All,
As many of you have submitted your application(s) to A&M via Common App, I thought I'd clear the air and provide an update from the admissions office themselves. Information discussed below is taken directly from the Texas A&M Freshman Admissions page.
It plainly states that admission acknowledgement letters will begin going out no later than August 22 for applicants who used the Common App to submit. It's this letter that will contain information about setting up your AIS and how to link the STARS/SRAR. Why they're taking as long as August 22 to do this is beyond me, and no one gives any clear explanations. That said, it's not exclusive to A&M. Only ONE of the schools among the dozens I've helped students submit applications since August 1 have begun downloading as of today. ONE.
This leads me to my next thought: is Apply Texas preferred? That answer is NO, but schools often don't do themselves any favors. It appears that A&M has already begun downloading Apply Texas applications. That tells me that there's something holding the colleges back on Common App's end. There's just no explanation otherwise. For that matter, do not send a duplicate application via Apply Texas, nor do I suggest applying via Apply Texas if you have not already submitted. The 'refreshed' Apply Texas application is exceptionally glitchy, clunky, and it's not at all user-friendly. As well, since most of my clients must use Common App to submit to other non-Texas schools, it makes Apply Texas completely pointless if the designated school can be submitted elsewhere.
For now, and I hate to say this to all of my eager Aggies out there, but one must "hurry up and wait." Again, it's not an A&M-exclusive thing, but I know it's the one that matters most for so many of you.
Just an update.