Letters of Recommendation
A letter of recommendation is not required to complete a Plan II Honors application.
Are there any circumstances when an applicant should submit a letter of recommendation?
An applicant should submit a letter of recommendation (or explanation) if he or she has a record of activity, leadership, internship or other experience that is unusual and outstanding for a high school student, or if there are unusual circumstances in the applicant’s family life, or at the school, with the applicant’s [or a family member’s] health or financial situation or if the applicant has accomplished, survived, instigated or sailed through experiences/activities/circumstances that are extremely unusual for a high school student. Then by all means have someone write a letter addressing, detailing or explaining the circumstances.
Note an emphasis on outstanding and unusual experiences and circumstances. A few examples are:
- A summer internship assisting a university professor with research or conducting individual research;
- A position of leadership in a national organization;
- A summer internship with a Fortune 500 company;
- The student (or close family member) experiences life-threatening or chronic illness or injury;
- The student loses a close family member;
- The student's family experiences life-changing financial set-back.
Of course, the are by no means the only circumstances in which a letter of recommendation should be submitted.
If you wish to have a teacher submit one, he or she can simply mail a hard-copy letter to the UT Office of Admissions (being sure to include your full name and UT EID!). Or, after you have accessed the on-line honors application, you can access the honors recommendation system and put in the teacher’s name and email contact for him/her to submit an electronic recommendation.
Send to UT Office of Admission via US Mail to:
Office of Admission-Processing
University of Texas at Austin
PO BOX 8058
Austin, TX 78713-8058
Plan II will also have access to letters of recommendation submitted as supporting documents for other honor program applications or submitted to support a University of Texas application. Plan II will have access to every document that an applicant submits.
