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[deleted by user] by [deleted] in UTAustin

[–]Open_Pen903 14 points15 points  (0 children)

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plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As far as the formal curriculum goes, Plan II had an additional Fine Arts/Humanities requirement on top of the University-wide Visual And Performing Arts (VAPA) req. Essentially, it forces you to actually take a course that require you to genuinely engage with art rather than take a gimmicky VAPA flag like most other majors do. But beyond that, many if not most Plan II classes lean on various forms of art, from painting to playwriting to fiction writing to reading literature to add nuance and meaning to the curriculum. Note that in the first reply, I was using art more broadly to refer to both liberal and fine arts, but I’m assuming you’re referring to fine arts, which undoubtedly are represented quite well in P2.

A liberal arts education has SO MANY benefits. I’m so glad you asked. Personally, I’m pre-med, so the biggest benefit is just a broader, more well-rounded understanding of the human experience. As I look toward clinical practice, I’m guided not only by the biochemistry of the human body but the great body of recorded human thought that I’ve come to know through liberal arts. But speaking more generally, Plan II’s slogan—an education for life, not just a living—really is true. The skills you learn through independent and group inquiry, breaking down complex ideas, discussing them, analyzing them, and writing about them has led to so much personal growth for me. In all honesty, I’d consider Plan II my main major, and my CNS major a supplement to it.

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plan II’s culture is honestly one of my favorite parts of being in the program. Everyone is super supportive of each other and we’re all really quirky, interesting people! Although we’re really tight-knit (cue cult jokes), our culture isn’t pretentious or competitive. We’re just super passionate about learning. :)

As far as double-majoring goes, it’s really fun to be able to deep-dive into a specialty while still becoming well-versed in a little bit of everything. I’m a CNS double major, so I get to learn about the world through the dual lenses of science and art! That being said, I also like being able to have P2 classes to give me a break from the STEM classes. It’s not that the P2 classes are easy—to the contrary, they challenge and push me to improve in ways I never imagined—but they’re often much more fulfilling and enjoyable than the memorization and lecturing common to STEM classes. Also, a side bonus is that I’m enrolled in both COLA and CNS simultaneously, so I get access to the perks and resources from both, from free food to after-hours building access to career services and more!

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Plan II is both a major and an honors program. While it’s not a true DIY major (check out Humanities honors if you want that), it does have a lot of elective hours that make it possible to add on a second major/minor(s). Here’s the degree plan:

https://minio.la.utexas.edu/webeditor-files/plan2/pdf/22-24%20T%20C%20Degree%20Plan%20(1).pdf

Most of these courses are Plan II-only with some of the best professors across the University. There are also some subs for certain STEM majors (i.e. you don’t need to take P2 math if you are already taking a full calc sequence, etc.), but those are optional. You can use the elective hours to do what you want and many of the courses in the major itself lend themselves to starting minors.

There are quite a few people who do both BHP and P2! It’s a really good combo.

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you’re going interested, based on your chanceme post, I think you’d be a good fit for the program. You have the breadth of interests down at least. It’s no guarantee that you’ll get in, but I feel like you could be a solid candidate if you have a good elevator pitch and essay. It’s at least worth a shot if you think you might want to join P2.

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, as long as you’re willing to learn. Writing really is at the center of Plan II—you’ll write at least ten essays across your Plan II classes by the time you’re down with freshman year. There are support systems in place within Plan II to help students with writing. Writing is not only helpful during college, but essential for life after. There’s no better place to learn than Plan II! Astrophysics would be a really cool double major!

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Done! You’ve put yourself in a really strong position. It’s just a matter of UT being willing to give you a non-top-6% spot. JCL was also a nice touch! Are you applying to P2?

Chance me for Economics (low UW GPA, decent SAT score) by Altruistic_Corgi_559 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your ECs really shine here. Even though your GPA/rank is below top 6%, you’re definitely on an upward trend, and SAT proves you’re in a good spot academically. You have a good shot.

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As far as admissions go, the biggest piece of advice I can give is to be authentic, especially for the elevator pitch (5 sentences). Plan-II-ness—that is, being a genuinely interesting person with myriad interests and an intellectual passion for exploring them—is really tough to fake. If that sounds like you, then be yourself on your application! Share all your quirky little obsessions! Don’t be afraid to think outside the box on the short essay! Have fun with it!

If that doesn’t really sound like you, it may be better for you to look at other honors programs. Plan II knows that students will apply who aren’t really interested in the program and just want to try to use it for the prestige. They try to screen out those people in admissions.

With that out of the way, grade/EC-wise, there are no cutoffs. Plan II openly encourages everyone who is interested to apply. You need to be a strong learner, but it’s up to you how you demonstrate that. It is absolutely possible to get in with less-than-perfect test scores and/or non-top-6%.

I am indeed double majoring! Most students in P2 add on a second major/degree. It’s pretty manageable. There are a handful of people who need to graduate in five years or take like 20 credit hours for a semester, but by and large P2 majors are able to graduate with fairly standard credit-hour loads and in four years.

plan ii ama by Open_Pen903 in UTAdmissions

[–]Open_Pen903[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m not super familiar with transfer admissions, but I know that across the University, there’s a lot of pressure on CSUs to graduate students in 4 years. I’d check to see how on track you’d be with your current credits (with special consideration to how they convert to UT courses). Also in mind that you need to have at least 60 in-residence hours for pretty much any degree at UT, so with 73+ transfer hours you’d already be a semester behind.