<p>In this coming fall semester I am going to be a senior at a public Texas high school. I made this thread to ascertain more knowledge about the various honors programs at the University of Texas at Austin from students who are currently enrolled/interested in the aforesaid programs. I am primarily concerned about the admissions criteria/requirements and I would greatly appreciate it if people would review my stats and determine if I would be accepted.</p>
<p>GPA: 4.5 (weighted)
Class Rank: 15/1345 (top 2%)
SAT Score: 2100
SAT subject Tests: physics 700, chemisty 700</p>
<p>All my classes are AP/Honors:
AP Biology
AP Calc
AP chemistry
AP physics B
AP psychology
AP Spanish 4
AP English 3
AP U.S. History</p>
<p>Extracirricular Activites/ Clubs/ Organizations:
I take part in over 20 clubs/organizations in my School and I am currently President of two and Vice-president of one.</p>
<p>Community Service/Volunteering Experience:
Public Library (over 500 hours in 4 years)
Tutor (200 hours)
Hospital
Key Club
NHS</p>
<p>Your stats look fine. I thinks your EC’s stand out as being a little “off” to me. Most Adcoms look for a student that has deep passion for something (anything…football…music…tutoring…basketweaving…it does not matter) but when I see that a student is a member of 20 organizations…it just seems like resume fill. </p>
<p>So with that said…what makes you tick? And does that come through on your application? </p>
<p>For Dean’s Scholars, the Adcoms there will want to see a driven passion in the area of research and scientific discovery. Having research based EC is crucial.</p>
<p>Health Science will want to see a passion for a career or interest in Health Sciences. </p>
<p>Plan II (my daughter will be an incoming Freshman in Plan II, and I have certainly learned about the program, not only for the administration, but from the students of the incoming class) is really going to hinge how hard you rock those essays and how they make you stand apart from the other 1200 self selecting, well qualified students that want that slot also. (Most Plan II kids come from the top 5 positions of their respective schools.) From learning about my daughter’s classmates, I see more of “Masters of Something”, and not Jack of all Trades. I see deeply educated, passion for learning kids who realize that learning from each other is 90% of their educational experience. (Versus a Dean’s Scholar student who desires to learn from the test tube) These kids are pretty social, highly driven and self modivating. And if you don’t like to read, move on. My D’s course load this year will be four text books for her four major classes and over 26 additional readings that range in length from 100-500 pages. A financial and time suck reality check.</p>
<p>collegeshopping- thank you for the information, I appreciate it. One thing I forgot to mention in my first post is that I have played varsity tennis for 4 years for my high school…so I guess that would be the kind of thing that they are looking for.</p>
<p>I will be a member of both DS and Plan II in the fall.
I agree with most everything college shopping said, too.
Your stats are fine, though taking the SAT again wouldn’t hurt. But really, the biggest thing you can ever convey is passion.
If you’re thinking about getting into DS, you need to really ask yourself if research is something you’re passionate about. Does curiosity about how the world works keep you up at night? Research based EC’s are not necessarily a must; I had none and got in on the first round of admits. They understand that not everybody has those opportunities in high school. But, they need to see a focused passion in your essay.</p>
<p>For Plan II, essays are definitely the deciding factor. Your personality absolutely must shine through, whatever it is.
And, I don’t really think of Plan II as being full of Master’s of Something. The slogan of the program is A Renaissance Education for the 21st Century. But, they do want to see that you’re passionate about something. (and @collegeshopping, you’d be surprised at how much of science happens in the collaborative process. DS’ers are very social and their interests and passions vary as widely as any other group of students.)</p>
<p>Sax…when I said Master of Something I was just refering to a passion about something. I should have chosen my word more clearly. I also did not mean to imply DS students don’t learn from each other, I just truly believe Plan II kids really are special group, they all (and that means you too ) all have a really special something. The Plan II kids I have met are really a neat, diverse group of kids that all bring something very different yet equally dynamic to the table. I think you are a rare and very special person to get into both programs. Only a few students pull that off and I feel confident you will obtain a top notch education. (That’s the mom in me talking)</p>
<p>@collegeshopping
Aww, thanks. But, it’s the mom in you I was reacting to. The implication was that because your daughter got into PII, it is the best thing ever, and programs like DS were for science geeks that wanted to lock themselves in closets with test tubes.
I was merely trying to give OP a more accurate picture of DS, because it is a truly special group that has many social activities and programs throughout the year. I won’t go into details, because those are available on the student website.
Anyways… @jetlegend, best of luck to you.</p>
<p>Saxplayer… Congrats on your achievement, it’s quite extraordinary that you are in both the DS and Plan II. Also, thanks for the great advice. I plan to retake the SAT and hope for the best.</p>
<p>@jetlegend, It’s actually more common than you would think. The best thing about a DS Plan II combo: unlike most other dual degrees that are almost always 5-year commitments, the DS degree is so flexible that with a bit of AP credit, 4 years is very doable.</p>
<p>My son was accepted into Health Science Honors for Fall 2011. </p>
<p>Regarding his resume: he had a very, very focused interest that consumed almost all of his time. He didn’t have a lot of community service or membership in a lot of clubs, but he spent an enormous amount of time at practices/performances/competitions…and I think this demonstrated passion, discipline and commitment to the admissions committee. The activity was completely unrelated to science or research. His grades were good (6.7 on 6.0 scale), his coursework the most difficult possible, his SATs/SAT subjects very good (750-800 range).</p>
<p>One of his short answer/essays also discussed how he felt when both of his grandmothers were diagnosed with fairly advanced breast cancer at the same time a couple of years ago, and how this affected his desire to be a doctor. (My younger cousin was also diagnosed at that time; the grandmothers recovered, the cousin did not. Our family was really rocked to the core during this difficult two year period.) His AP English teacher read their essays and she told me he communicated this experience well. He also wrote about his activity that consumed all of his time. Not sure which of his essays had which topic…but I know he covered these two subjects.</p>
<p>@ idmom06 I have also been admitted to HSS program in UT this year. I was wondering if u could share your son’s experiences regarding this program. How would it be possible to know the success rate of this program in to medical schools. I also hear that the success rate for DS is 100 %… Would really appreciate your feedback.</p>
@tdoc20, wondering how is HSS program turning out for you. and what did you hear or learnt on its med school acceptance rate? I am deciding for my son between these 3 honors (deans, plan II ans HSC) for next year from med school acceptance prospective
) all have a really special something. The Plan II kids I have met are really a neat, diverse group of kids that all bring something very different yet equally dynamic to the table. I think you are a rare and very special person to get into both programs. Only a few students pull that off and I feel confident you will obtain a top notch education. (That’s the mom in me talking)</p>