McK Ag,

We are going on 2 years removed but our son had a similar path as yours it sounds like. UGA and Auburn were strong options but ultimately went TAMU engineering route via Blinn Team or whatever it's called. The waiting sucks and is frustrating. At the time he was disappointed and came close to saying F it but it's turned out great. He ETAM after 2 semesters and other than the drive to Blinn all the same as full time TAMU kids but cheaper first year!

For reference, he was top 11-12%, 31 or 32 ACT, sports, etc. TAMU admission came Feb/March if I remember correctly. UGA process was super easy and very well communicated but zero money to offset costs. Auburn was awesome and enough money to make it a wash with TAMU. At the time, Auburn's money was very black and white and published. X GPA + Y Test score = Z money if that makes sense.

Auburn and UGA definitely worth a visit. For the record, I would have picked Auburn for him over others but it was his call and he's an Aggie so win win for everyone!

Best of luck.

Thanks for that. Visiting UGA in March but the cost will make it tough without some help. Auburn offered a pretty modest amount but nowhere near an offset to in state. Trying to work that one in also while we wait for A&M.

My oldest was offered Blinn TEAM in March 2023 and really wish she went that way in hindsight but their offer was super late and she had already made other plans. My son is twice the student she is but I would expect him to consider Blinn TEAM if offered because he wants A&M so badly.

Hope it doesn't come up to that.

My daughter got in McCombs business today and still hasn't heard back from Mays or TAMU

Same. Son admitted to Texas today…..crickets in College Station.

redaszag99 said:

---

My daughter got in McCombs business today and still hasn't heard back from May or TAMU

---

Congrats! That's a huge accomplishment.

Thanks, I am very proud of her. She wants to be an Aggie but is tired of waiting

Damn man, getting into McCombs is no joke. That's top 2-3% of all hs kids. Congrats dad.

Stonegateag85 said:

---

Damn man, getting into McCombs is no joke. That's top 2-3% of all hs kids. Congrats dad.

---

They tell me that Mays takes 1,000 kids a year and McCombs only takes 250 kids

redaszag99 said:

---

Stonegateag85 said:

---

Damn man, getting into McCombs is no joke. That's top 2-3% of all hs kids. Congrats dad.

---

They tell me that Mays takes 1,000 kids a year and McCombs only takes 250 kids

---

McCombs has about 4k undergrads, Mays is about 6k.

McKinney Ag said:

---

Same. Son admitted to Texas today…..crickets in College Station.

---

Update on our son. Today his AIS changed to the "you have been offered options" which is Blinn TEAM, wait list or both.

Meanwhile he was admitted to Texas last week and yesterday they offered him the honors program. Doesn't make sense.

He also has admits to UGA, TCU and Auburn to name a few others.

Sick to my stomach for my son who has done everything right and achieved at a high level in everything. He is more of an Aggie than many Aggies.

I've never been more disgusted with my alma mater.

Does suck for him and it's avoidable. Communication from TAMU in these situations was nonexistent for our son 2-3 years ago and it sounds like that hasn't changed. It lends itself to a lot of frustration on the kiddo and his families part. Especially when UGA and UA are (or at least were) completely transparent and upfront as to when announcements would come out and they nailed the timing.

Good news is he has a lot of really great options but not the ONE he wants.

I can tell you from experience, the Blinn engineering option turned out to be great. Our son was extra motivated to prove something and ETAM'd in 2 semesters. He didn't have anything to prove and it was all in his head but it got under his skin and worked out well. Unsolicited advice... don't dismiss the Blinn option as a really viable route. At the same time, fully support him going AU or UGA and never look back.

Hang in there and know it's not just your son. TAMU is just too dang big, has 75,000 to choose from, and having a connection to the university doesn't appear to matter during these decisions.

TX with honors is damn strong but would be a tough pill for a kid that's been all maroon.

McKinney Ag said:

---

McKinney Ag said:

---

Same. Son admitted to Texas today…..crickets in College Station.

---

Update on our son. Today his AIS changed to the "you have been offered options" which is Blinn TEAM, wait list or both.

Meanwhile he was admitted to Texas last week and yesterday they offered him the honors program. Doesn't make sense.

He also has admits to UGA, TCU and Auburn to name a few others.

Sick to my stomach for my son who has done everything right and achieved at a high level in everything. He is more of an Aggie than many Aggies.

I've never been more disgusted with my alma mater.

---

Sorry to hear that but Blinn Team is actually a great route if it comes down to it and will save you a lot of money. I totally understand the frustration though. I can't make any sense of A&M or Texas Admissions.

Have yall visited tu and their honors program yet, I don't know much about the latter? Crazy he gets accepted there but got the shaft from A&M. Congrats to him though, that's a nice little feather in the cap.

When did your son apply to A&M? And was he auto admit? And are you in state?

My daughter is into A&M for engineering but was part of the massive deferral for t.u. and that one makes no sense or they haven't let in anyone for her particular major yet. She put down aerospace and is #2 out of 950 in her class, 1560 (with 800 on math), 4 year varsity athlete, officer in clubs, and has a student pilot license which means she can fly an airplane with no one else in it. Hard to make sense of the admissions process.

ag97tx said:

---

When did your son apply to A&M? And was he auto admit?

---

He was excited to apply 8/1 and had a complete application file by 8/9. Not auto or would have been a full admit. He has an almost perfect unweighted GPA but crazy competitive school and gets penalized by being an athlete due to double blocked athletics class and is only top 23%.

Stonegateag85 said:

---

Have yall visited tu and their honors program yet, I don't know much about the latter? Crazy he gets accepted there but got the shaft from A&M. Congrats to him though, that's a nice little feather in the cap.

---

Not yet. Texas was not even on the map of likely outcomes here as the most competitive school he applied to, and also because we thought A&M would at least take him for second choice major. Will be visiting very soon now. Thank you.

The valedictorian for the graduating year before me didn't get into computer science at tu, and the valedictorian of my graduating class couldn't get into nursing there. I know my school wasn't very competitive at all, but it's still crazy to think about.

My son got accepted today but he is hell bent on going to business school and they only offered admission to other colleges as Mays is officially out of spots. That was the feedback his guidance counselor was given as of this morning when some of the admits and waitlist type decisions were handed out. I am more frustrated than he is . . .he just laughed and rolled his eyes. My love for Aggieland is greater than his apparently/

Based on my conversation with him, he is likely going to turn it down as he was accepted to several equivalent or higher ranked business schools around the country. I told him that if there is zero chance of him going then he needs to open that spot up for other applicants.

I of course shaking my head as he had a 4.3 weighted GPA, 34 on the ACT, captain and all conference in two sports, Eagle Scout, All-State Choir, 14 APs with strong scores, extracurriculars out the wazoo, etc etc. He did literally everything right but he finished just outside the top 10 percent of his small 120 person class at an academically rigorous private school and therefore was boxed out by the absolutely enormous volume of kids that qualify for the Top 10% designation these days no matter the quality of school or curriculum. I don't mention all of the above to brag on the kid (although I am proud of him) but more to show how silly the admissions process has become.

A&M does need to do some thinking on the utility of the Top 10% rule as it culls out a lot of extremely talented kids that worked really hard in favor of a crude metric that makes equivalent a poorly funded tiny school in the Rio Grande Valley with some of the toughest schools in the state.

Wow. That's impressive. Have to believe she will be in at UT and just caught up in the annoying delayed decisions.

When did he apply?

October 13th

And out of state?

That would be a double-whammy combo with how holistic works now, especially for Mays. Getting applications completed in August makes a definite difference

Windy City Ag said:

---

My son got accepted today but he is hell bent on going to business school and they only offered admission to other colleges as Mays is officially out of spots. That was the feedback his guidance counselor was given as of this morning when some of the admits and waitlist type decisions were handed out. I am more frustrated than he is . . .he just laughed and rolled his eyes. My love for Aggieland is greater than his apparently/

Based on my conversation with him, he is likely going to turn it down as he was accepted to several equivalent or higher ranked business schools around the country. I told him that if there is zero chance of him going then he needs to open that spot up for other applicants.

I of course shaking my head as he had a 4.3 weighted GPA, 34 on the ACT, captain and all conference in two sports, Eagle Scout, All-State Choir, 14 APs with strong scores, extracurriculars out the wazoo, etc etc. He did literally everything right but he finished just outside the top 10 percent of his small 120 person class at an academically rigorous private school and therefore was boxed out by the absolutely enormous volume of kids that qualify for the Top 10% designation these days no matter the quality of school or curriculum. I don't mention all of the above to brag on the kid (although I am proud of him) but more to show how silly the admissions process has become.

A&M does need to do some thinking on the utility of the Top 10% rule as it culls out a lot of extremely talented kids that worked really hard in favor of a crude metric that makes equivalent a poorly funded tiny school in the Rio Grande Valley with some of the toughest schools in the state.

---

This is precisely why Texas A&M needs to move to an Early Action period. Top end students like the one described here has no business being left out of Mays (no pun intended).

I know of students, even some of my own clients who have lessor profiles that were admitted to Mays. I am not one of those that suggests submitting application materials on August 1. However, if you're applying to an impacted major (Mays and Architecture), I strongly recommend having your materials in around Labor Day at the latest. For other other majors, you can wait a bit longer and still be okay.

My daughter received the same...waitlist for Full Admission and Blinn Team. She only applied to TAMU College Station and Galveston. She has already received acceptance to Galveston. My son went to Galveston for one semester and then made the move to College Station.

Quote:

---

I know of students, even some of my own clients who have lessor profiles that were admitted to Mays. I am not one of those that suggests submitting application materials on August 1. However, if you're applying to an impacted major (Mays and Architecture), I strongly recommend having your materials in around Labor Day at the latest. For other other majors, you can wait a bit longer and still be okay.

---

Yeah, it is just a reflection of the Top 10% rule essentially force-filling entire majors at the expense of every other kid in the state.

And while I am not the biggest fan of academic stats to predict future outcomes, it is the criteria used by most colleges and some of the other schools he is considering do show markedly higher average high school GPAs, SATs, ACTs, etc.

The Kelley school at Indiana, for instance, gave him direct admit to b-school ( a perk for certain applicants rather than having to earn admission after two years) as well as financial incentives. It is rated as a Top 10 undergraduate business school.

It shows an average ACT score for its students of 32 and an average SAT of 1440 vs 28 and 1280 for Mays.
Grads have higher starting salaries and more get jobs faster. 98% of Kelley grads have a job 90 days after graduation compared to 82% for Mays.

Putting aside my love for A&M, I have to agree with him that Kelley is considered a much better school than Mays. The only rub is the cost differential. The aid helped close the gap a good bit but that is clearly the most attractive point of a Mays education (and especially McCombs if you can get into that.)

I empathize with you, but the students I am referencing are within the top 15, 20, or even 25%. I will say that for some reason, Texas A&M evaluates the local students within the Brazos Valley on a different standard. It is pretty common for a local student ranked in the 15th - 25 percentile range with a couple of AP courses with an above average test score and resume to be admitted into Mays, Engineering, etc.

However, if you take a similar profile of a student from the suburban regions of Texas, many of those students are just hoping to receive a positive admissions decision. Sometimes, I just scratch my head and wonder why TAMU makes some of their admission decisions knowing full well that I have to advise local clients and those from outside of the Brazos Valley differently.

Quote:

---

I empathize with you, but the students I am referencing are within the top 15, 20, or even 25%. I will say that for some reason, Texas A&M evaluates the local students within the Brazos Valley on a different standard. It is pretty common for a local student ranked in the 15th - 25 percentile range with a couple of AP courses with an above average test score and resume to be admitted into Mays, Engineering, etc.

However, if you take a similar profile of a student from the suburban regions of Texas, many of those students are just hoping to receive a positive admissions decision. Sometimes, I just scratch my head and wonder why TAMU makes some of their admission decisions knowing full well that I have to advise local clients and those from outside of the Brazos Valley differently.

---

Fascinating . . . .at least you have the inside skinny. I am guessing this will all boil over at some point duet to frustrated parents and the peculiarities of the admissions process will get greater scrutiny.

I am not sure how you achieve the twin goals of having a truly meritocratic admissions process while at the same time trying to meet valuable goals like extending enrollment access to the less well off citizens of the state. Seems like the two goals work against each other given the realities of our state.

My son was offered options as well. He is being considered for Texas A&M Engineering at Blinn. I think that is a good option and hope he gets that. Being ranked 4 in a class of 18 is what hurts him.

He has been accepted to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University with aerospace engineering. We will visit campus over Spring Break to get a feel for the school. It has made its way to the top of the list as a very viable option.

My husband comes from a strong lineage of Aggies and my son would be 4th generation. As much as we want him at A&M we also want him to follow his own dreams and forge his own path.

It was decision week for UF so I've been reading around a bit to see if it's as crazy other places, looks like it is. The bottom line is that I don't envy parents or kids these days, it's gotten to where USF and UCF are as hard to get into now as UF was when I applied. UF went to an early decision this year, and they got 90k applications for maybe 16k spots, and FSU will be similar. When I applied they were getting less than 15k probably. How do you even differentiate those kids? And similar to some of the posts here, how do you tell a kid with a 4.0 and 1400 they aren't good enough for a public school or its business school?
I guess Rankings proliferation has convinced folks that they need to be at certain schools or they aren't "succeeding", which is silly, so everyone applies to the same couple of schools in every state. And the pressure on the kids is insane with the competition, so good luck to all who are having to endure it

10.2% would be an auto admit. IHIOGA that the cutoff is 10.4%

Quote:

---

It was decision week for UF so I've been reading around a bit to see if it's as crazy other places, looks like it is. The bottom line is that I don't envy parents or kids these days, it's gotten to where USF and UCF are as hard to get into now as UF was when I applied. UF went to an early decision this year, and they got 90k applications for maybe 16k spots, and FSU will be similar. When I applied they were getting less than 15k probably. How do you even differentiate those kids? And similar to some of the posts here, how do you tell a kid with a 4.0 and 1400 they aren't good enough for a public school or its business school?

---

I think what is really interesting is the yield conundrum for these admissions folks. I have seen at least 10 families whose kids were pulled off a deferral or waitlist in late April or early May at colleges ranging from UNC-Chapel Hill to University of Washington to University of Wisconsin.

It seems that things like the common app have allowed for minimal expense spamming out applications. These schools are trying to figure out who might go and who might not and falling back to previously deferred candidates very, very late in the game to make up for no-yield acceptances.

when is a good time to visit so my daughter gets a good feel for the school? any upcoming events that is a must see?