Hello! parent of S20, creating this thread to share thoughts / questions / concerns while applying to UT Austin for class of 2024. Haven’t see another thread for class 2024. looking forward to gather and contribute to forum…
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Hi, D20 fellow applicant. Are you instate?
Hi, Can anyone post info about how selective are the Honors programs in the College of Natural Sciences. Are they hard to get in for the auto-admit students?
@txmom19 As with every year it depends on how competitive the students are in that admissions class. So if you have a bunch of students applying who have done extraordinary EC’s during school and/or summer and awards that stand out with the same statistics/scores/grades as another candidate - they will be considered first. When it comes to honors even for the auto-admit student - UT loves when you go above and beyond.
We felt that CNS honors was incredibly selective as we heard of what many students had to do to get in. What I have found and heard was that many students who do make it into these programs might not stick it out over the four years. Many students who didn’t get in these programs often rise to the challenge and become superstars at UT as well. There are multiple paths to getting the equivalent of an honors program like research, scholarships, etc.
@txmom19 My son was admitted DS & Turing several years ago- we just received an email 2 days ago from the director of CNS Honors that stated for the incoming class they had around 3,400 students apply to Deans, HSS, & Polymath. They usually accept around 80 per group- hoping to admit 40-50 per year- per honors group.
Turing (CS) is very similar in the admitting practice- I don’t know how many applied this year.
It has been an extremely positive experience for my son. Please, let me know if you have any specific questions.
Thank you
I concur - there are many ways to have an honors experience at UT. The CNS, honors programs are good fits for most of the students in them, but if you aren’t accepted (or if you didn’t apply in the first place, you can apply after your first semester and after your first year at UT.) And if you aren’t accepted, there are still multiple opportunities for you to get involved in research, and you can graduate with departmental honors if you write an honors thesis (and fulfill other requirements.)
So - if you are accepted, and the honors program is a good fit for you, that’s great. But if you weren’t, you will have plenty of other opportunities!
Honors question… Plan II can you apply even if you are not a COLA student? For example, Biology and Plan II? Or do you need to apply to the CNS honors programs?
Or do you even have a choice? I really don’t know how it works… Thanks for the help.
If you are applying to UT Austin, you should do everything on the application–all the “optional” pieces. This was by far the longest application my son filled out last year. He applied CNS & Plan ll. Was accepted to both in the first round of acceptances. Do not skimp on the UT application! Those essays & resume matter! Submit all the recs you can too.
@SATXMom2 put CNS Biology as the first choice. If your kid’s stats are really high, like 4.0 1500+, select another major in science as the second choice that may be less popular as they can switch later. If his stats are lower, you may want to pick another college, like COLA & Major. If you really want to avoid getting CAP’d, put Undergraduate Studies in the second slot. Under the Honors Tab, you can Apply to Plan ll. You don’t want to have it take up one of you other opportunities to get “read”. Plan ll is a University Honors program with all schools/colleges participating. You can still check CNS honors and do those apps too. They are College Honors.
@juststaycool Thanks…
DD should be AA and stats should be high enough, but who knows, right?
She actually wants Neuro…Cognitive Psych.
Will check all the honors applicable on the HOnors Tab.
Class of ‘23 here. Applying to U.T. in August is super daunting after you read these forums with all the acceptance drama. While I was an auto admit and I didn’t apply to a super competitive major (journalism) I can say you shouldn’t do essays B and C unless you have something really meaningful to say in the prompts. I only had one friend that did both extra essays and she got in, but everyone else I knew that didn’t do them also got in. I will say the resume should probably be required, because it’s super essential. Remember that admissions officers don’t have that long to read your application, so make the most of what’s required and submit that resume — and the extra essays if you have something great to tell them. Good luck to all of you in the fall!
@SATXMom2 A great number of AA students do not get into their major. They do end up in Undergraduate Studies.
@SATXMom2 Yes, we are in state.
This is a pretty vague answer, but extracurriculars and good essays/short answers can make or break any application––even one with near perfect grades, GPA, and SAT/ACT scores! My high school is known instate for its academic rigor and for sending a good amount of students to UT (we had a near ridiculous amount for UT’s class of 2022) and being involved in extracurricular organizations, especially in leadership positions is a big booster. I have friends in competitive majors in engineering, business, and natural science, and the one thing they all have in common besides the good grades, ACT/SAT scores, and high rank class ranks where their involvement in student leadership positions in the organizations they were in. Getting an early start on essays/short answers and having multiple people proofread them is also a good thing to do.
@SATXMom2 just stay cool is right. Plan II tells you to put something else first - it does not hurt chances for P2. My S19 is entering in August in P2 and Engineering. He put Engineering as his first choice but was admitted to both programs. Other advice would be to apply to UT (regardless of major/program) as early as you can possibly be ready, and in any event NO LATER than November 1. Many of my son’s classmates who waited until December 1 to apply were rejected (non- AA school) and many of us had the impression that UT simply ran out of spots toward the end. Applying early also helps with housing - but make sure you ALSO apply to housing at the same time (even though you don’t know if you got in yet).
Continued/clarification: apply for housing immediately after submitting the admission application (it is a separate application and fee).
While we are OOS, my understanding is that they changed the essay questions for next year. The main essay is basically the same as one of them on the common app which is actually nice because my daughter who will be starting BHP in the fall spent a ton of time on her essays and her main UT essay was like writing another common app essay.
While it is different for in state and auto admits what I can offer from an out of state perspective for anyone else who views this thread is that it is a very daunting process. Many kids that applied as soon as the application opened did not hear until the very end and were often rejected, hence the timing of the application didn’t really mean much. My daughter applied in mid-October, and then followed up with her Honors application about a week later just before the November 1 deadline. She was accepted into McCombs in the first batch in December and then not into BHP until the last batch at the very end of February. She was pretty much committed to McCombs in December regardless of BHP as that was not the deciding factor.
She didn’t know she would have to complete a resume before October, so she wound up spending a lot of time on that. I would highly recommend that for everyone who applies, along with the optional letters of recommendations for the honors programs. Also, I would absolutely complete every essay. This is your chance to set yourself apart from the next person. There are many people applying with high ACT/SAT scores, high GPAs, and loads of AP courses. I think my daughter’s essays made a difference as she really worked hard on her essays and who she was really came through in them.
Good luck!
Would add to @srparent15 to say that UT holds rejections until the end for everyone, at least they did last year.
I’m not 100% sure about that. You can confirm that on the Class of 2023 thread. The admissions however, were all over the place and very spotty.