Basic College Admissions Criteria
- High School Transcript: GPA and rigorous Course Selections
- College Entrance exam scores SAT/ACT
- Extra Curricular activities in High School
- Leadership and Community Involvement
- Recommendations
- College entrance essays
- Rank: Schools (less than 100 in a graduating class) do not rank, expect for the top 10 %. Colleges see this commonly and take this into consideration.
**Always check with the Admissions office of the colleges
that interest you for their specific criteria.
Social Media – Beware, what you put on the internet is instantly out of your control and no longer private. Colleges do commonly look at these materials.
Texas Top 10% Rule
Applicants for admissions to any Texas general academic teaching institution as listed in Ed. Code 61.003 will be automatically admitted if applicant is:
- first-time freshman;
- graduated with a GPA in top 10% of Student’s graduating class;
- graduated in one of the 2 school yrs preceding the academic year for which the applicant is applying for admissions from a public or private high school in TX that is accredited by a generally recognized accrediting agency, which TCS is.
- Meets the application requirements by that schools deadlines
College Application Process
- www.commonapp.org Application utilized by over 500 institutions across the nation including private and public
- www.applytexas.org This site has the common application for Texas school as well as the option to call up information about Texas schools. This is a great site!
- www.eduinconline.com Apply to 34+ Black colleges online
- Application FEE WAIVERS are available for those who qualify; see the following link, http://professionals.collegeboard.com/testing/waivers/guidelines
Early Decision
This is a program where you apply to your first choice early in the fall of the senior year, receiving notification by approximately mid-December. If accepted, you are committed to attend and must withdraw any other outstanding applications. Early Decision must come with a warning. It’s not a good idea unless students have done a thorough college search and know without a shred of doubt that this is the college for them.
Questions to ask yourself before you decide to go Early Decision
1. Have you thoroughly researched several colleges and know what your options are?
2. Do you know why you’re going to college and what you want to accomplish there?
3. Have you visited several campuses, spent time in classes, stayed overnight, and talked to professors?
4. Do the courses the college offers match your goals?
5. Are you absolutely convinced that one college clearly stands out above all others?
Early Action
Early action is a program where you apply early in the fall of senior year; gain admissions info prior to spring but is not binding; providing flexibility (see institution for exact policy).
Rolling Admissions
This policy allows colleges to notify students of admissions as soon as the application is received and reviewed. In this situation it is wise to apply early because once the admissions quota is reached applications are no longer accepted.
Regular Decision
This plan is where institutions review most of their applications before notifying the majority of candidates of their admissions. In this process, colleges set a deadline for completing applications and will respond to completed applications by a specified date. If you are applying for financial aid, you will follow an additional process and deadline.
Wait List
This term is used by institutions to describe a process in which they may initially delay offering you admissions. Rather, the institution extends to you the possibility of admissions.