The University of Texas at Austin to Automatically Admit Top 8 Percent of High School Graduates for 2011

Interesting.

Ho hum. Will this really change the admissions process that much?

What if we're not in the top 10 percent? Can we still apply?

I know this is a silly question, but is The University of Texas at Austin an accredited university?

I am really happy that this is now going into effect. The university has such an excellent curriculum that, at times, can be wasted on certain individuals that are not up to par for this level of education.

I can certainly say that there were many individuals in my graduating class who graduated in the lower top 10 percent simply because the rest of the class was "bad." For those who truly wish to be a part of the university who are not already in the top 8 percent of their class will truly have to convince the admissions office that they are worthy.

What is "holistic review"? Can't President Powers be candid, rather than hiding behind this smokescreen?

When I was admitted to The University of Texas at Austin as a transfer student in June 1972, I had at best a 2.6 or so grade-point average (GPA), and I knew I had been given another chance. I graduated with honors in 1974, and later earned additional graduate degrees. I never would have been able to accomplish what I have in terms of a professional career without the superb education I was privileged to obtain at UT Austin.

In following the debate over the 10 percent law, and growth of the university, it is evident that the days of being admitted to UT Austin as a transfer student with a 2.6 GPA are history, and wouldn't happen under today's admission standards. I have mixed feelings about this because while raising standards is an inevitable result of improving educational quality, it is also true that folks like me who didn't fully apply themselves in early college years will lose the opportunity to attend UT Austin regardless of their academic abilities or motivation.

The highest point of my days as a student was being a member of the first class in Intergovernmental Relations that Professor Barbara Jordan taught at the LBJ School in 1979. When I learned she was coming to UT Austin, I wrote to her and asked about getting into her class. She referred me to Jean Graeber, assistant to Dean Elspeth Rostow, and Ms. Graeber said that while no special procedures had been established, my early inquiry was enough to get me a place in the class.

As I was not an LBJ School student, this impressed me a lot--and it impressed me even more when it became clear there was overwhelming demand to attend the class, and Ms. Graeber assured me my place in the class was secure. Because of demand, enrollment in future classes was limited to LBJ School students.

It was a superb illustration of ethics and politics--and I've never forgotten that the LBJ School kept its word to me about having a place in the class, a decision it would have been easy to rescind, as there was never anything in writing. My career path briefly intersected again with that of Professor Jordan at the time she headed the commission to reform immigration, as some of my professional work at the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) had involved evaluating the quality of immigration statistics, and projecting future legal immigration under current law versus proposed legislation for a 10-year period.

On one occasion prior to an immigration hearing at the House of Representatives, I showed up early, and so did she--and there was nobody from the vommittee to greet her, which bothered me a lot. I made a complaint to a staff member who, incredibly, didn't know who she was, and was able to have her admitted to the hearing room early, rather than wait in her wheel chair in the hall. She never asked me to do that, or said a word about it. A couple of years earlier, when she first came to D.C. in 1994 to discuss her planned work and took questions from a roomful of people, I raised my hand to ask one and she called me by name, and said: "What's it been, Eric, 15 years? What's your question?"

Indeed, it had been 15 years. It was a gesture I long remembered, and have not recounted until now.

What if you live in New Jersey? Do they still take the top 8 percent?

@Steve: Yes, UT is an accredited university.

"The only stupid question is the one that is not asked." -Unknown

I understand some believe this is a necessary law to keep excellent curriculum from being "wasted on certain individuals" but I don't believe that an education is ever wasted on those who seek it.

I wasn't in the top 10 percent of my class and was still accepted to the university. When I was applying for college I didn't agree with the top 10 percent rule because I attended a very competitive school. However, after having been enlightened, I see why having a policy such as the top 10 or 8 percent rule is necessary. I encourage others to do a little research to find out for themselves how this policy actually increases diversity, rather than stifling it as some previous comments seem to imply.

The university brought this all on itself going to the Legislature to create the top 10 percent rule. Now it's a 75 percent rule, with some odd requirements like an economics course, which was announced too late for the Class of 2011 to adapt to.

I have therefore given up on my alma mater. Let them slide into various state mandates and see what good it does them.

A word of advice for the high school juniors and seniors out there...

My oldest daughter graduated from a very competitive high school in the Houston area and she was in the top 15 percent of her class. Her grade-point average was 99.99. She took all the right classes in high school, was a four-year member of the marching band and a member of the National Honor Society. She applied to UT at the beginning of her senior year and received her acceptance letter in March of that year. That was the longest seven months of my life! She drove me crazy with her angst, anxiety and tears!

In December, 2008, she graduated from UT Austin with her B.A. in art history. She was also a five-year member of the awesome Longhorn Band. She got to go to two Rose Bowls (Thanks, Vince Young!), two Rose Bowl Parades, a presidential inauguration and many other free wonderful trips because of Colt McCoy.

So focus on your grades, work hard and make certain that your high school extracurricular activities are diverse, and pray. It does help. There are many top 10 percent seniors in Texas who don't want to go to UT. They want to go to Baylor, Rice, Texas Tech or Texas A&M. UT is NOT the only top tier university in the state of Texas. There are a few.

And keep in mind that all that really matters is where you finish your degree. There are tons of students here in Austin that go to Austin Community College for a semester or two, and then transfer and graduate from UT. Isn't that all that really matters?

My daughter has a Texas Tomorrow Fund and will be graduating from a California high school in 2011. I was told she would qualify for in-state tuition in Texas because of the fund. If she graduates in the top 8 percent of her California high school's class, does she also qualify for automatic admission, or is it different because she's out of state?

Does UT (undergraduate admission) give any consideration to students from LASA (magnet high school) if they are not in the top 10 percent?

So does this affect 2010 high school graduates, or just 2011 graduates and beyond?

@Sheri
No, she does not qualify for automatic admittance. The law only works for Texas high schools that rank their students.

@Irashema
It starts for today's juniors, so, yes, it's for 2011 and beyond.

So does this affect transfer students? Right now my grade-point average is a 3.6. I really want to go to UT next fall, and I'm about to start applying.

Not fair. Consider the fact that there are some students who take all regular classes and get all As and will have more of a chance getting in than someone who is taking all Advanced Placement classes and making Bs.

Not to mention, there are schools that are small in size. My school as a good 700 people in our class, while at another school, their entire school population is only 300 at best.

This rule is not fair in the slightest.

JD (comment #16): You hit the nail on the head. We need more public universities that are at the academic excellence of UT and A&M. For the state of Texas to draw as many excellent students not only from the state but from outside as well, we have to have universities that compete with the likes of the University of California system and others in the country at that level. We also need to prepare our students better at the high school level. (I don't know how that can be accomplished). And finally we need to get away from being such a ''football-oriented" state and teach our children to seek colleges based on academics and not sports or parties. I am proud to have graduated from UT, and my son now attends the university because it was one of the top universities in the nation for the field of study he is pursuing.

This is only making it more difficult for kids to be accepted. The University of Texas at Austin is basically an ivy league school with an amazing sports program.

I am glad that this rule is finally going into effect. I went to a really competitive high school where being in the top 10 percent was an honor. I was in the top 15 percent. When I switched schools, competitiveness in the classroom diminished and everyone had a 4.0 grade-point average. Even though I served as a tutor to most of the honor and Advanced Placement students, I was not even in the top 25 percent. Under this law, administration officials would be able to use a more holistic view and take into account students who went beyond the classroom and volunteered in organizations, clubs and other extracurricular activities.

Hopefully, this will also aid in improving the national ranking of the university and give it the college ranking it really deserves.

As per the "wasted on certain individuals" comment, I actually agree. Part of what makes a college degree a standard of measure is how difficult it is to obtain one. I'm speaking as a student who was admitted by the top 10 percent rule and graduated with a B.S. in May 2009. I'm currently in my first semester of graduate school at the University of North Texas (UNT).

By making the admission process easier for people, you are cutting out one of the key "weeding out" processes that many other universities go through. College is difficult so there will always be stories of those who can't hack it. I just got tired of hearing and seeing many young people around me who were just naturally smart but not up to the academic standards of UT. These people fell to the top of their less competitive high schools naturally because they weren't idiots. What a great accomplishment. I watched one by one as a lot of these students enrolled in UT and were granted some scholarship or grant that I couldn't qualify for. Then they failed most of their classes their first semester, were put on academic probation, and then were kicked out of the university due to not improving. I have 15 personal cases of this happening to people I met living in the dorms.

Just because you're smart doesn't mean you have the time, dedication, true academic ability or leadership to finish a degree. A holistic review process would help eliminate that.

I'm currently working in the graduate admissions office at UNT. While the process is somewhat different (receiving college transcripts, resumes, statement of intent, etc.), the general outcome is still the same. Create an algorithm that ranks students based on certain items and read letters of recommendation and personal essays. It is shocking to see how much of a difference getting a personal writing sample can make. One applicant in particular has a less then desirable grade-point average in undergrad. This can be overlooked by her work record after graduation, letters of recommendation, high GRE scores and stellar statement of intent. However, her GRE scores are shockingly low. It is apparent why (at least on the verbal section) when you read her statement of intent. For a letter that's going to admit you to graduate school, it is poorly written and full of grammatical and spelling errors. Holistic review reveals that while this person had the desire to go to graduate school, they would not be able to pass the classes if admitted.

Bring back holistic review for all!

I'm a Texas resident, and I think that it should have been the top 3 percent or none at all. I don't think it's fair that some students are AUTOMATICALLY admitted without looking at any other criteria besides grades. Plus, the top 10 percentile students vary A LOT when you compare schools. In my hometown, people were transferring to inferior schools just so they could be top 10 percent. It was ridiculous!

To Debra - U.of H. '84: You said that "UT is NOT the only top tier university in the state of Texas. There are a few." Did you remember to relay this message to your daughter as she "drove you crazy with her angst, anxiety and tears!" while she was waiting for her letter from UT admissions? You both could have saved yourself this frustration if you stopped to ask yourself exactly why she had her heart set on UT.

I am a current student and I saw (and see) the stress that high school students go through that is a direct result of the pressure that is put on them by their parents. From the moment they are born the child is already bombarded with "Future Longhorn" T-shirts and burnt orange apparel. Then the child is absolutely devastated when they don’t get into UT. Did you know that several years ago a student committed suicide when they didn’t get accepted? Parents, please stop pressuring your children to follow in your footsteps. Take them on college tours both in and out of Texas and see which will be the best fit for them. I am a first-generation student and I will be graduating in May 2010. I want my siblings, nieces, nephews and cousins to continue on this path to education and show them that if I could do it, then so can they. Would I love it if they went to UT? Of course, I would, but I am stressing to them that they need to go to college anywhere. Period.

To David: If your daughter is a Texas resident and applied to UT but did not get accepted, she did not need to go to OSU. While I’m sure it is a good school, transferring into UT is difficult and there are no guarantees of admission. The average transfer grade-point average (GPA) is 3.8. But admissions does not deny Texas residents, they CAP them. The Coordinated Admissions Programs (CAP) is an excellent choice for a student who does not get automatically admitted into UT to have another opportunity at guaranteed admission. They can go to a select UT System school for one year, take 30 units of approved credit, obtain a 3.2 GPA and get into UT for their sophomore year. This is a guarantee and the student signs a contract agreeing to all terms. And as Debra said, “all that really matters is where you finish your degree.” So if a student really and truly wants to come to this institution, they can do CAP for one year and come to UT for their second year. This is a great option to me and one that students receive and probably throw away in tears.

OK, let me see if I got this. First, this law is pertaining only to Texas residents, or is this including those who are not Texas residents? Secondly, if I am not in the top 8 percent of a high school graduating class of 250 students (20 students), I would not automatically be admitted and therefore have to go through the normal process? Very interesting if this is the case. What is the actual purpose and meaning behind this? Can you please explain? I do not see where it would create a lot more diversity. Some individuals might not fall in the top 8 percent but would be a great candidate for the university and with this rule might not be able to be admitted.