Texas A&M University🔗︎
My College Application Journey🔗︎
I had the unfortunate luck of graduating from high school in the middle of a pandemic. The restrictions imposed by COVID-19 destroyed the latter half of my senior year. I decided when I graduated that I was not going to allow the pandemic to interfere with my educational goals.
I applied to college three times. For three years in a row, I was hopeful that the pandemic was coming to an end. I refused to be forced to attend virtual classes and keep my distance from everyone in order to graduate a year sooner. I wanted to take my time to do this right so that I could get the most out of my college experience.
During my two gap years, I prepared for the journey ahead. I emotionally matured more in these two years than I had in my entire high school career. I had a lot of free time, and I was determined to put it to good use. I spent most of this time learning web development. I did not have any experience in this area when I finished high school, but I have now gained enough experience to create the website you are reading. I would eventually use these skills to create the frontends for many of my projects, including AgTern (Aggie Coding Club), Space Probe (TAMUhack 2023), and Warvis (TAMUhack X).
This time also gave me the opportunity to explore my interests and refine my goals. I researched many colleges until I found the one that I believed would provide me the most opportunity to fulfill my fullest potential.
Why I Became An Aggie🔗︎
I decided that I wanted to major in computer science or an adjacent field several years before I started writing my college applications. The quality of the computer science program was one of my main considerations when applying to colleges. I was attracted to Texas A&M due to the rigor and depth of the coursework, as well as its prestige. I was also impressed by the student body's sense of community, especially when it comes to student organizations. I knew that no matter what projects we would complete in the classroom, I would still want to pursue other opportunities to challenge myself. Half of the benefit from college does not come from coursework, but rather, from the network that you develop. There are a lot of people at Texas A&M, including many with experiences that I can learn from.
Entry-To-A-Major (ETAM)🔗︎
Although I applied to Texas A&M's computer science program, I was not placed into the major immediately. Since computer science is in the College of Engineering, I was placed into the General Engineering program. All engineering students take the same courses their first year before applying to their preferred major. The idea is that these students can spend their first year exploring their interests. However, there is one fatal flaw in this system: acceptance rates. There is not enough space to accommodate every student in their first-choice major, leading almost 25% of students who apply to "settle" for another major.
Computer science is one of the hardest majors to get into. A GPA of 3.75 or above is required to be assured your first choice major. This is notoriously difficult to do. There is very little room for error, especially considering how difficult it is to adjust to college life in the first place. In the semester I applied, only 7.9% of holistic computer science applicants were accepted into the program. And I was not one of them.
My second choice was Computer Engineering, but that is also a difficult major to get into. Not a single applicant was accepted into the program that listed it as their second choice. Therefore, I was placed into my third choice major: Electronic Systems Engineering Technology (ESET). The ESET program focuses on "electronics, communication, embedded systems, instrumentation and control systems".2 It sounded interesting, but it was not what I went to college to pursue. I have had a mild interest in circuits for a while, but I wanted software to be my focus.
Some may call me closed-minded for only wanting to major in computer science, but I think it is quite the opposite. I am not sure what the future holds for my career, but I am open to whatever opportunities I can find. However, software is what I enjoy. My dream is to become an expert in this incredibly diverse field in order to have a positive impact on the world. I want the flexibility to be able to pivot my career to find the best use of my skills.
My Foray into Embedded Systems🔗︎
Despite my initial disappointment when I wasn't able to pursue the program that attracted me to Texas A&M in the first place, I decided to give ESET a chance. There was a strong software component to the major, but these classes were surface-level in comparison to the depth of the computer science program. I decided from the beginning that I would declare a computer science minor so that I could keep learning about data structures, algorithms, discrete math, and computer architecture.
Some of the ESET coursework interested me. I enjoyed learning how to program FPGAs for example, but my embedded systems software class was essentially an "intro to C" course. I was good at circuit analysis, but my heart was not in it. My favorite classes were still my computer science classes. I successfully declared my computer science minor, but I was on track to complete it by the Fall semester of my Junior year. I wanted more.
Change of Major🔗︎
I decided to apply to the computer science program again after being in the ESET program for a year. The acceptance rates for change of major students are anecdotally lower than those who apply through ETAM, but I was determined to get in. My GPA was "only" a 3.6, but I had gotten an A in every computer science course I had taken. I was also hopeful that the admissions committee would see my potential after reading my essay and my résumé. With all of these factors stacked against me, I was very surprised when I got my acceptance letter later that summer.
I was ecstatic! It was a feeling like being admitted to college again! I would finally be able to challenge myself with more difficult software classes. My formal curriculum has been supplementing my self-taught studies for a long time, and I was excited for that to change. I can only keep growing by continuing to step out of my comfort zone.
Reflection🔗︎
Looking back, I am proud of how I handled the challenges I have encountered. I stand by my choice to delay college to avoid a suboptimal learning experience. However, I could have done better academically in my first year. Since I had graduated from high school a couple of years prior, I was out of practice managing my coursework. I was also attracted to several student organizations that consumed my time. I made some adjustments and have been getting almost a 4.0 GPA since. Although this meant that I wasn't able to get into the computer science program through ETAM, I am hopeful that the unique skills that I gained in the ESET program will help diversify my résumé. These challenges have improved my resilience and I have become more independent as a result.
Plans for the Future🔗︎
I am excited for the future. Four years ago, I envisioned myself where I am now. In the next few years, I have several goals that I aim to achieve.
- Participate in undergraduate research
- Experience an internship at a software company
- Lead a project in the Aggie Coding Club
- Make connections in other organizations such as the Aggie Cybersecurity Club and Aggie Competitive Programming Club to diversify my network
- Apply for graduate school
I have a lot of work ahead of me, but I am confident that I will be able to achieve my goals.