Thought I would bring this news. Absolutely crazy that their application numbers increased by 18,000 while also requiring test scores.

https://news.utexas.edu/2024/12/06/demand-soars-as-ut-shatters-record-for-freshman-applications/?fbclid=IwY2xjawHFN-tleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHTSCwUQDv7yP12SEUdC7VeoK9ka3Topt-cxG9aLFirIv7yDyHcEBkQI1mw_aem_WdORQzUMSVuyIbTcxf1mMg

That was pretty wild. Say what you will about Texas but they have made some smart moves to position themselves to climb the rankings and build prestige over the next few years. Most of these are OOS applications and since Texas has to keep 90% in state students the OOS admission rate is going to drop off a cliff even though it was already low. They have become one of the schools that kids from the East and West Coast apply to just to see like UNC and Michigan but because of that restriction they will end up more like UNC which has an OOS admit rate of about 4% and dropping now, Michigan has 51% OOS so they are still very popular but don't really care about giving Michigan residents a similar boost. UNC is limited to 18% max OOS, thus the trouble in getting in. They kept their size limited and invested heavy into Comp Sci and that drives applications. There is a lot of value as being seen as a Top 10 Public, many people just apply for the sake of applying. Another thing that has helped is this is the 2nd year of being on the Common App and it's made things easier.

A&M could do a lot to improve our rankings with a few small adjustments as well.

Pretty good breakdown on what is happening and what this means:

how hard is it to get into texas Comp Science? Will texas kid from a "rural" 5a hs w a 1540 and top 5% do it? He's not curing cancer or anything like that in HS, just marching ban, robotics, some leadership etc.

phorizt said:

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how hard is it to get into texas Comp Science? Will texas kid from a "rural" 5a hs w a 1540 and top 5% do it? He's not curing cancer or anything like that in HS, just marching ban, robotics, some leadership etc.

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They really want to see relevant activities. Programming jobs, extra classes in languages, STEM related activities. Essays and short answers need to really explain why they are passionate at CS and not sound like "Well, CS majors are good for getting a job and making money". If it's just grades and non related activities that can make them pretty vulnerable, I know a lot of kids who were Texas auto admit but didn't get Engineering or CS because of the reasons above.

phorizt said:

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how hard is it to get into texas Comp Science? Will texas kid from a "rural" 5a hs w a 1540 and top 5% do it? He's not curing cancer or anything like that in HS, just marching ban, robotics, some leadership etc.

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Know someone who was NMF four years ago and got in. Do not know if I ever heard his SAT score, but I assume it was around 1500 or more. I don't think he cared much about rank in high school, but was still probably top 5% minimum and more likely 3% at a somewhat rural 5a high school. He passed up the full ride to UTD to go to Texas.

phorizt said:

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how hard is it to get into texas Comp Science? Will texas kid from a "rural" 5a hs w a 1540 and top 5% do it? He's not curing cancer or anything like that in HS, just marching ban, robotics, some leadership etc.

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the answer is EXTREMELY difficult.
I highly suggest you do some research at this website: https://texadmissions.com/blog
this guy knows the inner workings of admissions (CS and otherwise) at the school in Austin better than anyone.

My brother in law somehow managed to get in from a small 1A school with I believe a less than 1400 SAT. He'd never taken any kind of programming. Basically was just valedictorian and did participate in some STEM/CompSci camps his last two summers of high school at both A&M and UT.

He almost didn't even apply because he was so confident he wouldn't get in but I told him to do it, the worst that happens is he's denied. What do you know, he got in.

that's impressive. good for him. how recent was this? did he end up attending there? did he enjoy his time there?

He's still there, a sophomore I think. He's doing fine too, has a solid like 3.7 or 3.8 gpa

Are there jobs for CS grads?

And for comparison, ucla had 173,000 applicants last year with 147,000 for freshman class.