How to Stand Out in Texas College Admissions

Webinar Transcription

2026-6-30-How to Stand Out in Texas College Admissions

Lydia: [00:00:00] Hello, hello, hello everyone. Welcome to, “How to Stand Out in Texas College Admissions.” My name is Lydia Hollon, and I’m going to be your moderator this evening. Just as a reminder of how things are going to go, we’ll start off with a presentation, then answer your questions in a live Q&A. On the sidebar, you can download our slides and start submitting questions in the Q&A tab.

Lydia: We’re also recording this session so that you can review the webinar again later. Now, let’s meet our presenter

Brandon: So good evening everyone, and, uh, thank you so much for joining us. My name is Brandon Mack. I’m a very proud Texan, uh, born and raised, or as I like to say, born [00:01:00] and baked, because it is very hot here in the state of Texas. Um, and I’m a very proud former admission officer at Rice University. Uh, Rice is my alma mater.

Brandon: I am based in Houston, Texas. And at Rice I started as an admission officer, and I worked my way up to being an associate director of admission. So I actually got to chair undergraduate admission committees for all of Rice University. I’ve now, uh, worked independently with students and families on the college admission process for the past four years, and I’m honored to be a, a representative of the great state of Texas and to talk to you about how to stand out in Texas admissions.

Lydia: Fantastic. So before we jump into the presentation for tonight, we’re gonna do a quick poll to figure out what grade you all are in. So I’m gonna open that up now. And while I give you all a chance to answer that question, uh, Brandon, I would love to hear from you what was your favorite thing about [00:02:00] working in admissions at Rice, or just generally in Texas?

Brandon: My favorite thing about admission and working in admissions was always reading your essays, because essays are the ways in which we get to know who you are as a person, what you value, and what you care about. So that was always my favorite aspect of the process, was reading, uh, all those amazing essays and stories and getting to know the students, um, because you are definitely more than just your numbers.

Brandon: You are way more than that. So yeah, that’s always my favorite part.

Lydia: Very true. All right. So looking at our responses, we’ve got 13% in ninth grade, 6% in 10th, 32% in 11th grade, and 42% in 12th, and then we got 5% in that other category. So the vast majority of our attendees tonight, about 75%, are in 11th or 12th grade.

Lydia: Which makes sense. Awesome.

Brandon: Exactly. Gearing themselves up for the, [00:03:00] uh, for the process. And for those of you who are younger, not too early, so I’m glad that everyone is here this evening.

Lydia: Exactly. All right. I’ll pass it over to you to get us started.

Brandon: All right. Awesome. So once again, good morning, good afternoon, and good evening to everyone, and thank you for joining us for the presentation.

Brandon: So let’s talk about the great state of Texas and what makes it unique when it comes to college admissions. So in Texas, uh, our system is not a, a one system. It is a mix of both automatic admission or assured admission, as well as holistic review and highly competitive majors. So here in the state of Texas, you actually have multiple ways in which you can apply to some of the colleges and universities here in the state of Texas.

Brandon: So for example, we have the ApplyTexas application, which is used for most Texas public and private universities, but we also have, of course, the Common Application. So [00:04:00] with my alma mater, Rice University, you actually would not find it on the ApplyTexas system. You will only fi- find it on the Common Application or the Coalition Application.

Brandon: So that’s one of the things that makes Texas really unique, in the fact that with other colleges and universities, you may have one te- one system where all those colleges and universities can be found, but for, uh, for our state, you’re actually gonna find a mix, where they’re gonna be different application methods.

Brandon: But also, some of our institutions have very specific, um, assured admission or automatic admission, where you’re, if you’re in the top 10% of the graduating class, you would automatically be admitted, but that wouldn’t necessarily apply to other institutions. One thing that all of them will offer is the opportunity and ability for you to be considered through a holistic review process, which means that they’re going to look and consider everything in the application process.

Brandon: [00:05:00] And then for some institutions, those majors may be easier to get admitted to, but they also may be more competitive. So that’s the reason for why it’s a, a mix of, it’s a mix of different systems and a mix of different approaches, but it makes it really, really interesting when it comes to the college admission process One thing to keep in mind is that at Texas public universities, class rank can most directly affect admission.

Brandon: Once again, because of those automatic admission processes, where if you’re in the top ten percent automatically, that means that you will automatically be granted admission, and therefore there may not be as many spots in the class or at that institution for students who are under that top ten percent.

Brandon: So that’s, once again, the reason for why it’s gonna have a direct impact when it comes to admission. For the University of Texas at Austin, the automatic admission threshold for the fall of twenty twenty-six [00:06:00] and spring of twenty twenty-seven applicants, so that was this most recent, um, applicant class, as well as for this upcoming spring, uh, applications.

Brandon: To be automatically admitted, you must be in the top five percent of your graduating class. But it’s important to note, even for the University of Texas at Austin, it is not automatic for all majors. It is only automatic admission for, uh, majors within the School of Liberal Arts, and it’s not even all majors within the School of Liberal Arts.

Brandon: Most recently, psychology and economics were removed from the automatic five percent rule. So now to get admitted to those majors, as well as many other majors, you must be a good fit for that major through a holistic process. But that’s also very different than the top ten percent rule, which usually governs most Texas public h– uh, public colleges and universities.

Brandon: If you’re in the top ten percent of your graduating class, you’ll automatically be [00:07:00] admitted to universities such as Texas State, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State, and other, um, state public universities here in the state of Texas So, it being admitted to the university is not always the same thing as being admitted to your first choice, uh, major.

Brandon: So once again, you could be in a very competitive, um, position to be admitted to the University of Texas at Austin, but you may not necessarily get admitted to your first choice major, especially if it’s engineering, if it’s business, or some of the other, uh, more competitive natural sciences. So that’s why it’s so important for you as a student to understand what’s the important goal here.

Brandon: Is the important goal to be admitted into the institution, or is the important thing to be admitted into the institution for your specific major? Because some institutions, it may be easy to be able to switch. For others, it won’t be as easy. [00:08:00] And so the best opportunity and avenue for you to apply is to apply as a incoming freshman student, ’cause that’s gonna be when they have the most application spots.

Brandon: And then for your selective private universities such as Rice and Southern Methodist U- University or SMU, they use a holistic review process rather than those automatic admission limits. So hence, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to admission. It is so important that you really look into the uniquenesses of each institution here in the state of Texas in terms of understanding how is it best for you to approach the admission process.

Brandon: So what do Texas colleges look for beyond grades and test scores? Because once again, it is a completely holistic process, even outside of the automatic admission. That means we’re gonna be looking at a variety of different factors. For your very selective colleges and universities, they’re gonna be looking at you once again [00:09:00] with a full academic context.

Brandon: So it’s not just the transcript headline. So it isn’t just your GPA, your class rank that’s gonna govern especially selective institutions. What they’re also gonna be looking for is your academic rigor. So what did you take? Did you take advantage of AP classes if they were available? Did you take advantage of the IB program, um, if it was available?

Brandon: If dual enrollment is the highest level, did you take advantage of that? So the full academic context, not just the, um, hard and fast raw GPA number or the class rank number is gonna determine it. It’s also gonna be, did the academic rigor, is it present, showing that you really did take advantage of that academic challenge and perform well within those classes.

Brandon: And then that’s even more than just what your SAT and ACT scores say about you For the University of Texas at Austin, as well as many [00:10:00] other institutions that are considering you for a holistic review, it’s gonna be a combination of essays, accomplishments, work, service, honors, recommendation, and once again, the competitive of the, of the major that are also gonna dictate the admission process.

Brandon: Because UT Austin and Rice, SMU, and many other Texas schools are trying to see are you gonna be a good fit to that major. So your essays and how you articulate what it is that you wanna study and why could be a demonstration that you might be a better fit than a student who doesn’t have as much familiarity with that particular subject.

Brandon: Your accomplishments, have you done well in debate? Have you done well in HOSA? Have you done well in FB- FBLA? Those particular accomplishments can also be an indication that you’re gonna be a really strong fit because you’ve already accomplished very well in that particular subject versus another student who maybe doesn’t have as many [00:11:00] accomplishments.

Brandon: Have you done work in internships related to what it is that you wanna study? Um, are you demonstrating a commitment to service that you can bring into that major, especially if it’s along the lines of it being a helping profession? So for those of you who are interested in pre-med, medicine is a helping profession.

Brandon: So are you naturally demonstrating that you’re gonna be someone who’s gonna be of service? And once again, your recommendations and how they speak to you and how competitive that major is can also dictate how many spots there are available for students within that particular school and how many of you are fighting to get in to that particular major or that particular institution.

Brandon: So all those things are gonna be things that are gonna be very important for you to consider beyond just the grades and test scores Then there’s also colleges want that evidence of intellectual curiosity, initiative, and contribution. So are you taking advantage of opportunities outside of the [00:12:00] classroom to go even deeper into those particular subjects because you’re inherently curious?

Brandon: Are you then bringing that curiosity into the classroom through asking questions, through expanding the conversation? Are you taking the initiative and going after opportunities such as summer programs, such as internships and other experiences? And also, what’s the contribution and impact that you’re making into your community and into your academic environment?

Brandon: So the strongest applicants are going to have a combination of these factors that are all leading to this student is gonna be a good fit, and that’s gonna be something that differentiates them outside of just having a four point zero or a sixteen hundred on the SAT or a thirty-six on the ACT. Do those other factors also speak that you’re gonna be a strong student for that particular major?

Brandon: So how important is class rank in Texas admissions? [00:13:00] Once again, it can be very important, especially given the automatic rules for our admission. In Texas, class rank matters more than it does in many other states because of the fact that we have the top five percent rule when it comes to the University of Texas at Austin, and then the top ten percent rule for other Texas publics.

Brandon: Ranks can determine the automatic admission eligibility at your particular public universities. Even for other institutions, if you’re in the top fifteen percent or even the top twenty percent and your SAT and ACT score is within a certain range, you may automatically get admitted. So that’s the reason for why for our ninth and tenth grade students who are listening, pay attention to your ranks.

Brandon: To our eleventh grade students, definitely take advantage of the fact that your junior year is also another opportunity and ability for you to work and improve your rank before the admission process. And for our senior students, make sure that you’re still maintaining [00:14:00] your academic performance because even senior year counts So at selective publics, rank also shapes who is left in the holistic review pool.

Brandon: Exactly. Because once again, if you’re in that automatic, you may automatically get admitted. But then, um, if you’re outside of that, then that means you have to go through a holistic review process in which all of the things that I just spoke about are gonna come into play. So that’s why you wanna make sure that you have all of those different factors regardless of whatever your rank is, because depending on different changes and things of that nature, you might have to go through a holistic review process.

Brandon: For Texas A&M, the academic review includes your high school courses. So once again, that academic rigor and what did you take from ninth through 12th grade, the grades that you earned, the rigor of your coursework, your GPA, and your class rank. So once again, all those different factors [00:15:00] factor in, and it won’t just be only one factor that makes more or, or that weighs more so than the other.

Brandon: And even for strong students, being outside of the top rank bands can make admission more competitive. So that’s the reason for why rank really does inform the behaviors and the admission decisions of Texas, uh, public, um, institutions. And so that’s why you wanna make sure that you are performing to the best of your ability within your school, and then also doing a lot of these other outside, um, elements and aspects to best position yourself for admission.

Brandon: So which high school courses help applicants stand out? Once again, it’s always gonna be did you challenge yourself to the best of your ability with what is offered within your school? So for all grades, ninth, tenth, eleventh, and twelfth grade, you always wanna take the most rigorous core curriculum [00:16:00] available at your school that is manageable.

Brandon: So just so that we all understand, core curriculum is English, math, science, social studies, and world languages. So at every single stage, you wanna prioritize what is the most challenging curriculum that you can handle. So I always tell students, as a freshman, you wanna go for honors English, honors math, honors science, honors social studies, honors, uh, world language, if it’s available If that AP World Geography or Human Geography is available in ninth grade, take advantage of that because that can be a great way of you establishing that you are prioritizing your academic rigor.

Brandon: But at the same time, you want it to be something that you can handle because we are looking for both a great combination of strong academic rigor as well as [00:17:00] strong grade performance. So if you know you’re someone who does not necessarily like, let’s say, English, for example, maybe that freshman year, instead of prioritizing Honors English, you instead prioritize Honors Math, Honors Science, Honors Social Studies to give yourself the capacity and ability to be able to do well in those subjects.

Brandon: That might be a beneficial thing so that way you can then take on more honors when you’re going on– when you’re moving on to your other grades. But also, you started your academic trajectory strong by be- by, um, engaging and participating in the honors courses related to the subjects that you know best.

Brandon: But ideally, when you get into tenth grade, you’re still continuing on those honors, adding some more APs, adding pre-IB if that’s the, uh, if that’s the curriculum you have, adding dual enrollment if you can. But generally, [00:18:00] by the time that you get to being a junior, you should ideally have four to seven, um, courses that are at the highest level.

Brandon: So your junior year is definitely an excellent opportunity to use your elective spaces to double up in additional subjects to really, once again, show that alignment and fit to major. So for example, if you’re interested in going into engineering or into the natural sciences, taking advantage of the opportunity to maybe do two sciences instead of one during that junior year could be an excellent way of demonstrating that you’re gonna be a good fit.

Brandon: And then consequently, when you become a senior, you should either be at the same level of academic rigor or above it in order to, once again, really differentiate yourself So as mentioned, you want to prioritize the advanced level classes wherever you [00:19:00] can. You want to match course choices to your academic interests and your likely major to once again demonstrate that you’re gonna be a good fit for that particular major.

Brandon: And especially for very selective colleges, we notice if that academic rigor is sustained throughout your entire four years. So as I mentioned, you wanna typically have about four to seven APs when you get to your junior to, uh, or four to seven advanced, uh, related courses by the time that you get to your junior year.

Brandon: Ideally, as a senior, you either have five to seven, so you’ve increased, or you maintain the number, because we wanna see that you’re gonna challenge yourself all the way till you e- even when you get into that particular college or university. Rigor in context matters more than chasing every advanced class without balance.

Brandon: So once again, this is abou- this is a, a situation where we wanna see [00:20:00] that good fit to major. So if you’re someone who’s wanting to go into STEM, that should be where your rigor is. If you’re someone who wants to go into humanities and social sciences, that’s where we should see your rigor. So you should always consider that when you’re thinking about your course selection.

Brandon: Am I demonstrating, am I gonna be the strongest student possible? But I will also say this, this is where it’s also very important for you to look into the backgrounds of the particular schools that you’re looking for. Here in Texas, we thankfully have, uh, a variety of different institutions, and some of them have a liberal arts background.

Brandon: So for example, Rice, Trinity University, um, Southern Methodist University all have liberal arts approaches to their, to their academics. So as such, they’re gonna expect students to take, um, rigorous classes in all different academic areas of interest. So hence, you also have to demonstrate that you’re gonna do that.

Brandon: So if you know that you wanna go to one of these more liberal [00:21:00] arts approach institutions, make sure once again that that academic rigor is in all the different academic subjects because that’s gonna be the ex-expectation of the work that you’re gonna do. But for like the University of Texas at Austin, Texas A&M, many of our publics, they’re looking for that good fit, so you wanna make sure that above all else, that rigor is gonna be strong in the subjects that correlate to what it is that you wanna study when you go to college

Brandon: So how much do the SAT and the ACT scores matter? Once again, Texas score, I mean, test scores are still gonna matter, especially for the most selective institutions, even with the holistic review. One of the main reasons is because more and more of our Texas institutions are going back to either requiring the SAT or the ACT, or they are preferring the SAT or the ACT to be submitted.

Brandon: So for example, for Texas A&M and The University of Texas at Austin, [00:22:00] test scores are required for admission, so hence they’re already gonna be a part of the holistic process. For Rice University, Rice is considered to be test preferred, so they, um, prefer for you to submit a standardized testing as part of your application process.

Brandon: Strong scores are gonna reinforce, once again, that academic readiness and that fit to major, especially for selective schools and competitive majors. So making above a seven hundred on the math SAT especially, is gonna be an indication that you’re gonna be a strong student and a strong fit for engineering and natural sciences programs.

Brandon: Similarly, making above a thirty-three on the ACT math and the ACT science section will also be that indication. One piece of advice, if you are thinking of doing the ACT, I would highly recommend that you do [00:23:00] the science section, even if it’s optional, especially if you’re considering applying for engineering or natural sciences.

Brandon: Because once again, that’s gonna be another way of you demonstrating your academic readiness and your fit for going for that particular major Now, one thing to keep in mind, it is a holistic process, and the SAT and the ACT scores do matter, but they

Brandon: rarely compensate for weak rigor, weak grades, or weak essays. You have to remember, the SAT and the ACT are who you are for one Saturday or one sitting. Your transcript is an indication of what type of student you have been for over four years. So hence, doing really super well on the SAT or the ACT generally does not compensate if you did not challenge yourself academically by taking advantage of those AP, [00:24:00] IB, dual enrollment courses throughout high school, if you didn’t perform well within your classes, but also if you did not, um, put attention to your essays.

Brandon: ‘Cause once again, essays are gonna be an indication of effort and also an indication of you making a case for yourself as to why you’re gonna be a good student for that particular academic major or, uh, or why you wanna be a, a, you’re gonna be a good student for that particular institution. So yes, the SAT and ACT scores do matter, but they’re not gonna be the end-all be-all, and nor are they gonna compensate for having a weak academic rigor, uh, uh, a weak academic record especially, and then also weak presentation in your essays.

Brandon: So what type of extracurriculars impress us as Texas AOs? We like to see involvement. We want to see that you are deeply involved in the things that you’re involved [00:25:00] in. So I’m glad that we have our ninth and tenth graders o-on with us this evening because that is a way for you to establish some of this depth.

Brandon: Ninth and tenth grade are an excellent opportunity for you to explore the different things that you’re interested in. Take advantage of the fact that you’re starting out in high school or, or early on in your high school career to really explore all different types of activities that you’re in– that you’re interested in.

Brandon: Then when you become a junior and even a senior, you have the ability to go even deeper into the activities that you’re really committed to. So you can start… Th-think of it as a funnel. You can start off very wide, but then you narrow as you go along. So hence, we want to see that depth because it really does matter way more than just surface level membership.

Brandon: We want to see leadership. Keep in mind, leadership isn’t only just about a position. So it isn’t just, oh, you’re a [00:26:00] leader because you’re president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer. You can be a leader through demonstrating responsibility, initiative, and results, and all of that can be demonstrated even without a position.

Brandon: We want to see, are you someone who is impactful within the different spaces that you’re in? So for example, you may see a need or an issue within your school. Did you come up with a solution? So I’ve had a student who, for example, saw that processes could be automated through using an app that could benefit their school.

Brandon: They generated that app, presented it to, uh, their principal, and soon that app was not only, um, initiated within the school itself, it was implemented district-wide. Notice in that example, they were able to do that even without a position. That’s leadership because we’re able to see you took on [00:27:00] responsibility, you took on initiative, and had excellent results because you saw a need and you fulfilled it.

Brandon: So leadership is very, very important to us because we want to nurture and encourage the next generation of leaders. We want individuals who are gonna bring that impactful mindset and impactful nature to our institutions. So demonstrating that in high school is a great way of demonstrating that you’re gonna do that when you come to college Also, work, family responsibilities, and community commitments can also be deeply and highly meaningful.

Brandon: So we understand that maybe you don’t have the opportunity and ability to be able to do, um, extracurriculars such as playing on a sport or being a part of student council or other clubs and organizations within your school because you have significant responsibilities. That’s why it’s so important that you make sure that you include that information [00:28:00] in your application.

Brandon: So let’s say you have to work to help support your family. Let us know that, ’cause once again, that is still demonstrating a lot of leadership and a lot of responsibility and a lot of initiative by taking on a job where the proceeds that you’re making are supporting you and your family, and you’re spending twenty-plus hours a week working at that particular job.

Brandon: It means you don’t have the same amount of time that another student would have to be able to do extracurriculars. Si- similarly, if you have significant family responsibilities where you’re having to be a caregiver for a, um, parent, for a grandparent, for your siblings, those are also very heavy commitments that take you– take away the time that you would have to be able to do other extracurriculars, and that’s really important.

Brandon: And then significant community commitments. So are you actively involved in your church? Are you actively involved in community organizations? Do you do [00:29:00] projects, once again, where you’re seeing a particular community need and responding to that? All of those things can be significant contributions that you can bring to our institutions and are also highly meaningful and highly valued by us as Texas AO’s.

Brandon: Selective colleges, they notice students who build things, who improve on something, and who contribute in a sustained way. So once again, we wanna see that depth. We don’t wanna see that you just did something one time. We wanna see that you’ve done it multiple times and that you’re committed to making that contribution, committed to making improvements in your environment, and committed to building something.

Brandon: Um, often we have students who will, uh, fou– who are founders of organizations. Here’s what I tell them. “It’s good that you founded the organization, but did you keep it up? Did you… Are you consistently being sustaining in terms of your involvement after you have founded?” [00:30:00] Because we wanna see that that organization is gonna stay around even after you.

Brandon: If you end up only founding it just for the purposes of the college admission process, it’s gonna read that way because you’re not doing the things to implement or keep it up. And we wanna see that commitment, once again, to improving and contributing in a sustained way, not just a one time And once again, the best activities that you have are always gonna support your larger story and your values.

Brandon: So if you really truly do value community, we’re gonna see that you’re engaged within your community. If you really truly value, um, be, uh, being respected, we’re gonna see that you’re respected, especially through your letters of recommendation because of the things that they have to say about you. And then also, how have you engaged in activities that are related to what it is that you wanna study?

Brandon: So if you’re someone who wants to go into engineering, are you taking advantage of being a part of [00:31:00] robotics? Are you a part of, um, Mu Alpha Theta? Are you a part of Science Olympiad, where you’re really engaging in scientific inquiry and building things to demonstrate that you’re gonna be that next great scientist or that next great engineer?

Brandon: So once again, all these different things are opportunities to be able to impress us by showing you’ve taken the time to contribute and lead in your communities, contribute and lead with your families, are a strong presence within your school and within your community, but also that you have a commitment and have engaged in intellectual inquiry to understand why college is gonna be the next great fit on your journey

Brandon: So what makes a Texas admissions essay memorable? So a memorable essay is gonna sound like you. I have literally read by this time, uh, over twenty-five thousand essays in my career, and I can definitely tell you that the [00:32:00] ones that were the most, and have always been the most memorable, are not the ones that have really big, fancy words.

Brandon: They’re always the ones where I come away with feeling like I really understood who this person was, what they want out of life, and how they’re gonna make an impact on the campus. So one of my favorite essays that I’ve ever read in my c- in my career literally started off with, “I am boring.” Now, you would think that’s not the best way of describing yourself, right?

Brandon: What the essay ultimately turned out to be was about the fact that the student grew up in an environment where they were very, very similar to everybody else who was in their community, and they wanted to go to a place where they were gonna be very, very different, ’cause they wanted to learn from other people who were different from them.

Brandon: So it was an excellent essay [00:33:00] because I got a chance to hear their authentic voice, to h- they sounded like a completely, totally real person. I got to see the experiences that have informed their thinking, but I also got to see what they wanted out of life and how they were gonna do it. So once again, this is your opportunity and ability to be your authentic self.

Brandon: You don’t have to be a polished brochure. We want real people because we want you to bring your real, authentic experiences. So a good way of being able to approach this is to think about specific moments that have really informed who you are. Um, this could be, um, working with other people on a particular project.

Brandon: This could be, um, going to a coffee shop in the community that you have created. This could be your love and connection to sharks, because once again, that is your unique sp– and sp– and [00:34:00] spec– and special moment. Because we wanna see the specifics of who you are. The specific moments are always gonna be stronger than just generic claims about hard work or leadership.

Brandon: Once again, we’re gonna see a lot of that on your extracurricular section. This is where you’re telling us more about what you value and what you find important. So the ones that are the most memorable are where we’re able to see your specific moment and not just, “Oh, I learned, um, how to improve myself,” or, “I worked very hard on this.”

Brandon: So cannot emphasize enough that reflection especially matters. We wanna know, what did you learn? How did you grow? And why does this fundamentally matter to you? At Rice, for example, students are encouraged to show genuine understanding and enthusiasm for the institution in their supplement. So with Rice specifically, there is a question related to why Rice.

Brandon: We wanna [00:35:00] know why do you specifically connect to Rice University. So it shouldn’t be just, “Oh, I found these random things on the website.” It should be, why is connecting and engaging with those specific things important to you? How do you fit directly into the community? So the strongest essays are always gonna reveal your voice, your values, and why you’re a good fit for that institution.

Brandon: Similarly to the University of Texas at Austin, they’re gonna ask you, “Why do you wanna major in what you wanna major in?” You wanna give that really memorable and specific moments and experiences that help us to understand why you’re going into that particular major, but also why do you wanna do it at the University of Texas at Austin.

Brandon: So being as specific to yourself, being reflective about what you have learned and how you have grown, and how you’re gonna be a great fit, is always gonna help you to stand out when it [00:36:00] comes to a Texas admission essay So some of the biggest mistakes that students make when it comes to applying to our schools, making the assumption that this is a numbers game.

Brandon: This is not a numbers game. This is a completely holistic process, even, even with it being, um, the top five percent and the top ten percent in existence. So you don’t wanna make the assumption, especially for the selective schools, that grades alone are gonna be enough. It’s a holistic process, so we’re going to be looking and considering all of your aspects.

Brandon: I often tell students when they’re thinking about it, think of it, think of your admission officer as your lawyer in the courtroom of admission. We’re making the case for you, and you’re giving the evidence to us to make the case. So you want us to always be able to have something to keep talking about you ’cause that’s helping you to know that you have a longer and stronger case.

Brandon: If your case is only [00:37:00] that you have a sixteen hundred SAT, and you’re the valedictorian of your class, and that’s it, notice you have a short story, and that’s not gonna be enough, especially for very, very selective programs such as at Rice or the University of Texas at Austin and many of our other, uh, institutions here in the state of Texas.

Brandon: Instead, you could be a student who has a fifteen hundred, is lower in the class rank, but then you also contributed to your school and environment. You explored different subjects through taking online classes in addition to having a strong academic rigor. You were very active and involved in other extracurriculars.

Brandon: You have an excellent essay where you’re talking about why you’re a good fit and you know you connect to the culture of that particular university. Notice that that person, while they have lower numbers and lower academic indicators and grades, the other student has way more to bring to the table.[00:38:00]

Brandon: That’s why you don’t wanna make the mistake of, of, “Oh, I got the numbers. I’m gonna get in.” You don’t wanna confuse automatic admission with guaranteed access to a competitive major. So once again, just because you’re in the top five percent of your graduating class does not mean you’re automatically admitted to all majors, especially at the University of Texas at Austin.

Brandon: So you don’t wanna make that an assumption that you’re automatically gonna be guaranteed because we have definitely seen students in the top five percent who have still been denied, especially for very competitive majors. That fit to the major has to be there. So hence, you don’t wanna automatically think that this school is a safety or a target for some of these majors.

Brandon: You wanna approach it as a reach and make sure you’re approaching it as such Um, applying with a generic essay that could go anywhere, you shouldn’t do that. Once again, we’re trying to [00:39:00] establish fit, so you should tailor your essay to be specific to that institutions. Each of our institutions value things differently.

Brandon: We’re trying to see, are you gonna align with those values? So researching the values of that institution and seeing are they coming out into your essays and in your application is gonna be a great method to take. But using and copy and pasting the same essays, while it may be efficient for you and your time, it’s not gonna be effective, ’cause we’re also gonna be able to see that university and that essay doesn’t align.

Brandon: So therefore, they’re not thinking about us. Instead, they’re thinking about this other school. Why would we wanna admit them? Uh, on the Common App, you do get to list up to 10 of your activities. You wanna make sure that that list not only shows what you’re involved in, but you want to make sure that it also shows depth, impact, and growth.

Brandon: So make sure that in your, in your activities, in your, in your [00:40:00] activity descriptions, we’re able to see what that impact is. We’re able to see how have you grown in terms of maybe starting out to getting even more involved. So you wanna make sure that’s included. And then when you’re building your list, your actual college list, it shouldn’t be only around prestige.

Brandon: It should also be, are you gonna be a good fit for that institution? Is it gonna be affordable? ‘Cause some institutions offer more merit scholarships than others. And also, where do your particular academic qualifications fall in line with your admission chances? Because once again, ideally, you should have reach, target, and safety schools that are on your list

Brandon: So how should a student build a smart list? The way to do that is, once again, having that balance of likely, target, and reach schools. What can se- uh, what can separate whether or not [00:41:00] you get in to that particular university is gonna be maybe your intended major, but also the selectivity. So what you wanna look at is typically, if a college or university has an acceptance rate of thirty percent or under, probably gonna be a reach, because once again, even if you have the strongest of academic qualifications, you may still get denied.

Brandon: So typically, thirty percent or under, probably good to treat that institution as a re- uh, as a reach. Those universities where you look at your SAT and ACT score, is it in line with their middle fifty percent? Is your GPA within their average? Probably means that you’re on target. And then if you are well above that middle fifty percent of the SAT and ACT and well above the GPA, or know that you’re gonna get automatic admission, that’s where that school’s gonna be likely or a safety.

Brandon: So you wanna separate thinking about your admission odds and also, is my [00:42:00] intended major a highly impacted major? So hence, if it’s competitive, then maybe it goes from being a university that’s a target now to being more of a reach. So you wanna also compare all of your different off- uh, options in terms of fit, cost, honors, opportunities, and campus cultures.

Brandon: Do you fit in with the culture of being a Longhorn? Do you fit in with the culture of being an Aggie? Do you fit in with the culture of being an Owl? ‘Cause they’re all three very, very different types of cultures. Also, when it comes to cost, um, doing the net price calculator of each institution is gonna be important for you to be able to see what type of financial aid does that college or university offer, and is it gonna be a good financial feasible fit for you and your family.

Brandon: Um, I always say to include at least one college that is both academically and financially realistic, so this would be you always wanna have at least one safety. [00:43:00] But if you want choices among your choices, then choose even more safeties. But build always, build a list that you’re gonna genuinely be happy with.

Brandon: The schools that you’re applying to are schools that you want an opportunity to be able to go to, not just for the sake of having it. So this is where doing the college research and being dedicated to those schools, because if you’re dedicated, you’re more likely gonna submit a more successful application ’cause you genuinely wanna go there.

Brandon: If you’re just putting it on for the sake of it, it also tends to come out in your application as well. So once again, build a list that you’re genuinely happy with, not one just to sound impressive. So my final advice to everyone, challenge yourself academically, but also do it with purpose. Make sure that once again you’re taking the most challenging classes, but you know that the purpose here is because you want to leverage yourself [00:44:00] in this process by giving yourself the best opportunities.

Brandon: So if you know, hey, these classes may be a little too hard for me, maybe come down, but make sure that in those other areas where you know you need to be strong in, that you’re definitely challenging yourself. Build depth in a me– in a few meaningful commitments. So ninth and tenth graders, try it out.

Brandon: Figure out what you’re interested in. But by the time you’re a tenth and eleventh grader, go deeper, get committed, get involved, be a leader, do initiatives. Do something that really shows that you are fully committed to that subject, that area, and shows that you have a strong impact. Write essays that are clear, specific and authentic.

Brandon: Remember, we wanna hear from you. We wanna hear your specific voice, and this is our opportunity to really understand who you are outside of the numbers. Apply with a strategy that reflects fit because you know yourself, and you should know [00:45:00] why you specifically fit that institution. So ask yourselves those self-investigative questions to arrive at, is this a good fit?

Brandon: One for competitiveness. How do I stack up against other people because I wanna be aspirational, I know I’m a great fit, and I know I got some great things to bring. Great. May be difficult, but it’s difficult for everyone, I’m still gonna go for it. Versus, I will be very happy to go to this school, and I happen to be above the academic credentials currently.

Brandon: I know it’s safety. It’s a safe school, but I know I’m gonna like going to that school. That’s the way to craft strat– the best strategy and the best list for you. And also giving yourself that good range of cost to know that it will be financially feasible. But always remember, standing out is not about being perfect.

Brandon: It’s about being credible, thoughtful, and distinctive because we want you, and that is not a manufactured version of you, it is the authentic you. [00:46:00] So do those things, and we definitely welcome you here in the great state of Texas All right. With that, we’ll open up the floor for questions and answers.

Brandon: Uh, Lydia, you there? There we go

Lydia: Okay. So that concludes the presentation portion of our webinar. Now we’re gonna transition into the live Q&A. So I’ll be reading through the questions that you all have submitted and give Brandon an opportunity to answer them. Feel free to continue submitting questions in that Q&A tab if there are more things that come to mind.

Lydia: We’ll get through as many as we can. So for the first question that we have, um, one student is asking, if you’re a senior, is it okay to take your classes a lighter course load, um, like off periods or free periods or study hall, or does that show that you’re not sustaining rigor and could potentially negatively impact your competitiveness?

Brandon: So yes, taking a [00:47:00] lighter senior load can have an impact. Um, I generally tell students you should, you should be maintaining your academic rigor. The only reason for why you are taking an off period, for example, is because you’re making space for some other opportunity. So for example, some students will take an off period because they are doing an internship, so hence that makes sense that you have an off period because you need the time to balance out to do the internship.

Brandon: So in that case, that’s gonna be fine. Another time in which you can do an off period is maybe because you’re taking six AP classes and you’re maxing out on your APs, so hence taking that one off period is another way of balancing. But if you have lower rigor and you’re just taking, uh, off periods just for the sake of off periods, you’re going to be less competitive than the other student who’s pushing the academic [00:48:00] envelope.

Brandon: So definitely, as a senior, I generally don’t recommend doing off periods unless there is a good reason that can justify why you did, but you’re still challenging yourself

Lydia: Great. Another question we have is can we apply to Texas colleges with the Common App or is Apply Texas mandatory?

Brandon: So yes, you can definitely apply to Texas colleges with the Common App, and then you also have the Apply Texas system available as well. So typically, if you’re a student who knows that you’re applying to a combination of Texas universities and, um, other institutions that are out of state, I usually do recommend that you go with the Common Application system.

Brandon: Uh, ’cause, um, but you always wanna check with each institution to make sure that that is an option. There are some, uh, Texas institutions where the Apply Texas [00:49:00] system is what you’re gonna have to use

Lydia: Um, another question that we have is– and this one will segue into, uh, what we have to say about CollegeAdvisor, which is, um: Is there somewhere that we can see where or what kind of essays students have written in the past that have been successful? And I’ll just transition really quickly, uh, to share a quick story about one of the students that our CollegeAdvisor has worked with.

Lydia: So this is Andrew. He grew up in suburban Texas. He was a straight A student, did speech and debate, art, choir, a Lego review channel, and a band that dropped their first single on graduation day. So he had plenty of individuality, but what he didn’t have was any idea how to turn all of that into gr- into a college application.

Lydia: So he started with CollegeAdvisor the summer before senior year and was matched with Sydney Meyer, and she built him a spreadsheet, turned his initial list of three schools into eight, and kept him calm [00:50:00] through what felt like endless essay drafts. So Andrew ended up getting into nearly every school he applied to, um, and a campus visit to UT Austin, which was a canopy of trees, student organizations, and energy on the Speedway really sealed the deal for him, and he’s now enrolling and majoring in architectural engineering.

Lydia: And looking back on his application journey, Andrew reflected and said, “My advisor made everything super easy to understand. She knew exactly how to keep me from feeling anxious about things.” So that’s one of the students of many that CollegeAdvisor has served. Um, there– we have worked with over ten thousand clients and guided them through the college application process, and our team of over three hundred former admissions officers and admissions experts is ready to help you and your family navigate the college admissions process in one-on-one advising sessions and essay editing.

Lydia: So to learn more about how you can get started with CollegeAdvisor, just scan this QR code on the screen, and you can set [00:51:00] up a free sixty-minute strategy session with an admissions specialist on our team. And during this meeting, you’ll receive a preliminary assessment of your academic profile, along with some initial recommendations of what you can do to stand out.

Lydia: At the end, you’ll also learn more about the premium packages we offer that pair you with an expert who can support you in building your college list, editing your essays, and much more. We’re here for the whole process. So to answer that person’s question about seeing, um, previous essays that have been successful, yes, we do have a dat-database of questions– or not questions, but essays that students have written who have applied to cer-certain schools.

Lydia: So if you work with CollegeAdvisor, you will certainly have access to essays that students have used when applying to Rice, applying to UT Austin, and other prominent Texas schools. But Brandon, if you have any other sources that would be helpful for the students to know about, would love to hear those as well.

Brandon: So that’s definitely one of the benefits of working with CollegeAdvisor [00:52:00] is we do have a robu- a robust and, um, excellent resource of successful essays. Um, so I would definitely say that’s definitely a benefit, uh, for us. But also even talking to your counselors or former teachers who have worked with students, they could also maybe have some excellent essays as well for students that they’ve worked with in the past.

Brandon: So I would also say checking with those resources as well would be definitely very helpful.

Lydia: Yes, definitely agree with that. Like, when I was a high school teacher, I remember it was kind of common practice for underclassmen who knew that they might wanna apply to a certain school or even just had a student who they looked up to, who they kinda saw themselves in, to ask them, “Hey, c- would you mind sharing those essays that you wrote?”

Lydia: And it can be really helpful guide to just kinda have examples. So even if you don’t end up working with CollegeAdvisor, which we hope you do ’cause there’s a lot of great resources and support that we can provide, um, just [00:53:00] asking teachers, asking counselors, or just asking your current senior class if you’re not in that position yet for their resources and their essays can be a helpful tool as well.

Lydia: Um, another question that we have is what is the ideal timeline for starting to write your essays and taking the SAT?

Brandon: Sure. So those are gonna be two different timelines. So I would say first let’s take the SAT. Generally, the timeline I recommend for students, uh, to take the SAT is the December or March test in their junior year because of the fact that that gives you plenty of time to be able to prepare for it, but also to get up to the curriculum level for the test to be successful.

Brandon: ‘Cause you have to keep in mind that the math section of the SAT a- and the ACT goes all the way to pre-calc. So generally, most students are taking [00:54:00] pre-calc either their junior year Or getting ready to take it, um, their junior year. And so hence you get up to that level to be really successful on the SAT, at least through curriculum.

Brandon: The March and the, uh, the December and March tests in your junior year are great opportunities because you generally don’t have as many competing priorit-priorities for your time as you would for, let’s say, the May test, where you’re also having to do many end-of-year exams or AP exams. So that’s usually a great timeline to take your initial test.

Brandon: But then you also have the summer tests to be able to do another test to maybe increase your score, or then do a final test in either September and October, which would still be in time, uh, to apply for early action to many or, or early decision to many Texas, uh, colleges and universities. That’s at least with respect to the SAT.

Brandon: For [00:55:00] students who are thinking about writing their essays, it’s summer. Summer is a great time, as especially a rising senior, to start working on your essays. ‘Cause the Common App, those prompts have already been decided. They’re generally decided in March or April. And so you can already start thinking about and drafting your Common App essay to where that essay would be done, um, by before the end of the summer.

Brandon: And then the official supplemental essays become available August first. So then consequently, if you are completed with your, um, Common App essay before the end of the summer, all you’re now having to, uh, to think about is the supplemental essays rather than having to do all those essays together. So once again, a good way of thinking about the SAT for a underclassmen is to do an official in December or March of your junior year, and then to [00:56:00] do, um, start working on your Common App, um, March, April to kinda start or utilizing the summer to work on that main Common App personal statement essay, and then after August to work on your supplement.

Lydia: Okay. Another question that we have is how are internships and research valued compared to things like jobs or focusing on certain academic extracurriculars?

Brandon: So one thing to think about is that it isn’t that one is valued more so than the other. The way to think about this is, once again, are these experiences that you have had that are adding value to what it is that you’re doing and what it– and the way in which you’re thinking about what you’re hoping to study.

Brandon: So for example, often you have got to do, um, background knowledge in order to get to that [00:57:00] research, in order to get to that internship. So hence, you need first and foremost the background knowledge and experience to then get to a point where someone says, “I want you to work with my company and have that internship,” or, “I trust you enough to engage in that research.”

Brandon: So notice it’s a matter of not one is valued more so than the other. It’s a matter of, well, what experiences have you had? So I always tell students it’s a matter of you need to go for as many different experiences because they’re all gonna be additive, but also having certain experiences are then gonna unlock and enable other ones rather than just going out on the gate, because sometimes they may not let you have it unless you have that background knowledge and experience.

Brandon: Hope that makes sense

Lydia: Another question that we have is about academics. So I’m gonna kinda combine two since we’re a little short on [00:58:00] time. So one is dual credit versus AP versus IB, what is kinda the ideal? And then another one is any guidance for students who attend schools that do not rank students. You talked a lot about class rank, so h-how are students evaluated?

Brandon: Let me take that last question first. So if your school does not have a rank, what many schools will do because of the purposes of Texas admission, is that they will give you a rank for that purpose and purpose alone. But even in a holistic process, you can still be once again admitted even without a rank.

Brandon: So once again, this is where it’s gonna be so important for you to talk to your school to see how they handle it, ’cause we can still make an admission decision without a rank, but also many schools will give you one even if they, they don’t typically do that. Um, in terms of academic rigor, the thing to keep in mind is not all schools are [00:59:00] universal in terms of offering all the different, um, types of academic rigor.

Brandon: So this is gonna depend on how your school does it. In admission, we don’t say one school is better than the other because they have those opportunities. We’re looking to see, well, if this opportunity was offered within your school, did you take advantage of it? In general, if all these options are available, usually AP and IB are gonna be at the top because they’re standardized.

Brandon: Dual enrollment is gonna be underneath that depending upon where you did the dual enrollment. If you did the dual enrollment, especially at a community college, that’s gonna be underneath AP and IB most assured- assuredly. But if you did your dual enrollment, let’s say, at a four-year university, that probably will be more at the comparable level of the AP and IB, but once again, AP and IB is [01:00:00] standardized.

Brandon: Honors will then come underneath, um, both all those permutations

Lydia: Okay. Well, um, to wrap us up for tonight, uh, since we’re at time, I would love to just hear from you, Brandon, is there any last piece of advice, information that you would like to share with our students before we conclude for the evening?

Brandon: Last piece of advice, once again, do the research, be authentic, and if you authentically wanna go to a college or university, the best thing you can do is put forth the best application and give yourself that chance

Lydia: Okay. Thank you so much. And thank you so much, Brandon, for s- being with us tonight and sharing all of your wealth of knowledge with us, and giving us some insights about standing out in [01:01:00] Texas college admissions. We know Texas, you do everything bigger, do everything better, so it’s helpful to know all, all the things about applying, uh, to colleges in that state.

Lydia: And I hope that everyone at home found this information just as helpful. And feel free to join us again for another webinar coming up next week. See you soon, and have a great night. Bye.