Texas A&M University
College Station, Texas · Founded 1876
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Test-optional
Texas A&M is test optional and does not require the SAT or ACT for first-year applicants, though it encourages students who have scores to send them and says sending them creates no unfair advantage or disadvantage. Your highest total score from a single test date is the one used. For Texas residents who were homeschooled, a 1290 SAT or 27 ACT counts as top-10% standing for automatic admission from fall 2027. 77% of enrolled first-year students submitted an SAT score and 19% an ACT. In its own Common Data Set, rigor of the high school record, class rank and academic GPA are rated Very Important and test scores Considered. Transfer applicants do not need scores. Source: admissions.tamu.edu - Freshman; Texas A&M Common Data Set 2025-2026, sections C7-C9 (verified September 2026).
About
Texas's first public institution of higher education and one of the largest public universities in the country, with about 62,500 undergraduates. Engineering is its largest field, nearly a quarter of bachelor's degrees. Texas residents in the top 10% of their high school class are admitted automatically, and nearly every first-year student is a Texan - only about one in twenty comes from another state.
History
The Texas Legislature established the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas on April 17, 1871, under the federal Morrill Act, and it began instruction on October 4, 1876, with six students and six faculty members. Every student trained in the Corps of Cadets until participation was made voluntary in 1965; in the same decade, under President James Earl Rudder, the college opened its doors to women and African Americans, and in 1963 it became Texas A&M University.
What stands out
- Texas residents in the top 10% of their high school class are admitted automatically
- Test optional, though the university encourages students who have scores to send them
- Engineering applicants, including those admitted automatically, are reviewed separately for placement
- One of the few universities with land-, sea- and space-grant designations
- 95 percent of first-year students come back for a second year
Popular majors
Campus life
Students are Aggies and the school colors are maroon and white. The Corps of Cadets, the oldest student organization on campus, started 2025-26 with more than 2,400 cadets, and there are more than 1,300 student organizations. Traditions run deep, from the 12th Man at football games and the Aggie Ring to Silver Taps and Muster, which honor Aggies who have died.