The University of Texas at Austin provided lots of great information at the Texas Together Counselor Update, but there were several areas discussed that will affect students in the greatest ways. If you have been procrastinating and have not submitted your application yet, don’t wait! UT-Austin has a priority submission deadline of October 15, and the regular admission deadline is December 1.
New opportunities
This year, UT-Austin opened the Dell Medical School and a class of 50 new doctors matriculated into the school. The Cockrell School of Engineering will open a new building in 2017, and several more are planned to open in the next few years. The University introduced seven new majors, many of them interdisciplinary such as Sustainability, Health and Society, Computational Engineering, and Communication and Leadership. Even though the University could easily maintain the status quo and be successful, it seems they are actively seeking out ways to improve the opportunities available to students.
Automatic Admission for top 7% of Texas graduates
For the classes of 2017 and 2018, the University offers automatic admission to students in the top 7% of their high school class. This does not mean, however, that students will automatically be accepted into their first choice major. Students are evaluated initially for their first choice major and may be considered for their second choice. If the student is not admissible into these choices but is eligible for automatic admission, he/she is given available programs to choose from, so….
Choose your major wisely
For a number of years, students tried to “beat” the system at UT-Austin by selecting majors that were considered less desirable or less popular, then transferring to their desired major. Of course, UT was aware of this gaming of the system and has instituted new rules to combat it. Students are not allowed to change their major for one year. During the second year, students have two chances to transfer internally, which is a competitive process and not guaranteed. After the two chances, students are locked into their major for the remainder of their education.
Interesting statistics for the current freshman class:
Average SAT® Score: 1274 (out of 1600)
Texas Students Automatically Admitted: 1250
Texas Students Not Automatically Admitted: 1324
Out-of-State Students: 1318
Average ACT® Score: 29
Texas Students Automatically Admitted: 28
Texas Students Not Automatically Admitted: 30
Out-of-State Students: 30
High School Class Rank
Graduated in top 10% of class: 71.5%
Graduated in top 25% of class: 91.7%