Texas Top Ten - Ridiculous or Brilliant?

For those of you who don't know what the "Top Ten Percent Rule" in Texas is, let me sum it up for you in a few simple words.

Any student at any high school in the state of Texas who has ranked in the top 10% of their class has automatic acceptance into the U. of Texas, ATM, U. of North Texas, Texas State, Sam Houston State, U. of Houston, Stephen F. Austin, and Texas Tech, despite the size of their high school.

I go to a 5A school, one of the smaller ones, however. My graduating class has 28 valedictorians (something I find truly ridiculous, as to many other students at my school and in the area, even teachers feel the same way). There are roughly 50-60 students in the top 10% in my class who knew, before they even applied, they would soon become a Longhorn at UT-Austin. Every single one of those kids is different, yet they all managed to make it through the past four years of high school in all AP classes/GT classes and never make a single B...A majority of the kids in the Top 10 are the children in my classes that have never gone to a school dance, never experienced being lazy, and run themselves into the ground because they know that without their grades there's no way they could get into UT or ATM (the two most sought after schools in Texas)...

Let's switch gears and spotlight another situation regarding the same topic. A friend of mine transferred to a small school in the hill country, still staying in Texas. The school was not nearly as competitive as our school and was drastically 75% smaller than our school. He was in the bottom of our class, yet miraculously jumped up to the Top 10% at his new school. He'll be going to UT in the fall with his girlfriend, who only got into the college because her entire family had ventured down the same path at the university.

Now, how is this fair, exactly? I have gone to a school in the city with roughly 550 students in my grade for the past four years. I have been serious, yet not ridiculously studious and have managed to never make anything below a C in AP Psychology or Government. Yet, there's no way that I would be accepted into UT (the only school in Texas that I would go to besides St. Edward's..). I've been involved in clubs, yet not a ridiculous amount. I've dedicated time to the film and photography club, Amnesty International, and the local women's shelter for battered women and children. I've won many photography contests and had teachers enter my writing in dozens of contests as well. I've made 4's on my AP tests and even got a 12/12 on the writing portion of my SATs. One would assume that my well-roundedness would help me immensely when applying to an in-state university, even to get scholarships. This is not the case at all thanks to the Top 10 percent rule congress passed years ago.

Yes, I realize that by using the Top 10 rule that some children who would've never thought to apply to UT or the other schools are having opportunities thrown their way that could alter their life drastically. But how fair is that if a student who goes to a school with 100 kids, has never been in an AP class, has never done extracurricular activities, and never involved themselves in anything partying gets into UT and I can't? I didn't even bother applying to the school because there was no way that I would be accepted, I doubt I'd even be wait-listed. Just go straight to the trash can with a big huge 'DENIED' stamp on my forehead.

When talking to students from other states, and even professors, they wrinkle their eyebrows at me, laugh, and ask what the Top 10 rule is and why the hell we have it. Last year a girl was rejected from a top university in NYC from my school...she sent them a letter saying that they absolutely had to accept her because she was in the Top 10 percent at our school. They were amused enough to send a hand-written letter back telling her to basically open up her eyes and realize that not everyone lives by the ridiculous rule.

So, I want to know what your thoughts on the Texas Top 10 are. Had you known about it before, or not? Does your state have anything like this? I'm going to school in New York City next year and I know that there are scholarships based on if you live there or not, but I'm talking straight-out acceptance into a university based on something so malleable like the Top 10 at your school.

Let me know! =]

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