Hi all,
My son who is admitted as a 2015-16 freshman has applied for Liberal Arts Honors and Plan ii. He is wanting to major in pre-law. I’m wondering if he’s better off with the bigger non-honor classes for a chance for a higher gpa or go for these honor programs with the smaller classes and a community feel, however , possibly jeopardizing a higher gpa?
Thanks!
From what I understood, Plan II classes do not have a curve which means most people get an A if they meet the mark.
If he is in an honors program, he can still take non-honors classes. If he is accepted into one of the programs, I would recommend him to take a mixture of both regular and honors classes, depending on his specific interests. I personally enjoyed the LAH classes I took this past semester, as I felt that the smaller setting enhanced my learning experience. Even though I received an A- in one of my LAH classes, I believe that I learned more and had more thought-provoking conversations than I would have in a large, 100+ class. I also think that the size of this particular LAH class (around 15 people) allowed my professor a degree of flexibility for the structure and grading of the class.
Hi @joranger, I attended UT as an undergrad in the late 90s and graduated from UT School of Law in 2001. I did not take any honors courses so I can’t give you any advice regarding their difficulty relative to the regular courses. However, I wanted to point out to you that UT does not have an actual pre-law major, rather its simply provides a pre-law advising service. See the blurb below. You and your son might want to consider what major is a best fit for him academically in order to get the type of grades you would want for admission to a selective law school. (FYI, UT School of Law routinely ranks in the top 20 nationally.)
I would recommend that your son consider joining one of the pre-law societies at UT. When I was an undergrad on the 40 Acres the pre-law society would have speakers come to campus such as practicing attorneys who would describe their work to us and the law school dean who described the admission process to UT School of Law. Additionally, many of the LSAT prep companies will administer mock LSAT tests and provide discounts to the pre-law society members for LSAT preparation courses. My own son will be applying to UT next year and he’s possibly interested in law school as well and I’m going to recommend that he join the pre-law society as its a good gateway into understanding the law school admission process and the legal profession in general.
http://bealonghorn.utexas.edu/whyut/academics
Pre-Law Advising
“UT Austin students don’t major in pre-med or pre-law. Instead, students interested in attending a professional school (like a law, medical, dental, or veterinary school) after earning their bachelor’s degree take advantage of specialized advising through Pre-Law Services or Health Professions Advising.”
Thanks all for your advice!