High school students all around Texas expecting to gain automatic admission to The University of Texas at Austin now have a new threshold to meet. On Sept. 19, UT Austin’s president Jay Hartzell announced the new auto admission rate, lowering it from the top 6% to the top 5% of graduating seniors statewide starting in the fall of 2026. This will affect the number of in-state auto admit applicants from the current junior class that will be accepted to UT.
In 1997 Texas legislature passed the “top 10 percent law” which states that all public colleges in Texas have to grant automatic admission to all students in the top 10% of certain recognized high schools. By establishing this policy, legislators hoped to diversify classes, as a lot of Texas high schools are divided by race and economic status; by 2008, however, 81% of UT Austin’s freshman class was admitted under the top 10% rule. So an exception was made that allowed them to pick the auto admission rate as long as 75% of their class was admitted automatically. Since this rule was passed, UT has changed its rate several times including in 2017 when it moved from 7% to the current threshold of 6% because of the growing interest from students around Texas.
McCallum college counselor Camille Nix explains why she thinks UT is making this change.
“Well their [stated] reasoning is because of the amount of applications they are receiving, but I think they’re wanting to be more elite,” Nix said.
This year UT received a new record of 73,000 applicants. To make more space for the increasing demand of out-of-state students and regular-admission applicants, UT is shrinking its rate once again, which will affect the amount of students from McCallum getting into UT through auto admit.
“I mean obviously it’s gonna make our [McCallum’s] numbers go down for sure,” Nix said. “It definitely will shift gears for juniors that had it on their list, but kids do get admitted outside of auto admit, so I guess I just have to hope that happens for them.”
Though high schoolers all around Texas can still apply to the university on their own, they are competing with out of state students as well. Three-fourths of UT’s freshman class is composed of auto admit students, leaving the other 25% for in-state students and other applicants. This 25% is evaluated in a holistic review process that looks at test scores, accomplishments, essays and more.
Junior Merrill Price in the top 6% of her class, faces this exact issue. She had been counting on her auto admission to UT when choosing colleges to apply to, but with the new rate she just barely misses the top 5%.
“Whenever I made the top 6 percent it was nice because I knew that everything [the admission rate] could change junior year and senior year,” Price said. “A lot happens to grades and ranks and percentages and stuff, but it felt like this is just nice to know, kind of like a backup.”
Going to UT has been a tradition in Price’s family. Not only do her brothers go there now, but her parents attended as well.
“Both of my brothers go to UT and my parents went there so it’s definitely more of a family thing, and I can really see myself going there.” Price said.
When considering colleges, UT felt like the clear choice for Price. She has made a list of other places to look into but being able to stay in Texas is an important factor in her decision.
“The past two years when people ask where I wanted to go I was like, ‘The only place I’ve looked into is UT, but I’m open to looking at other places’” Price said. “I definitely want to stay in-state. I’m gonna look at other Texas schools, but I just don’t like any as much as I like Texas.”
For the past year or so, rumors have been going around about UT making this change to its auto admission rate considering the high level of interest from students around the world. Even though Price isn’t excited about the change, it didn’t come as a surprise to her.
“I also knew when I got to top 6 percent that it was planning on changing, so I kind of knew about it, but I was like, ‘I wish it was staying [at 6%],” Price said.
The thing about being automatically admitted to UT is that you are not guaranteed a spot in your desired major. The admission means there is a place for you somewhere at the university, but to get your specific major or program, you still need to apply. Sullivan Banks-Gilmore, a former McCallum student, is now a UT freshman. Banks-Gilmore was admitted to UT’s Plan II Honors program after gaining automatic admission to the school for being in the top 6% of his class.
“Auto admit made it [the application process] pretty easy,” Banks-Gilmore said. “I felt less stressed than many of my friends, and it was helpful having backup choices for my major.”
In order to be a part of his desired major though, Banks-Gilmore had to apply just like everyone else.
“I was interested in the Plan II Honors program because it sounded like a unique, small, liberal arts education within a larger university,” Banks-Gilmore said. “I spent a few hours writing the application for the program and then sent it in, as well as applying for undecided liberal arts as my major.”
Banks-Gilmore has been planning to go to UT ever since he started at McCallum, so throughout high school he has made sure to keep his grades up to meet that top 6% and gain automatic admission.
“I’d been within the top 5% my entire high-school career and had planned on having UT as an option from the time I chose to go to McCallum,” Banks-Gilmore said.
When considering the new threshold students will have to meet in the fall of 2026, Banks-Gilmore considers himself fortunate to have been able to enjoy the comfort of his automatic admission throughout high school.
“I feel lucky being part of the top 6% and know that it might be hard for some students who come close to the 5% mark in the future and not quite make it,” Banks-Gilmore said. “Having the 6% guarantee definitely was a comfortable constant within the application process.”
