<p>Hey guys!</p>
<p>I just got accepted to the Dean's Honor Scholar Program at UT, and didn't even know I applied for it. Can someone please give me some information regarding this college such as selectivity, special features? </p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>It’s the honors program of the college of natural sciences. One nice feature is the free lunches on Friday.</p>
<p>You are obviously a smart kid, so with that said, how exactly do you have no knowledge of applying for it when it entails completing the honors supplement and associated essays including why you think you would make an excellent Dean’s Scholar? The Dean’s Scholars program is not a major or a college but the associated program to the College of Natural Sciences. Besides Plan II or BHP is one of the top honors programs at UT.</p>
<p>Exactly my thought! It doesn’t make sense what s/he claimed.</p>
<p>Well, after I got auto accepted into UT Austin, from the external link the email provided, I looked into the Honors college branch, and saw that I could apply for 2 honors colleges. I applied to BHP as my first choice and the Honors program for Natural Sciences for my second choice, which didn’t specify what the program name was called. Since then I have found out there are 2 programs (HSH and DS), so I didn’t even know about this program at all. My essays were pretty abysmal as I was just thinking I was going to get autoaccepted, and didn’t really try until my friends told me that the honors programs at UT were quite good, and that I should really submit them on the off chance that I do get in. Now that I have been accepted, I still don’t really know that much about the program. Would anyone mind PMing me about some of the things that separate it from the regular Natural Sciences program?</p>
<p>The College of Natural Sciences (CNS) is one of the largest colleges at UT and consists of the some of the largest majors at UT. Furthermore, those majors offer some of the most diverse and flexible degree plans, meaning that two students in the same major are unlikely to have very many classes together. Put this all together and you get the exact opposite of the “small college experience” many students are after.</p>
<p>What Dean’s Scholars (DS) offers is a way for students to enjoy being at a large university (with the corresponding sports programs, atmosphere, resources, diversity, etc.) while also getting a good dose of the “small college” treatment. While clubs and other extracurricular activities go a long way in providing opportunities to forge tight-knit groups outside of class, Dean’s Scholars goes the extra yard by integrating such an experience with academics. </p>
<p>So who belongs in DS? Dean’s Scholars rounds up those students with a keen interest in and aptitude for research. You should realize that this is a pretty rare breed of student. This is especially true in the biological science majors, which are almost exclusively filled with pre-health professions students. Moreover, a passion for research implies a rare but true passion for learning and the process of science. For most, these things are simply a means to an end but Dean’s Scholars students see these as ends in and of themselves. As such, Dean’s Scholars is here to collect and support the “scientists” in the CNS. This does not mean that all Dean’s Scholars students are wholeheartedly set on careers in research or academia. While many do have such goals, over half graduate to enter industry or pursue careers in medicine. </p>
<p>What does DS offer? Concretely, Dean’s Scholars supports its students by providing a dedicated honors adviser, a faculty adviser, priority registration, an extremely flexible degree plan and access to Dean’s Scholars courses and events, among other things.
–Dedicated honors adviser-- Given the size and diversity of the CNS and its majors, most staff advisers are only trained to deal with typical students. Having a dedicated honors adviser means that motivated students with more aggressive plans and an interest in research can be accommodated properly. (Other advisers tend to err on the side of caution and discourage challenging schedules.)
–Faculty adviser-- An unfortunate consequence of being at a large university like UT is that it is sometimes difficult to get to know professors. Dean’s Scholars students are paired with a faculty adviser (i.e. professor) in their major and meet up at least once a semester prior to registration. The faculty adviser provides expert advice on which classes to take and can handle other science-related questions that the staff adviser cannot. Students often get letters of recommendation from their faculty adviser.
–Priority registration-- the name says it all. As far as I’m aware, Dean’s Scholars is the only honors program to offer this to its students all four years. This means that Dean’s Scholars students can get priority access to the courses taught by the best professors and at the best times. This is a big deal.
–Flexible degree plan-- Since a faculty adviser has to sign off on a student’s schedule for every registration, a lot of the requirements built into a normal degree plan are instead left to the faculty adviser’s discretion. This means that students can formulate a personally tailored degree without being restricted by many of the usual requirements.
–Dean’s Scholars stuff-- Friday Lunches (professor guest speaker and free food); weekend trips to Port Aransas, McDonald Observatory and other places; Dean’s Scholars socials; upperclassman buddy; seminar courses (once a week discussions/activities with a professor); outreach events; meeting people that make you say “wow”. </p>
<p>I’m not joking with that last one either. The Dean’s Scholars students I have met have all been some of my brightest peers and their accomplishments are really wow-worthy. The program has a *100% medical school acceptance rate<a href=“except%20for%20one%20international%20student%20who%20had%20trouble%20with%20residency%20issues;%20he%20got%20in%20the%20next%20year”>/I</a>. Last year’s graduates went on to Harvard Med, Johns Hopkins (MD/Ph.D), Stanford (a lot), MIT and other prestigious schools. The program has also produced many Marshall Scholars (including one this year), a Rhodes Scholar, and a seemingly consistent stream of Goldwater Scholars. </p>
<p>All in all, an acceptance to Dean’s Scholars is not something that should be taken lightly. I cannot directly comment on their selectivity but I can point out that there is no shortage of applications, yet they average something like 50 students per class despite representing one of the largest colleges at UT. For contrast, I believe Plan II has something like 150 students per class and BHP has about 80 (someone fact check me).</p>
<p>Jesus that was an extremely amazing description of the program. You have no idea how much that helped me in understanding the intricacies of the program. A couple students I asked who are currently in DS have told me that the program doesn’t really seem that different from the experiences other students have in just the Natural Sciences college. Do you know if this is true? And also, what do you think about the competition of selecting colleges when compared to schools like UPenn, Rice, and other Ivy League schools?</p>
<p>Hey frever!
I was wondering what the difference was between Dean’s Scholars and Health Science Scholars. I can’t find much information on it. ><</p>
<p>@randomstudent7
That is probably because they aren’t taking full advantage of their membership in the program. A lot of the benefits DS can provide is just offered, not forced. For example, you can easily go into the advising sessions with your faculty adviser with the goal of just getting in and getting out, in which case you don’t get much out of it. Another thing that DS offers is an opportunity to identify, get to know and network with most of the brightest students in the college. If you’re not interested in getting to know them, then DS may not seem that useful.</p>
<p>Also, as someone who has had to deal with the vagaries of normal registration, I would claim that those who are not thankful for priority registration are spoiled.</p>
<p>In terms of selecting between other prestigious universities, I would say that it is strongly dependent on what your career plans are and how well you “fit” a particular school. To address the latter concern, you have to visit the school and get a taste of the atmosphere yourself. While the universities you listed are all similar in the quality of education they provide, they all have a different feel and attract their own type of student. You will be spending the next four years of your life at whichever university you choose and will make lifelong friends out of your peers; make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into by actually visiting the place. The decision should come naturally from there (or you’ll at least come out with a narrowed list of favorites).</p>
<p>@SeaLionLaugh
Unfortunately, I don’t know much about HSH either so I can’t add much to what their website might otherwise tell you.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago I heard they rejected 62 valedictorians who applied to the Dean’s Scholars program.</p>
<p>Correction: 67 valedictorians (not 62)</p>
<p><a href=“http://web5.cns.utexas.edu/news/2011/09/[/url]”>http://web5.cns.utexas.edu/news/2011/09/</a></p>
<p>DO IT!</p>
<p>First of all, congratulations on getting accepted into the best honors program at UT! When I got accepted, I was a bit unsure. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to do science, and you seem to be in the same boat since you also applied to BHP. I decided to accept DS for a variety of reasons, and it was a great decision. It is a ton of work, but what do you get out of it? You get honors classes, which are smaller and more interesting than regular classes. Apparently people dread CH301 because it’s so huge, but CH301H is totally manageable, and you’re surrounded by people who are interested, whether they’re in DS, HSH, or are just motivated. What else do you get? Automatic admission into the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI) program, which puts you into a real lab doing real research by your second semester. In order to prepare for that, you get put into a research methods class, but since you’re honors, you get the best research methods class, taught by the associate dean himself. You get a DS seminar that gives you a head start on the issues that scientists wish they learned about in college, plus you also get some pretty cool lectures. Every Friday, as some people have mentioned, you get free food and an interesting lecture. We have dinners every once in a while at the director, Dr. Hillis (or some other professor)'s house, or there’s one at Dr. Hillis’s house, and they’re a great time. There are annual trips to Port Aransas and Fort Davis that cost somewhere around $20 total. Plus, since we have the social aspect that is almost entirely unique to our honors program, nearly all of your friends will be at least as smart as you, and it’s a really great group of people which is uniform enough that we all click but diverse enough that nobody feels alienated. It is a lot of work, but it is also the best decision I’ve ever made. Plus, free food. I’m not going to lie; that was one of my deciding factors :-D… Also, I don’t think I mentioned that from day one, you are part of the group, and they set you up with a “DS Buddy” who can answer any questions you have and address any worries or concerns. But, if there is no other good reason to go, you should come for Mark. Mark is, without a doubt, the best academic advisor at the University of Texas. There is a bit of a stereotype about advisors that they are salespeople and they’re not interested in what you want, and Mark couldn’t be further from that. He gets you what you want and makes sure your best interest is in mind. So, join for all that, but if none of the perks convinced you, at least Mark should.</p>
<p>I look forward to meeting you!</p>
<p>SeaLionLaugh, In general, DS is very free-form and research-oriented. It’s very focused on what you want to do as a scientist, and it very much gears you towards being a scientist. HSH, on the other hand, is very rigid, and it will give you exactly what you need to get into med school and be ready for it. You generally don’t go into HSH with the expectation of becoming a scientist; you go in with the expectation of becoming a doctor, and I’m sure they do a great job with that. You get the same honors-level classes, but the goals are different. To me, HSH sounds like hell, but I don’t want to be a doctor and my true interest is research, so that’s why I do DS. If you want to be a doctor, then HSH is probably more likely to put you on a tried and true track. Also, my understanding is that HSH does not have the social element that DS has. But they’re both great programs and I would recommend both!</p>
<p>My son applied just before the Oct 15th deadline, auto admit, hasn’t heard anything about his Honor’s application no acceptance, rejection or deferal. A friend got an acceptance last week.</p>
<p>Anyone else waiting?</p>