For all Business, Engineering and CS students interested in Texas A&M

Texas A&M is More Competitive than You Might Think!

In the past ten years, we have seen Texas A&M become a tour de force not only in the state of Texas, but in the country. Texas A&M is currently ranked in the top 100 National Universities (#68) and highly ranked in the list of Top Public Schools (#26). Some of A&M programs are climbing in rankings:

#15 in Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs

#23 in Business Programs- Hospitality Entrepreneurship Program was just given a $50 million donation from alumni!

#46 in Computer Science

Additionally, more and more students are applying to Texas A&M and the acceptance rate is falling. In 2017, A&M’s acceptance rate was approximately 70%, but for the 2020 class A&M’s acceptance rate fell to approximately 57%. Over 42,500 applications were submitted that year, which means approximately 24,225 students were offered admission (this includes students that were auto-admitted).

But what if you are ranked in the top 10%?

Click here to review what makes a student eligible to be auto admitted at Texas A&M. If you have any questions about whether you qualify for auto-admit for Texas A&M, you should contact the school’s admission’s office. At Texas A&M and other Texas universities that adhere to the auto admit policy, students will be admitted to the university, but students may not be admitted into their interested field of study depending on the study’s competitiveness. For example, all students (including auto admits) that apply to Texas A&M’s College of Engineering are subject to a holistic review process.

What is a Holistic Review Process?

Holistic Review is a process by which college admissions takes into account multiple factors when making an admissions decision. This means that students will be judged not only on academic factors (GPA, rigor of coursework, and test scores), but also soft factors. These soft factors include:

Extracurricular activities
Leadership
Recommendations from teachers or counselors
Hardship or challenging circumstances
Unique experiences
Employment and internships
Civic engagement
Summer activities
Essays

How does it affect my Admission’s chances?

Since you will be judged on multiple factors, this means your application materials need to be strong- it is not enough to have a high GPA and SAT score! At B2A, we can advise you on how to create a strong profile to increase your admissions chances at A&M and other universities that utilize a holistic review process.

It starts with having a clear idea of what field of study you would like to explore in college and then exploring this interest to the fullest. This means taking courses in your interested field, but also finding activities and experiences that relate to your interest!

For instance, if you are interested in applying to Biomedical Engineering at Texas A&M you could:

Take courses like Biotechnology or Biomedical Sciences at school. Build a great connection with your teacher so you can ask for a recommendation later!
Join STEM clubs like Robotics or HOSA or start a new Biomedical Sciences Club at school.
Demonstrate initiative by creating a project that contributes to the biomedical engineering field.
Volunteer over the summer and during school breaks for a cause that you care about. If the cause relates to Biomedical Engineering that’s even better!
Actively pursue your interest in Biomedical Engineering over the summer. Research a certain question you may have about something within the field. Texas A&M offers on-campus summer camp opportunities for high school students. You could also attend or offer to volunteer at the Texas A&M Physics Festival.
Join Texas A&M College of Engineering’s e-mailing list so you can find out about future opportunities on-campus to be involved in. E-mail accessengineering@tamu.edu

B2A is here to help!

For admissions purposes it is important to start building up your application portfolio as soon as possible. It is important to stay committed to the activities you choose as well, so choose opportunities that you will engage with throughout your high school years. No matter where you are in your high school education, reach out to us at B2A sooner rather than later, so we can help you get the ball rolling!