(View Fall 2020 First-time Freshman Client Outcomes here)

The most popular question that I receive is - what are my admissions chances? It's also the hardest to answer in a few sentences. I’m writing this post to share and analyze my client data to bring transparency to both college admissions and my professional services.

Although UT admitted a record low 32% of their applicants, 59% of my clients gained admission to their first choice major. Every year, there are some students who I am very confident will gain admission who get denied and others where I am less confident that receive a pleasant surprise. This year is no exception.

I’ve converted this data into rule-of-thumb minimum rank and test score recommendations to consider yourself competitive to UT majors.

My clients worked very hard this past cycle. Typically, we process three to five rounds of essay and resume revisions before submitting. On average, we spend six weeks on Apply Texas and the UT application. For my 16 clients where we collaborated on applications in addition to Apply Texas, their writing improved substantially with each subsequent draft.

“Best money I've ever spent. Not only did Kevin help me with my applications, he helped me improve my writing overall. He's extremely honest, helpful, and informative. I can't recommend him enough.”

Moreso than the writing and application building itself, almost all of my clients felt our relationship helped lessen stress and alleviate anxiety. One parent shared in a referral to their family friend:

“There is just so much mystery and confusion around the whole admission process. Kevin worked with us like a family member.  He was never selling himself but instead very upfront about how he can help. Most importantly, he was always there when we had a zillion questions. His help was absolutely critical to getting my son admitted to UT Engineering. He was my friend, guide, and philosopher…I am sure you will discover how much fun it is working with him.”

Some who were denied/CAP’d received generous offers from arguably more selective universities than UT like: Amherst, UC-Berkeley, Georgia Tech, Michigan, Washington, Ohio State, Georgia, Fordham, Miami, Illinois, Purdue, UC-Davis, Case Western, William and Mary, Wisconsin, and Indiana.

Other clients who UT did not admit received various honors and scholarship offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Baylor, Clemson, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, OU, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M, UTD, Texas Tech, Texas State, Houston, and UNT.

I provide a comprehensive list of all of the universities and scholarships my clients earned for Fall 2019 at the bottom of this post. Overall, I am pleased with their results, and I feel our work makes a positive difference in their chances. I provide a shorter summary first followed by specific data.

(View the Freshman Fall 2018 client outcomes here)

Client Results Summary

33/56 of my Fall 2019 first-time freshman clients gained admission including 19 out of 36 non-automatically Texas residents (53% compared with a projected 13% admissions rate for non-top 6% applicants).

4 out of 10 out-of-state (40%% compared with the projected 8% university OOS admit average average).

My typical client comes from the top 11% of their class scoring around a 32.5 or 1410 on the ACT/SAT. My average client this year was slightly higher academically than from 2018. By contrast, the average admitted UT student comes from the top 8% of their class scoring around a 30 or 1330 on the ACT/SAT. 

56 first-time freshman and transfer clients since Fall 2017 have submitted my end-of-year questionnaire soliciting feedback with 1 as strongly disagree and 5 as strongly agree with the following statements.

• My clients answered 4.8/5 in strong agreement with the statement: Do you feel that you submitted your strongest application?

• How satisfied are you overall with our work? They rated our work 4.7/5

• 4.7/5 feel satisfied with counseling services - communication, guidance, expertise

• They responded with agree 4s and strongly agree 5s, 160 times out of 168 possible answers

My clients tend to have above average resumes with a few exceptions in both directions. Many aim for honors or selective majors like Business, Engineering, or Computer Science. Almost all of them completed their application by the November 1 priority deadline. They gain admission to selective and prestigious programs nationwide.

Here is a scatterplot showing admitted and denied students regardless of program - all scores are converted into SAT. As you can see, great rank and test scores are no guarantees of admission, and sometimes students with slightly lower credentials find success.

Interested in working together? Complete my questionnaire for a free consultation

Fall 2019 UT-Austin Applicant Data

First, I present the demographic and academic information of my clients. Second, I discuss their outcomes. Later, I will analyze this data and discuss potential implications.

Where do my clients come from and what are their academics?

Automatically admitted Texas Residents (Top 6%): 10

Non-automatically admitted Texas Residents: 36

Out of State: 10

Average Class Rank of all clients, including estimating for non-ranking schools: Top 11%

Client Class Rank Range: Number 1 - top 30%

Client Average ACT: 32.5

Client ACT Range: 26-36

Client Average SAT: 1410

Client SAT Range: 1240-1560

Client Academic Index Range: 2.75 to 3.97

Client Academic Index Average: 3.46

I estimate that my average client receives a 5 out of 6 on their Personal Achievement Index score review based the holistic review process (less than 1% of all applicants receive a 6).

The Academic Index is how UT calculate a student's class rank and test scores. This single number accounts for 50% of a student's admissions review. The highest AI score is a 4, and the typical UT applicant has around a 3.

UT has not updated this formula since 2014, so I’ve created my own called the Adjusted Academic Index. I will modify and update these formulas with new information I’ve learned for Fall 2020 and onward.

“My parents and I were very impressed with the level of help you provided. Even when I was having doubts about the content of my essays and short answer questions, you provided great advice and insight. I truly appreciate your honesty and transparency throughout the whole process which was very stressful. I think having an outside opinion was very helpful to me during the entire process. I cannot thank you enough for all the support.”

Client UT-Austin Admissions Outcomes

33/56 Clients gained admission (59%)

19/36 non-top 7% Texas Residents gained admission (53% compared with 13% of students outside of the top 6%)

4/10 OOS applicants gained admission (40% compared with 8% non-Texas admit rate)

Profile of the typical admitted client: Top 9% scoring a 33 or a 1460 on the ACT/SAT

Profile of the typical denied/CAP/PACE client: Top 14% scoring a 30.5 or a 1357 on the ACT/SAT

In almost all cases, UT only considers a student's first choice major. UT compares applicants against those seeking their first choice.

First-choice majors admits/applicants

• 11/13 Business

• 6/9 Computer Science

• 6/8 Engineering

• 3/8 Liberal Arts

• 3/8 Natural Sciences

• 3/6 Communications

• 1/2 Undergraduate Studies

• 0/2 Education

List of all UT offers: Presidential Scholarship, Liberal Arts Honors, Moody Honors, Business, Engineering (Electrical/Computer, Computational, Aerospace, Mechanical), Computer Science, Radio/Television/Film, Psychology, Economics, Public Health, Biology, International Relations/Global Studies

Honors was especially competitive this year. Although my average client profile was similar to the previous year, only two clients got into honors compared with eight last year.

Interested in working together? Complete my questionnaire for a free consultation

Complete list of all admitted universities

Universities similar to or more selective than UT-Austin

Amherst, California Polytechnic, UC-Berkeley (3), UC-Los Angeles, UC-Santa Barbara, UC-San Diego, Carnegie Mellon, Case Western Reserve, Colgate, Columbia, Duke (ED), Emory (2), Georgia Tech (3), Harvey Mudd, Johns Hopkins (ED), Kenyon College, Miami (2), Michigan (3), UNC-Chapel Hill (2), New York University, Northeastern, Pepperdine, Pitzer, Rice, Vanderbilt (2), Wesleyan, William and Mary.

Universities that offered Honors and/or Scholarships (full tuition or greater in bold)

Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Baylor, Bradley, Case Western, Clemson, Colorado School of Mines, Colorado-Boulder, Elon, Furman, Hofstra, Houston, Harvey Mudd, Kansas, Kentucky, Miami, Missouri, Northeastern, Oklahoma University, Pace, Portland, Purdue, Rutgers, SMU, Texas A&M, TCU, Temple, Texas State, Texas Tech, Trinity, UT-Dallas.

All other admissions offers

Alabama, American, Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor (12), Bradley, UC-Davis (2), UC-Irvine, Clemson (3), Colorado-Boulder (3), Colorado Mines (2), Drexel, Elon, University of Florida, Florida State, Fordham (2), Furman, University of Georgia (5), George Washington University, Hofstra, Illinois (4), Indiana (3), Kentucky, Loyola Chicago, Maryland (2), McGill, Minnesota (2), North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oklahoma University (5), University of Utah, Pace, Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, University of Portland, Purdue (3), Rutgers (2), SMU (8), St. Edwards, TCU (9), Texas A&M Engineering/Business (10), Temple, UT-Dallas Business/Engineering (8), Trinity (2), University of Washington (3), and Wisconsin.