Transferring To Another TX High School To Make It Into UT/Texas A&M (Dallas: public school, college)

[padcrasher]

If you are in the top 8% of your HS graduating class you get automatic acceptance to these schools. 75% of the freshman class is admitted this way. Apparently the other 25% have higher qualifications.

Is anybody aware of a students from very competitive high schools, unable to make their 8% cut off, transferring in their last year, to a lower rung HS where they can make the 8% cut off?

[txgolfer130]

Yes. However, if they wait till their last year they will be ranked according to their previous school. The new regulations for admission are now granting admission in their Junior yr.

Automatic Admission | Be a Longhorn

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by txgolfer130

Yes. However, if they wait till their last year they will be ranked according to their previous school. The new regulations for admission are now granting admission in their Junior yr.

Automatic Admission | Be a Longhorn

Thanks so much. So apparently you pretty much need Jr. and Sr. year at new school. That makes it less appealing.

[Big G]

See above. The standard is applied at the end of 11 th grade. Also, most schools won't rank you without at least one full year of classes at that school, and some might require two years. You'd have to make the jump before the start of the junior year, you can't do this as a last minute thing in October of senior year.

[padcrasher]

Originally Posted by Big G

See above. The standard is applied at the end of 11 th grade. Also, most schools won't rank you without at least one full year of classes at that school, and some might require two years. You'd have to make the jump before the start of the junior year, you can't do this as a last minute thing in October of senior year.

So you are saying even if we start the Junior year at the new high school, they might, depending on the school, still not rank the student in September because he/she didn't a have full year of grades? IE didn't attend last semester of Sophomore year? or two years would be last semester of Freshman year?

[EDS_]

First, I don't know otherwise for sure but I'm struggling with the notion that 75% of kids who get into UT and A&M get in under the 8/9% rule. Probably what that really means is 75% of kids at these schools were in the top X percent of their HS class. That's different because many of them won admissions into particular majors with very competitive admissions UT and A&M engineering for examples.

And people need to understand all of the best degree programs require competitive admissions. Just being in the top several percent of kids at East Gomerville HS does not get one into engineering, business, pre-med - heck pre-health anything etc.

I certainly would not even consider trying to game my kid's way into a guaranteed % admission only to be placed into a brand-X degree path in the College of Arts and Sciences at UT. No way.

[Cowboys fan in Houston]

I remember reading an article where some (a very small minority) of kids were transfering from Plano ISD to Dallas ISD so they could walk into the top 10%. The sentiments echoed from the parents basicially sumed up to one point: "We cant compete with the Asians".

[DoneWithDallas]

Just because you're not in the top 8% doesn't mean you still wont get in. I got into UT because I was in the top 10% (back when I graduated it was top 10) so I did have automatic acceptance although I knew a few others who had decent grades, well rounded resumes that included volunteering hours and National Honor Socities, and got in.

as for those who transfer because they couldn't compete with others, just wait until they get to college. Say they transferred to a Dallas ISD school and got into UT because it wasn't as big of a challenge getting in the top percentile, they're in for a rude awakening at a competitive school such as UT and the difficulty level depending on the major.

[aggie972]

I think A&M still auto admits if you're top quarter of your class and have a 1300+ SAT (M+V). That's how I got in. If I had spent two years at a bad public school without a strong IB/AP program to game the 10% rule, I have no doubt I would have been less prepared for A&M.

[Big G]

@padcrasher: Start of junior year for most schools, giving 1 full year of grades in the new school at end of junior year. Those that require 2 full years of grades, you'd have to start as a sophomore, since the relevant ranking for UT isn't the final senior ranking, but the junior ranking.

Specifically, DISD won't rank anyone (for either purpose) who isn't on their books by the 3rd week of the 1st six weeks of junior year.

Anyway, the type of lamer who resorts to this probably won't succeed, either at UT or in life.