A little less than half of the Plan II Honors admission offers have already been released. The rest of the offers will be released in January and February. All letters will go into the US mail system, via the UT campus mail system, on or before Friday, February 25, 2012. Applicants who have not already heard from Plan II Honors should expect to receive their notification by March 2, 2012.
We received more Plan II Honors applications this year than last. Although the numbers are not yet final. We expect to have about 100 to 125 more applications this year than 2011--about 1270 applications. We won't have final numbers until the UT Office of Admissions is able to complete the application processing. UT Austin received close to 36,000 applications for the fall of 2012, a 9% increase in applications from 2011. About 15,000 of those applications were received/completed in the final week before the deadline. So today, December 15, UT Admissions is still identifying, matching and imaging application documents. They are in maximum overdrive.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank every Plan II applicant for your interest in the Plan II Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin and for your hard work on the application itself. We know it's a time consuming process.
We are very fortunate that Plan II Honors receives so very many applications from so very many highly qualified students. But that also means that we must offer the wait list, or harder still, turn away, a significant number of extremely attractive applicants each year.
We know that many, if not most, of the applicants we deny, could perform quite well in the Program. And we know those same students would very often bring a lot of heart and soul TO the Program. Given the room, Plan II would be happy to invite more applicants into the program. But increasing the size of Plan II to admit all the strong applicants who apply would change Plan II in ways that would, essentially, kill the program.
For those applicants who are not admitted into Plan II, please remember that a student at UT Austin does not have to be in the Plan II Honors program to enjoy learning communities, have small class experiences or take advantage of many of the wonderful resources that make UT a great university. At UT Austin, the opportunities are almost endless: great advising, top faculty with a myriad of specializations, interesting curricula and programs, amazing support services where community and collegiality are always available.
Please take the time to investigate a few of the following the many exciting options that are available. Exploring the bounty that is UT Austin is one of the joys of being a student here at UT Austin: alternative interdisciplinary and enhancement programs.
They are all excellent programs and most have some degree of flexibility that could make them, perhaps, even better fits for a student interested in a program such as Plan II Honors.
Good luck to all!
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
The Deadline is Fast Approaching
The December 1 deadline for fall 2012 is almost here. Please keep in mind that there is a 24-48 hour lag between the time you submit the ApplyTexas application and when you are able to access the Honors Application. Don't procrastinate and submit your ApplyTexas application at the last moment.
:: Plan II Honors requires the submission of an expanded résumé.
:: Pay close attention to the Plan II Personal Statement on the Honors Application.
:: Plan II does not require a teacher recommendation or counselor report.
All application documents sent through the US mail should be sent directly to the UT Office of Admissions:
Office of Admission-Processing
University of Texas at Austin
PO BOX 8058
Austin, TX 78713-8058
Use great resources! Contact a current Plan II student.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, contact the Plan II Honors Admissions Director, Jennifer Scalora.
:: Plan II Honors requires the submission of an expanded résumé.
:: Pay close attention to the Plan II Personal Statement on the Honors Application.
:: Plan II does not require a teacher recommendation or counselor report.
All application documents sent through the US mail should be sent directly to the UT Office of Admissions:
Office of Admission-Processing
University of Texas at Austin
PO BOX 8058
Austin, TX 78713-8058
Use great resources! Contact a current Plan II student.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, contact the Plan II Honors Admissions Director, Jennifer Scalora.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
New Vaccination Requirements for Freshmen Entering Fall 2012
A new state law requires that all entering students below the age of 30 must submit documentation showing that they have been vaccinated against bacterial meningitis or received a booster within the ten years before they enroll. The new law goes into effect for students entering in spring 2012. Details about the requirement, including possible exemptions, are available at University Health Services.
Most students, including newly admitted students to spring 2012, will be barred from registering for classes and will see a medical bar on their Registration Information Sheet (RIS) until they meet the requirement.
Most students, including newly admitted students to spring 2012, will be barred from registering for classes and will see a medical bar on their Registration Information Sheet (RIS) until they meet the requirement.
Friday, September 16, 2011
The Plan II Priority Deadline: October 15, 2011
October 15 is the date by which we recommend Plan II applicants complete their ApplyTexas and On-line honors applications. Plan II shares this priority deadline with the Business Honors Program and the Liberal Arts Honors programs. But don't panic. For Plan II Honors, the deadline is a "soft" internal deadline. Nothing closes or cuts-off on October 15.
The priority deadline is there to remind Plan II applicants that Plan II conducts rolling admissions. And, Plan II reviews applications in the order that the applications are completed. The later a Plan II Honors applicant completes the application, the later that application will be reviewed. Because we will have been offering admission to complete applicants beginning in October, there will be fewer spots available later in the cycle when the applications completed closer to the December 1 deadline are reviewed. Fewer available spaces means a lower likelihood of admission. Competition will be stiffer as fewer spots are available.
Applying on or before October 15 will not necessarily increase an applicant's likelihood of admission. But applying late in the admissions cycle, after November 15, will very likely disadvantage the applicant somewhat.
Plan II admission offers are non-binding and non-exclusive regardless of the date of the offer of admission from Plan II Honors.
Submitting an application on or before October 15 will not guarantee early notification or increase the likelihood of admission.
But do keep in mind that the October 15 deadline does make a difference to Business Honors applicants. The applicants that apply to Business Honors on or before October 15 will be reviewed first and notified first. The date of notification for the early pool will be determined by the size of the early pool.
The priority deadline is there to remind Plan II applicants that Plan II conducts rolling admissions. And, Plan II reviews applications in the order that the applications are completed. The later a Plan II Honors applicant completes the application, the later that application will be reviewed. Because we will have been offering admission to complete applicants beginning in October, there will be fewer spots available later in the cycle when the applications completed closer to the December 1 deadline are reviewed. Fewer available spaces means a lower likelihood of admission. Competition will be stiffer as fewer spots are available.
Applying on or before October 15 will not necessarily increase an applicant's likelihood of admission. But applying late in the admissions cycle, after November 15, will very likely disadvantage the applicant somewhat.
Plan II admission offers are non-binding and non-exclusive regardless of the date of the offer of admission from Plan II Honors.
Submitting an application on or before October 15 will not guarantee early notification or increase the likelihood of admission.
But do keep in mind that the October 15 deadline does make a difference to Business Honors applicants. The applicants that apply to Business Honors on or before October 15 will be reviewed first and notified first. The date of notification for the early pool will be determined by the size of the early pool.
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Plan II students enjoy a vital community. Being an intellectual doesn't rule out having fun.
Dr. Kevorkian's Fall 2011 Plan II Honors World Literature class celebrates the completion of the Odyssey.
standing left to right:
Patrick Watson, Emily Chiou, Anjali Bhattacharjee, Haley Lockwood, Phillip Berthelsen, Daniel Wang, Naomi Hasegawa, Luca Senise, Dr. Kervorkian, Jennifer Johnson, Jaclyn Kachelmeyer, Molly McConn, Stacy Fish, Alex Fraley, Samuel Jacobson
front row left to right:
Taylor Stumberg, Koby Caplan, Alyssa Mahoney, Katie Stacy
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Starting Information for Fall 2012 Applicants
The first and best thing you can do if you're considering the Plan II Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin as one of your college application choices is to really use the Plan II web site to get a sense of what Plan II is.
Good starting places are: The Plan II Program description; and Aims of the Core Curriculum. Plan II is not an honors program for the "smart kids." It is an interdisciplinary core curriculum with a strong emphasis on writing, critical and analytical thinking, problem solving and research. Make sure you know what you're getting into.
Then, if what you see appeals to you, plan a visit to our campus during either the fall or the spring semester. we gently discourage visits to campus in the summer, we do hope that Connor will plan a visit to Austin during the fall or spring semesters, to see the campus and attend our Plan II specific information session and class visit and, perhaps also attend a general UT session or an information session on another specific college or major. Summer visits, when there are no classes, few or no faculty and few or no current Plan II students do nothing to help a prospective student understand the program or get a sense of what it’s like to attend the University of Texas at Austin. A big, hot empty campus, which is what UT is like during the summer, is NOT what it’s like for students attending UT Austin.
The Plan II information session and the Plan II World Literature class visit give a prospective applicant invaluable information about whether or not to apply, and later if admitted, whether or not Plan II is a the right fit and the best choice. This information covers all the bases, and along with the links noted below, you’ll have a very full story. Parents are very welcome to come, and in fact, while our prospective applicants go to a class, parents stay for the second hour of information and Q&A. The link to the online registration system is at the top of the Visit Plan II web page.
The fall 2011 session dates are posted; registration for fall information sessions will probably open in early August, about the time the ApplyTexas admission application opens. But even if you can’t make a visit in the fall or spring (although I hope you do), the web site is very thorough.
Good starting places are: The Plan II Program description; and Aims of the Core Curriculum. Plan II is not an honors program for the "smart kids." It is an interdisciplinary core curriculum with a strong emphasis on writing, critical and analytical thinking, problem solving and research. Make sure you know what you're getting into.
Then, if what you see appeals to you, plan a visit to our campus during either the fall or the spring semester. we gently discourage visits to campus in the summer, we do hope that Connor will plan a visit to Austin during the fall or spring semesters, to see the campus and attend our Plan II specific information session and class visit and, perhaps also attend a general UT session or an information session on another specific college or major. Summer visits, when there are no classes, few or no faculty and few or no current Plan II students do nothing to help a prospective student understand the program or get a sense of what it’s like to attend the University of Texas at Austin. A big, hot empty campus, which is what UT is like during the summer, is NOT what it’s like for students attending UT Austin.
The Plan II information session and the Plan II World Literature class visit give a prospective applicant invaluable information about whether or not to apply, and later if admitted, whether or not Plan II is a the right fit and the best choice. This information covers all the bases, and along with the links noted below, you’ll have a very full story. Parents are very welcome to come, and in fact, while our prospective applicants go to a class, parents stay for the second hour of information and Q&A. The link to the online registration system is at the top of the Visit Plan II web page.
The fall 2011 session dates are posted; registration for fall information sessions will probably open in early August, about the time the ApplyTexas admission application opens. But even if you can’t make a visit in the fall or spring (although I hope you do), the web site is very thorough.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Plan II Admission Decision Notification Letters in the US Mail
Plan II will have all our admission notification out in the US mail system almost two weeks earlier than we have ever managed before. All letters will go into the US mail system, via the UT campus mail system, on Friday, February 25, 2011. Applicants who have not already heard from Plan II Honors should expect to receive their notification by March 2, 2011.
I would like to take the chance to, once again, thank all our applicants for your interest in the Plan II Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin and for your hard work on the application itself.
We are very fortunate that Plan II Honors receives so very many applications from so very many highly qualified students. But that also means that we must offer the wait list, or simply turn away, a significant number of extremely attractive applicants each year.
We know that many, if not most, of the applicants we deny, could perform quite well in the Program. And we know those same students would very often bring a lot of heart and soul TO the Program. Given the room, Plan II would be happy to invite more applicants into the program. But increasing the size of Plan II to admit all the strong applicants who apply would change Plan II in ways that would, essentially, kill the program.
For those applicants who are not admitted into Plan II, please remember that a student at UT Austin does not have to be in the Plan II Honors program to enjoy learning communities, have small class experiences or take advantage of many of the wonderful resources that make UT a great university. At UT Austin, the opportunities are almost endless: great advising, top faculty with a myriad of specializations, interesting curricula and programs, amazing support services where community and collegiality are always available.
Take the time to investigate a few of the following. Exploring the bounty that is UT Austin is one of the joys of being a student here:
Disciplinary Honors Tracks:
Any major in the College of Liberal Arts (CoLA) offers the opportunity to pursue honors within the discipline (see CoLA majors, I encourage students to first research the disciplinary honors tracks in the College of Liberal Arts (CoLA) departments. .
These disciplinary honors tracks usually require one to three additional seminar courses, usually some kind of advanced junior or senior honors seminar(s) and a required thesis. These honors tracks are coordinated through the departments and are not stand-alone programs or majors, as is Plan II Honors. So, if there is a specific major in which you’re interested, this could very well be the best route. With the exception of the Plan II Honors major and the Humanities major (which requires an application), all the majors in the College of Liberal Arts are open and accessible. See: Departmental Honors
Any student with a major in the College of Liberal Arts, can with the appropriate GPA and other departmental requirements seek disciplinary honors.

If the interdisciplinary nature of Plan II was the real draw, then there are lots of programs and majors available that are interdisciplinary.
Interdisciplinary major opportunities in Liberal Arts:
If you were specifically seeking the interdisciplinary benefits of the Plan II Honors major, there are a great number of similar opportunities. Some majors, by their very nature, are interdisciplinary (something like Plan II Honors’ core curriculum) and, depending on your interests, might be great choices to pursue. However, I have to honestly state right up front, that Plan II is the only major specifically designed to incorporate the arts, social sciences, fine arts and sciences. Most other honors programs and even other interdisciplinary programs still focus on one area. The Dean’s Scholars program has a core curriculum, interdisciplinary science honors program; Business Honors is interdisciplinary in business fields, etc.
Here is a partial list to consider:
The Humanities major, which fits well with with Bridging Disciplines, pre-med, and pre-law programs, offers students the opportunity to fashion his or her own course of study as a major around a research interest for the B.A. “Each course in the individual program of study must clearly contribute to a coherent major with a focus on a particular theme, idea, or question. As the model plans in this brochure show, that interdisciplinary subject may be as specific as Health Care Policy, or as comprehensive as Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.” The Humanities major provides a great deal of flexibility and personalization, usually at an honors level, with a required thesis.
The Humanities major is by application only and requires 30 hours in residence and a 3.5 gpa.
Details online: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/humanities/. Schedule an appointment with the Humanities advisor, Linda Mayhew, by calling 471-3458.
As part of the Humanities major, you will:
• Join a close-knit community in Liberal Arts Honors
• Receive individualized advising
• Work closely with faculty members
• Write an honors thesis
International Relations & Global Studies
Latin American Studies
American Studies
European Studies
Women's and Gender Studies
Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
.....this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are lots of interdisciplinary opportunities in the College of Liberal Arts.

Other University-wide programs one might investigate include:
First Year Interest Groups (FIGS): provide first-semester students with a small community of 25 students who share thematic or academic interests and share two to four of the first semester classes. The FIGS have special staff advising and peer mentors to guide first-year students. This program was created with the Plan II Honors students’ first-year experience as the model.
FIGs give students who are not in an honors program a similar first-semester experience.
The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas is another terrific option. This is a fairly new program that is receiving RAVE reviews. The Center offers the Program in Core Texts and Ideas, which provides an integrated path through UT's core curriculum based on a study of the great books for students in all colleges. In collaboration with the Liberal Arts Honors Humanities Program, the Center offers an interdisciplinary major in the great books. This certificate program could be combined with any major. For instance, one might combine a double-major in English and History and still incorporate the Core Texts and ideas program.
EUREKA (enhancing undergraduate research experience, knowledge and access) Participation in undergraduate research can benefit you educationally, professionally, and personally. The University of Texas at Austin serves Texas and the nation as one of the most highly rated public research universities in the United States. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin are leaders in a variety of fields—from nanotechnology to musical composition to child welfare—that touch our daily lives and shape our future. As an undergraduate at UT Austin, in any major, you can become a part of this exciting community of discovery, creativity, and innovation.
UT Austin offers a really neat program (one of my favorites) through the School of Undergraduate Studies, which can enhance even an honors track in any College of Liberal Arts majors or interdisciplinary studies. The Bridging Disciplines Programs offer ten interdisciplinary areas of study. Those topics include a concentrations such as Human Rights & Social Justice; International Studies; Social Entrepreneurship & Non-profits; Social Inequality, Health & Policy; and Ethics & Leadership.
The School of Undergraduate Studies also offers a Strategic Advising Center that is extremely useful in helping freshman and sophomore students develop educational plans and goals. The advising includes major exploration assistance to undecided and transitional students at the university. A great new tool UGS offers is Wayfinder.
There is a program called Business Foundations Program that gives you (as the name indicates) the FOUNDATIONS of business, without having to gain admission to the McCombs School of Business. It’s a certificate program (rather than a major or degree). You do not have to be admitted to the McCombs School to pursue the BFP certification. The program may be combined with any major/college.
Business Foundations is one of the best opportunities available at the University—especially for a Liberal Arts student. Combining the BFP certificate could actually make you more employable and perhaps a little more flexible.
There is also a plan to complete the entire (excluding the pre-requisite classes) Business Foundations Program in one summer. I think this would be a grueling summer, but a great way to complete a very valuable component.
Finally (and please remember that this is NOT an exhaustive list) there is the Junior Fellows program. Junior Fellows are involved in undergraduate, independent research projects. They meet to discuss research, present their projects, participate in field trips and attend presentations and lectures given by scholars on and off campus. Many of the Junior Fellows are Plan II students and students in the CoLA disciplinary honors programs however Junior Fellows is open to all students on campus—in any major or college.
They are all excellent programs and most have some degree of flexibility that could make them, perhaps, even better fits for a student interested in a program such as Plan II Honors.
Good luck to all!
I would like to take the chance to, once again, thank all our applicants for your interest in the Plan II Honors Program at The University of Texas at Austin and for your hard work on the application itself.
We are very fortunate that Plan II Honors receives so very many applications from so very many highly qualified students. But that also means that we must offer the wait list, or simply turn away, a significant number of extremely attractive applicants each year.
We know that many, if not most, of the applicants we deny, could perform quite well in the Program. And we know those same students would very often bring a lot of heart and soul TO the Program. Given the room, Plan II would be happy to invite more applicants into the program. But increasing the size of Plan II to admit all the strong applicants who apply would change Plan II in ways that would, essentially, kill the program.
For those applicants who are not admitted into Plan II, please remember that a student at UT Austin does not have to be in the Plan II Honors program to enjoy learning communities, have small class experiences or take advantage of many of the wonderful resources that make UT a great university. At UT Austin, the opportunities are almost endless: great advising, top faculty with a myriad of specializations, interesting curricula and programs, amazing support services where community and collegiality are always available.
Take the time to investigate a few of the following. Exploring the bounty that is UT Austin is one of the joys of being a student here:
Disciplinary Honors Tracks:
Any major in the College of Liberal Arts (CoLA) offers the opportunity to pursue honors within the discipline (see CoLA majors, I encourage students to first research the disciplinary honors tracks in the College of Liberal Arts (CoLA) departments. .
These disciplinary honors tracks usually require one to three additional seminar courses, usually some kind of advanced junior or senior honors seminar(s) and a required thesis. These honors tracks are coordinated through the departments and are not stand-alone programs or majors, as is Plan II Honors. So, if there is a specific major in which you’re interested, this could very well be the best route. With the exception of the Plan II Honors major and the Humanities major (which requires an application), all the majors in the College of Liberal Arts are open and accessible. See: Departmental Honors
Any student with a major in the College of Liberal Arts, can with the appropriate GPA and other departmental requirements seek disciplinary honors.

If the interdisciplinary nature of Plan II was the real draw, then there are lots of programs and majors available that are interdisciplinary.
Interdisciplinary major opportunities in Liberal Arts:
If you were specifically seeking the interdisciplinary benefits of the Plan II Honors major, there are a great number of similar opportunities. Some majors, by their very nature, are interdisciplinary (something like Plan II Honors’ core curriculum) and, depending on your interests, might be great choices to pursue. However, I have to honestly state right up front, that Plan II is the only major specifically designed to incorporate the arts, social sciences, fine arts and sciences. Most other honors programs and even other interdisciplinary programs still focus on one area. The Dean’s Scholars program has a core curriculum, interdisciplinary science honors program; Business Honors is interdisciplinary in business fields, etc.
Here is a partial list to consider:
The Humanities major, which fits well with with Bridging Disciplines, pre-med, and pre-law programs, offers students the opportunity to fashion his or her own course of study as a major around a research interest for the B.A. “Each course in the individual program of study must clearly contribute to a coherent major with a focus on a particular theme, idea, or question. As the model plans in this brochure show, that interdisciplinary subject may be as specific as Health Care Policy, or as comprehensive as Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.” The Humanities major provides a great deal of flexibility and personalization, usually at an honors level, with a required thesis.
The Humanities major is by application only and requires 30 hours in residence and a 3.5 gpa.
Details online: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/progs/humanities/. Schedule an appointment with the Humanities advisor, Linda Mayhew, by calling 471-3458.
As part of the Humanities major, you will:
• Join a close-knit community in Liberal Arts Honors
• Receive individualized advising
• Work closely with faculty members
• Write an honors thesis
International Relations & Global Studies
Latin American Studies
American Studies
European Studies
Women's and Gender Studies
Russian, East European & Eurasian Studies
.....this is not an exhaustive list by any means. There are lots of interdisciplinary opportunities in the College of Liberal Arts.

Other University-wide programs one might investigate include:
First Year Interest Groups (FIGS): provide first-semester students with a small community of 25 students who share thematic or academic interests and share two to four of the first semester classes. The FIGS have special staff advising and peer mentors to guide first-year students. This program was created with the Plan II Honors students’ first-year experience as the model.
FIGs give students who are not in an honors program a similar first-semester experience.
The Thomas Jefferson Center for the Study of Core Texts and Ideas is another terrific option. This is a fairly new program that is receiving RAVE reviews. The Center offers the Program in Core Texts and Ideas, which provides an integrated path through UT's core curriculum based on a study of the great books for students in all colleges. In collaboration with the Liberal Arts Honors Humanities Program, the Center offers an interdisciplinary major in the great books. This certificate program could be combined with any major. For instance, one might combine a double-major in English and History and still incorporate the Core Texts and ideas program.
EUREKA (enhancing undergraduate research experience, knowledge and access) Participation in undergraduate research can benefit you educationally, professionally, and personally. The University of Texas at Austin serves Texas and the nation as one of the most highly rated public research universities in the United States. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin are leaders in a variety of fields—from nanotechnology to musical composition to child welfare—that touch our daily lives and shape our future. As an undergraduate at UT Austin, in any major, you can become a part of this exciting community of discovery, creativity, and innovation.
UT Austin offers a really neat program (one of my favorites) through the School of Undergraduate Studies, which can enhance even an honors track in any College of Liberal Arts majors or interdisciplinary studies. The Bridging Disciplines Programs offer ten interdisciplinary areas of study. Those topics include a concentrations such as Human Rights & Social Justice; International Studies; Social Entrepreneurship & Non-profits; Social Inequality, Health & Policy; and Ethics & Leadership.
The School of Undergraduate Studies also offers a Strategic Advising Center that is extremely useful in helping freshman and sophomore students develop educational plans and goals. The advising includes major exploration assistance to undecided and transitional students at the university. A great new tool UGS offers is Wayfinder.
There is a program called Business Foundations Program that gives you (as the name indicates) the FOUNDATIONS of business, without having to gain admission to the McCombs School of Business. It’s a certificate program (rather than a major or degree). You do not have to be admitted to the McCombs School to pursue the BFP certification. The program may be combined with any major/college.
Business Foundations is one of the best opportunities available at the University—especially for a Liberal Arts student. Combining the BFP certificate could actually make you more employable and perhaps a little more flexible.
There is also a plan to complete the entire (excluding the pre-requisite classes) Business Foundations Program in one summer. I think this would be a grueling summer, but a great way to complete a very valuable component.
Finally (and please remember that this is NOT an exhaustive list) there is the Junior Fellows program. Junior Fellows are involved in undergraduate, independent research projects. They meet to discuss research, present their projects, participate in field trips and attend presentations and lectures given by scholars on and off campus. Many of the Junior Fellows are Plan II students and students in the CoLA disciplinary honors programs however Junior Fellows is open to all students on campus—in any major or college.
They are all excellent programs and most have some degree of flexibility that could make them, perhaps, even better fits for a student interested in a program such as Plan II Honors.
Good luck to all!
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