2022 Grads, Avoid The ApplyTexas Application If You Can

The good people who manage the ApplyTexas application recognized years ago that the application was seriously lacking when it came to serving both the applicants and the colleges that use the application. The length of the application, the organization of the questions, (or the lack thereof) and clarity of some questions have initiated a recurring chorus of users to come up with a better product. My own questions about seemingly simple changes were met with responses about the expense and time it would take to add functionality that has existed in other applications for many years.

Finally, there must have been an infusion of dollars, or someone realized that usership would continue to decline if changes were not made. A big to-do was made of the new and improved ApplyTexas application for the 2021 high school graduating class. That was until a handful of counselors and advisors were allowed to get a look at the shiny new application. It didn’t take long for the rollout of the new application to be delayed until the fall 2022 application season, now…

I knew of a few issues with the first iteration of the revamped application. After going through the first application season following the update of the Common Application, I expected a few glitches. Having had a year to address the most glaring problems, I was caught by surprise by the number and severity of the problems with the ApplyTexas application this year.

A single client using the ApplyTexas application got booted out of the application four times. Of course, the information on the page was not saved. The information on some of the pages was not saved even after clicking the save button at the bottom of the page. To add insult to injury, when the applicant reached the end of the application a parent noticed that the intended major was not what they entered. When the intended major was corrected, the entire contents of the application vanished. They were not able retrieve all that work. Unfortunately, this client is very stubborn and refused to allow this application to beat him. Instead of abandoning the ApplyTexas application, he stayed up all night entering all his information again. The application was finally submitted but eight days later, the college has still not been able to download it.

These are problems I have witnessed firsthand. I have heard about many more from colleagues and from colleges are no happier than the applicants. If you were planning to use the ApplyTexas application this year, try a different application if at all possible and save yourself the misery and stress of using software with a lot of bugs that still need to be worked out.

Phone: (713) 858-4325
Fax: (713) 858-4325
Richmond, TX 77406
1860 FM 359 #229