<p>im applying to the college of natural science and the college of liberal arts honor program.
how hard are these to get into? how many people get accepted?</p>
<p>Well, I think Plan II is known for being more selective than LAH (and I’m not dissing LAH, I myself am in it and am currently really enjoying it). Dean’s Scholars (CONS) apparently only takes like a couple of dozen people per year. The other honors programs in business, engineering, etc., I couldn’t tell you about, but they’re also known for being extremely selective.</p>
<p>Plan II is weird in their admissions. It’s not really numbers-based at all. My friend who was ranked 6/500 and had a 2370 on his SAT was rejected, but my other friend that wasn’t even in the top ten percent and had a “meh” SAT schore (2020) was accepted. LAH is supposed to be more predictable, but idk for sure how it is. I’ve heard that the Natural Sciences honors program (I can’t remember what it’s called) is pretty selective as well, but not at the same level as Plan II and BHP.</p>
<p>Plan II, LAH, and Dean’s Scholars are all about the essays and to a lesser degree, leadership experience. Engineering and Business Honors are more about the scores.</p>
<ul>
<li>The essays seem to considered more for revealing a unique perspective than for writing skill.</li>
</ul>
<p>Plan II is definitely pretty tough to get into just because it is pretty arbitrary. Some people that really didn’t deserve to get in from my school did, but some were rejected. However, on the whole, if you fit the “Plan II mold,” meaning you write passionate essays, good scores, and so on, you shouldn’t have too much of a problem. As for Dean Scholars, it is the HARDEST honors just because their numbers are so few. However, I have heard of people transferring in sophomore year with some effort.</p>
<p>My son spent a good bit of time on his essay for Dean Scholars and didn’t get in. He DID get into biomedical engineering, though, which is supposed to be hard to get into. He didn’t apply for engineering honors (since he really didn’t think he’d get accepted into biomedical, period!).</p>
<p>P2 has a very specific rubric for admission and you should research this before applying. EC’s and leadership are considered as well as grades and tests. The essays are the most heavily weighted item but great essays, rank, GPA and standardized test scores aren’t enough. Generally P2 looks for an academically eclectic student. The student who loves math and science as well as humanities. This needs to be reflected in the application. For LAH as I understand it they are looking for students with excellent grades, and standardized tests and they also look at EC’s. They however want students who plan to major in LA. A student whose application appears to show a student with a singular LA related goal without caveats into other areas is more likely to get accepted into LAH than P2. The student who does not have a clear career goal because they have so many interests or one who does have a goal but one that takes a few turns delving into a combination of math and science as well as LA subjects is more likely to get into P2 with all other things being equal. The student with multiple interests will also get into LAH provided a sincere passion for a LA major is reflected in the ap. I don’t know about the other honors programs.</p>
<p>I just got into Plan II. Here’s my stats, if anyone’s wondering:</p>
<p>SAT: 2250
ACT: 35
high gpa + grades + very rigorous courseload
excellent essays (if I do say so myself) 
I love math and science, wanna do engineering; I usually don’t like liberal arts but something about plan ii drew me in]
National Merit Semifinalist</p>
<p>I got into Brown and I didn’t get into plan 2. So yea, I would say they’re pretty selective. However, LAH is also very selective, and I’ve met a lot of really interesting and intelligent people. My advice? Apply to both, be yourself in your application, and let the chips fall where they may. They’re pretty good about picking people who will mesh well with their programs, and I doubt you’ll be disappointed either way.</p>
<p>best of luck!</p>