Plan II - Class of 2021

Colleges and Universities A-Z The University of Texas at Austin
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@cheetahgirl121 No, I didn’t apply to LAH. In hindsight, that was a massive error, as I would at least have been able to get into the Honors Quad and into the odd honors section here and there.

I was steered away from LAH, ironically, by the Plan II presentation. One of the then-current students at the presentation was severely dogging the LAH program - calling it “Plan II lite - extremely light” etc. When discussing the Honors Quad, he said something like, “Lots of Plan II kids, but you also get a variety of interesting folks - Polymathic Scholars, Engineering Honors, BHP, even LAH - I guess a few of them are ok.”

Yes, he was selling Plan II, but his insistence that THIS (Plan II) is the program to be in, and that LAH is a pale imitation of Plan II, didn’t make me think of LAH as something I wanted to be part of.

FWIW, from what I’ve seen from people I know in it, LAH isn’t much of a program. It really just gets you some special treatment in freshman year, then you’re on your own again. It also doesn’t appear to be much of a “community” - just a weekly seminar where various COLA department heads fish for students.

"Regarding classes that are not challenging, I suppose this has a lot to do with a student’s major and whether a student placed out of the more remedial courses. "

Yeah, that’s it. I didn’t place out of RHE 306 or GOV 310. :slight_smile: No, the issue is that the freshmen don’t register until after all the returning students. Unsurprisingly, all that is left open are freshman-level classes, even if you don’t have any need for those. And even those are picked over, with the stellar professors fully booked. Beyond that, competing with 1500 other students, all logging in and registering at the exact same time, is surreal. The fastest typist wins. :slight_smile: Filled. Filled. Filled. I was literally enrolling in random classes that looked interesting to get to 15 credits. I was extremely lucky to score the lone x6x class that I did.

“Enrolling in classes can get tricky, as in any school, but I have not heard of a student not getting classes they need for their major (this is when advisors step in)”

Stop stop - you're killing me! Not getting a needed class is probably the #1 topic on the UT2020 FB feed. You're vastly overestimating the ability of the standard advisors to do anything about it. They don't have the magic wand of the Plan II advisors.

"I hope this semester proves rewarding both personally and academically" - Thanks. I've already written off the "freshman experience" in my mind. UT says I'm over half-done with my degree plan, so I've mentally shifted my attitude to that of being a junior and started the process of focusing on the goal line, looking for an internship, etc.

I stand by my original post, though. If you’re really smart, you won’t enjoy the non-honors experience at UT, at least in COLA.

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@andydufresne I stand by my post that your experiences are VASTLY different from my own children’s experiences and that of their friends. There are many students on this board who have worked very,very hard to gain admission (and are stilling waiting for good news) to UT and they do NOT deserve to feel less about earning admission because it hasn’t been the right place for you. This thread is for the Class of 2021 and those with vested interests in it.

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@andydufresne thanks for all of the information you have shared. So sorry your college experience has been frustrating and not the experience you planned on having. Fortunately, you will have lots of great options for grad school.
@CollegeParent123 CC is a board for people to share all sorts of experiences so that families and students can make the best decisions on where to spend their next four years. UT is a great university and I know many people currently and graduated that love the school. However, I think you will find that some of @AndyDufresne issues are for sure noteworthy AND he is not the first person to encounter those types of problems. Many of my own friends who love UT were definitely frustrated with disappearing classes and some of the difficulty going to a school with 50k+ students. It is great that your children and friends have had smooth sailing at the 40 acres, but just because he is offering a negative opinion does not mean he should not share, especially if it helps people know what other questions they need to ask.

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@CollegeParent123 , you/me/us and all 2021 applicants need to put Andy’s story into perspective. Andy’s academic resume is Ivy Leagueish/Top 15-20 type university. UT in general is considered around a Top 50 school (certainly it has higher regards for it’s Engineering and Business colleges), but Plan II sets it apart and “somewhat” puts it within a Top 20 US program. The story here for 2021 applicants is if you’re using Plan II as your “safety” to the Ivy/Top 20’s, be very, very careful. The Ivy’s/Top 20’s and Plan II are ALL a crap shoot. Plan II is not a “safety” not matter who or what you think you are AND if you don’t spread a wide application net within those Ivy/Top 20’s, the odds might bite you. You may end up becoming a Big Fish in a Ginormous Ocean. In this case that ocean is UT, but the same could be said for falling short of an Honors program at any of the flag ship, public universities ie UMich, UVA, UC’s etc.

I remember Andy from last Spring and felt for him then as I do now. I still believe that if he can somehow channel his frustration along with his obvious academic capabilities, he could carve out a more than fulfilling education at UT that could help set him up for future Masters and PhD grad schools and Internships.

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@TXDad56 I appreciate the kind words. I 100% endorse your advice regarding about casting a wide net and not using Plan II as a safety.

@CollegeParent123 Point taken. This has gone quite a bit off-topic. I’ll take any further @AndyDufresne discussion offline at this point. Anyone who wants additional info can feel free to PM me.

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@AndyDufresne-Was the honors housing full when you chose it? My son also did not get into Plan II or CNS honors but was able to choose the honors quad for housing. You do NOT have to be in any honors program at UT to live in the honors quad. He ended being accepted off of waitlist at Rice and chose to go there instead. He was NMF, top of his class, Eagle Scout, blah, blah, blah and was very put off at the thought of not being in any type of honors college, surrounded by frat types and kids parting non-stop. Although he likes Rice very much and is surrounded by lots of bright/driven kids, 90% of them fall into that partying sterotype too. He has had a very hard time finding a peer group that takes school as seriously as he does. He TAs and works in the science department for some professors. He is actually much closer with several of his profs than his roommate or other peers. It sounds like the sheer size of UT is what is most frustrating to you since you can’t get the classes that you need and the ones you do get, are huge. I’m sorry for that. You were very thoughtful to share your experiences! If you are living on campus this year, request to move into the quad. You are paying for housing and have every right to have a spot in there, if it’s available. I’m not sure what your major is in liberal arts but I would go talk to some graduate school professors in your discipline. Share your frustration and ask them for ways to connect with your kind of people. I guarantee they are there at UT with you. You are just having trouble finding each other in the crowd. Best of luck to you!

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I haven’t heard back yet, is it safe to assume I’m going to get a thin letter soon? :confused:

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@nkk1998 Our DD is waiting to hear also, my understanding is there is a final good sized wave of acceptances that normally comes in the third week of February or so. So don’t assume anything negative at this point!

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1.So if you’ve received admission in plan 2 and want to double major, is there a restriction on what you major in?
2. Is plan 2 worth paying OOS for or is it better to go to a lower ranked school in state where i pay less money?
3. I wanna do law, what kind of grad schools do plan 2 students get into?

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@nkk1998 , you should just wait, don’t lose hope yet. The Feb round of acceptances was the largest last year.

@renwa , to your questions: If you are accepted into Plan II, you can always choose a double major in the COLA or apply to another college for acceptance. There is no restriction, and most P2 students have a double major or dual degree and, and, and…

Is P2 worth paying OOS? Maybe consider looking at the residency requirements for Texas. There;s a residency office at UT which is very helpful. Some people pay OOS for one year and then in-state for the remaining 3 years. All legal, all good. You just need to do some things.

Most P2 students can apply to the finest schools in the country for graduate school, including law school. Ivy league also. Take a look at who comes to recruit P2 students. Quite good.

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My kiddo received her Plan II acceptance packet in the mail today!

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Congrats @AustinFace !

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DD got acceptance to Plan II in the mail today! She’s very happy! Good luck to everyone else who’s still waiting!!

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Yay, @CorpusChristi ! I am so excited for you guys!

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Thank you @jedwards70! Looking forward to the next steps!

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I received my acceptance envelope in the mail today, and my MyStatus page updated as well.

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Congratulations, @Cabothedog !

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Congrats to you also, @Cabothedog !

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Congrats @CorpusChristi and @Cabothedog !!! So exciting!

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@jedwards70 @CorpusChristi @AustinFace thank you! I’m so relieved that I got in, I was getting pretty worried considering the competitiveness of most of the applicants.