Should the Texas Ten Percent Plan affect my choice of high school

[Zone Read]

Originally Posted by Displacedcajun

ZoneRead, if your sons are going to Saint Mary's Hall, you might want to ask the administration for clarification.

https://admissions.utexas.edu/apply/decisions

Displaced, my kids are not at St. Mary's Hall, they don't attend a private school. And my kids can choose to attend A&M, but I won't pay for any part of it being a UT grad. OK, just kidding, I'd be very happy if they attended UT or A&M. OU is a different story...

[Chaka]

Originally Posted by Montirob

Not really on-topic, but kinda related: does anyone know when it became required to have a GPA of 100 to just be top 10%? When I graduated high school in the mid-80's, I was top 10% but only had something like a 94. My school was widely considered as one of the best ones in SA, and while I was only a National Merit Commended Student, we were always in the top 3 in SA for the number of Semifinalists.


I think I could count on one hand the number of kids who had a 100 average, so what happened? I do think that we received extra points for AP classes, but it was rare for someone to ace them.

AP classes, weighted.

This desperate need for parents to get their kids to the "top" colleges has resulted in kids not having a life anymore.

I didn't grow up in TX but like you, I was in the top 10% (in the top 10 IIRC out of 420 students), but I didn't have a perfect GPA. And it was a pretty rigorous, college prep private school. We had AP classes, but they weren't everything. Sports, leadership, community programs, all were very important. What a sad state of affairs in Education these days.

We'll be sending our kids to the neighborhood public high school, an SAISD school, unless they get into a magnet of their choice (I love ISA, not because it means being in the top tier, but I love what they do). We both have higher level degrees and work in academe, but we also want our kids to enjoy the fun part about being teenagers. I'm not so worried about their futures, they're bright enough that they'll end up excelling in whatever they do.

[TXsurburbanmom]

Just a note since I can't edit it - I typed my post on an unfriendly kindle that kept deleting letters and changing words. I hate reading badly written posts by people talking about how smart they are (I see that a lot sadly). Even though it's my son I'm bragging on I'm still embarrassed

[Displacedcajun]

Originally Posted by Montirob

I agree with both.


I also wonder why you assume that all of the 8% from "lesser schools" will flunk out (yes, I realize that some may). I actually think the 10% rule is a good one in that it promotes needed socio-economic diversity at the campuses. After all, they are public universities. Should an education there only be available to the graduates of elite public and private schools?

This isn't my assumption. This was a direct quote from SMH. SMH says that their students don't get first consideration because they do not rank their classes. They do not get early admission. SMH students who apply to UT have to wait for all of the top 8% to be admitted. Any remaining spots are filled with kids from schools like SMH that do not rank. Most should get in because their admission applications will be impressive, but some years there aren't enough remaining spots available after the top percenters are admitted. In that case, SMH students are admitted under the CAP (?) program, meaning they are invited to attend a satellite campus (UT San Antonio, UT Arlington etc) for the first year and the transfer to UT Austin later after the top percenters from lesser functioning schools flunk out.

[andandand]

This is insane. Honestly, there really isn't a big difference between a #10 and #12 ranked college in the country. He could even go to the #39 and get an EXCELLENT education there. And let me tell you why. Once you go off to college, your success depends on you. #39 college has plenty enough resources to craft a smart boy like yours into the well rounded professional he should be once he graduates. They'll have the fancy labs and all the perks as well. And if your boy is as hard working as you say, he will be just fine. Send him to the high school you have in mind, if he wants and can be in the top 10, cool! If the competition is way over the top, he will be just fine in another college..