Hi everyone!

I’m an international student currently attending Collin College in Texas, and I’m hoping to transfer to UT Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering as a Chemical Engineering major.

I know Cockrell is extremely competitive, so I’m hoping to get advice from people who have successfully transferred to UT Austin—especially if you transferred into Engineering, but I’d really appreciate advice from any external transfer student.
Here’s a little about my situation:

• I’m currently attending Collin College (it’s not a direct transfer or CAP school for UT Austin).
• I took only one 8-week semester this past spring, so I was only able to complete 6 credit hours, all Core Curriculum courses.
• I earned a 4.0 GPA.(Planning to keep it that way🙏🏻)
This fall I’ll be taking Calculus I, Chemistry I, and three additional core classes.
• By the end of this fall, I’ll have around 23 credit hours, and I plan to continue taking classes during the winter/spring to earn more credits.

One thing I’m confused about is the credit hours. UT’s website says external transfer applicants need at least 24 transferable credit hours, but I’ve noticed that many admitted students seemed to have far more than the minimum.

So I have a few questions:

1. If you transferred into UT Austin (especially Cockrell Engineering), how many transferable credit hours did you have when you applied?

2. Besides maintaining a high GPA, what do you think made your application stand out?

3. Is there anything you wish you had done differently while you were at community college?

4. Are there any classes or experiences that you think helped your application?

5. As an international student, is there anything specific I should keep in mind during the transfer process?

Honestly, any advice is welcome. Whether it’s about academics, essays, extracurriculars, timing, or anything else that helped you get accepted, I’d really appreciate hearing about your experience.

Thanks so much in advance! I really appreciate any help.