For public universities, these requirements can be influenced by the state government. This is why all students at Texas universities have always needed to study at least some Texan history. A passed in Texas has dramatically shifted core requirements for the first time in decades; mandating updated core course requirements by 2027. 

In this article, we’re going to look out how that law is playing out at the top public university in Texas: UT Austin. UT has indeed , and have a very positive announcement about it. In this article, we’re going to break down what these changes are, what they mean for students planning to attend UT Austin, and how much any of this should matter to you.

How Has UT Austin’s Core Curriculum Changed?

The new law in Texas did not change the actual course requirements in terms of the knowledge presented. Students must still fulfill the same 42 credit hours of coursework in fundamental fields. Instead, it requires colleges to review and prune the lists of courses which qualify for meeting these requirements, only keeping those deemed foundational, civic focused, and necessary for the workforce. 

UT Austin is rolling this out in stages, with their full new core curriculum detailed . The first change is structural, from ten different areas of concentration to three pillars: Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and STEM. This reshuffle doesn’t really change anything, but does make it conceptually easier to discuss. 

The biggest change is which courses are counted for the core. A great many courses in history and social science have been removed. Faculty can , but these must meet the new requirements. In general the new core is significantly more foundational, with fewer options for specialized courses in American history or the social sciences.

The credit requirements for the new core are: 

• 15 credits in Arts and Humanities, with courses covering Culture and the Arts, Great Questions of Fundamental Life, Masterworks of Literature, US History, and Western Civilization
• 9 credits in Social Sciences, with courses covering Principles of American Politics, World Politics and Cultures, and Foundations of Social Science
• 12 credits in STEM, with courses covering Great Ideas in Science, Natural Science & Engineering, Math, Statistics, & Data Science, and Computer Science & AI
  
  

There are four new core classes which all students will have to take, though there will be flexibility in the other requirements. The required courses are: Great Questions in Human Life, Principles of American Politics, Great Ideas in Science, and Computer Science & AI. Students will need to take these courses at UT Austin, and won’t be able to meet the requirements through transfer credits (though they can meet other core requirements through transfer credits). 

The goal is to have all core classes be relatively small, with many sections offered. Thai will let students learn more closely from their teachers, and foster group discussions; this is the ideal at least. This plan still needs to be reviewed for compliance with the new law, but signs point to it meeting the goals with flying colors, and to likely being a benchmark for how other universities in Texas implement changes to their own core curricula. 

The Broader Impacts of the New Core Curriculum for Students

This new core curriculum is fine, it covers plenty of topics students should learn about, and has clear and understandable goals. We aren’t sure it’s an upgrade for students however, and in some ways it does feel like a downgrade from past offerings. In this section, we’re going to run through how this changes things for students, and what impacts you may see from it. 

Fewer Course Options

This is the biggest downside to the new system. The more focused coursework and more narrowly defined core means there are going to be fewer options for students to explore, especially in the social sciences and humanities. On the one hand, it’s good for students in the US to understand US history and politics. That said, most students already cover this material in high school.

While high schools will not cover this in the same detail and rigor as a college course, many students can gain more by focusing on details they had not heard before, aspects that may have eluded them. By having a broad range of options, students are more likely to find a subject that unexpectedly appeals to them, or something that sparks a new passion. We understand why UT Austin did this, but it is going to limit students’ experiences. 

Smaller Departments

Many departments see most of their classes full due to core requirements. Not a lot of students take higher level languages, or upper level history, but schools still need large departments in many of these fields to teach the broad array of core and introductory courses. When these are no longer options for these departments, they will see enrollment numbers fall. 

There are arguments for and against the inclusion of various departments, but the broad range of subjects covered by universities, the plurality of majors, means that some will always be undersubscribed. As these departments downsize, students will be left with fewer options, especially for those students who want to major in them. This is going to be felt most strongly in the humanities and social sciences.  

UT Austin’s New Core Curriculum and You

If you live in Texas and are planning on applying to one of the public universities in the state, then UT’s core curriculum should matter to you, at least a little bit. It shows how things are going to change, both at UT Austin itself, and at many other schools which are now making the same kinds of adjustments to their core curricula, likely following in UT Austin’s footsteps 

This doesn’t mean you should pursue an education outside of Texas; UT Austin was a great university before this change, and it will continue being one after. Texas A&M isn’t going to drop in rankings or prestige due to alterations to its core curriculum. It is something to keep in mind however, especially when building a college list and planning for the future. 

The first consideration is your intended major. Many will be unimpacted, but if you are planning on majoring in lesser-subscribed areas of the social sciences or humanities, you may benefit from looking at more schools outside of Texas. These departments are going to be impacted most heavily by these changes, and are likely to have less resources and options for students going forward. 

Especially if you intend to major in something politically sensitive, area studies, gender studies, or the like, then the current moves by Texas may make this less tenable in the future. The state government doesn’t have total control over university policies and offerings, but they are exercising what control they do have, and moves like this one are a sign they will continue to interfere going forward. 

The other consideration is where you want to live in the future. A majority of college graduates end up living quite close to where they graduated from college. Texas is a lovely state (perhaps a bit hot in the summer), but you may decide that you prefer somewhere else due to legislative choices like that. You may also think this is exactly what you want in a state. Either way, it is something to consider when deciding where you wish to apply to college.

Final Thoughts

The core courses you will be required to take are a very small consideration amidst the mountain of other things you must take into account when applying to college, but they are worth being aware of and considering. At many schools, they will form a central part of your experience, and help you become an educated and informed citizen. We hope this article has helped you understand the changes that are being made to UT Austin’s core curriculum, and how those may impact you. 

UT Austin is growing more competitive each year, both for general admission and for their most popular majors, with more and more students in Texas choosing to stick with the school. If you are concerned about your chances of admission to UT Austin, and are looking for help with your application and essays, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors have a deep experience guiding students through every aspect of the admissions process. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.

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UT Austin offers an undergraduate program already, but they have just , a combination of business and engineering in a five-year joint BS/MS degree program. This offers a lot of unique advantages that undergraduate majors don’t, but isn’t going to be the right choice for every student. In this article, we’re going to look at what this program offers, how to join it, and whether it may be a good option for you to pursue. 

What is UT Austin’s New BS/MS Engineering and Business Program?

The creatively named is a new honors program hosted jointly by UT Austin’s colleges of engineering and business. Currently, this program only encompasses two engineering specializations, mechanical engineering, and petroleum engineering. Students earn a BS in engineering, then earn an MS in business directly after, all as part of a single unified program. 

The program follows a set pathway, with different experiences each year, planned out to lead students along their journey. Here are the highlights for each year of the program: 

• Year 1: Students join the program and immediately begin intensive studies in engineering, while also completing core coursework at UT Austin.
• Year 2: All students take part in an engineering internship.
• Year 3: Students who are progressing adequately through the program are admitted into the MS program, and begin business coursework in the summer after their third year.
• Year 4: Students formally complete their undergraduate degree, all while taking some courses already at the graduate level. Students take part in a career-focused summer internship sponsored by McCombs.
• Year 5: Students graduate from the masters program.
  

Just as the engineering program offers two major tracks, students may choose from four different specializations within the business master’s program: 

• Business Analytics and AI
• Business Technology and AI
• Finance
• Marketing
  

The goal of this program is for students to graduate ready to take on careers in engineering companies or startups, with a full understanding of the technical side of engineering and development, and with the business acumen needed to succeed in a corporate environment. The program has a focus on experiential learning, with students participating in multiple internships through the program directly.Ěý

This is designed to be a small and selective program, with a cohort of just ten to twenty students each year. As part of this, it offers significant merit-based aid to all participants in the program. While the program begins with engineering and moves into business, there is an integration of the two topics, so that students get to fully understand the intersection of these fields. 

How to Apply to UT’s Business/Engineering BS/MS Program

This is an honors program at UT Austin, and applications to it are handled like those for any other honors program at UT Austin. In order to apply, you must first complete your application to UT Austin through the Common App. In this, you must indicate your interest in the program; this will give you access to the additional essay question the program asks. 

If you wish, you can also apply to the program individually once you have completed and submitted the Common App, through the MyStatus portal which is available to students who have submitted UT Austin applications. In general, we recommend submitting applications through the Common App; it’s just easier to keep track of requirements and deadlines if everything’s in the same place. 

For this program, you must list either mechanical engineering or petroleum engineering as your first choice major in the Common App. Currently, only incoming freshmen may apply to this major; transfer students and current UT students cannot apply to join. 

The BS/MS Application Essay

The only additional requirement the program has for applicants to complete is a short essay response. Here is the prompt you must answer: 

• The Cockrell-McCombs BS/MS Honors Program is a unique program that integrates engineering and business education from the start. The program provides the fundamentals of engineering and business to develop the leaders needed to ensure economic growth and national security. Why do you see this as a combination of skills that would help you achieve your career goals? Please limit your response to no more than 500 words.

This prompt is somewhat opaque in its wording, but that is often an inevitability for college essay prompts, especially for honors colleges. What they are really asking, what they want to know, is why you want to study the combination of business and engineering, and how this will contribute to your future goals. 

With five hundred words to work with, you should work to answer both questions. Note that this isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a repeat of your Why Major essay. UT Austin already asks for one of those, and this program will be able to see that. That essay should focus on the undergraduate major you have selected, either mechanical or petroleum engineering. 

You should first discuss your interest in the intersection of business and engineering; ideally pointing to past experiences you have had. If you have any experience in an internship at a startup or business doing engineering work, especially related to mechanical or petroleum engineering, this is ideal to speak about. 

You should then speak about your goals in this field, and how this program specifically will help you accomplish them. You do not need to have fully set-out plans for your future, but you should be able to discuss why you like this merger, and what sort of industries you’d like to work in.

You should tie your interests to specific aspects of the program; and show how the program will help you accomplish your goals. You don’t have to devote the full essay to this, but it should be clear why this program specifically will help you, rather than just an engineering major alone. Your response should end up close to 500 words, though it doesn’t need to get there exactly. 

Should You Apply to UT Austin’s BS/MS Engineering Program?

This depends on your specific goals and interests; this program isn’t for everyone, and there are some other programs at UT Austin which may actually suit your goals better. The main comparison, and competition, is UT Austin’s . 

That program is another integration of business and technology for students who want to pursue careers in industry and have a solid grounding in both fields when they do. It has a similar focus on internships and career networking, and a desire to give students hands-on experience. The biggest difference, and the deciding factor on which you should apply to, is what fields of tech each program is focused on.

There are only two engineering fields available currently in the BS/MS program, mechanical and petroleum. Petroleum engineering especially is limited in terms of the kinds of industries and careers you can pursue. There are plenty of careers available, but it is far less flexible. Mechanical engineering is much broader in terms of potential applications. 

Students interested in working as engineers alone will not benefit as much from this program, and should look instead at engineering honors. The inclusion of business does make this a year longer, and more expensive than a standard degree at UT Austin, but the merit scholarships offset that. While only some students will truly benefit from all this program offers, if you are interested in the intersection of engineering and business, we strongly recommend this program, as UT Austin is excellent for both.

Final Thoughts

There are myriad college programs out there, designed to meet the needs and interests of all kinds of students. It can feel overwhelming to sort through them all, and to find the ones which best meet your needs. We hope that this article has let you better understand this new program offered by UT Austin, and whether or not it’s a good fit for your career goals.

While this program is quite new, we expect it to be quite competitive, as is the case with all the honors programs at UT Austin. These programs want the very brightest students, the ones who will make the best use of the offered resources. If you’re looking for advice on applying to one of these programs, or help perfecting your own application essays, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors are experts at every aspect of the application process; schedule a free consultation today to learn more about how we can help you. 

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What’s Happening to College Budgets in Texas?

The Texas State Legislature is , including all public universities, cut all budget requests for the next two-year period by 3%. K-12 funding, including the state’s new voucher program for private schools, is not going to be impacted by this cut, at least not at this moment. This is merely a preliminary bit of groundwork, a starting place for the state’s budget negotiations. 

The state is constrained in what spending they can cut, but is looking for savings to cover a projected budget deficit. These are not finalized cuts yet, merely proposals, but it is clear there is legislative enthusiasm for enacting these cuts. The proposed budget, including cuts, would go into effect in August of 2027, and cover the period through August of 2029.

These proposed cuts are coming in combination with rising costs to universities, and while tuition rates are staying flat. Low tuition rates are beneficial to students, but they do harm the university’s ability to raise funds, as a significant portion of a school’s operating budget each year comes from these tuition dollars. 

It is up to universities themselves to decide what and where they should cut to meet spending reduction targets, prioritizing what they wish to protect, and what they think they can do without. These priorities are likely to differ by school, as the administration of each tries to weather the loss as best they can. While reductions of this type are not uncommon, they are also not ideal for the schools. 

What Will Schools Cut, and How Will Cuts Impact Students?

It is impossible to know for certain what universities will cut until they submit budget proposals, but we do have some sense of what their priorities are, and how potential cuts will impact the experience of students at these schools. The first question most students and parents ask is why schools don’t make up the shortfall through their endowment. 

This is a reasonable question, and has two answers. The first is if a school spends more of the endowment than it earns in investment income, then soon there is no endowment. Second, gifts to universities are often earmarked, money that can only be spent in certain ways, and so cannot be used to simply make up any projected shortfall that arises.

Based on past experiences, teaching staff is likely to be among the first groups impacted, with positions left unfilled, or professors encouraged to retire. This is often a good way to make up a brief shortfall, if the university expects further funding to be forthcoming in the future. 

Other schools are going further, looking to make long-term cuts. The University of North Texas is looking to close or consolidate up to 70 academic programs, this is a quick if drastic way to shrink a budget, mostly by cutting the administrative costs of these programs, and by letting go of significant numbers of faculty.Ěý

These cuts will have a much larger impact on smaller regional colleges and community colleges; UT Arlington will have more problems as a result of this than UT Austin. We saw this before, during the 2008 crash, when the state drastically cut budgets across the board for higher ed. This doesn’t mean UT Austin will be totally unharmed (more on that later), but we anticipate them having significantly fewer issues stemming from these cuts than some of their peers.

The Impact on Students

We anticipate an impact on students in several areas. The biggest, and most likely to take effect regardless of which school in Texas you’re attending, is increased class sizes. When the number of instructors goes down, and the number of students remains constant, there is an inevitable increase in the number of students in each class.

While this is most felt in already large core courses, this doesn’t make the impacts any less severe. Larger courses means less individual mentorship, and makes it much harder for students to get to know the professor, with an easier chance to slip through the cracks. 

To ameliorate this, if it is a subject you are interested in or struggling in, we advise organizing your questions and showing up to office hours. This can feel daunting, but professors hold office hours at all because they want students to attend them. Professors don’t enjoy failing students, but they aren’t going to take the initiative to reach out, especially in larger classes. As the number of students per professor increases, the more the onus is on students to take the initiative when reaching out.

The other potentially troubling cut is in entire departments or programs. We don’t know for sure what these are yet, so the impact for students will range from none at all through catastrophic. We are fairly certain majors like business and biology will be safe, but niche though important programs may end up on the chopping block. We advise students watch this news carefully, to see if their chosen field simply ceases to be offered by a university they’re interested in. 

Impacts on Texas A&M and UT Austin

In many ways, Texas A&M and UT Austin should be insulated from the worst impacts of this funding cut. While their endowments are smaller than Ivy League schools, both universities have significant savings and investments, and get a large portion of their funding from federal grant money, rather than state dollars. Here, however, is where the problems arise. 

Federal funding for universities, and for university research, has been impacted significantly, both with major cuts to funding, and an ongoing reorganization to how grants are awarded and distributed. Thus, major research universities like UT Austin and Texas A&M are facing major unexpected budget shortfalls, right as state funding is contracting as well. 

The most impactful cut is to research overhead. A new regulation by the federal government has drastically reduced the amount of research grant funding that goes to overhead costs. These costs do not fund the research directly, but instead pay for things like the building the research takes place in, the electricity to power the building, and other sundry costs which allow the research to happen, but which are not directly associated with it.

This transfers these costs to the universities if they want to continue pursuing research, which they do as a core part of their mission. Either of these may be weatherable individually, but combined, and amongst a backdrop of inflation and market uncertainty, even grand schools like these will be looking to cut costs.

We aren’t sure how this will shape up, but we foresee an increasing use of adjuncts over tenure track faculty, a reduction of teaching positions, and even the possible closure of certain departments or programs. In addition, the schools are likely to pursue fewer research projects, depending on how much federal funding is actually available. 

The cuts to research are likely to be among the most impactful to students, as grant funding is ultimately what pays for undergraduate research positions. Without this supply of funding, professors and labs won’t have the budget to take on and train nearly as many undergraduates as in previous years. A&M and UT Austin won’t be hurt by this as much as most universities in Texas, but they will still feel the impacts of it. 

Final Thoughts

Universities have massive budgets, supported by federal and state dollars, and by the tuition from students. Public universities have long been a low-cost option for students to attend college, but if state funding for these schools continues to dry up, that may have to change in the future. Currently, Texas is the only state making such sweeping cuts, but as so many of our students live in and apply to schools in Texas, we thought it worth looking into this issue, and explaining how it may impact you.

This is still a developing story, and this budget reduction may not come to pass. If it does go through however, and colleges do have to make cuts, whether drastic or more sedate, we’ll be sure to keep you informed. 

If you’re looking for advice navigating this ever shifting college landscape, or finding schools with the resources and programs to match your needs and interests, then łÔąĎąŮÍř can help. Our mentors have a deep understanding of colleges and what they offer students, and are adept at guiding them to the schools which best match their needs. Schedule a free consultation today to learn more, we’re always happy to hear from you.

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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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