r/UTAdmissions

For context im from a competitive DFW school. I am in the ~20% so not auto admit. I am applying for ECE. I have decently good ecs and good fit to major. I believe my essays are pretty good too.

I have a 1480 sat (740 math 740 english) and a 34 act(34 math 35 english 33 reading and 28 science).

for act, when sending your score u have to send your science aswl. U can't submit ur score without science.

When UT austin is looking at my scores do they see a 34 or do they recalculate the score with the science?

Should I submit my ACT score or my SAT score? Or both?

do you think the science ACT score will significantly affect my chances?

Thank you!

I'm a junior at Kingwood High School in Texas, and UT Austin McCombs is my top choice. I'm curious what people think of my profile so far and whether there's anything I should be doing differently before applying.

Academics:

• Rank: 11/700 (top ~1.6%)
• GPA: 5.63 weighted, 4.0 UW
• 1290 PSAT sophomore year, did not study
• 30 on PreACT 8/9 freshman year
• No SAT/ACT yet

Extracurriculars:

• VP of Finance for my school's DECA chapter (300+ active members)
• Working on an investing app for DECA competition
• Cofounder and VP of a good drive club
• Young Men's Service League
• Two years of tennis

Relevant courses - Accounting I&II, OnRamps Stats, will take Calc BC and Econ senior year

McCombs is my main goal, with Texas A&M Mays also on my list.

Just looking for people's honest thoughts on my profile at this point. How does it look for someone aiming for McCombs? Anything stand out, good or bad? Would appreciate any perspectives, especially from current students or people familiar with UT admissions.

Hello all. I’m mostly done with my UT Austin application (ECE) and have four essays written. The one I’m unsure about is the optional prompt: “Please share background on events or special circumstances that you feel may have impacted your high school academic performance” (300 words).

I’ve had a turbulent high school career, mostly from family circumstances, and I was under a lot of stress. But my grades didn’t suffer, and my record is strong, though I’m just outside the top 5% of my class. My counselor knows about the situation and may mention it in her report.

I’m wondering whether skipping the prompt could hurt me, since UT is my top choice. Has anyone dealt with this, or know how readers treat this optional prompt when the circumstances didn’t show up in grades? Any advice is appreciated.

ugh cope

If I am applying early action for engineering at UT, and I want to do the robotics honors, is that essay also due on 15 October, or is it due later like the other honors?

I am planning to complete my application on the early action timeline. However, are the honors program materials such as required essays also due on October 15/22nd? Or can I submit them later on the honors application deadline on December 1st?

I’m not in the top 10% at my school (FISD, pretty competitive), so I’ll be holistically reviewed. If they applied a formula to estimate my rank I would probably be somewhere around top 15%.

Stats: 1530 SAT(800 math) 3.9 UW GPA, 18 APs + 2 dual credit classes (Calc 3 and Differential Equations).

Courseload:

Freshman: APHUG

Sophomore: Ap world, ap psych, ap pre calc, ap csp

Junior: ap csa, ap physics 1, apush, ap lang, qp stat, ap calc bc.

Senior: Calc 3, ap sem, ap lit, apes, ap gov, ap macro, ap physics c mech, ap physics c enm, differential equations.

ECs: Cross country for 2 years, varsity for around 1/4 of meets. 30 hours volunteering at a public library. I also helped my dad build the data analytics/design portion of his app, although it didn’t get much traction and has around 50 downloads. Also had 1 UIL math competition where I placed average. I am applying into statistics/data science.

I’m currently working on an independent project that’s going pretty well. It’s essentially a data analytics/statistics project centered around a specific research question. I’m analyzing data, drawing conclusions, and proposing potential solutions, with the final product being a website. Assume it won’t get much traction, but that the project itself will be fairly sophisticated. Assume it will be finished my the deadline

Assume essays will be above average by a fair amount (i can dedicate 60 hours applying to UT)

Im applying regular decision. IN state(obv).

Should I be looking for more options
-I go to a large competitive high school in DFW and am two spots away from being top five percent
- I have a 103.6 GPA and 35 ACT and National Merit Semifinalist
- I’m applying for journalism and cofounder of school newspaper and other communication related ecs
Does not being an auto admit screw me?

UT Austin Plan II: SAT 1530 vs ACT 35 with Science 30

Texas resident | Not top 5% | PSAT 222 | Plan II Honors

I’m submitting test scores to UT Austin, UT Dallas, and Texas A&M. None of these schools superscore.

For UT Austin, I’m applying to Plan II Honors as my first choice and Public Health as my second choice. I’m a Texas resident, but I’m not in the top 5% of my class, so I’m not eligible for automatic admission.

My PSAT Selection Index is 222 for TX.

I was under the impression that the Science section of the ACT is optional and that we could choose not to report it on the Common App. However, I recently learned that when ACT sends an official score report, it includes the Science score if the student took the Science section.

I spoke with both UT Austin and UT Dallas, and they confirmed that they receive the Science score through the official ACT score report and will consider it during admission review, regardless of whether the Science score is reported on the Common App.

In hindsight, I wish I had not taken the Science section.

The scores are:

• SAT: 1530 — Math 770, R7W 760
• Enhance ACT: 35 Composite — Math 35, Reading 35, English 35 but Science 30
• PSAT: 222 Selection Index

My concern is that the ACT Science 30 may make the ACT look weaker compared with the SAT 1530, especially for Plan II Honors, even though the ACT Composite is 35.

UT Austin says it considers test scores as one part of its holistic review, along with class rank, academic background, achievements, essays, and other factors. I’m wondering specifically whether the Science 30 could hurt the way the ACT is viewed compared with the SAT 1530, particularly for someone applying to Plan II and who is outside the top 5%.

So, if you were in this situation, would you submit:

1. ACT 35 (with Science 30)
2. SAT 1530
3. Both scores

I’d especially appreciate input from anyone familiar with UT Austin Plan II Honors or UT Austin admissions who can speak to how they view an ACT 35 with a 30 Science versus a 1530 SAT.

I’ve also read that UT Austin uses an Academic Index (AI) as part of itsadmissions review. From what I found, the AI has historically incorporatedfactors such as class rank and standardized test scores, although I understandthat UT does not publicly disclose its current AI formula.

Does anyone know whether the ACT Science score is included in the current Academic Index calculation? If it is, I’m wondering whether the Science 30 could negatively affect the AI compared with submitting the SAT 1530 instead.

Also interested in perspectives on UT Dallas and Texas A&M, since I’m submitting to all three today.