in a test or not and if a killer SAT score can rule the day as a sort of bail-out for not being a great student, but being intelligent.

If any of that makes sense.

others can weigh in.. but the emphasis on one's SAT/ACT score varies from school to school. Even more broadly, the general attitude towards among 4 year universities tend to eb and flow. UC schools don't even look at them. The last 5 years there has seem to be a general de-emphasis of them, but in the last year or so some schools have begun to publicly supported their merit and reverse their positions on them.

Today, i would say if it is important to your son, developing a kick ass story (ie: essay) and lots of community service/school organization involvement might be the way to go. Especially community service in which he takes a leadership role in / not just show up and check the box. <-- All that is a bit daunting i know, especially if he is a typical teenager and not particularly motivated.

Now that is today -  3 years from now; who knows?

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/17/2024 at 9:33 AM, gsoda3 said:

When did you graduate HS? 

 

You guys know what organizations look at 8th grade PSATs? I remember the Duke TIP used to in the 90s.  Anyone else?

Junior National Honor Society?
Hell, they'll even offer you a commemorative book for two installments of $59.99 +S&H.

Edited by Iceman
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 10/17/2024 at 9:25 AM, MinerProphet said:

Appreciate all the responses @Tailgate @troph @Born to Run @jimmyjazz @Texas Jeff

Follow-on question: while being a Solid-B student is generally not gonna get him to where he wants to be without some sort of CAP, etc., is the phenomenon from back in my day of being a B-student but doing awesome on the SAT's still work? Essentially, can a 1400+ (or 1500+?) SAT score do the heavy lifting that the average GPA can't do in college applications? To be honest and I've told Jr. this-- that is how I got into UT back in the day.

Times are so different that I don't even understand what "Test Optional" applications mean and if you should still send in a test or not and if a killer SAT score can rule the day as a sort of bail-out for not being a great student, but being intelligent.

If any of that makes sense.

It depends.  Different schools emphasize different parts of the application.  Some schools are test optional, meaning you can submit a test if you think it helps your case, but you don't have to.  Some schools require it.  Your kid is going to have to write one big essay, and what will seem like a small library of smaller essays on different subjects.  It is like trying to get a drivers license in 8-10 states at the same time.

For UT, a large part of the freshman spots (65-70%) are taken by top 6% students.  About 10% are international/out of state.  That leaves a small amount of the spots that everyone else is trying to get.  So if you are not in the top 6% for UT, you have to be very attractive in some other way to get one of those 15% spots.  A high SAT score plus a kid who is really really interested in a non-popular major might get in ... or maybe not.

For other UT system schools, they don't have as many top 10% kids enrolling, so there a high SAT score or even strong "demonstrated interest" in a major might be enough.  Check out these stats for UT system schools:

Top Ten pct - https://data.utsystem.edu/data-index/applied-admitted-enrolled

UTSA - 17% from the top 10% in 2023
UTD - 23% from the top 10% in 2023

UT Austin - 64% from the top 10% in 2023

SAT scores - https://data.utsystem.edu/data-index/admissions-test-scores

UTSA - 1116 SAT in 2022
UTD - 1291 SAT in 2022 - BTW I think this is slightly better than Texas A&M's average, UTD has smart kids but it's not the classic college experience.

UT Austin - 1403 SAT avg in 2022

If you want to outsource this, you can get a college counselor for your kid that knows what schools want what and will help with applications and school decisions, but it's not cheap.  And you are early for that sort of thing.

 

  • Hook 'Em 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, gsoda3 said:

what else would they look at?

My comment was more about the anointing of Junior high bullshit in general and then selling you a book about it; but hey, it's been a minute since I had anyone in the rat race. 

It's bordering insanity how arbitrary some of the measures are.

  • Hook 'Em 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.



×
×
  • Create New...