This program is both very small and very selective; many students have never heard of it amongst the myriad offerings at UT Austin. This is a program which must be applied to separately; unlike the 40 Acres Scholarship you aren’t considered just because you applied to UT Austin. In this article, then, we’re going to explore what this program is, who it’s meant for, and how you can apply to it. Let’s jump right in!

Understanding the Rosenthal-Levy Scholars Program

The program is a relatively new one, based in the , which itself was only founded in 2023. This school has the explicit purpose of training the next generation of leaders, inculcating them in the ideals of the American project and giving them the experience and background knowledge necessary to make positive political changes and safeguard democracy. 

This program is itself an academic course of study, with a focus on history, philosophy, international relations, politics, and economics. Students choose a major in the School of Civic Leadership as part of this program. The program does have a specific ideological bent, being in favor of both the American experiment and Zionism. As part of the program, students engage in a special study abroad program in Israel, for a further exploration of the political realities of the modern Middle East. 

In addition to the studies for the program, students are able, and encouraged, to pursue a secondary major, in any school at UT Austin. As only students who are admitted to UT Austin already may take part in this program, you can indeed combine any other course of study with it, from history or philosophy to architecture or engineering. 

This is a scholarship program specifically, and a generous one. The program covers the full cost of tuition at UT Austin, and a $7,000 a year stipend for cost of living expenses. This doesn’t quite cover room and board at UT Austin, but goes a long way towards those costs or defraying the cost of living off-campus. This scholarship aspect draws many students to the program, as it is one of the most generous scholarships available at UT Austin, though it is quite competitive. 

Finally, the program provides significant networking opportunities, including connections to internships and career mentorship for students in the program. While there are opportunities of this sort for all UT Austin students, as is so often the case with small elite honors programs, students in the Rosenthal-Levy program receive additional guidance and support, and are afforded additional opportunities. 

Applying to the Rosenthal-Levy Scholars Program

This program is independent of UT Austin’s admissions process, and has its own application. You must apply for the program ; applications are due by March 30, with decisions released in late April. Four groups of students are eligible to apply to this program:

• Current high school seniors who have been accepted to UT Austin, in any college or major. Students who have been accepted, but plan to defer and take a gap year, may apply as well.
• Students currently on a gap year who will matriculate to UT Austin in the fall of the year they are applying.Ěý
• Current freshmen and sophomores enrolled in UT Austin.
• Current freshmen or sophomores at other universities who are transferring to UT Austin, and who will matriculate in the fall of this year.

You must either have an acceptance in hand, have applied and be awaiting a response, or be a current UT Austin student to apply for this program. The application itself is done entirely online, and is reviewed by a committee for the Rosenthal-Levy Program specifically. The application requires the following components: 

• Your personal information
• An academic transcript
• A resume or CV
• References; academic, leadership, and personal
• Three essays

What they are looking for is generally quite straightforward; they want students who are academically gifted and motivated, and who are interested in becoming a new generation of leaders and policymakers, moving and shaping the next phases of American democracy, and protecting and preserving its institutions. While the program has a very strong focus on Judaism and Jewish studies, students from all faith backgrounds (or none at all) are welcome to apply, and faith is not considered when making admissions decisions to the program. 

While applications are accepted up to the deadline, they encourage students to submit their applications early. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis, so if you are very interested in this program, applying early is a good idea. 

The Rosenthal-Levy Application Essays

As with applications to top colleges, your grades are what make you eligible for one of this program, but it is your extracurriculars and essays which make the difference on who’s admitted. This makes your answers to these essay questions all the more important. To that end, we’re going to go through each of the prompts, and discuss how you can best answer them. 

Select three significant influences in your life—such as a defining experience, a teacher, or a great book—and explain how they have prepared you to succeed as a Rosenthal-Levy Scholar. (500 words)

This is a very open-ended question, and one designed to get to the heart of your interests and aspirations. There are two key things you need to focus on in this essay: getting all of the needed information across about each influence, and tying each concretely to the goals and aims of the Rosenthal-Levy Program. 

What these influences are matters far less than how they impacted you. The purpose of this essay isn’t to extoll the highlights of your favorite book, or share how great your history teacher is (though they’re definitely amazing). The point is to explain how these disparate influences prepared you for this specific program, and caused you to align with its goals and values. 

You should pick influences which align closely with the goals and values of the program. Rosenthal-Levy is specifically dedicated to western values, the ideals of American democracy, and to Zionism (all of these are listed clearly and frequently on their site). You don’t have to cover all of these topics of course, but you should tie in your response to the program’s stated ideals. 

What do you hope to learn in college, and how do you expect these four years to prepare you for a life of civic leadership and purpose? Note that this question will be customized for the school that you are applying to. (400 words)

This question will change based on which of UT Austin’s colleges you’re in, but the underlying core of it is the same. They want to know how you’re going to take the tools college gives you and put them to use. The purpose of this program is to train future leaders, those who will influence the world and its course, and are looking for students who are already making plans for doing so. 

How you answer this question is going to depend highly on both what you are studying and what your future plans are. There is no one right answer, but you should explain how you will be involved in civic leadership in the future, whether through government, nonprofits, business, or other organizations or opportunities. 

You should again put this in terms of the program’s own goals; the furtherance of the American project, interest in Jewish thought, adherence to Western values; all the things they specifically cite as , and what it aims to do. As with all essays of this type, your goal is to show how your own desires and ambitions dovetail neatly with the aims of the program as a whole.

Who do you believe was the greatest leader of the 20th century, and why? (150 words)

Once again, there is no correct answer for this, but there are certainly wrong ones. This is a very short response; your first sentence should name the leader, and the rest of the somewhat curtailed length should go to explaining your choice, why the leader you selected is indeed the greatest of the 20th century. 

Some answers are certainly going to be more popular than others, but what matters most is how you argue and evidence your point. This isn’t a full essay, with citations and quotes, but should showcase what you view as important in leadership. After all, the point of this program is to train future leaders, so it’s only reasonable for them to consider the kind of leader you are aspiring to be. 

This does not need to tie directly into the goals of the program, but you should keep them in mind when selecting and arguing for your leader. This program is very clear and concrete in what their values are, and picking a leader who aligns with them showcases that your values do too, and that you are more likely to be a good fit for the program and what it aims to accomplish. 

The Application Interviews

Within a few weeks of submitting your application, you will be notified as to whether or not you have been selected for a semi-finalist interview. These are done online. The students who do well in these will be invited for finalist interviews, which are carried out in-person if possible. They try to make sure these are done before students must make their college choices; this is part of the reason why they advise you to submit your application in advance of the March deadline. 

These interviews are akin to college interviews, but more focused on the program’s aims specifically, and are done with a member of the program, rather than an alumnus. See our guide to college interviews for advice on how to prepare for these. 

Should You Apply to the Rosenthal-Levy Program at UT Austin?

This is a very prestigious program, but it is not right for all students. It does come with a significant amount of extra work, especially for students who would double major because of it; a single major is plenty of work already, and double majoring increases that enormously. As with all honors programs, they also expect a very high quality of work from their students, and often have more demanding classes. 

This program is also not ideologically neutral. While they do not have an explicit political leaning, they are specifically dedicated to the ideals of Judaism and western civilization. These are great things to be devoted to, but not all students are going to be devoted to them, or want to focus their studies on these fields. This too is fine; one of the points of universities is for intellectual debate. In these cases, however, this is probably not a program you would benefit from. 

If you do have a strong interest in Jewish thought, American history, and dreams of being a social and political leader, however, then we strongly recommend applying for this program. This program has a far more niche appeal than many honors programs, but has significant benefits for those students who do fit within its targeted demographic. If you are among them, then we strongly urge you to apply, to reap the proffered benefits. 

Final Thoughts

There are many specialty honors programs at UT Austin, many of which have significant benefits in terms of both scholarships and networking opportunities. This program is another such, perhaps a bit narrower in scope, but equally impressive in the benefits it offers participants. We hope that this article has given you a solid introduction to this program, and helped you determine if participating in it is a good choice for you. 

If you are interested in applying to this or any other special program at UT Austin, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. These programs are quite competitive, and have very high expectations of their applicants; with the help of our mentors, you can meet and exceed those expectations, drafting the kinds of essays that get you noticed, and that clearly show how you align with the goals of the program. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you. 

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Students arrive at college with different levels of knowledge and preparation; each high school is distinct, with unique coursework, and some students have already mastered concepts others have yet to encounter. Colleges use placement tests to determine what you’ve mastered already, and to see if you can get out of taking these introductory courses in favor of diving right into advanced coursework. 

In this article, we’re going to look in detail at how this process works at UT Austin (with some comparisons to other schools). Our goal is to help you understand how these tests work, and when and how you should take advantage of them to keep your collegiate plan on track. Let’s jump right in!

How College Placement Tests Work

In general, colleges have a multi-tiered placement test system. First, many allow the submission of test scores for credit, specifically AP andIB scores. We;ve discussed this phenomenon before, and you can see UT Austin’s credit equivalencies for scores . 

Not all high schools offer AP courses however, even if they have equivalent coursework; these students must find a different way to demonstrate they have mastered the material. Other students may have not scored as well as they could have on AP exams, but still think they have mastered the subjects. Placement tests are the avenue for all of these students to demonstrate their proficiency. 

At UT Austin, AP exam credit and placement tests are equivalent, but this is not the case at every college. At , for example, you can earn credit for AP exam scores, but if you want to take a particular course, you must take a placement exam. Thus students not majoring in the sciences can earn credit through AP coursework, and avoid the placement exams, but those who wish to major in the sciences must take these exams. 

Other schools have their own unique approaches, but the goal is generally the same: to make sure students have the skills they claim to, and to assess where they should begin taking further coursework in their chosen areas of study. 

Some schools will use placement exams or AP credit to count for distribution requirements, and others will not. As with many college policies, there is no standardization here, with each school following their own priorities.

A Note on Placement Exam Subjects

Across almost all schools, placement exams are offered in math, science, and foreign language. These are cumulative subjects, where you build solidly on foundations of what came before to reach new heights later. There are far fewer placement exams or exams for credit in the humanities or social sciences. 

You can still earn credit for having AP exam scores within the accepted range in these subjects, and they can stand in for particular courses at some schools, but they are not used for placement, or to place out of introductory courses, in the same way. This is because of how courses in the humanities work; they are far less cumulative in the same way, and require mastering skills that cannot easily be tested in a single exam sitting. 

UT Austin does offer some Humanities exams, but far fewer of them than other subjects.

Taking Placement Tests at UT Austin

UT Austin offers placement tests on a . Students generally take these right as they are beginning their time at UT Austin, in order to place out of required courses or determine what sections they should enroll in as freshmen. They are offered more regularly for the sake of transfer students, or other students who may need to take them at other points besides the start of fall semester. 

You may sign up for these tests through the , using your UT Austin student ID. Incoming students sign up in the spring or summer before they enroll, and take them right after they get to campus in most cases. Signing up for these tests is not particularly difficult, nor is it meant to be. 

The tests themselves are administered in different formats, but are generally administered in person and on campus. Accommodations are available. If you need accommodations (here or in your classes), this must be handled through disability services; the testing center themself can only grant accommodations approved by that office. 

The tests themselves are meant to demonstrate mastery of a particular subject, the sort of mastery a student is expected to have if they took and passed the equivalent course. These are long and somewhat challenging tests for that reason, but if you have a solid mastery of the subject, they shouldn’t be too onerous. 

Taking Placement Tests at Other Colleges

When these tests are offered or required varies. , for example, makes placement tests available online at the end of May, and allows incoming students to submit them until mid-June. These too can only be accessed by incoming UChicago students. 

Other schools have in-person placement tests during orientation, but virtual testing became far more widespread during the Covid-19 pandemic. Colleges do employ a variety of online monitoring tools during these virtual tests to ensure students aren’t cheating. 

We advise not cheating on these tests anyway; placing into a math class you aren’t qualified for will only hurt you in the long run. You’ve already been accepted into the school, and they won’t kick you out for underperforming on a placement test. You should give an honest effort, and see what material you have mastered.

How to Prepare for Placement Tests

These tests are meant to demonstrate your full understanding of a particular subject, and reflect that in their contents. Preparing for them should look like preparing for any other comprehensive exam, such as an AP test. The one major difference you may face is how much time has elapsed between taking a course and having to take the exam proving your mastery of the subject. 

Preparing for these tests should ideally be a process undertaken over time. You don’t want to spend the 24 hours before the test cramming and hope for the best, that’s just setting you up for failure (both on the test itself, and for any courses you take that assume you already know this material). 

Ideally, you should figure out what exams you are taking in the spring, and then have some lead-time before actually taking them. How much time you will have depends entirely on the university in question; some will enable you to spend the summer studying, others, like UChicago, test in the late spring or early summer. 

You should review your full course materials for whatever subject you are testing in. This should be targeted as an approach, not spending time on things you have mastered, and going over in more depth the parts which may have faded in your memory. We advise not just passive review, but self-testing through practice problems, seeing if you can apply the concepts properly. 

This need not be onerous; twenty to thirty minutes of work on this a day for a few weeks is far more helpful than trying to cram it all in at the last minute. If you are testing in areas you are currently taking coursework in, then this can and should overlap with the studying you are doing for finals. 

Finally, we advise making use of online resources like Khan academy, especially if you are reviewing material from a course you took in a previous year. They are free to use, and offer a fairly high quality of instruction. The exact format and questions you will face on each exam will differ, but all seek to see that you have truly mastered the material, and to what level you have done so. 

Final Thoughts

Regardless of major, there are classes you will need to take at college, skills you will need to show your mastery of. Placement tests are meant specifically to show your mastery of these skills at a collegiate level, and to place you at which level you will be able to succeed and grow. These can be quite stressful, but the college earnestly wants what’s best for you.

We hope this article has given you a solid understanding of how placement tests work at UT Austin, and how these compare to some other schools. Of course, the first step is getting into one of these colleges, and that’s where łÔąĎąŮÍř comes in. Our mentors are adept at advising students on every aspect of the admissions process; schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can make your life easier.

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We’ve written about UT Austin’s honors programs before, but colleges aren’t static, and UT Austin has updated its offerings over time. Over the past few years, UT Austin has added a number of all new honors programs, ones which offer a number of new opportunities for students. In this article, we’re going to break each of these down, explaining what they offer, how they compare to existing programs, and how you can apply to them. Let’s jump right in!

This honors program is specifically its own major, rather than an additional program like Liberal Arts Honors. Students apply to and study in the School of Civic Leadership, and earn a BA in Civics Honors. This can be used towards any number of careers, but is particularly for those who want to pursue public service in the future, be that through law school, public health, governmental service, or education. 

Many students in the major pursue a minor or certificate program in their secondary field; thus a student interested in public health would complete the pre-med track, or one interested in technology might pursue a . The major is designed to complement other interests you have. 

The major is specifically focused on American politics and history, and the roots of the American experiment in western civilization. The core courses for the major all focus on these, a mix of humanities and social sciences coursework. The major requires both a final thesis, and the completion of an internship. 

Applying to Civics Honors:

You may apply to this program online, as is the case with all honors programs. Civics Honors is specifically only open to incoming freshmen, and not to current UT Austin students to transfer into. The application requires students to answer two essay questions: 

1. Your study at UT Austin would enable you to think deeply about serious questions that arise as we consider what it means to live well and lead well.  What is one significant question you want to answer through your study in UT Austin Civics Honors?  Why does this question matter? Please limit your response to no more than 200 words.
2. The American founders thought carefully about what it means to build a legacy.  The legacies they built have shaped American culture and law.  How can a person build a worthy legacy today?  How do you want people to remember you? Please limit your response to no more than 200 words.

This program is specifically an addition to the Electrical and Computer Engineering major, and adds new courses, resources, and options for students interested in that major. It does not count as a major itself, but rather serves to complement the existing program for interested students. 

This course is open to both freshman and internal transfer students. Students who are not in the honors program may contend for seats in honors courses, but the number of spaces set aside for non-honors students in these is limited, and students in the honors program get priority for enrollment. 

Freshmen applicants to the program must have calculus credit, either via examination or by taking an equivalent course at another institution. Both AP and IB exams can allow you to earn this credit. Beyond this, you must submit a resume, a letter of recommendation from a math or science teacher, and the answer to the following prompt: 

• Describe your significant activities, employment, and achievements, particularly those relevant to the study of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Also describe your educational and career goals. Please limit your response to no more than 500 words.
  

This program is ideal for students who want to study computer engineering rather than computer science, but who still want the honors experience. It is newer and less developed than the Turing Scholars program, with fewer resources, but is still expanding. If you are curious about the differences between computer science and computer engineering more generally, see our article on the subject.Ěý

This honors program, as the name suggests, is specifically devoted to the study of robotics. This is open to students in a few selective majors, though you do not need to have any prior experience in robotics to apply. Specifically, you must be in one of these majors to apply: 

• Aerospace Engineering, Computational Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, or Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering
• Computer Science in the College of Natural Sciences

This program is not a major itself, but counts as a minor. Students in the program are automatically enrolled in the , and given a chance to immediately begin doing research with professors. They also have the opportunity to join a specific honors housing community, though this isn’t mandated.

You can apply to join this program as either an incoming freshman, or as a current UT student, though you must always be in one of the associated majors. There is limited space in this program, and it is quite popular. If you are applying as a freshman, you must answer the following prompt: 

• Why are you interested in robotics? How will this undergraduate robotics program help you achieve your personal and/or career goals? What impact do you hope to make in the field of robotics? Please limit your response to 500 words.
  

The application does not have additional components beyond this essay. Though this is only a minor, it generally cannot be combined with other honors programs, such as Turing scholars. You must choose which to attend, if you apply to and are admitted to both.Ěý

Should You Apply to UT Austin’s Honors Programs?

UT Austin has a wide variety of honors programs, especially with these new additions; there are twelve total honors programs at the university. This, of course, raises an obvious question: whether or not you should bother applying to these programs (and if so, which one you should apply to). 

In general, we recommend many students apply to these honors programs, especially if they are using UT Austin as a safety school thanks to their class rank. Many students do this, applying to UT Austin while also looking at colleges out of state, the Ivy Leagues or other big name schools. As these colleges get more expensive however, many students see a clear benefit in UT Austin’s programs, especially if they are paying in-state tuition rates. 

UT Austin’s honors programs offer many of the same benefits as a more traditional Ivy League college. Smaller class sizes, more access to professors and research, better networking opportunities, and more support in exploring your chosen field. You also gain access to more advanced topics than in standard coursework, the chance to go deeper into your particular field. 

This is why these programs are so good for students who are using UT Austin as a safety while applying to more competitive schools. If you are applying to an Ivy League school, then you are the exact sort of student these programs are intended for, and they can make your experience far more valuable at UT Austin if you do choose to attend. 

How to Apply to UT Austin’s Honors Programs

Applying to these programs is fortunately quite straightforward. You have two options for doing so as a freshman applicant to UT Austin: 

1. You apply directly through the Common App. This must specifically be done for programs which serve as your major, like Civics Honors.
2. You apply through a secondary honors program application you gain access to once your application to UT Austin is processed. 

Certain honors programs require you to apply for specific schools or majors. For example, Business Honors may only be applied to by students who have unspecified business as their first choice major. You may apply to multiple honors programs you are qualified for based on this, such as both the Canfield Business Honors and the Computer Science and Business Programs. 

These applications generally require essay responses; each has their own. You can find a full list of these prompts . These are akin to any other college essay, but are far more unique prompts than you are liable to encounter. We discuss how to deal with questions like this in our article on writing honors essays.

Some of these programs have additional requirements. Most commonly they’ll want you to submit a resume, but they may also ask for letters of recommendation.These can also be found on the site. These are not meant to trip you up or present an insurmountable barrier, but to give admissions officers the context they need to evaluate you. Note that these programs will also receive your UT Austin application as a whole, so you should not reuse those essays when applying. 

Final Thoughts

Colleges are forever changing their offerings, trying to better serve the students who apply to them. We can see that clearly in what UT Austin has done here, expanding their range of honors programs as more students choose to attend them instead of the more expensive private options. We hope that this article has given you a good understanding of UT Austin’s honors programs, and whether they might be a good fit for you. 

These are very competitive programs, and for good reason. Official statistics are rarely released, but programs like Turing Scholars or Computer Science and Business have acceptance rates below 10%. That’s where łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. If you’re looking for advice on applying to one of these programs, or crafting the perfect essays to complement your application, then schedule a free consultation with us today. We’re always happy to hear from you.

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As acceptance rates at UT Austin get ever more competitive, this is more important than ever for students to be aware, since even more students are considering taking advantage of the CAP program. In this article, we’re going to explore how this works, and what they changed. We’re also going to discuss what this means for you, and whether this should impact your admissions strategy. Let’s get started!

What is UT Austin’s CAP Program?

Before explaining what changed, we’re briefly going to explain what CAP is, and who it is for. The (CAP) is a program to offer an alternate enrollment path at UT Austin for Texas residents. In this program, you begin your studies at another UT campus, then are able to transfer to UT Austin after you complete all of the CAP program’s requirements; this generally happens after your freshman year. 

Texas high school graduates who are residents of the state and who are not admitted to UT Austin are offered a spot in CAP. To accept the offer, you need only complete the CAP agreement in the MyStatus portal. You do not need to apply to the other school you will be attending, but each of the schools has their own enrollment requirements you need to meet in order to attend.

In order to successfully complete the program and transfer, you must complete 30 hours of coursework at the school you are attending. AP credits do not count for this. Each school has their own list of credits which count for this. You must also complete at least one credit of math beyond math 301 (Algebra) if you test out of it, or complete it if you do not. 

Finally, you need a cumulative GPA of at least 3.2 in order to transfer. Note that this is just for automatic transfers; some schools and majors are competitive for transferring, and want to see a higher GPA than this, but a 3.2 is the minimum to be able to take advantage of this program. If you do not meet these requirements, you simply continue at the university you are attending. 

If you are applying for financial aid, then you will need to have FAFSA send your information to the college you are enrolling at. There is no guarantee of financial aid; each college has their own policies and aid pool.

Enrollment requirements are generally based on your class rank. If you attend a non-ranking school, then you are always offered enrollment. Note that UT Dallas does not participate in the CAP program.

For your to UT Austin, you must select which major you want to enter. Majors in the College fo Liberal Arts are (generally) guaranteed; majors in other schools at UT Austin are competitive for admissions. You may not transfer into the School of Architecture. You may list both a first and second choice major; you are guaranteed a spot in the College fo Liberal Arts. 

So What’s Changed at CAP?

What we’ve written above is what UT Austin says about CAP on their website. That said, this isn’t everything to know about the program. The most important thing to note is limits on transfers to majors in the School of Liberal Arts. This is implied in their page, but never clearly stated, nor are specific majors mentioned. 

The thing to know, and that they have changed, is that not all majors in liberal arts are guaranteed, and that you cannot select some majors in liberal arts as a second choice major. Namely, Economics and Psychology. 

In many ways, this is completely unsurprising to learn. These have long been the most popular majors in the College fo Liberal Arts, and are often seen as back-up options for students unable to study business or biology. That said, UT Austin does not list this anywhere on their site, which would be useful to know for students considering CAP as an option. 

Most students who apply for Economics or Psychology as their first choice major get it, but it is not automatic. They do look at your GPA, and expect you to have done better than the minimum of 3.2; the closer you are to 4.0, the better your chances are. These majors are competitive, but less so than engineering or business or computer science. That they are competitive is not a surprise; that UT Austin does not directly state this policy on second choice majors on their website is the cause for concern, especially since this is a new policy, and is likely to catch many students unawares. 

Should You Use the CAP Admissions Option?

With this new information in mind, the question is raised: should you take advantage of the CAP if you are offered it? This depends on many different variables, we will go through each in turn. This is going to have to be a general analysis as well; if you want a more in-depth piece of advice for your situation, or guidance on transfer admissions, schedule a free consultation with us. 

The first question, and the most important, is how much you want to attend UT Austin. The CAP exists specifically for Texas students who really want to attend UT Austin, even if they didn’t get in the first time around. It is meant to be a pathway for students who would apply for transfer admissions anyway, or those who may have missed the automatic admissions cutoff but who could still thrive at the school. 

If UT Austin is not your definite first choice, and you got into another college that you like just as much, then we recommend just going there. That gives you an extra year to invest in extracurriculars, to network with faculty, and to grow roots on campus. Transferring campuses only sets you back a year, and should only be done if a school is your true number one choice, with no other school sufficing. Otherwise, it generally isn’t worth it. 

The next question is what major you want to pursue at UT Austin. CAP does guarantee admission, but only to the College of Liberal Arts; if you are aiming for something more competitive (especially engineering, computer science, or business), then it may be far more challenging. This doesn’t mean it isn’t worth it if you want to pursue one of those majors, but you need to understand that success is not guaranteed. 

Next, you should consider which campus you would spend your freshman year on, and whether or not you can get the requisite grades there to succeed in CAP. Because CAP is grade dependent (especially for competitive schools and majors), you want to be sure that wherever you are ending up is a college that will prepare you to succeed. Look carefully at the UT campus options, and find one with the resources and offerings to support your own goals. 

The final question is whether you would be alright attending UT Austin in the School fo Liberal Arts not in a preferred major (that is, not economics or psychology). Getting into UT Austin via CAP is a challenge, but is generally not that difficult; getting into the exact major and college you want is more challenging. If you got in, but not into your first choice of major, would you still think the process worthwhile? We are not including this to discourage you from participating in CAP, but to make sure that you have thought through all of the possibilities, and are certain of your choice. 

CAP and Other Options

If UT Austin is your first choice, and you are certain of your ability to succeed in a collegiate environment, then CAP is an excellent program for you to take advantage of. Indeed, as more and more excellent students don’t meet the cutoff for UT Austin, it becomes an ever-more popular program. 

We believe (but cannot confirm) that this popularity is the reason for the change in policy; there are simply too many students applying through CAP, and some majors are oversubscribed already. This is already a problem, both at UT Austin and other colleges; there are simply more students who want to study business or computer science or engineering than there are spots for them. 

If UT Austin is not a clear top choice, and you have been admitted to another school where you can see yourself thriving in a major you want to pursue, then we recommend simply going there. UT Austin is a great school, but it is hardly the only great school out there. 

Final Thoughts

UT Austin has long been somewhat opaque in their admissions process. This is only getting worse as the number of applicants increases, and admissions staff become ever more overwhelmed in the deluge of applications. That said, we do think it would be good for them to clearly explain how the CAP system works to students on their website, so that you know exactly what you’re signing up for before agreeing to it. Simply stating “some majors” is not clear, and does nothing to benefit students. 
College admissions is always going to be a somewhat opaque process; nobody except admissions officers are in the room where it happens, and nobody except them can really say who gets in and why. That said, life is better for students when they have more information about what colleges are looking for, and how the application process actually works. We hope that this article has given you that information about UT Austin’s CAP option, and let you decide if it is the right choice for your academic goals. If you are looking for more personalized advice, or want help on a transfer application that isn’t automatic like CAP, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can make your life easier.

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In this article we’ll go over the changes to how you can apply to the 40 Acres Scholarship, and then go over a recent example of an łÔąĎąŮÍř student who was awarded this scholarship, and explore the reasons for their success by analyzing their essays. Let’s jump in!

The Changes to the 40 Acres Application

The largest change is that at all. Instead, all applications to UT Austin are evaluated by the scholarship committee for their fit for the scholarship. They are still looking for the same base traits in applicants:

• Academic prowess: This scholarship is meant to go to the top applicants to UT Austin. While perfect grades and test scores are not enough on their own, they are the first barometer used to evaluate applicants. Students with poor scores do not have the rest of their application reviewed by the scholarship committee.Ěý
• Leadership: Much like UT Austin itself, the 40 Acres Scholarship looks for students who have demonstrated leadership experience through their activities, and who discuss it well in their essays.Ěý
• Service: The 40 Acres Scholarship is meant to give back to the broader community at UT Austin, and they want students who will continue this tradition of giving. They want to see how you have given back to communities you are a part of, and that you have a history of volunteering and community engagement.Ěý

For all of these traits, the selection committee looks to your activities list and essays to see how you demonstrated them in high school. Your past actions are seen as the best possible predictor for future success in the program, so they are key to winning this scholarship. 

Example Application

Now we will go through the essays of a student who was awarded the 40 Acres Scholarship. We will provide each essay, then explain why it appealed to the scholarship committee, and how you can make sure your own essays do so as well. 

Describe how your experiences, perspectives, talents, and/or your involvement in leadership activities (at your school, job, community, or within your family) will help you to make an impact both in and out of the classroom while enrolled at UT.

Just before I could walk off the mat, my Taekwondo instructor caught me with an offer to become an assistant instructor. When I nervously accepted, he smiled and asked, “How will you help your students?” I was stumped.

As an eleven-year-old black belt, I was met by an army of eight-year-old white-belts. Rote instructions looped in my head. Do the right thing, say the right thing, stand in the right place.

Over time, I became sensitive to the subtle difficulty of my task: to translate language into movement. The problem was that every kid seemed to speak a different language. A perfectly sensible description of a side-kick to one would produce an awkward leg-shake from another.

My instinct was to double-down, hoping that if I repeated the technique enough, my stubbornness with each jump and spin and pivot of my base foot would compel them to match my movement. Each ineffective attempt forced me to reevaluate. My true task was to respond to what I saw in front of me.

In one student’s language, chambering for a side-kick meant “tuck your knee into your elbow”; in another’s, it meant “point your heel at your target.” It became a kind of cooperative sparring match, bouncing back and forth—a game of detecting the particularities and strengths of each individual as we worked to finally “solve” the kick. Whenever I witnessed a heel snap into a heavy bag, whenever I saw the pieces of balance and timing click into a sharp kihap, it was my reward as much as theirs.

If my instructor were to ask me today, “How would you make an impact at UT?” I would respond without hesitation: by learning the languages of my peers to solve technical and creative problems.

Analysis

This essay demonstrates several key traits about the student. First, that they are willing to assume responsibility when it is offered to them. They did not shirk from duty, but instead stepped up and did their best, in spite of their own doubts and hesitations. Second, it showed how the student acts when in a leadership position. How they interact with those in their charge, and how they ensure that their task is carried out well.

Finally, it demonstrates that the student is capable of introspection and growth. While this is more important to admission for UT Austin generally, it is still an important sign of maturity, and signals to readers that the student will be well positioned to make the most of any opportunity offered to them. 

The student describes how they overcame first their own reticence, and then the more practical struggles involved with Taekwondo instruction. Instead of merely stating that they learned to be a leader, they walk the reader through the steps needed to make that happen, and the revelations which occurred to them in the process. 

In your own essay, you should describe how your community impacts in the past changed you. This essay is a great chance to show both your involvement in a community, and your leadership within that group. The exact activity or community you discuss matters far less than demonstrating your impact and leadership within it. While this student used Taekwondo, you may write about any activity which is important to you. 

Why are you interested in the major you indicated as your first-choice major?

From filling my house with toy trains to binging dinosaur documentaries to daydreaming about a futuristic restaurant empire, as a child, I leapt between a fickle set of obsessions. As one arose, the others faded. My fascination with computer science, however, stuck: I was a fifth-grader armed with a twenty-minute YouTube tutorial and an iPad when I first encountered programming, sitting in a restaurant booth scraping together tic-tac-toe.  

With fluidity came the ability to transcribe blurry flashes of ideas into an order, a process, an algorithm. As the underlying structure floats to the surface, semicolons stitch together lines of code to make software. What began as tedious and narrow became dynamic and expressive.

CS is a continuation of my childhood curiosity. I can equally study it for the sake of its own depth as for the breadth of its possibilities. I still leap between interests, now amplifying them in distinctively technical ways. I’ve felt the excitement of realizing the barriers to learning philosophy could be softened by personalization algorithms. Constructing imaginary game worlds, I discover new ways to tell stories, to reflect human agency, to draw emotion from code. I owe the resilience of my fascination with CS to this adaptability. It’s not a straight path but a set of tools—tools that help me channel the flutter of my curiosity.

UT provides the environment to develop strong technical skills along with opportunities for collaboration. The flexibility of the curriculum and its concentrations offer organic exploration. When I’m not diving into the theoretical intricacies of CS, I’ll be synergizing the strengths of a multidisciplinary team to build games and explore interactive visual technology. Outside class, whether I’m mentoring in Code Orange or contributing to the Electronic Game Developers Society, I look forward to adding unique perspectives to a vibrant community.

Analysis

This essay is less a chance to display your leadership or community (though it is possible, depending on how you explored your academic interests). What is most important in this essay is demonstrating intellectual vitality. We have an entire article exploring what intellectual vitality is, but in brief, it is the love of learning and academic exploration for its own sake, and a font of self-guided passion within a student. 

This is a key trait the committee, and colleges generally, look for in students. Your grades and test scores are examined to see that you have the necessary aptitude for academic excellence; this essay is used to ensure you have the right outlook on academic exploration. They want to find students with genuine curiosities and passions, who have sought hard to explore them. 

What your academic passions are matters less. The student in the essay above has a clear love for computer science, but your essay should be authentic to your own passions. Your goal is for readers to understand what you care about academically, and to demonstrate to them what steps you have taken to explore your interests. If you are able to display a devotion to community or leadership through this essay you can, but as this example shows, doing so is not necessary to the application overall; there are separate essay questions which focus on those topics.

The core purpose of The University of Texas at Austin is, “To Transform Lives for the Benefit of Society.” Please share how you believe your experience at UT-Austin will prepare you to “Change the World” after you graduate.

For an aspiring computer science student, an interest in video games might appear like intellectual Peter Pan Syndrome. Games—fun projects for any intermediate programmer—but shouldn’t we eventually grow up?

Yet, I see untapped potential to leverage technology and further a medium still in its infancy. Life is complicated—riddled with conflicting identities and ambiguous value structures. Games, though, immerse us in a role with defined limitations and abilities. They take a slice of ourselves, magnify it, and show it back to us in a different light. In them, we temporarily accept a simplified model of our agency to gain insight into ourselves.

There’s endless possibility for me to create: a lonely diner on the edge of a black hole, a climb atop ancient ruins whirling in a dream, a hunter’s delusional pursuit of a magical creature—I’m fascinated by the prospect of otherworldly experiences that snapshot the human condition. I want to discover new ways to engineer mechanics that submerge players into the movement of a game.  

UT will provide an excellent environment to realize these ambitions with a passionate group of peers in a city brimming with technological development. The CS curriculum offers a strong technical focus with opportunities to dive into game development. Particularly, Professor Toprac’s publications on Control in Video Gaming and Designing technology-enriched cognitive tools align deeply with my interests in games and agency.

Games are part of our digital landscape; they’re the language of agency. In them, we can record who we are, how we live, who we hope to be: a library of the human experience injected into the fabric of our entertainment. The average person will spend thousands of hours playing games. I want to build them with conscience, intent, craftsmanship—games that can shape the formative virtual experiences underpinning the lives of countless people.

Analysis

There are many ways to approach this essay; no single one is correct. In the example above, the student elaborates further on themes of intellectual vitality first seen in their “Why Major” essay. They delve deeper into the possibilities of computer science, and game design specifically, and speak passionately on their future interests. 

In addition to this, the student clearly ties their interests to UT Austin. This is important not just for answering the prompt, but for the 40 Acres Scholarship. This scholarship is administered by the Texas Exes, a group of UT Austin Alumni, ones who are understandably proud of the institution, and who are looking for students who will continue its long tradition of excellence.

This does not mean your essay should be filled with effusive praise; instead you should demonstrate that you have looked into UT Austin’s offerings and found ones which will fit well with your needs and interests. This is not something directly judged by the 40 Acres Scholarship, but is in general admissions, and will certainly not hurt your chances at the 40 Acres. 

This essay can be another way to display your desire to serve your community, and you should display altruistic intentions within it. We understand the appeal of studying business in order to make a lot of money, but the Texas Exes want students who seek a higher calling, and who actively desire to contribute to the world around them. It is these goals you should express in this essay, whatever form they may take for you. 

Final Thoughts

If you are applying to UT Austin, then you are also applying for the 40 Acres Scholarship. While your essays should be aimed primarily at the college itself, they can serve double duty in applying to the scholarship if you write them with intention. This is aided by the fact that the school and scholarship are looking for similar attributes in students, and positioning yourself well for one usually also does so for the other. 

Paying for college is a major challenge for many students, but scholarships like 40 Acres can make this task far easier. For more scholarships such as this, see our articles on merit scholarships, honors college scholarships, or financial aid. We understand how challenging this can be for students, and hope these guides give you a place to start.

If you are looking for help applying to UT Austin, or want more personalized advice on how to craft the perfect essays, schedule a free consultation to hear how we can help you. We have a depth of experience helping students achieve their collegiate dreams, and are always happy to hear from you.

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Different colleges have different ways for students to get involved with research. In this article, we’re going to look at how UT Austin does it in their College of Natural Sciences: the (FRI). We’re going to cover what the FRI is, how it works, who it’s for, and whether or not it’s something you should look out for as you’re applying to colleges. Let’s get started!

Understanding the Freshman Research Initiative (FRI)

Operated by the College of Natural Sciences (CNS) within UT Austin, the of FRI is to introduce freshman students to research. These students often have limited exposure to research previously, and have a harder time finding research positions at some schools, as professors tend to favor upperclassmen. 

This makes sense for the professors; after all, upperclassmen are slightly more mature, and are more likely to have taken lab courses which give them the kinds of skills they need to perform scientific research. This can make it challenging for freshmen to find positions however.

By enabling freshmen to find a lab position early, FRI seeks to encourage them to pursue a career in STEM, or to go on to higher education in these fields. Higher degrees tend to revolve around research, and getting experience with this early helps set students up for a long and successful STEM career.

How FRI Works

FRI works by breaking students into smaller groups, called research streams. Each of these streams hosts around 35 students, and are organized by subfield. All research performed by a university is incredibly niche, and students are encouraged to find a subfield which matches their own academic interests. 

Research streams consist of a two course sequence led by a faculty researcher. These introduce you to doing laboratory research; techniques, safety procedures, data collection and analysis, and then start you on the path of actually doing the work in a laboratory. There is an optional summer component as well, for students who want to continue their investigations beyond the end of the school year. 

The first semester focuses more on theory, while the second lets you begin working in a laboratory properly. If you continue for the summer as a volunteer researcher, you will receive even more independence, and be afforded more trust in the lab.

In your second year, you have the option to continue and deepen your involvement in the research stream. This is not mandatory, but many students choose to do so. This is a semester-long course offered in fall, which lets you both continue performing research, and helps put it in the broader context of work being done in the field. 

While this is the end of the official program, many students continue their involvement with research. Some serve as FRI peer mentors, helping introduce a new round of students to research. Others continue with their existing research mentors and projects, expanding upon the skills they learned through FRI. Others still join new projects, with the lab techniques they know serving as the foundation to build upon in other labs. 

Not all students do continue with research, but FRI has proved very successful at getting new students into research, and at helping underrepresented students increase their participation, both in STEM as a whole and in research projects. 

Is FRI Right For You?

We first need to point out that while FRI is limited to a single college at a single university, it is not the only program of this type. While we are going to be focusing on FRI as an example, what we explore here holds true for research opportunities at many different universities, and you can benefit in your own way from all of them.

The first consideration is whether you intend, or are possibly interested in, getting a higher degree in the sciences, or going on to another advanced degree. These programs are very competitive for admission, and one thing all of them like to see is students with research experience. 

This program is perfectly suited for this, as it gets you involved with research early, and gives you options to continue and heighten your involvement throughout undergrad. Many students have difficulty beginning research as freshmen, as they lack familiarity with professors in order to ask for positions in labs. FRI handles this for you, and bridges the first awkward gap of finding a research position. 

FRI is limited in that it’s only open to students in the College of Natural Sciences. While other students at UT Austin are encouraged to pursue research, there are not equivalent research programs in the other colleges. Further, pre med students who are majoring in a subject outside of the sciences (an increasingly popular option) are not able to take advantage of this program either, though they may still pursue research opportunities with professors independently. 

If you are applying to one of the majors in UT Austin’s College of Natural Sciences, FRI may be worth mentioning in your essay about the major. This essay should focus on the major itself more than the school, but showing how UT Austin’s opportunities exactly match your needs for the major is a great way to demonstrate to admissions officers your suitability for the field in question. 

If you want to pursue the sciences but for one reason or another don’t want to pursue research at all, then this may be a reason to consider other programs instead of UT Austin. While we do think this is a great opportunity for students, we understand that not everyone is excited by academic research, and may want to involve themselves in other aspects of life at university. 

Final Thoughts

Research is a key part of college for many students, but getting involved in the first place can be a major hurdle. Programs like UT Austin’s Freshman Research Initiative make research far more accessible to students, and we greatly support this endeavor.

We hope that this article has given you a solid introduction to this program, and given you a sense of whether or not it is a good fit for you. Of course, UT Austin isn’t the only college with research initiatives for students. If you want help researching your dream college, or have any other questions about the application process, schedule a free consultation with us today. We’ve helped hundreds of students get into their top colleges, and are always happy to hear from you.

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Recently, however, UT Austin two major changes to their admissions policies for students applying in 2024 and beyond. The first is the end of their test-optional admissions policy. The second is the beginning of an Early Action admissions pathway. These come in addition to a number of other minor changes. We will go through all of these in this article, and discuss how they impact you, and your application to UT Austin. Let’s get started!

UT Austin is no Longer Test Optional

Test optional admissions began with the pandemic of 2020, as testing centers closed and students scrambled to get the needed materials. Since then, colleges have been part of a grand if accidental experiment, seeing whether or not test scores really matter for admissions.

Results are varied, as we discussed in a previous article. Some colleges looked at the data from past years and decided that test optional admissions are exactly what their school needs; others took the same set of data and decided to resume testing. UT Austin has now decided to join the latter group. 

In UT Austin explained their reasoning. They are receiving more applications than ever before, and more and more students are applying with near perfect GPAs. Standardized test scores have proven to be a great differentiator for these high achieving students. Based on the data they collected, students with both a high GPA and high test scores perform better academically in their first semester of college than students with a high GPA who do not submit test scores.

They also point to data that students who do not opt to have their scores considered still take the tests, but score lower. This is reasonable, and in line with advice we’ve given in the past. UT Austin has decided to do away with this, as they seek ever more ways to evaluate an increasingly large pool of applicants.

How This Impacts You

If you are applying to UT Austin, you will need to report your standardized test scores, and they will impact your chances of admission. While guaranteed acceptance is still determined by class rank alone, admission to particular colleges or majors may take your test scores into account, especially for the most popular majors like computer science.

While the tests have always been important, this is another reason to study carefully for them, and to make sure you do as well as you can. If your scores are not where you want them to be, even if you have a high GPA, you may want to consider adding other test optional schools to your college list, as UT Austin may not admit you to your first choice major.

UT Austin’s New Early Action Deadline

This change is more in form than function; previously UT Austin operated using a priority deadline and a regular deadline. This language was often confusing to students, and was out of sync with the language used by other peer institutions. By renaming the earlier deadline, UT Austin will clarify any confusion here.

UT Austin’s Early Action deadline is October 15, and results will be communicated to students by January 15. The regular deadline for admissions remains December 1, with results communicated to students by February 15. This is an Early Action deadline, and applying in this manner is non-binding.

We recommend you apply Early Action if UT Austin is your top choice school. While they are required to admit students who meet their academic benchmarks, the most popular programs fill up quickly. If you want to study business, engineering, or computer science, you should definitely apply by this early deadline. 

UT Austin Changes Their Essay Questions

In a brief note at the bottom of their announcement on standardized testing, UT Austin included a pair of important details. The first is that they are changing their primary essay to have a broader prompt, to allow for students to have more flexibility in answering, and to make it easier for students to reuse essays they wrote for other applications. 

While they do not include what exactly this new prompt is, and they have not yet updated it on their admissions website, we can infer what they mean. Their new prompt is likely to be closer in tone to the required Common App essays. Their current prompt already has a great deal of overlap, and moving it even closer is a reasonable choice. Why they don’t simply forsake this prompt for the Common App essay is a good question, but not one we are equipped to answer. 

This is good for students however. While the former UT Austin long essay had significant overlap with the Common App’s essay questions, moving it closer reduces even further the amount of work students will have to do. With the stress of applications already high, we welcome any relief given to students. 

The other change UT Austin announced for their essays is a reduction in the number of short answers, from three to two. Unfortunately, they have not announced which of the three they are cutting, and their applications page has not yet been updated to reflect this announcement. While we know there will be fewer prompts, we do not yet know exactly what those prompts will be. 

UT Austin did not reveal their motives behind this move, but we have a good guess. They are receiving more applications than ever before; 73,000 this past year. They remain committed to a holistic review of all applicants, which means they need to thoroughly read all 73,000 of those applications, some of them multiple times. Needless to say, this is a lot of work. Cutting just one essay of 300 words is 73,000 fewer essays for admissions officers to review; you can see the appeal clearly. 

This is helpful for students in that it lowers the amount of work you will need to do, but it increases the importance of the other essays you write for UT Austin. It remains to be seen exactly what their essay prompts are going to look like this year; we will update you once we know more. 

UT Austin Updates Their Waitlist Policies

UT Austin has fairly quietly announced that they are reintroducing the use of a waitlist. There are scant few details provided about how this will work in practice, but it does make sense as a new policy. Their announcement is simply that a waitlist now exists, that it only applies to students who are not automatically admitted, and that students will be notified as early as March 1 as to their admittance off the waitlist. 

So what does this mean in practical terms? That is left somewhat ambiguous. It appears that students who apply who do not meet the cutoffs for automatic admission can now be placed on a waitlist. It remains to be seen what percentage of students this will impact, but we believe it will be quite substantial. 

An increasing number of automatically admitted students are deciding to attend UT Austin, instead of venturing out of state or to private colleges as they more commonly have in previous years. This is making things difficult for UT Austin; they are obligated to admit a certain number of students each year, but do not actually have the capacity to handle all of the students they are required to admit. 

Previously, this was not an issue, as top students would more often attend college out of state, aiming for the Ivy League or other top 20 schools. As acceptance rates for those schools have dropped however, more and more top Texas students are opting to attend UT Austin instead. 

A waitlist is a good way to manage this, and reflects what UT Austin used to do in a more piecemeal form. Once the school knows how many of the automatically admitted students are actually planning on attending, they can more easily fill out the remainder of the class. This does take some careful planning; expect the first year they do this to be messier.

We anticipate most students applying to UT Austin who are not within the automatic admissions cutoff will be waitlisted in 2024. The school is going to err on the side of caution; they don’t know how this will work exactly, and more students on the waitlist gives them much more flexibility. This will not be as much fun for students, but is gentler than a straight reaction.

For advice on what to do should you end up waitlisted, see our article on the subject here. 

Final Thoughts

Colleges are constantly changing and tweaking their admissions standards, in order to adapt to the fluid world we live in. UT Austin is no exception, and this latest round of updates is meant to reflect the lessons they have learned over the past few admissions cycles, and set them up to better serve their applicants. How well this will work remains to be seen, but don’t worry, we’ll keep you updated every step of the way. 

Applying to college is always competitive, and has gotten more so as time has gone on. Even state schools like UT Austin are incredibly competitive, and becoming more so. If you want help crafting your application to UT Austin, writing the perfect essays, or preparing for your tests, schedule a free consultation today to learn how we can help you. Being based in Houston, we have a long history helping students get into UT Austin, and are always happy to hear from you.

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Each of these programs allows you to explore computers and business in more depth than is otherwise possible, and affords you expanded horizons. In this article, we’ll cover what each program offers, and how to apply to it. We’ll also compare them, so you can determine which program is the best fit for your needs and desires. If you are interested in a broader overview of UT Austin’s Honors programs, see our article on the subject.

The ECB Honors program is a joint program, which allows students to earn simultaneous bachelor’s degrees in computer engineering and business. Students in the program are part of both Electrical and Computer Engineering Honors and the Canfield Business Honors programs.

Students in the program form a small cohort, and a focus on team-based learning is integral to the experience. During their senior year, students work together on a capstone design project. 

You are enrolled in classes with both Canfield students and ECE Honors students. The schedule is very full, and depending on what credits you enter UT Austin with, you may need to take summer courses to graduate in four years. Many students come into the program with the following course credits (though they are not required for admission): 

• Differential and Integral Calculus
• Microeconomics
• Macroeconomics
• Physics: Mechanics
• Physics: Electricity and Magnetism
• English Literature
• US History
• US Government

You can earn many of these credits in high school through AP courses and exams, or through dual enrollment college credits. They provide a of what your course load may look like in the program. While you do not need to sign up for these exact classes, it does provide you with a sense of scale for the program’s requirements for graduation.

While the program is incredibly intense, it provides a solid grounding in computer engineering and business analytics alike, and is aimed at students entering the growing field of tech startups and computer focused entrepreneurial ventures. 

ECB Admissions

To apply to the program, you must put down Unspecified Business and ECE as your two top choice majors. Put down whichever one you like more as your top choice major. You may then apply to either the Canfield Business Honors program, or ECE Honors. Again, you should apply to whichever program appeals to you more. You do not have to apply to either program to apply to ECB, but they do serve as a backup if you are not admitted to ECB.

Canfield Business Honors and ECE Honors both require an additional essay. These are: 

• Canfield: Discuss a single piece of business news in the last year that has affected your view on the need for a high-quality business education, and tell us why this has affected or reinforced your desire for a business education. You do not need to go into detail about this piece of business news — a quick reference to the event will suffice. It can be something that occurred in your community, in the U.S., or internationally. Spend the majority of your response on how this event affected your views. Please limit your response to no more than 250 words.
• ECE: Describe your significant activities, employment, and achievements, particularly those relevant to the study of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Also describe your educational and career goals. Please limit your response to no more than 500 words.

The ECB program itself requires an essay response: 

• Honors Electrical and Computer Engineering and Business (ECB) is a powerful dual degree program looking for students who are dedicated to both an electrical and computer engineering and business honors education. Why do you see this as a combination of skills for your career goals? What have you done in high school, in the classroom and outside, to prepare you for honors engineering and business course work? Please limit your response to no more than 500 words.

All honors applications require you to submit an expanded resume, and an additional letter of recommendation form a teacher in an academic subject. You must indicate your intention to apply for an honors program.

The CSB Honors program is a joint venture between the Canfield Business Honors program and the Turing Scholars program from the Department of Computer Science, in the College of Natural Sciences. Students in the program take classes from both, and master both subjects over the course of four years. 

The program provides a sample to demonstrate what your time there may look like. While you are not required to take these exact classes, you are expected to take classes from the , which combines honors offerings from the CS department and Canfield. You are not required to arrive with any course credits, though doing so may reduce the amount of work you need to do during your time at UT Austin.

The program strives to create a close knit community for its students, and believes that the connections it fosters there are a key part of the educational experience. Due to the small size of the program, cohorts generally get to know each other well, and often form lasting friendships. 

CSB Admissions

You must select Unspecified Business and Computer Science as your first and second choice majors to apply to this program. Your top-choice major should be whichever one you are more interested in of the two. You must then indicate your interest in an honors program; depending on which major you listed as your first choice, you may apply to either Canfield Business Honors or Turing Scholars (you do not have to apply to either, though you are allowed to apply to one). 

Turing Scholars and Canfield both require additional essays, as does the CSB program. We list the prompt for Canfield above, the others are:

• Turing: Describe your significant activities, employment, and achievements, particularly those relevant to the study of computer science. Also describe your educational and career goals. Please limit your response to no more than 500 words.
• CSB: Texas CSB is an innovative dual degree program looking for students who are dedicated to both computer science and business. Why do you see this as a powerful combination of skills for your career goals? What have you done in high school to prepare you for computer science and business course work? Please limit your response to no more than 500 words.

An additional letter of recommendation from a teacher in an academic subject and an expanded resume are required components of your application to CSB. Phone interviews are offered to select applicants by invitation only. These interviews are conducted by alumni of the program. See our article on interviews for advice on completing a successful college interview.

Is ECB or CSB Better for You?

Both ECB and CSB provide a world class education, an introduction to the worlds of business and technology, and a solid grounding for success in either enterprise. Further, both offer all the amenities of UT Austin’s honors programs, including expanded access to merit scholarships, the ability to live in honors housing, and expanded on-campus resources for career advising and mentorship. 

The largest difference between the programs come from the differences between computer engineering and computer science, two fields which are superficially similar but vastly different in terms of scope and focus. 

To simplify a very complex topic, computer engineering is generally the study and design of computer hardware. The circuits and chips which build the infrastructure on which modern technology runs. Computer science is the study and design of computer software through programming, creating the code which allows various programs to operate. Computer engineers often do learn coding as well, but it is not the main focus of their training or efforts. 

Thus your own interests in technology should dictate which program you apply to, and which will best serve your needs. If you are interested in hardware, and the physical structures which underpin modern technology, ECB will suit you better. If, instead, you are fascinated by code and the electronic languages which allow computers to run the world, then CSB will fit you better. 

Both programs tie into business, and how to market the various creations equally, as both partner with the well-renowned Canfield Business Honors program. The biggest difference is on the technical side, so this is what should influence your decision between the two.

Final Thoughts

Honors programs are a great way to gain access to additional resources at college. These particular programs are both great ways to gain experience in the intersection of entrepreneurship and innovation, and both turn out graduates ready to change the world with their ideas and inventions. 

We hope this article has given you a good understanding of each program, and provided insight into which will be a better fit for you. Both of these programs are incredibly competitive from an admissions standpoint; equivalent to an Ivy League school. If you want help on your admissions journey, or want to learn more about your options, schedule a free consultation with us today. We have a depth of experience helping students get into amazing programs, and are always happy to hear from you.

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Reacting to an increasing popularity for the field, and seeing an increase in the for data science students, UT Austin is introducing a new major this fall. This major is , and will offer a BS through the College of Natural Sciences.

In this article, we’ll break down what the new major offers, and who will benefit from it. We’ll give some advice on how to apply to this major specifically through UT Austin’s “Why Major” essay, and discuss how this major can impact your application strategy for UT Austin. Let’s get started!

What the Data Science Major Entails

Currently, this is only open to freshman applicants; while transfer students may be able to apply for it in the future, they are not accepting transfer applications in the 2022-23 admissions cycle.Ěý

The major requires 120 course hours to graduate, which encompass the following areas:

• 7 courses in the major (22 credit hours)
• 5 foundation courses in math and computer science (17 credit hours)
• 4 courses to fulfill the breadth requirement (courses must be in a single field of study, and be taken outside the department) (12 credit hours)
• Two courses of departmental electives (6 credit hours)
• 10 courses of free electives (30 credit hours)
• 11 courses for the core curriculum (33 credits)

While this curriculum requires a fair amount of computer science and programming, no knowledge is required in these areas before entering the major. (Though we do think admissions will prioritize applicants with a background in CS).

The goal of the breadth requirement is to give you a chance to explore a subject area you would like to tie data science to. For instance, if you wish to pursue pharmacological applications, you would take courses in biochemistry, whereas if you wanted a career as an archivist, you would take courses in the humanities or social sciences.Ěý

Overall, the major provides students with a solid grounding in both math and computer science, along with baseline programming knowledge, and enough of a foundation in another field to make these skills immediately applicable in the jobs market. While some data science positions desire more advanced degrees, most are more than willing to hire students with only a bachelor’s, and the growth of the field means that there are plenty of positions available for graduates.Ěý

How to Apply to the Major

As with any other major at UT Austin, you can select the major when applying online, either via the Common App or ApplyTexas. There are no specific additional requirements for the major, but your application should be positioned to support your preparation for and interest in data science.Ěý

For the best chance of acceptance into the major, you should focus on two things. The first is your extracurricular activities, and the second is your “Why Major” essay, which allows you to explain directly to admissions officers why you want to study this particular subject. We’ll cover each of these in turn.

Extracurriculars for Data Science

The extracurriculars that position you well for data science are the same as those which will position you well to study math or computer science. Participating in math-based competitions (and performing well), knowing programming languages and coding for fun, and involving yourself with computer-centric organizations all demonstrate a passion for subjects central to the major.Ěý

While there are few activities which specifically involve data science open to high school students, there are many options which require you to learn and utilize the skills which the major requires. Many of these activities can also position you well for a CS major; we’ll explore how this can help you in the strategy section below.Ěý

The “Why Data Science” Essay

We’ve discussed how to write “Why Major” essays before, but now we’re going to dive a little into how to compose one of these essays to talk about data science (and this particular program) specifically.

Your essay should spend the bulk of its space discussing why you are interested in data science, and any prior experience you have had with the field. The extracurriculars we discussed above are a rich source for this, as they provide solid evidence to support any points you make.Ěý

You can either focus on one activity you participated in in depth, or peruse a multitude of different engagements. Due to the limited length of the essay (300 words), we generally recommend exploring a single topic in more depth, as this allows for a more thorough examination of your accomplishments and motivations. Your activities list can then show the breadth of your accomplishments in the field.Ěý

If you have not participated in any extracurriculars related to the field, the essay is slightly more difficult to approach. We recommend beginning with any classes you may have taken. If you deeply enjoyed a computer science class (or two, or three) at your high school, that could easily turn you on to data science.

We recommend not focusing on future earning potential or the desires of your parents in this essay. Both of these are seen as more shallow reasons for pursuing a major, and are not looked upon favorably by admissions officers. That said, if one or both of your parents work in data science, and this is how you were first introduced to the field, that can form the beginnings of a good essay. You should, however, still focus on how you explored and interacted with the field after this initial exposure however.

Finally, you should briefly discuss why you want to study data science at UT Austin specifically. This should not be the main point of your essay, but devoting a few sentences to this at the end can have a big impact. Be very specific, though this is a new program, it already has some aspects which set it apart (like the breadth requirement). The more specific you are about why this program will support your goals in data science, the more admissions officers will be able to picture you succeeding at UT Austin.Ěý

Ěý

Data Science Application Strategy

The announcement of this major is great news for students who wish to study computer science at UT Austin. CS is by far the most competitive major at the school (more so even than business or engineering), and many talented students are rejected. This major allows another approach to study a similar topic, including CS courses, and to enter a similar field.Ěý

If you are a competitive applicant, but are uncertain about your odds for CS, we recommend considering an application to the Data Science major. While it is likely to be popular, its relative newness will make it less competitive than the already well-established computer science program.

Data science can also be used as a second choice major if you are applying to CS. As we discussed in a previous article, second choice majors are rarely relevant, but this is a case where it may have more of an impact.Ěý

Overall we recommend this major to students who want to study computer science at UT Austin’s renowned facilities, but who are worried about their chances of admission. While the curriculum is not exactly the same as a CS degree, it does impart many of the same skills, and will allow you to pursue many of the same opportunities, while being far more attainable.Ěý

Of course, this is the first year this major has existed, and the first class of applicants who are applying to it. While we stand by our predictions, we cannot see the future. We will update this article with more pertinent advice on your actual chances of admission once those are more firmly established.Ěý

Final Thoughts

Computers have ushered in a bold new age of technology, and careers dealing with them are increasingly prevalent. Data scientists work to handle, refine, and interpret the mountains of information generated by computerized systems, and turn it into results which are easily accessible and usable by a broader audience. UT Austin’s new program is set up to help students access this growing field, and the numerous new career opportunities it affords.Ěý

While this is a new program, UT Austin has long been the best public university in the state of Texas, and has seen its applications grow and acceptance rate decline in recent years. For a complete guide to UT Austin’s admission process, check out our free ebook. If you want help with your data science application, or want to hear how we can help you maximize your chances of acceptance into UT Austin, schedule a free consultation today. We’re experts in the admissions process, and our students are 2.4x as likely to get into UT Austin than the average.

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UT Austin’s published acceptance rate is 31.8% for the 2020 admissions cycle, but this number does not tell the full story. Due to their admissions policy, UT Austin’s actual acceptance rate is much, much lower for many students. 

In a process loved by some and dreaded by others, UT Austin automatically accepts students who are in the top 6% of their class in a Texas high school. This is a true automatic acceptance, although acceptance to your desired major is still based on the quality of the rest of your application. These automatic acceptances weigh heavily on the overall admissions rate. In effect, a large portion of the applicant pool has a 100% acceptance rate, which raises the overall acceptance rate for applicants. 

For more information about how to get into UT Austin, check out our fact sheet , or schedule a .

In this article, we’ll reveal UT Austin’s true acceptance rate for in-state students, unpack how we calculated that number, discuss the admissions rate for out of state students, and figure out your admissions chances at UT Austin. We hope that by knowing what your actual odds of success are, you can make well-informed decisions in choosing the colleges to which you’ll apply.

Holistic Admissions

Students who aren’t in the top 6% of their class, and therefore do not meet the bar for automatic admission, have their applications examined in a process called . This is the method all top universities in the US use to evaluate student applications and decide which students are best suited to attend their school. Approximately 4,500 students are admitted to UT Austin through the holistic process every year.  

Holistic admissions looks at the student as a whole, weighing all parts of their application and background. In their review, UT Austin considers class rank, GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, natural talents, and essays. They do put some weight on race/ethnicity and whether they’re first-generation college students as well, as part of an effort to build a demographically diverse class each year.

A far cry from the 31.8% acceptance rate you might find through a casual Google search, UT Austin’s true acceptance rate for in-state students who are not automatically accepted is 10.3% 

Here is how we calculated that number: 

 students applied to join the class of 2024.

36,000 were from Texas while 21,200 were from out-of-state. These students are sorted into two separate pools for admissions purposes, because 90% of students attending UT Austin must, by law, be in-state students.

Of the 36,000 in-state students, 13,700 are automatically admitted for being in the top 6% of their class. The remaining 22,300 are holistically reviewed. Of the 22,300 students who are holistically reviewed, 2,300 are accepted while 20,000 are rejected.

This makes UT Austin’s true in-state acceptance rate 10.3%.

All 21,200 out-of-state students are holistically reviewed. Of these students, 1,700 were admitted and 19,500 were denied. This makes UT Austin’s out-of-state true acceptance rate 8.0%.

Additionally, 500 recruited athletes are given special admissions consideration regardless of their state of residence. These athletes are typically accepted at a very high rate. For this reason, we have removed them from consideration.

 

Combined, UT Austin’s true acceptance rate for non-athlete, non-automatically admitted students is 9.5%

In total, 18,290 students were admitted to UT Austin. Of these, 13,700 were automatically admitted, 2,300 were admitted from the in-state holistic review process, and 1,700 were admitted from the out-of-state holistic review process.

A note on recruited athetes:

In our calculations, we removed recruited athletes from the holistic admissions pool because recruited athletes see a significant boost to their admissions chances at UT Austin, even if their grades may not be as high as others in the application pool.

This is not to imply that every student athlete has sub-par grades; indeed, many are quite talented academically. They are, however, admitted at a much higher rate than non-recruited athletes, and thus should not be considered in the total numbers. This is especially true since UT Austin recruits so many athletes, in order to feed its strong athletics programs. If you are an athlete, read how that can impact your admissions chances.

This is the only outside factor which impacts admissions decisions in this way. UT Austin does not consider legacy status or potential donor relationships when making admissions decisions, though this was not always the case. After admissions  in the 2010s, there is a greater degree of separation between the admissions office and the rest of campus.

In 2020, 4,500 students were admitted to UT Austin through the holistic admissions process while 13,700 were automatically admitted. 39,500 students were rejected.

All figures are approximate for the UT Austin class of 2024. Source: UT Austin admissions office

Holistic admissions examine the student as a whole: weighing all parts of their application and background, not just their grades and SAT/ACT score. Specifically, UT Austin considers class rank, GPA, test scores, extracurriculars, natural talents, and essays in their holistic review. Additionally, UT Austin does consider race, ethnicity, and whether applicants are first-generation college students as part of their effort to build a demographically diverse class.

So what is UT Austin’s acceptance rate for students who are not automatically admitted?

Out of State Admissions

, no more than 10% of students at UT Austin can come from outside Texas. This makes the admissions process for out of state students more competitive.

Students from outside Texas are kept in a separate admissions pool, meaning they are directly compared and only compete with one another. Overall, the grades and test scores of students from outside Texas are equivalent to those from within the state, but due to the limited number of spots the out of state students who are admitted are, on average, slightly more impressive than their peers from within Texas.

This dynamic is evinced by the makeup of the honors programs at UT Austin. As admission to these programs is not capped or constrained by residency, a disproportionate percentage of students in these programs are from outside of Texas.

A note on recruiting:

While UT Austin is striving to grow as an institution, their primary mission is still to serve the students of Texas. Thus, they do not recruit students from outside of Texas.

This means that if you are interested in UT Austin, you will need to seek out information on them yourself. Their representatives won’t be at college fairs near you if you don’t live in Texas, so you should consider visiting or otherwise reaching out if this is a school you are interested in attending.

What This Means For You

The most notable impact of this information should be a reevaluation of your chances of admission at UT Austin. Instead of the published ~30% odds, your chances are either 100% or 10%.

This may change where you place UT Austin on your college list, as it is a guaranteed safety for some students and a reach school for others. Of course, automatic admission still requires you to get your application in on time and for there to be enough seats left, so make sure you don’t miss important deadlines.

Increasing Your UT Admissions Odds

If you wish to increase your odds of acceptance at UT Austin, there are several strategies you can employ, depending on where you are in your academic career. If you are just starting high school, then working as hard as you can to be in the top percentile of your class by rank is the single best way to ensure acceptance to UT Austin. Since class rank is the only factor UT Austin looks at when deciding guaranteed admission, it is the only thing you need to worry about.

Of course, some high schools are more competitive than others, and most colleges care about more than just your class rank. If you want to be competitive at schools besides UT Austin, you should also develop your extracurricular activities, study for standardized tests, and work on growing as a person, all while maintaining a high GPA. It’s good that we don’t expect too much of high school students!

If you are an upperclassman, then your class rank may be more solidified. That does not mean it is immutable, merely that you have a better idea whether or not guaranteed admission is a reasonable route for you by your junior year.

If your class rank is not where you want it to be, you can of course try to excel in your coursework, and raise your rank before your senior year. You can also focus on working on the other parts of your academic and personal profile that colleges care about: what your  are and how you explore them, your performance on , and how you contribute to your .

If you apply to UT Austin, and know you don’t meet the bar for automatic admission, then pay careful attention to your essays. UT Austin requires the , and three  as well, and these are a major component of how you will be evaluated.

If all this seems a little overwhelming, you aren’t alone. Many students are daunted by the prospect of applying to college. Luckily, you don’t have to do it alone. Schedule a  with us to discuss your concerns, and learn how we can help you make your college dreams come true.

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