Do Texas high school students who rank in top 10% of their high school class get automatic admission at A&M?

I was talking to a friend and they thought A&M had gone to top 8% and tu was top 6%.

TAMU uses the top 10% while UT Austin uses top 6%.

TAMU is top 10% and the other school down the road is top 6%.

https://admissions.tamu.edu/apply/freshman

https://admissions.utexas.edu/apply/decisions

Thanks

Luckily, I was neither of those %'s so someone had to earn their money reviewing my application.

For some colleges (Engineering and Business) there is an additional application. While you may be auto-admitted to A&M or tu, you may not get into the specific college you want to major in.

How "rigorous" is the exemption process? Seems like an opportunity for a good consulting busienss if one does not already exist.

https://admissions.tamu.edu/apply/state-of-texas-uniform-admission-policy

Quote:

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State of Texas Uniform Admission Policy
Uniform Admission Policy

If you attend an out-of-state high school or are a home-schooled student, you are exempt from the Uniform Admission Policy. If you attend a private high school in Texas (or a Department of Defense high school) you must claim an exemption through either:

1. Official SAT/ACT Scores

Your official SAT score must be at least 480 for EBRW and 530 for Math or your official ACT scores must be at least 18 English, 22 Reading, 22 Mathematics and 23 Science.

OR

2. Coursework 'Equal in Content & Rigor'

Applicants who attend private Texas high schools that do not note a graduation plan on their transcripts must submit an exemption form signed by a school official that shows they completed coursework that is "equal in content and rigor" to one of the state's graduation programs.

Details are available on the exemption form.

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If you can't score a 1010 on the current SAT, then you don't really deserve to be auto-admitted.

akm91 said:

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If you can't score a 1010 on the current SAT, then you don't really deserve to be auto-admitted.

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There should be some combination of top 10% and a minimum SAT score to get the auto admit.

My daughter was over 1300 SAT, and ended up PSA at Tarleton for a year.

She graduated last week with honors.

akm91 said:

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If you can't score a 1010 on the current SAT, then you don't really deserve to be auto-admitted.

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There's really no reason for an 'auto-admit,' period. People should work, and know they will be evaluated based on their work/success, but there isn't a 'you're good if you do this' standard in the rest of life.

NCAA minimum....

A student with a 2.3 GPA must have at least a 980 SAT, whereas a student with a 3.55 GPA only needs a score of at least 400 SAT.

lb sand said:

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Do Texas high school students who rank in top 10% of their high school class get automatic admission at A&M?

I was talking to a friend and they thought A&M had gone to top 8% and tu was top 6%.

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Automatic admission at 10%, yes.
Into your major? Not necessarily.
Engineering has their own essays for example. If you don't make it into your top 3 choices of major, they will give you admission into a different department.

Apparently we got rid of the academic auto admit option for Top 25% with competitive SAT/ACT scores to go purely to Top 10% only for auto admit.

Not sure why they did this

Maroon Dawn said:

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Apparently we got rid of the academic auto admit option for Top 25% with competitive SAT/ACT scores to go purely to Top 10% only for auto admit.

Not sure why they did this

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because that's how all the otherwise smart suburban white kids were getting in.

ThunderCougarFalconBird said:

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Maroon Dawn said:

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Apparently we got rid of the academic auto admit option for Top 25% with competitive SAT/ACT scores to go purely to Top 10% only for auto admit.

Not sure why they did this

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because that's how all the otherwise smart suburban white kids were getting in.

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Ahhh well of course that's unacceptable

Maroon Dawn said:

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Apparently we got rid of the academic auto admit option for Top 25% with competitive SAT/ACT scores to go purely to Top 10% only for auto admit.

Not sure why they did this

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There used to be 3 ways to be admitted.

1) Top 10% - Auto Admit

2) Sliding Scale (Higher the GPA, the Lower the SAT required and vice-versa)

2) Top 25% with Minimum SAT Score

3) Holistic Review - Review grades, SAT, school involvement, service hours, etc


#2 has been eliminated.


From what I have heard, they eliminated #2 because you end up with a bunch of kids who may be smart, but don't try and they are not as successful in college, but were pretty much auto-admit with this sliding scale.

Compare that to the #3 group kids who may still have great grades and are poor test takers or may have lower grades, but good test takers, but are actively involved at extra curricular at school, church, volunteering, have a job, etc.

The holistic review gives the admissions department more leeway, where the sliding scale was likely just another form of auto-admit.


EDIT: And yes, another possibility is that it allows them to put more Affirmative Action in place. Unfortunately, A&M is in a similar place as all the other schools with the leftists running .EDU these days.

I was roommates my first semester with some kid from a high school with a seriously mediocre academic track record but was in the top 10% and thus entitled to admission at A&M. I was top 25%/very high SAT auto-admit from a hyper-competitive suburban high school.

He flunked out after a semester and had no business (or preparation for) being at A&M. I did well and graduated on time.

The scale wasn't "sliding." It was top 25% and above 1,400 SAT. Had to have both.

ThunderCougarFalconBird said:

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The scale wasn't "sliding." It was top 25% and above 1,400 SAT. Had to have both.

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You are correct, I modified my post.

I thought it was sliding scale, but that may be NCAA requirements.



Here is pic of the old requirement.

I had too much fun in high school.

I had to get my auto admit via high ACT score.

What's the minimum financial contribution to get my white son admitted? His mom is an LSU grad and he can spell his name correctly 90% of the time and likes corndogs, so we have a backup plan.

Curious as to how that part works.

From our experience, almost everyone we have known has been accepted either:

Top 10% (obvious),

Accepted later in the process (February Acceptance through Holistic Review),

Blinn Team,

Team Galveston with Option to move over later,

and One got provisionial and had to go to summer school (but I think that was prior to Blinn Team admissions).

fka ftc said:

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What's the minimum financial contribution to get my white son admitted? His mom is an LSU grad and he can spell his name correctly 90% of the time and likes corndogs, so we have a backup plan.

Curious as to how that part works.

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You should be asking Felicity Huffman on how much it takes to get kids guaranteed admissions

akm91 said:

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fka ftc said:

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What's the minimum financial contribution to get my white son admitted? His mom is an LSU grad and he can spell his name correctly 90% of the time and likes corndogs, so we have a backup plan.

Curious as to how that part works.

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You should be asking Felicity Huffman on how much it takes to get kids guaranteed admissions

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It should be perfectly legal to get x admission slots based on your financial donation.

You should also get shareholder votes on things like university rules / policies and faculty / admin hiring.

Why would this not be how it works?

lol no, a donation is a donation not a quid pro quo

Hays Ag said:

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lol no, a donation is a donation not a quid pro quo

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Okay, let me know why so many things are named after people who donate money.

fka ftc said:

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Hays Ag said:

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lol no, a donation is a donation not a quid pro quo

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Okay, let me know why so many things are named after people who donate money.

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To get them to donate money.

Esteban du Plantier said:

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fka ftc said:

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Hays Ag said:

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lol no, a donation is a donation not a quid pro quo

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Okay, let me know why so many things are named after people who donate money.

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To get them to donate money.

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Sure sounds like a quid pro quo to me.

By the way, I'm a business guy. A quid pro quo is another name for a business transaction.

Unless prohibited by law or policy, there are perfectly acceptable.

What got the varsity blues guys was falsification of records, having people take tests for another (fraud) and the ubiquitous lying during the investigation.

I am simply asking whether Texas A&M has a process to purchase and admission. If they do, what's the price. If they don't, then the leaders of our great university have their head up their ass and are passing over a gold mine of donations.

fka ftc said:

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Esteban du Plantier said:

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fka ftc said:

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Hays Ag said:

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lol no, a donation is a donation not a quid pro quo

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Okay, let me know why so many things are named after people who donate money.

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To get them to donate money.

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Sure sounds like a quid pro quo to me.

By the way, I'm a business guy. A quid pro quo is another name for a business transaction.

Unless prohibited by law or policy, there are perfectly acceptable.

What got the varsity blues guys was falsification of records, having people take tests for another (fraud) and the ubiquitous lying during the investigation.

I am simply asking whether Texas A&M has a process to purchase and admission. If they do, what's the price. If they don't, then the leaders of our great university have their head up their ass and are passing over a gold mine of donations.

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I have an endowed scholarship at the University with my name on it. Besides deciding the department and.graduate vs undergrad, I have no say in what they do with it.

I don't really get anything in return.

That's not quid pro quo.

fka ftc said:

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Hays Ag said:

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lol no, a donation is a donation not a quid pro quo

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Okay, let me know why so many things are named after people who donate money.

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I know a guy who donated big for his entire life, serious 7 figures and has his name on some things. His Grandson was borderline and didn't get in. Good kid who always wanted to be an Aggie like Dad and Grandad and wound up in the family business. He reduced his donations and after he died his wife wouldn't give A&M another dime.

You have to earn your way in. That said the Top 10% rule only made sense when Texas was a much smaller state and admission to A&M and Texas wasn't at such a premium. It's lunacy that we still do it as other states don't mess with that stuff and creates so much bad behavior and consequences. Class Rank is nice and it should count but to put it as the only way to get auto admission when the State is 30 million is crazy. It also has made A&M over 90% from Texas. We don't even recruit kids nationally in any meaningful way because we have so many in state auto admits. So stupid.

Esteban du Plantier said:

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I have an endowed scholarship at the University with my name on it. Besides deciding the department and.graduate vs undergrad, I have no say in what they do with it.

I don't really get anything in return.

That's not quid pro quo.

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That's my point, there should be.

And yes, I get the point of there not being one and that generally most all people give back to their universities as appreciation for what the university did in helping them prepare for a successful life post college.

Or they give as a general support for education, in honor or memory of someone, or to support special programs (like Aggie ACHIEVE). I am not trying to take aware or discredit those programs, donors and donations in any way whatsoever.

However, we have a severe problem amongst former students where they have been encountering substantial headwinds of getting legacy offspring to attend the university of their preference that in some cases generations of a family have attended.

Why can I not provide a contribution and in return have a set number of admission slots I can allocate to children of legacy Ags?

Merely asking a question, not looking to stir any pots on it.

And I respect and appreciate your choosing to support Texas A&M with your gift. Its honorable and generous.

aggie93 said:

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You have to earn your way in. That said the Top 10% rule only made sense when Texas was a much smaller state and admission to A&M and Texas wasn't at such a premium. It's lunacy that we still do it as other states don't mess with that stuff and creates so much bad behavior and consequences. Class Rank is nice and it should count but to put it as the only way to get auto admission when the State is 30 million is crazy. It also has made A&M over 90% from Texas. We don't even recruit kids nationally in any meaningful way because we have so many in state auto admits. So stupid.

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To be clear, the purchased admission slot still has to be filled by a well qualified student.

I went in the late 1990's when legacy admissions where on their way out. I would likely have never made the cut otherwise (I am sure there are some here who would have been just fine with that).

I do not know where my son may choose to go and I am perfectly fine with him not going to college if that's where his path takes him - though it is my strong preference that he do. It disappoints me that he likely would not get into A&M based on his current trajectory and the composition of our schools. And his Mom and I are unwilling to compromise his childhood just to get him into a certain public university.

fka ftc said:

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aggie93 said:

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You have to earn your way in. That said the Top 10% rule only made sense when Texas was a much smaller state and admission to A&M and Texas wasn't at such a premium. It's lunacy that we still do it as other states don't mess with that stuff and creates so much bad behavior and consequences. Class Rank is nice and it should count but to put it as the only way to get auto admission when the State is 30 million is crazy. It also has made A&M over 90% from Texas. We don't even recruit kids nationally in any meaningful way because we have so many in state auto admits. So stupid.

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To be clear, the purchased admission slot still has to be filled by a well qualified student.

I went in the late 1990's when legacy admissions where on their way out. I would likely have never made the cut otherwise (I am sure there are some here who would have been just fine with that).

I do not know where my son may choose to go and I am perfectly fine with him not going to college if that's where his path takes him - though it is my strong preference that he do. It disappoints me that he likely would not get into A&M based on his current trajectory and the composition of our schools. And his Mom and I are unwilling to compromise his childhood just to get him into a certain public university.

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Not sure of your son's age but things continue to change. They also have gone in big with the Systems admits, Blinn Team, Gateway, etc that's why A&M has the 60 something percent admissions rate even though the "true" admissions rate is in the 20's. By "true" admission meaning that you enter as a Freshman without any restrictions as a regular student. If you looked at it the way elite schools do which is where every admit can major in anything they want (so basically only kids eligible for Mays or Engineering) that rate drops down around 10-15% or so.

So if your son really wants to be an Aggie the path is likely to be there if they work for it and are willing to go the roundabout way. I will recommend not trying to game the system though and focus on the best possible college prep you can if college is your kid's goal. Talking to my son it's a stark difference between the kids from really good HS's vs those that aren't. He thinks college is much easier than HS with less pressure where other kids are sucking wind. It's about where you end up.

Appreciate the info. Never looking to "game" the system, though I am surprised there is not a method to do so financially. Seems like a mutually beneficial exercise assuming the legacy is otherwise well-qualified except for the fact they were born a white male in modern day US, which is the lowest of lows these days.

And yea, he has to put his nose in the books an earn it, regardless. Again, appreciate the response.