Transfer to McCombs (University of Texas at Austin) from Mays (Texas A&M University)?

I wish I saw this sooner. I made the switch between my freshman and sophomore years. My advice won't be able to help you, as applications were due nearly three months ago and decisions are just weeks away, but I'll comment for future reference.

Getting a 4.0 is a must in all honesty. It's basically the standard to be competitive for admissions, although it is not necessary. In my transfer year, some people reported high 3.7s and low 3.8s and got in as external transfers. Outside of that, I would recommend just getting involved in different business organizations and other social organizations (I did The Big Event as well as business groups). Really helps if you are able to land some experience/internship in a relevant field. Finding something at a search fund is really easy and the work isn't that bad. Helps the resume a lot.

Switching over has been great. I like Austin much more than College Station. Placement is much better. Even if you're not in IBA/WSFM you can still land offers, especially in Houston, since many banks come for OCR. I will say, students are much more noticeably sweaty at UT than A&M. Obviously the quality of student will be typically a little bit better, although I always felt that A&M is underrated. I had my fair share of 2am interview study sessions and I would see dozens of fellow students doing the same things. 

I can't speak to the quality of AOWS or Horizons but their placements seem to be pretty good. Mostly Houston, but a growing NY presence. UT does really well with NY placements and it's a cakewalk to get an interview at a Houston bank because of the alumni and OCR. If you're in WSFM, NY is very feasible. Off the top of my head, for 2024 SA recruiting, the most popular banks for kids in WSFM were Evercore, Rothschild, Morgan Stanley, and Moelis (at least 3 hires at all of these) with more placement at places like Lazard, GS, BofA, etc. 

I've had a way better time at UT and I would strongly recommend transferring if you either really care about placement or aren't too happy with the social scene/location/university in and of itself. A&M is a great school but it is not everyone's cup of tea.