I've heard that admission into the College of Architecture can be pretty competitive these days, but does that apply to Construction Science, or really just Environmental Design (Architecture)? I have a kid who might be a good fit in Construction Science but is not likely to graduate in the top 8% of his competitive private school (the class size is so small that the top 8% is only about 4 kids). He should score 1350+ on his SAT based upon his PSAT score and has a 3.8 unweighted GPA. He takes the hardest courses his school offers. In my day, that would be well above most of the kids in Construction Science, but this is a new world for college admissions. Anybody have insight into the program today and what admissions are like?

My son was in a similar situation years ago and decided to go to TAMU Galveston for a year and then a Change of Curriculum to CS. Construction Science had a separate review to accept students this way. He was not accepted initially to CS and the Construction Science was full anyway. He did very well and many firms were after those grads.

The Construction Science Dept was very helpful. I would suggest calling and speaking to the people that are part of the review. Very good program and I suspect that many firms are still coming to the job fairs every semester. All the best to you and your son.

Have they got any relevant EC's? The key is how can you separate yourself if you aren't auto admit. The stats are good but not overwhelming so anything that shows an affinity for CS helps or certainly writing essays to that effect. Typically a 1400 or so moves them into the near lock territory so they are close. I would certainly expect he is at least Blinn Team and that's often a better deal for kids than being a straight admit.

I understood with my son years back that even if he was an auto admit to the University that he would not have been accepted to COSC because the class was full. It's not a big department but may have expanded some through the years after moving into their own building. At that time the guy in position with the Blinn program said best route was Galveston . He was accepted immediately since all records are in same system as CS campus. He took classses that were part of COSC and did a Change of Curriculum. He still had to do an essay for COSC and get accepted to that department.
If your son is not an auto admit to the University, I would think any background activities linked to construction and construction management would be good. With that department it can come down to timing and they may already have accepted all they can for that semester.
If he is interested in construction management, it's a great field to go with . If he can get accepted to the University, then there are options to transfer or the Change of Curriculum to look into and take classses that line up with COSC . That department likes to see that and wants to get the students through their curriculum quickly.

My son is doing an internship this summer with a general contractor and if he likes it, will do another next summer. That's the best evidence I can think of that he can prove to the school that he would be a good fit. I also told him to have his application ready to submit the minute A&M starts accepting them next summer. We are going to hit the test prep hard this August before he takes both his final PSAT and the first SAT in the Fall. Anything else he should do? I guess my son should call the relevant folks at A&M and ask them that question.

I think working for a GC is good but also talking to the COSC Dept to understand all current options for acceptance.
If an auto admit or general acceptance to the University, then what are they looking for to get admitted to COSC?
How many freshman admits each semester and how many transfers?
If accepted into the University but not choice major of COSC, then do they recommend taking classes for one year that align and then try for curriculum change and COSC acceptance? Minimum GPA requirement?
Is Galveston still an option these days and how they feel about that?
Shelley Smith is a good person to talk to. She is the Assistant Dept Head . Her number is listed on their website.