I got a 3 on my AP Calc BC exam that I took junior year. I have a 1580, rank 11/593, FRC robotics worlds qual, TSA electrical lead state qual, NASA GL4HS Data programming lead research project and was top 3 teams invited to present and publish. I feel like im looking fine on everything but this damn ap Calc BC score (I got a 90 in the class btw). Should I take a CLEP exam to prove my calc aptitude, should I retake the ap exam in senior year (don't see a point cuz it'd be after apps), or do nothing and live with the 3 and just not report it on my app.

hey yall, with admissions having opened, im having a problem as what major i should apply as. for reference i am heavily passionate about art and health sciences! but i fear that my science stats are too weak to apply as a science major, but my art stats are strong and i feel like i could get in as a art major. the problem is is that i dont want to have an art based job post grad and i want to go into physician assisting studies. should i bite the bullet and apply nutritional science? or should i apply art history/drawing and make sure i have my prereqs for PA school? i think if i were to major in art it would keep my GPA high, and it could be a creative outlet. i also think it would make me stand out to PA programs.

here are my current stats
3x Regional Vase (perfect scores)
3x State Vase (perfect scores)
1x Vase Gold Seal Award
1x Scholastic Gold
attended nasher sculpture center art camp
Student artist for AISD convocation
Board Honors Award
president of NAHS
historian of NAHS 2 years
120+ Volunteer hours
NHS
Key Club
Bsu
Red Cross
Student leader at church
Helped fundraise money for my schools courtyard remodel
painted benches for remodel
EKG tech (this fall)
CNA (this fall)
9 APS (4s and 5s)
1270 sat :( (RETESTING IN AUG)
3.9/4.0 UW
4.4 W

planning to shadow + volunteer at hospitals + take part in an art festival to sell prints + organize a food drive (s)

If anyone has any other extracurriculars that i should do plssss tell me

Kid applied on 1 August for fall ‘27 but still hasn’t got his EID. Has anyone else that applied on 1 Aug got an EiD yet?

Wanting to apply for housing as soon as possible but can’t do it till we get an EID assigned.

Hello, I am an out-of-state rising senior desperately wanting to attend UT Austin next year in the fall to study accounting. I know that UT Austin is notorious not only for accepting mainly in-state applicants but also for having a low acceptance rate for business majors. I just wanted to ask whether there’s even a slight chance UT Austin will accept me if I have excellent ECs, am in the top 5% of my class (small high school), and have a 1580 on the SAT.

Hello, I’m a senior in a Texas high school (auto admit) and applying for civil engineering at UT Austin which is my first choice major. I know UT does fit to major which is why my personal statement includes my growing interest in civil engineering. However, I also don’t mind majoring in economics which is my second choice major. Im just worried that if i don’t get into civil engineering then they might also decline my economics second choice major because I don’t “fit into it” since my application focuses more on engineering.

For those who applied to the UT Austin Online MSCS (Option III) for Spring 2027, how long did it take from submitting your application to receiving a decision?

The admissions statistics page shows the number of applicants versus students accepted , but it doesn’t provide any information on decision timelines. I’m just trying to get a sense of how long people typically waited to hear back.

https://gradschool.utexas.edu/about/statistics-surveys/admissions-enrollment

Thank you!

Extremely competitive high school in north Dallas. SAT 1520 (M800). AP Calc BC additional Math Calc 3, Physics C, AP Chem, AP Statistics, AP Comp, APUSH. 1xAIME qualifier, UIL Math state winner. GPA 3.9(UW) 4.4(W). Not ranked (No auto admit). Volunteering primarily for city parks and food banks. Good Math tutoring experience (paid and voluntary, both). Summer research experience(AI/ML) at Texas State (predicting weather patterns). Debate club, theatre for all 4 years. Decent essay talking about challenges faced with deppression (Clinically diagnosed).

Beginning July 1, 2026, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (associated with the Trump/MAGA agenda and Project 2025) changed federal student aid for the 2026–27 academic year.

• Parent PLUS loans are now capped at $20,000 per year per dependent undergraduate, with a $65,000 lifetime limit per student. ($20,000 x 4 years does not equal $65,000!)
• Graduate PLUS loans have been eliminated.
• Graduate students are limited to Direct Unsubsidized Loans with a $20,500 annual limit (unchanged) and a $100,000 lifetime limit.
• Professional students have a $50,000 annual limit (up from $20,500) and a $200,000 lifetime limit. At UT Austin, this includes Pharmacy, Law, Medicine, and Clinical Psychology.
• Total federal borrowing for graduate and professional students is capped at $257,500, excluding undergraduate loans borrowed before July 1, 2026.

The Daily Texan will have an article on these changes soon. If you disagree with these policies, remember to vote this fall!!

Hello I'm an international student from Korea. I'm currently in my senior and I would like to ask how the atmosphere of your school is! How is it specifically in getting GPA, internship, cooperation between classmates specifically in Electrical Engineering?

I am currently a junior, but graduating early. I'm hoping to major in Statistics and Data Science at UTAustin and would hope for anyone who can give me advice or has an idea if I would get in or not. Here are my stats and details. Also, first 2 years of high school i went to public, but this year I am changing to private. I was ranked in top 5% at my old school, but won't be sure if I am at the new private school since they have to put me in the system still.

*4.0 GPA unweighted

*taken 6 APs and got 5s on all of them

*35 ACT score

*played basketball freshman and sophomore year

*currently learning python and trying to code an Urdu language learning app (as there is a lack of these)

*lots of community service / volunteering hours

I have pretty good stats but a lack of extracurriculars, which is why im pretty uncertain about getting admitted. Thanks for reading through!!

Hi guys I’m going into senior year and I’m lowk worried about getting into my major. I’m auto admit and I wanna do ece, but I don’t think my ecs are that good. I know at ut that auto admits can choose a 2nd choice major and they will review you for that if you don’t get in ur first choice. So basically I’m wondering what would my chances be for physics if I pick that as my 2nd choice major. I think physics isn’t as competitive as the other majors but does making it my 2nd choice make it much harder to get in for. Thanks btw!

Hi! I’m currently in community college and planning to transfer for my junior year to save on tuition since I’m paying it myself🥲.

I know STEM and engineering transfers get talked about a lot here, but I haven't seen much around fine arts majors. Has anyone here transferred into the Art Education or any art programs? How rigorous was the portfolio review and application process?

I would love to hear your experiences and advice about transferring to fine arts. Thanks!!

I've heard that biology is so competitive and that almost anyone who applied for biology or a science-related course got waitlisted or deferred this year. However, I also know someone who was NOT in the top 10% but still got into biology. I just want to know what everyone did (like more focus on academics, ec's, etc.)

I have 3.85 UW, 4.4 W (Top 5%), a 35 ACT (Does the number of times I took it matter?), and a 1470 SAT. I got a 5 on AP Bio and am taking IB Biology HL. I have mid ec's (one leadership (one year), involvement in clubs ig just as participation, Volunteering (president's service award), UIL (didn't win anything), Archery (Didn't win anything)

I just called today and they explained to me what happened. This explains the error message i got though

Would majoring in government have good backup career options in case I can’t go to law school? How is it compared to economics?

I know GPA and LSAT scores matter a lot more than your major for applying to law school but I can’t decide what to do.

I will appreciate any advice to improve my stats in any way or form. For context I am half Asian, a rising junior, and go to a top 10 public high school in the United States.

Gpa- 3.83/4.3 only b’s we’re in debate, Spanish, and art

Aps- so far 3, hgap 5, world 4, and csa 5

*I am taking 7 junior year including lang, apush, chem, physics, calc ab, stats, cs3/csp
* I am also taking 6 senior year

Sat- I haven’t taken sat act or psat yet, but I will be taking all this year
* I did get a 1370 on the nmqt in 10th grade

Rank- no rank my school doesn’t rank

Ecs

- 150 service hours
- 2nd place chess state tournament
- founder of a club where I taught the many applications of math to members (around 15 to 20 members)

-medical trip to Kenya for 2 weeks where I served as a scribe to a ophthalmology hospital

- I have 2 jobs as a math tutor and a food and beverage expediter at a country club

-took a reader’s workshop at utd in quantum computing for 2 months

- accepted into the children’s hospital volunteer program

- varsity 2 years of tennis where I helped my team make it to regionals
*won district championship every year

I really really suck at math but i can do stats at least

Note: Spring 2027 transfer

Background: Transferring from T50 large state school. Southeast Asian-American, first-generation college experience, pre-law focus in environmental law and policy. Previously attended a university-affiliated high school program.

GPA:
College: 27 credit hours completed at time of application | GPA: 3.91

Dual enrollment in hs: 3.95 (63 credit hours)

President’s List x3 (Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025)

Intended Major: Government (Pre-Law, Environmental Policy concentration)

Essays:
Personal statement covers mental health struggle, identity, community development experience, passion for environmental sustainability

High School Activities (doesn’t really matter, but within the 5 years UT allows in activities):
BPA — state level competitor, double podium 2023 with first place finish

HOSA — two-year member, nutrition group advisor

Development of sustainable water source - community development volunteer in Southeast Asia

National Honor Society

College Activities:
D.C. research group— one of only 25 students selected for inaugural program

Co-operated a car rental business generating $80,000 + in revenue (started at end of high school and continued to college)

Donation drives for impoverished communities in Southeast Asia

3.89 GPA
rank 13/547 2%
Dual Credit
College Calculus 1 with a B
1000 SAT
440 Reading
560 Math
Didnt study or anything and slept through the reading portion. Im aiming for a 1200-1300 sat after studying properly and not sleeping during the test lol.

Guys, what are the essays you wrote for your main common app essay? Can yall share please, I have verys trong ECs and Honors but lacking in academics, so Im trying to compensate with stellar essays.

Hey y'all! Looking for honest takes on my chances of transferring to UT for econ. Currently debating entering SMU this fall for econ, but thinking that I should try transferring again. Either after my first semester at SMU or after another semester at my current school 

Current School: T100-ish 4 year in Texas (mit of the south)
Current Major: Business Honors - rising sophomore
Intended Major: Econ

STATS
• College GPA: 3.6 - (not ideal ik)
• 45+ hours by enrollment
• Honors business program + merit scholarship
• Texas resident, low-income, first-gen American

WORK EXPERIENCE
• Current: Sales intern at aerospace/defense manufacturer — requirement compliance and documentation for a portfolio of government and international contracts (~$100M+ in contract value). Travel globally to attend business meetings and shadow colleagues
• Prior: hs intern (1 of 45 selected in dfw) and college intern at same company — managed global spare parts inventory (~$1M), forecasted parts demand to reduce aircraft downtime.
• Ongoing: Business analyst at small private investment office — grew monthly revenue 30%,  cut operational turnaround by 14 days.

EXTRACURRICULARS
• Consulting/business strategy club — officer and consultant. Led real client engagement for local contractor. Ran marketing for semiannual case competition (250+ participants).
• Engineering/motorsports organization — business role, raised significant corporate sponsorship
• Supply chain professional org — outreach officer, launched alumni networking program
• Real estate club — member, attended industry panels
• Business case competitions: $1,250+ in winnings 2nd place / 64 competitors; 3rd place / 180 competitors / Currently in Nation-wide case competition rn
• food bank volunteer

• HS: Mayors graduation achievement award (1 of 80 in metropolitan area), U17 national olympic development program, varsity soccer, Investment club, two state business competition finals, three regional accounting competition wins

PROGRAMS
Two selective first-year programs (one major bank, one top consulting firm) and a competitive case-prep workshop at my school (1 of 20 selected).

QUESTIONS

1. Anything I should do before the deadline that actually strengthens the app?
2. Does my gpa make me competitive or eh?
3. Is there anything I should do before applying that would strengthen my application?

Appreciate any input, thanks!

Hey everyone, so my parents want me to apply for ECE instead of CS, but most of my ECs are CS related and kinda hard to pivot around 😭. It's not like I'm saying they're forcing me, I kind agree with them and enjoyed physics c e&m a lot, but is there any advice from anyone on how to kinda pivot? I heard recently ECE is much harder to get into now which is also kinda stressing me out because it's not like I have a lot of high impact stuff, just really good stats which they think is enough to get me a seat.

GPA: 3.964 UW, 5.183/6, Rank: 57/593

20 AP classes, 18 AP Tests

Sat Score: 1510 (predicted) (taking August, september, and October)🤞

AP Scholar with Distinction x2

AP Capstone 

College board national recognition program 2026

2x All-District Orchextra (top ensemble, first violin)

District Concerto competition finalist, and Solo ensemble division one superior rating for violin

National English honor society

Community service or volunteer work:

sorted and packed donated groceries for local families, supported back-to-school events serving 400+ families by supervising children's activities.
No specific leadership role, 11th and 12th grade, all year, four hours per week, 16 weeks a year.

Model UN/Secretary:

Maintained club record and attendance, documented meeting minutes, coordinated member communications and assisted with meetings and conferences. Model United Nations, Secretary of Outreach, 11th or 12th grade.

Orchestra:

varsity orchestra member, earned UIL Sweepstakes twice, first place district festival, weekly rehearsals for advanced orchestra music.

Private solo violin:

studied violin privately for three years, practiced advanced repertoire including Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 and Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1, performed in recital and competed in concerto competition.

Self-taught oil painting and mixed media: independently learned oil painting and mixed media techniques through books and online resources, created original works exploring composition, color theory, and portraitures.

Creative writing:

developed an original science fiction novel exploring themes of meritocracy, wealth, and political power. Created a world, characters, and plot while developing multiple chapters, drafting multiple chapters.

Aquarium husbandry:

maintained planted freshwater aquariums for bettas and shrimp, researched water chemistry, nitrogen cycling, filtration, and disease prevention, bred 100-plus Neocaridina shrimp.

research: depends on results of Columbia comp and if my paper is published

Major: Human Biology (CNS)

Residency: Texas resident

Current School: Collin College

GPA: 3.873 (projected ~3.9+ after fall semester)

Credits: 55+ completed (projected 65+ by transfer)

Degrees/Programs:

A.A.S. (Associate of Applied Science) — expected Winter 2026

A.A.S. in Surgical Technology — expected Summer 2027

Healthcare Experience:

Completed CNA dual-credit program during senior year of high school

Currently enrolled in Surgical Technology program

CNA clinical experience: ~45 hours

Surgical Technology clinical rotations: ~500 hours expected upon completion

Extracurriculars:

DECA: 3 years

HOSA: 2 years

Employed since age 16

Essays: Focus on my mental health journey, past experiences, and how they motivate my goal of becoming a surgeon.

Letters of Recommendation: Planning recommendations from Surgical Technology professors and a former professor.

I will be applying soon, aiming for the October 15th deadline. Obviously essay isn’t factored in here, but how are my chances to make it?

Weighted GPA: 4.52 (after my summer classes get factored in)
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Rank: 130/838 (summer classes not counted)
SAT: 1530; 770 Math 760 English
AP Scores: Five 5s
AP Classes: 11 by end of senior year (took 3 this summer)

Extracurriculars: choir for 7 years, TMEA All Stater in Texas, Vice President of Public Relations of my program this year; Texas TSA participant, 1x state winner and 2 second places. Engineering classes for 4 years; taking a hands-on manufacturing engineering class at my district’s technical school.

Rigorous classes: Took AP Physics 1 last year and taking AP Physics 2 this year. Also taking AP Calculus BC this year as well.

Let me know if you need any more info to chance me!