College Admissions at St. Mark's School of Texas: A Parent's Guide

St. Mark's holds most of its advanced curriculum until junior year, gives extra weight to AP and Honors grades, and doesn't rank. Its school profile explains all three to every college that reads a St. Mark's application. Below, we look at what the 2026–27 profile says and how families can plan around it.

Advanced Courses Open Up in Junior Year

St. Mark's says that "to ensure all our students receive a rigorous and well-rounded foundational education in Upper School, access to the full breadth of our Advanced Curriculum begins in the junior year." Students must be recommended for AP or Honors courses, and some paired offerings are structured unusually: AP English Language and AP English Literature are taught in a single combined course offered only to juniors, and AP Macroeconomics and Microeconomics share a yearlong course.

Because colleges read that policy in the profile, they won't expect a heavy advanced load before 11th grade. The Common App asks the counselor to rate each student's course selection "in comparison with other college preparatory students at your school," so what matters is taking the demanding path St. Mark's makes available and doing well in it. The 9th and 10th grade record decides which recommendations follow. Our guide to how colleges read transcripts in context explains why.

Weighted Grades, No Rank

St. Mark's gives an A in an AP or Honors course 5.00 points, compared with 4.00 in other courses, and doesn't rank students. Two practical consequences:

• Colleges recalculate. Many colleges apply their own GPA formulas. The University of California, for example, gives nonresidents honors weight only for AP and IB courses, so Honors-only courses may count differently there. Our UC application guide explains the calculation.
• Texas automatic admission. Automatic admission to Texas public universities depends on class rank, so St. Mark's students are generally considered through holistic review. The profile shows how that works in practice: UT Austin and Texas A&M were the two most common destinations for the classes of 2024 through 2026. Our guide to UT Austin and Texas A&M for private school students covers the process.

Testing in Context

St. Mark's published testing ranges are high, and colleges see them in the profile. Whether a score helps at a test-optional college depends on how it compares with that college's range. For UT Austin, which requires a score, testing is part of the plan regardless. Our testing strategy guide covers how to decide.

Distinctive Requirements Worth Using

A few St. Mark's requirements give students unusual material for their applications:

• The Senior Exhibition, described in the profile as "a demonstration of a special talent, skill or interest made by the student to the student body and faculty."
• Independent tutorials with a faculty member in subjects outside the curriculum, taken pass/fail and recorded on the transcript. Recent examples in the profile include psychology, neuroscience, and music composition.
• Community service of 60 hours, 15 each year, and the Pecos Wilderness Trip, a week-long backpacking trip for every ninth grader.

When one of these reflects a genuine interest, it can anchor an essay or an activities entry. Our guide to research and passion projects covers how to present independent work.

The Counseling Timeline

According to the school, while college preparation runs through the Upper School, the college counseling office begins meeting with students and parents in junior year, and representatives from nearly 200 colleges visit the campus each year. Families who add outside support should make sure it complements that process, especially in 9th and 10th grade, when the most useful work is building a strong foundation rather than starting applications early.

Related Guides

• College Admissions for Dallas Private School Students
• College Admissions at Hockaday: A Parent's Guide
• Applying to College from a Private School
• College Admissions at the Episcopal School of Dallas
• NCAA Recruiting, for students weighing college athletics, along with our athletic recruiting counseling

For families who want more support, Passage Point Admissions offers virtual advising anywhere in the U.S. from our base in South Florida, through private school college counseling that coordinates with the school's counselors.