<p>Hey! I have been accepted by Plan II and I have applied for Engineering Honors. I have some questions about UT that I'm hoping someone can answer:
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[<em>]Tell me about Plan II. Is it really hard, or not too difficult? Does it open up opportunities outside of Texas, or is its prestige really only applicable in Texas?
[</em>]How difficult is it to dual-degree in Plan II and Engineering (specifically, computer engineering)? Is the workload manageable?
[<em>]Can you enter the computer engineering program with essentially no background in computers or electronics? I'm taking AP Physics C: Mechanics and AP Computer Science A this year, but my background in electricity is limited to one unit in physics back in 10th grade. Will I be OK?
[</em>]I want a dorm where I can work and sleep, but also where I can have fun. I am considering Duren because I know it is very nice and because of its proximity to Guadalupe, and I am also considering the Honors dorms. Which will suit my needs best?
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Any info you can give me would be greatly appreciated. THANKS!</p>
<p>I regret not really being able to help you on the first three questions, but as for the last one, I’ll plug the honors quad as I always do… it has a surprisingly good social environment and is as close to the Drag as Duren is. Plus, it’s closer to the rest of campus (I walk from the PCL area to the quad after an exhausting night of studying pretty often and that’s long enough, it would suck having to walk all the way to the edge of campus). My dorm, Blanton, only ever gets kind of loud on Friday or Saturday nights but there are always people congregating/studying in each dorm’s respective lounge, in the Q and out in the quad. I’ve heard that many people who live in Duren don’t really get to know their floormates, which could be a good thing depending on your personality, I guess.</p>
<p>I definitely want to get to know my floormates and be sociable with them. Would you consider the Honors dorms as overall friendly and also fun, but also somewhere you can get work done?</p>
<p>Yes, definitely all of those things. Besides your room, there are several places to study in the quad that are always pretty quiet during the day (the three lobbies/lounges, the sundecks, the Andrews/Carothers breezeway, the Q, etc), and then there’s Joynes Reading Room, which is an excellent 24-hour quiet area in Carothers. I’ve heard that Andrews and Carothers are quieter, but if you’re a freshman, chances are you’ll get placed in Blanton, which is bigger and more social (but not in a playing-Ultimate-in-the-halls-at-4-AM way, people here are very focused on their studies but know how to have a good time afterwards).</p>
<p>Thanks, I’ll definitely consider the Honors dorms now!</p>
<p>Any answers for the other questions?</p>
<p>just saying, there’s a widely accepted consensus that engineering honors doesn’t have any noteworthy benefits (other than honors housing) unlike plan II and other honors programs which have a ton of benefits</p>
<p>I just finished degrees in electrical engineering and music performance. Like music, you will have to complete a substantial amount of work outside of EE to satisfy all your requirements for the two degrees (very few courses overlap). Thus, it is very helpful to have lots of AP credit to offset the sheer amount of hours required. Nevertheless, I actually felt that it was easier to do the two degrees at once. Rather than taking 3 or 4 math/science/EE classes, I took 1-2 a semester my first few semesters while taking other music courses. This actually allowed me to balance my workload better since i discovered (surprise!) that music classes were easier than EE.</p>
<p>I do indeed have a lot of AP credit… and as far as the “relief” factor, I’ve heard that too; I talked to a girl who is getting a dual-degree in Bioengineering and Plan II, and she said her Plan II courses provide relief from her engineering courses. Thanks a lot for the input!</p>
<p>2) I’m not in Plan II myself but I have a friend who is in EE and Plan II. He’s always working on one essay after another and carries a decent amount of reading material with him. However, the essays are graded not with a focus necessarily on quality but more on progress- the Professor is familiar with each of his students. It keeps him busy but he never complains. Plan II students stand out in engineering. I honestly don’t know how much it’s worth on a resume though.
3) Mechanics won’t be of much use to you as a CE. However the early insight into comp sci will prove very useful. Most students have already taken it in high school to various degrees so I wouldn’t consider it an advantage that you’ve taken it but more of a disadvantage if you hadn’t take it. In EE306, those who hadn’t received prior programming experience ended up taking about 8+ hours (I’ve heard as high as 16…) on a programming assignment that took others under 3 because assembly language is taught while programming technique is mostly assumed to already be known.
So far as background in electricity is concerned, I walked in with the same fraction of a semester of high school physics experience that you had. I’d say that EE302 assumes that you have that basic knowledge (what’s an open/closed circuit, role of a resistor, etc.) but that’s really it. They start from the beginning and this class is supposed to be as easy as EE ever gets. EE306 doesn’t require any background in electricity so you’ll be perfectly fine. Don’t worry. If you’re in Plan II then I’m sure that you’re smart enough to get a 100 in EE302. No joke.
4)Any of the dorms you’re looking at should suit you fine. In the end, I would say that the biggest thing to worry about is your roommate. You can get used to everything else but a bad roommate is one thing that can make for a terrible experience.</p>
<p>Random advice: Definitely join a FIG. Everyone in EE had a great experience with them and I mean everyone. They help you form study groups and make close friends right off the bat. If somehow you manage to dislike it, you can just stop showing up to the weekly one hour meeting with absolutely no consequence. I highly recommend it.
If you don’t have a TI-89 yet, I would recommend getting one though it is not necessary. EE302 teaches a lot of concepts that require loads of high school sophomore level algebra filled with fractions where mistakes can be made. The solver in the 89 does this work for you. I almost feel like I’m cheating when I use it because it cuts down on my work during tests by about half. That extra time can be used to double check work.
All of the 302 professors were mostly the same except for one bad one whose name I cannot remember (sorry haha). However, your best bet is Dr. McCann. He’s taught the class for a while and knows where mistakes tend to be made. Homework is standardized across all professors while tests are not.
For 306, I would highly recommend Dr. Abraham. He teaches with a positive attitude and keeps the atmosphere friendly during class. He cares about the student and never minds staying after class for a bit to (enthusiastically) discuss any questions you may have. In the end, about a third of the class walked out with solid A’s. Best professor I had last semester for sure. I hope he’s teaching the class again and you get him. The textbook for that class is written very well by Dr. Patt, a professor quite notorious around Cockrell (you’ll definitely hear about him). I highly recommend reading that textbook as a supplement to the class. It explains the subject matter very well. The 302 textbook by Eulaby was the complete opposite, an honest P.O.S. Don’t even bother reading it. I did, and trust me it’s not worth it. Try to sit at least in the middle of class if not the front so you don’t get too distracted. Overall, this first semester shouldn’t be too hard at all so have fun and enjoy the college experience at UT.</p>
<p>Hook 'em.</p>
<p>and for engineering honors, you should get in with a +1500 SAT scores excluding the writing section. If not, I was told a GPA of 3.5 after your first year or semester would be sufficient to get you in. In any case, redhotsrock is right. Engineering honors isn’t really useful at all.</p>
<p>Ok WOW you are you the best!!! I can’t thank you enough!!! Seriously!! Could you maybe PM me your email address or something so we can chat more? You seem like a fountain of information about UT and EE… But if you’re not comfortable with that I’m fine. But seriously, thank you SOO much.</p>