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UT-Austin Freshman Applicant Decision Releases and Appeals

Check out my new book Surviving the College Admissions Madness and Youtube Channel

Here is my Fall 2024 admissions video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8g98phArY

A few initial thoughts on UT-Austin Appeals

The most important thing you need to understand about appeals is that it has nothing to do with you as an applicant. In 99% of cases, what you write, upload, or submit to the appeals portal will not move the needle. UT uses appeals sort of like a wait list to fill final spaces as we approach the May 1 enrollment deadline.

Appeals have everything to do with the needs of institutions and their enrollment managers and nothing to do with your individual merits.

If in the highly unlikely event a genuine mistake was made - like your school registrar writing your rank as 100 instead of 10 - then you may have grounds for appeal.

Otherwise, the best advice I can offer is to throw your hat in the ring and submit an appeal. Whatever you write in the appeals letter really doesn’t matter, and please don’t go through the hassle and frustration of asking someone for a recommendation letter. No amount of hyperbole, emotion, or really really wanting to go to UT is going to move the needle in your favor.

Nevertheless, maybe you’ll win the lottery and get a last-minute space. The other thing you can do is request a less in-demand major, so if you were rejected to business, perhaps ask for Communications or Liberal Arts. There is no rush to submit an Appeal ASAP - they likely won’t even start reviewing them until March. Submitting an appeal does not have any impact on the validity of your PACE or CAP offer.

Since there aren’t any secrets, tips, or advice, that leads me to the most important takeaway from this post…

DO NOT HIRE ANYONE FOR HELP WITH APPEALS, INCLUDING ME!

Services that claim to help, or especially if they “guarantee” appeal success, are exploitative and will take your money gladly without adding any value.

For example, a Houston-area charlatan two years ago claimed “insider knowledge” and charged absurd fees to offer false hope to families. You can write the essay on your own with the info below without my or anyone’s help. I democratize this information specifically to deflate the marketplace for appeals services.

I do not take on appeals clients for help on the essays or phone calls for any price under any circumstances. I begin taking on transfers ONLY AFTER they have received college grades.

See my 2021 video about Appeals here. I will release a new video once all Fall 2022 decisions go out: https://youtu.be/rAV5aZOGE1o

Freshman Fall 2024 Admissions Decisions Overview

UT-Austin has released their primary wave of admissions rejections on Thursday, February 1, 2024 starting around 8pm for almost all applicants, except Fine Arts. Very, very few students received a second choice major in any form.

There seems to be no waitlist or deferrals. It is unclear if Honors has released all of their decisions.

To those who gained admission, congratulations! I hope UT is at the top of your list for places to enroll. Honors programs are likely to continue releasing decisions throughout February and perhaps even after March 1.

Back of the napkin admissions statistics: 73,000 total applications for an enrolling class of 8,500. Approximately 17,000-18,000 total admissions offers for an overall admissions rate around 24-26%. The non top 6% admissions rate is 11% with OOS admissions rate at 7-8%.

For those not as lucky, I encourage you to let any disappointing news settle for a few days before taking action. It’s okay to vent, cry, and otherwise release any stress and tension that’s been building up throughout the duration of the admissions cycle. Focus on the favorable offers you’ve hopefully received.

Please consult these posts for internally transferring/changing your UT major or externally transferring from another university.

DO NOT ENROLL AT ACC FROM ANOTHER REGION BECAUSE YOU THINK IT HELPS YOUR TRANSFER ADMISSIONS CHANCES. IT DOESN’T. READ THIS POST.

I answer questions about internally transferring/changing majors for current/incoming UT students here and external transfers who begin their studies at another university here.

Decision Releases, Application Review, and Appeals for First-Time Freshman Fall 2024

It is probable that for selective majors like Engineering, Business, and Computer Science, all files are reviewed by two reviewers. The average of those two scores on a scale of 1-6 is the student’s Personal Achievement Index score, so it’s likely that you received a fair admissions review.

UT, however, hires dozens of outside, non-admissions counselor file readers, a common practice but much more so nowadays than in years past. Personally, I would find it challenging to review applications if I’m detached from the daily realities of high school students learning in varied environments.

Automatically admitted Texas residents not offered their first or second choice major were given a major that they presumably selected on Page 9 of Apply Texas whether they released it or not. Around 100 applicants typically receive PACE.

CAP spaces are first-come-first-served. Last year, CAP for Arlington and San Antonio filled up in less than ten minutes, so note when the CAP enrollment window opens and be on your devices ready to refresh. It isn’t possible to appeal for CAP schools not offered.

Many families have begun asking about the appeals process. I have helped students and families in the past with appeals, but appeals consultations and decision-release/next steps phone calls are not services I offer this year under any circumstances at any price.

Check out my new book Surviving the College Admissions Madness and Youtube Channel

I’m focusing on serving my current first-time freshman clients navigating their next steps and transfer applicants who are busy completing their applications. I begin working with prospective transfers in June for Spring 2025 applicants and December for Fall 2025 transfers, so please reach out to me at that time.

Students interested in transferring can visit this comprehensive post, which should help you evaluate your varied options and decisions for beginning your college studies: https://texadmissions.com/transferguide

Below, I discuss FAQs and share what I know and don’t know regarding appeals. I have nothing more to say nor any information that I’m withholding.

Summary of the UT-Austin appeals process

I’m sorry to hear that you did not gain admission to UT-Austin. Genuinely, every year things get more competitive, and I can’t imagine your disappointment of your decision not working out. This is my eleventh year working in and around college admissions, and Fall 2023 is no exception for UT’s competitive process. CS and other STEM programs, unsurprisingly, were extremely competitive.

The first thing I will say: Your admissions outcomes do not define you as a person or a student.

The appeals portal will open up at some undefined date. It may not open immediately after you receive a rejection.

Only US applicants can appeal, and all decisions are final. Submitting an appeal will not negatively impact a CAP, PACE, or Major Selection offer.

“UT Austin makes final admissions decisions about an incoming class only after considering all applicants, the needs of UT Austin and its academic programs, and limitations on class size. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the university would reverse its original admissions decision.

An applicant for admission should submit an appeal only if there is new, significant and/or compelling information that was not previously provided at the point of application; disagreement with an applicant’s admissions decision, alone, is not a valid reason for submitting an appeal.”

Official link for more information: https://admissions.utexas.edu/apply/decisions/appeals

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT: DO NOT HIRE ANYONE FOR HELP WITH APPEALS, INCLUDING ME.

Last year for Fall 2023, a few strange things happened with UT appeals. Almost all appeals were denied in early April, 2023. But then UT left the appeals portal open. Reports rolled in of students successfully submitting a “second appeal,” which was never possible in the past. A number of students gained admission across many majors throughout July and early August. This leads me to believe that the UT appeals system is akin to a lottery. They use it as an Enrollment Management technique to fill remaining spaces rather than anything specific to their applicant or their grounds for appeal.

Why was I not offered admission to the university or my first-choice major?

Nobody can answer this question for you. Not me, not your friends, not internet forums, and not even UT admissions counselors themselves. Speculating about why a certain person at your school got in and you didn’t will only drive you crazy. I understand the tendencies for seeking answers to this question. I caution against going down this path and losing yourself in places like College Confidential or Reddit. It’s time to begin the process of moving on. What’s done is done.

Even when I worked for UT with access to all available data, I couldn’t discern why a given student is admitted or not. Even if I could tell, I wasn’t at the discretion to disclose things like review scores to families or HS counselors.

I would see files that would be real head-scratchers in both directions, those who would appear almost certain to get in for regular/honors admission and don’t, and those who seem not to have a chance, do gain admission.

Even now with my clients, there are always surprises in both directions, pleasant and otherwise. Frankly, no single person generally can explain a given admissions outcome. For every known variable like test scores, there are ten unknown.

Check out my new book Surviving the College Admissions Madness and Youtube Channel

I am an automatically admitted Texas resident who did not receive their first choice major. I’m not interested in enrolling in any of the majors I have been offered. What’s with this list and was my second-choice major considered?

Many students not offered their first choice are required by law to be offered a space at the university. Some might receive their second choice while most receive a list of majors to choose from. Historically, this included Communications, Liberal Arts, Education, and Social Work. For Fall 2021, students did not receive a list of majors and were instead assigned a major that wasn’t their first or second.

It also appears some applicants top 6% who applied first and/or second choice to Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering were offered Civil Engineering. Other Chemical first choice admits received Petroleum. It seems Civil and Petroleum weren’t too popular this year.

High demand majors like Economics or Computer Science/Neuroscience in these colleges/schools are not offered. Spaces for highly competitive programs like Business and Engineering are not an option. So requesting admission to appeal into these programs is almost 100% guaranteed to fail.

Since 2013, UT changed the internal mechanics of how they make decisions. In almost all cases, a student’s second choice major was not considered.

What does an offer for the Coordinated Admissions Program (CAP) or Pathway to Admission through Co-Enrollment (PACE) mean?

Update Fall 2024: It doesn’t seem PACE was offered to anyone.

Texas residents who are not offered direct enrollment to their first choice major or a list of majors to select are sometimes given pathway programs. Receiving CAP or PACE means you are not offered admission to UT.

Spaces for high-demand campuses like Arlington or San Antonio fill up very quickly, so you will only have a day or two to make this decision.

I discuss CAP/PACE further in this comprehensive transfer guide: https://texadmissions.com/transferguide

Can I appeal to participate in CAP or PACE if I am rejected from UT?

It is not possible to appeal to be considered for CAP, but it may be possible to request PACE although unlikely to be granted except in exceptional circumstances.

I’m not satisfied with my admissions decision. What are my next options?

You are welcome to submit an appeal online on your My Status portal. Do not send in an appeals letter in the mail, an e-mail, or in person.

Should I even bother submitting an appeal? When should I send it?

My honest advice is that whether you are submitting an appeal or not, you should psychologically and logistically prepare yourself to begin your studies at another university. I encourage you to focus on favorable admissions outcomes.

About the Appeals Lottery that started with the Fall 2019 cycle: In the past five years, for totally unexplained reasons, UT admitted hundreds of appellants across all majors and residencies in a rolling basis starting in late February. They never acknowledged why. In the past, less than 1% of appeals cases succeeded, and there is no way to know what will happen this year. This extremely unpredictable and arbitrary and non-transparent process is another reason I am not assisting with appeals.

A similar thing happened in Fall 2020 with hundreds of students who had their appeals rejected receive a sudden, unexplained admissions offer over the summer. I have no doubt people will be holding out for the same kind of miracle in future admissions cycles. Almost all appeals were denied last year only for UT to allow for “second appeals” with a handful of subsequent admissions offers.

Appeals are not necessarily a first-come-first-serve process nor will reviewers take into consideration when you submitted an appeal. There is an internal training process that takes place, so the top priority in February is decision releases and enrollment before they turn to appeals.

There is no rush to submit an appeal immediately after receiving your decision.

Successful appeals deal almost entirely with the needs of the university and much less about the individual merits of any given case. One theory why so many appeals succeeded last year is UT under-admitted and worried about hitting their enrollment targets. That means what you write in the appeals letter has almost nothing to do with whether it will succeed. That’s one reason hiring someone to help you write the letter is a waste of money and creates false expectations.

Most Honors programs do not allow an appeal. Plan II allows an appeals essay submitted by mail. I’ve heard unverified reports of applicants appealing into BHP successfully last year. The chance of success appealing into honors is highly unlikely at any rate.

I still want to submit an appeal. How does the process work?

There are generally two conditions when an appeal can succeed. In the vast majority of cases, applicants do not meet either one. Wanting to go to UT really badly isn’t grounds for an appeal.

You must submit an Appeals Letter of 500 words or less stating your case. You can also submit supporting letters from relevant parties like a school counselor or registrar or a transcript.

A successful appeal needs to either 1) demonstrate that there was an error made in the initial application, or 2) provide “new, significant, and/or compelling” information.

Generally speaking, in your appeals letter, you should stress that you’re open for consideration for another major or one that was not your first choice.

What kinds of errors do you mean?

Errors aren’t typos on a resume or essay. The most common instance of an error concerns test scores or the transcript.

In rare instances, a test score wasn’t received, or the score received did not match the data submitted on Apply Texas, so the score was not considered in the student’s profile.

Occasionally, school registrars mistype a student’s rank or GPA, which could significantly alter one’s admissions chances. It’s also possible a required document wasn’t received at all or placed in the wrong file.

If a student believes an error has been committed, they should discuss this in their appeal letter and also secure a letter from the party who is at fault.

Check out my new book Surviving the College Admissions Madness and Youtube Channel

What qualifies as new, significant, and/or compelling information?

“New information” is admittedly extremely vague. For that reason, many students think they have grounds for an appeal because they have something, anything new.

In almost every instance, a student does not present new information that significantly alters the original application.

New information might include a national or international-level achievement, a devastating illness or recent loss in the family, or a change of schools during the senior year.

Generally speaking, a slightly improved rank or test score would not qualify as new information, so your first semester grades are unlikely to qualify as new information either.

Having an outside source vouch for any new information in a letter could also help an applicant’s case.

What if, after my first semester, my rank moved up to qualify for automatic admission. Can I appeal?

State law says that a student’s class rank by the deadline, in this case, December 1 for UT, is what counts for automatic admission. In most cases, ranks are only updated in January. Therefore, it is not possible to appeal for automatic admission.

After further consideration, it seems I didn’t make any errors or have any significant new information. Should I still appeal?

It couldn’t hurt to give it a try; it only costs a bit of time. You should still make arrangements to begin your studies elsewhere. The vast majority of appeals historically do not succeed. Since Fall 2018, UT has not had a waiting list, and they used the appeals pool to fill those final spaces.

Having an appeal on file is usually more important than the content of the appeal itself.

What does UT do with an appeal once it’s received?

Processing appeals are actually quite labor-intensive. All appeals are considered and evaluated through a centralized, internal online portal.

“The Office of Admissions Appeals Committee, made up of a group of Admissions staff, reviews admissions decision appeals to determine if the new, significant, and/or compelling information provided by the applicant warrants a different admissions decision. The committee meets after all admissions decisions are delivered for an application cycle.”

When I worked for UT, and I’ve heard the process is still similar today, all appeals are reviewed by two junior counselors as part of the “Appeals Committee.” I served as a junior reviewer. If either counselor gives the appeal a yes, it goes to a senior reviewer. If they say yes, it progresses to another level. If yes again, it moves onto processing, and the decision is rendered.

It’s possible the Appeals Committee really does meet in person, but the mechanics of it don’t matter because it is outside of the applicant’s control. Successful appeals have a lot more to do with the needs of the university and available spaces more than the individual merits of an applicant.

Successful appellees may not receive their first choice major or even direct admission to UT. In some instances, successful appellees are given PACE. Usually, a successful appeal just comes down to getting super lucky motivated by completely unknowable factors outside of one’s control.

“For each appeal, the committee makes one of the following recommendations to the Executive Director of Admissions:

  •     Admission to the requested college/school and major;

  •     Admission to an alternative college/school or major; or

  •     Denial of applicant’s appeal (original decision denying admissions stands).

…. The Executive Director of Admissions’ decision is final.”

Are there any other circumstances when an appeal could succeed?

Previously, UT had an informal policy to not seperate twins, but I have good reason to believe that they have discontinued this practice. No twins gained admission by appeal for Fall 2020. Then there were reports last cycle that the rejected twin gained admission on appeal, so this policy is unclear.

UT also had generally granted appeals for consideration as a transfer student for applicants who have more than 24 hours from dual credit. Starting this year, they have closed this loophole for “backdoor admission.” I have since removed my post related to this pathway.

When will I hear back about my appeal?

UT will be in no rush to release appeals decisions although last year they released many within a few weeks of the appeals portal opening. They will trickle out and continue to do so until April 30, the enrollment deadline for admitted students.

I’m thinking of calling a counselor or showing up in person. Is this a good idea?

It may be cathartic to give someone a piece of your mind. However, it does not help to send an appeal by mail, fax, to call a counselor, or show up in person to Austin or a regional admissions center.

The person you are speaking with on the phone is not the one who makes admissions decisions nor do they have the discretion to tell you why a given student was admitted or denied.

Having fielded dozens of very angry and aggressive phone calls in the past, really, it’s not worth it for anyone even if by some miracle the appeal works. We’re given a script that we stick to when you call.

What if we have a VIP family friend who is connected with the university? Can they call or e-mail on my behalf?

Sure, why not. Depending on the level and depth of the connection, VIPs have been known to help students both gain admission on the front-end application process and in through back-end appeals.

See the 2015 Kroll Report investigating practices under the Powers Administration for more information. I have no idea if these formal procedures also exist under President Fenves although reports in recent years suggest that connections might make a difference.

I have no further comment on the ethics or logistics of this avenue.

Check out my new book Surviving the College Admissions Madness and Youtube Channel

Is it possible for me to see my application and review score?

In the past, yes, you could receive your score. However, UT has since blocked much of the access allowed by open records requests.

FERPA rights extend only to current or former students. If you were admitted to UT and not given your first choice major, for example, and you choose to enroll, you can access your file. FERPA privacy laws require universities to release everything they have in your file if you ask. It might also work if you enroll at another university and transfer in although I don’t know if that falls under the FERPA scope.

I discuss this process here and the limitations on what you can learn; you still won’t know, however, why you were admitted or denied.

https://texadmissions.com/blog/2018/12/26/open-records-request-your-ut-austin-admissions-file

Finally, to reiterate, if you’re interested in beginning your studies at another college/university and externally transferring, I cover everything you need to know with additional resources here: https://texadmissions.com/transferguide

I understand that this is a discouraging time. Things will get better, they always do. I wish you the best in your future endeavors.

  • Kevin Martin

    Founder, Tex Admissions