February is a fateful month for many college-bound Texans. It is when UT Austin and Texas A&M release the bulk of their admissions decisions to students who are not auto admits (the top 6% and 10% of their classes, respectively). As the college-going population in the Lone Star State gets larger and larger, the number of admitted students outside those coveted brackets gets smaller and smaller. Many dyed-in-the-wool Longhorn or Aggie parents with hopes of accompanying their progeny to Memorial Stadium or Kyle Field are devastated to find out their children will not be able to carry on their burnt orange or maroon legacies.
While I share their disappointment and frustration that so many highly able, hardworking and high-achieving students are denied spots at their own state flagships (at which they would undoubtedly excel if given the chance), I have seen it happen so much now that I have come to accept admission at these institutions as the exception rather than the rule. You may see that as pessimistic, but I see it as realistic. At UT Austin, 75% of enrolled in-state freshman graduated in the top 6% of their high school class. I have not seen a corresponding number for A&M, but I imagine it is inching close to that for the respective top 10%.
Where does that leave students who really have their heart set on these colleges? Well, first of all, there are alternative pathways to both institutions you can read about here and here. But, beyond those options, if not UT or A&M, then what? This question, asked half jokingly in the elementary school pick-up line, becomes an urgent question of practicality at high school booster club meetings.
The answer is as varied as the students that make up the population of Texas. For some, the answer is one of the 34 other public universities in the state. For others, the answer is to save a little more for college and trade burnt orange or maroon for a color like green or purple at one of the state’s highly regarded private institutions. For still others, the answer is to venture outside of Texas in search of colleges that offer generous scholarships to students from Texas. And, for many, the answer was never either of those two colleges in the first place.
One answer that is true for everyone is that the growing admissions crisis at UT and A&M will force students to consider what they really want out of a college experience and research a wider range of options. And that is actually a positive thing.
