<p>Hey, I'm just doing some due diligence in my college application process, so if any UT students enrolled in Plan II or LAH can help me out, I'd be grateful:</p>
<p>I've been accepted into LAH, and I haven't heard from Plan II yet. My general applications for colleges have included primarily small liberal arts colleges (i.e., Bowdoin, Colby, Hamilton, Middlebury, etc.), and then, of course, UT's honors programs in the liberal arts discipline.</p>
<p>Here's my question: while they are two very different programs, the claim of both Plan II and LAH is that they are essentially "small liberal arts communities" within the behemoth that is UT Austin. While I'm sure that is certainly the case, I imagine that the experience is vastly unique from that of, say, a Bowdoin College-type school. What I really want to know is:</p>
<p>-How difficult is course registration for honors students, relative to non-honors students?
-What is the general penetration of honors students that continue honors to the upper levels of their undergraduate education?</p>
<p>What I'm trying to get across here is that I want to know the true nature of what it means to be in an honors program at UT Austin. The fact of the matter is, the place is HUGE. For some people, that is a wonderful thing. However, people like myself shudder at the idea of being nothing more than a number at a huge university, and prefer to be a big, conspicuous fish in a little pond. So, I ask: do either plan II or LAH accomplish that goal?</p>
<p>My son is a Plan II freshman. I worried about the school being too big and in fact really wanted him to go to Rice. Rice did not appeal to him, however, partly because we live in the Houston area. </p>
<p>I can say he has not felt like “just a number.” He has plenty of contact with his professors. He has one Plan II class this semester with 15 students. The other is a Plan II/Dean’s Scholars class- Modes of Reasoning. It’s a larger class, but it is broken down into cohorts with a TA. He has gotten to know both the profs. Next semester he’ll have a Plan II seminar class with 15 students, instead of the Modes of Reasoning class.</p>
<p>I would highly recommend living in the honors quad. There seems to be a good sense of community and it’s easy to meet people there. </p>
<p>In the larger, non-Plan II classes, my son hasn’t had difficulty meeting other students. He has formed study groups and made friends from these classes. He has gotten to know one of the profs fairly well. </p>
<p>Plan II handles the registration of Plan II classes. Registration of regular classes is handled by the students themselves. I don’t think you can register for an LAH class without an advisor’s approval, so I doubt it is very difficult to get into those. </p>
<p>I don’t think my son has felt like “just a number” at UT. I think he has had a smaller school experience in the honors program, but has also enjoyed the diversity of UT and meeting students outside his program. He has also enjoyed the availability of live music and varied cuisine of Austin. He has joined two clubs in areas of his interests. I doubt these clubs would be available and have the ability to offer the same activities in a smaller school.</p>