<p>Does anyone have experience participating in Plan II and the Freshman Research Initiative? Is it allowed? Encouraged? Discouraged? A scheduling nightmare? S is considering Plan II with a possible double major in a science.</p>
<p>On the FRI web page, it says that FRI is compatible with Plan II. In practice, I’m not sure how well they really work together. I would like to know the answer to this question as well.</p>
<p>I’m not too familiar with the Plan II program, but officially, FRI only requires two to three semesters of participation, with more possible if you’re interested in continuing.</p>
<p>[Course</a> Sequence | Freshman Research Initiative](<a href=“http://web3.cns.utexas.edu/fri/course-sequence]Course”>http://web3.cns.utexas.edu/fri/course-sequence)</p>
<p>How easy is it to transfer from the College of Natural Sciences to Plan II after the first year? My GPA is 3.99 (4.20) and my class rank is 5 or 6 out of 360. I have mediocre test scores and not very impressive EC’s.</p>
<p>I’m a Natural Sciences major who will be starting Plan II as well in the fall… lots of people get a dual degree in Plan II/whatever science and do fine, so i’m sure it’s feasible</p>
<p>Also, to haldir: from what i’ve heard it’s extremely difficult to transfer into Plan II late, but I know a few people do it every year. good luck!</p>
<p>I’m in Plan II as well as FRI (last year, at least…now I’m a mentor). But they both definitely fit together and I would strongly advice to do both (if you’re in science). FRI takes care of either your Chem lab or your Bio lab, which is much MUCH better than being in a regular cookie cutter lab.</p>
<p>Plan II isn’t exclusive in terms of the classes you take. You only have to do a year of World Lit and a semester of a Tutorial Course for your freshmen year. All the other classes you take are up to you.</p>
<p>If you have any further questions about either or both, let me know!</p>
<p>bluefalcon245, do you think it’s possible for me to get into Plan II after my first year? I don’t think I have that great of stats (see my previous post for stats).</p>
<p>How popular is the autonomous vehicle stream? Is it difficult to get into?</p>
<p>I’m going to be a Business Honors/Plan II major, and going into Plan II I will already have the credit for biology through AP testing.</p>
<p>Would the the FRI be wasted credit for a non-science major or would it still be a good credit clearer with regards to Plan II?</p>
<p>I am into language pretty heavily so I am planning to intern in Argentina over the summer portion of the program. </p>
<p>I know that bluefalcon already spoke a little about the chem or bio credit, but would it be overkill for me?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for the help. :-)</p>
<p>What is the workload like first year combining Plan II and FRI? Is there a lot of out of class work involved with the 1st FRI course?</p>
<p>For everyone who asked, it is not possible to transfer to Plan II. They have on VERY rare occasions accepted one or two transfers for a year, but I believe that these have almost always been external transfers with impeccable credentials, not just any kid who wants in.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for clearing it up.</p>
<p>What you can do is take Laude for Research Methods, because it counts both towards FRI and towards your Modes of Reasoning requirement for Plan II. The class isn’t time consuming, unless you put off all your work. You essentially do mini-research projects throughout the semester dealing with Science, Social Science, Humanities, etc. That is…if they still offer it as a Plan II class.</p>
<p>FRI in the Spring requires 6 hours in lab each week, but that usually varies depending on the stream. In the stream I work in right now, some students put in upwards of 10 hours of research a week.</p>
<p>FRI would be a little useless for non-science/non-pre-health-professions students. It’s a novel way of teaching a group of 30 students basic scientific technique that will carry them throughout their undergraduate and postgraduate careers. It’s a good start if you’re thinking of pursuing a thesis in science</p>
<p>thanks for the helpful opinion.</p>
<p>Laude is not offering a Plan II course for this fall from what I understand. If it is, it is not listed under T C 310 where it has been listed the last several years.</p>
<p>Bluefalcon,
The lab course is a 3 hour credit, I assume. Is there classwork outside of the labs, such as research reports? I guess what I’m trying to find out is whether it works out to be about the same work as a regular 3 hour class or is it more?<br>
Does anyone know if it’s difficult to get into the autonomous car research stream? That is the one that really appeals to my son.</p>
<p>bump 10 char</p>
<p>For FRI in the Spring, you get 2 hours of lab credit for either Chem or Bio (depending on the stream) and 1 hour of lecture credit. The workload depends totally on the Research Educator. One stream might work for 6 hours and another for 4. Research reports also depends on the Research Educator. That said, I would email the RE for the Autonomous Vehicle Stream and send any questions to him.</p>
<p>[College</a> of Natural Sciences | Autonomous Vehicles](<a href=“http://cns.utexas.edu/current_students/research/freshman_research_initiative/vehicles.asp]College”>http://cns.utexas.edu/current_students/research/freshman_research_initiative/vehicles.asp)</p>
<p>Now wait a minute. It is possible to transfer in to Plan II - I managed it after freshman year. I chose UT last minute and somehow got into LAH. From the first day I cultivated relationships with professors, got a 4.0, applied and got in. Since you’ll only have one semester of grades, the key is getting to know your professors. Their recommendations definitely got me in. Go to office hours, show enthusiasm, and get to know them well. I don’t think I was a brilliant applicant, but at the end of the day glowing recs made the difference.</p>