I’m applying to UT as a neuroscience major. I know it’s too late to apply for plan ii but I was wondering what the difference between dean and polymathic scholar was? I’m planning on pre-med. Here are my stats, in case I would have a better chance of getting into one but not the other. Honestly, I have no idea of how competitive these programs are. I’m a little scared since I haven’t started applications yet (I sat my butt down and started today though)
I just want to be in an honors program because it would be great to be in a community of like-minded people. It seems like people form great bonds with each other, and I’d love for that to be part of my college experience. The specialized classes sound great too, because the student-faculty ratio is so large there.
SAT 1580
ACT 35
Math ii subject test 790
GPA 4.0/4.0 UW 5.5/6.0 W
Rank 8/469 (Top 2%)
Is in various organizations and have 3 leadership roles in clubs related to science/psychology
Member of student-run mental health nonprofit
9 AP classes taken so far. 4s on bio and chem, 5s on calc ab and bc
National Merit Semifinalist (does this mean anything anymore?)
Both do research and take special classes in how to do research. UT will help you find a spot in the summer to work. The difference? Deans is about research in a particular, traditional area. Polymath is more about synthesizing, putting two disparate subjects together. S did polymath, but back when he applied kids were placed by the admissions office more than they applied as far as I know. It was the right place for him. He was and is a kid with lots of interests.
@Lizardly thank you for your response! Could you elaborate more on how polymathic fits people with various interests? Like what they do specifically? The website doesn’t say much. Honestly I’m not sure if I would categorize myself as someone with various interests. I am focused on pre-med, but I find math and other classes (except history) interesting in their own way, although I’m not sure if I would call myself passionate in all these classes.
S was encouraged to take courses in many areas, not just his major, and write a thesis that combined these interests, as opposed to a straight on math thesis or physics thesis. He wrote one combing music, math, and psychology. As a math major Dean’s scholar, he would have written one on some aspect of math.
It may be that he could have written a more straight forward math thesis, but polymath gave him the freedom to do something different.
Deans is the oldest one of the three CNS honors programs and is focused on furthering your education after undergrad as well as by getting you to do research ASAP. Polymathic Scholars is very similar in the research sense although they have to make a unique certificate that they decide on their sophomore year in which they need to do one that hasn’t been done, which since the program is so young isn’t impossible yet. I’m in Deans so don’t take this as a bit of bias but I would to Deans since I know a handful of polymathic scholars who applied to Deans and didn’t make it and got put over there and have never met someone who applied polymath and is in Deans so if you don’t make it into Deans you’ll have a chance at getting polymath. Although you can transfer between the programs at the end of each semester. But going poly to Deans is hard since polymath lets you claim take courses that deans don’t approve of for the honors degree but polymath gets a BSA while deans get a BS so same majors won’t take the same classes for the two programs. But going Polymath to HSS isn’t that hard since they are also working towards a BSA but not with a certificate.