Dean's Scholars Program
College of Natural Sciences
The University of Texas at Austin
Austin, Texas 78712-1199

Full Name:

Email Address:

Social Security Number:

Date of Birth:

Postal Address:

City, State, and Zip:

Phone:

High School:

Most Recent Class Rank:
out of

Date of Ranking:

SAT scores: Highest total at single testing:

Verbal score (for that testing):

Mathematical score (for that testing):

Expected major(s):

1. List each school or community activity in which you have been involved during the last three years in order of their importance to you. Include your period of involvement and any positions you have held. Please list no more than ten.

2. List part-time or summer jobs, volunteer positions, or internships you have held during the last three years in order of their importance to you. Include your position, period of involvement, and hours per week. Please list no more than four.

3. List in order of their importance to you any significant honors and scholarships received during the last three years. Include the award sponsor, basis for the award (e.g. leadership, scholarship, need, etc.), and date received.

4. Identify your educational and career goals.

1. Compose the essays on a word processor, then paste them into the appropriate text boxes on the on-line application. Note: We have had some problems this semester receiving essays that were created in Microsoft Word format. If you are using Word and a pasted-in essay appears as one long line, break it up manually with some hard returns so that we will be certain to receive it in its entirety.
2. Alternatively, you may write the essays using a word processor and send them to us via email. If you choose this option, be sure to send your essays in ASCII (plain text) format. Click here to submit them.

Topic D - Critical Thinking Explain a belief you accepted at some time in your life but recently rejected on the basis of a rational process. You might choose your former belief in the existence of Santa Claus, for example, but you should remember that the rejection you discuss must have been made on a rational basis. Perhaps you changed your mind because of something you have heard, or because of some experience you have had; but for this essay you must go beyond reporting what you heard or describing what happened to you; you must display the process of reasoning that carried you to your new belief. In your essay, explain the belief itself, your former reasons for holding it, and, most important, the rational process that led you to reject it.

You may interpret "rejection" in a weak sense, such that you do not need to show that your former belief was false. For example, if you rejected "eating spinach makes me strong," you need not have come to the conclusion "eating spinach does not make me strong." All you need for this example is good reason for thinking that your information is not sufficient to support any conclusion as to whether or not spinach makes you strong. Please consider your topic carefully. We mentioned "Santa Claus" by way of illustration only. A good essay will use a serious belief that you have rejected recently.

Topic E - Critical Thinking Often a society faces a conflict between its belief system and its observation of evidence. Suppose you live in a valley that has been swept by a plague. The recent death of your parents has left you to be the leader of your village with responsibility for the welfare of its citizens. The accepted belief system for your village promotes the sacrifice of goats to avert the plague. A similar village at the other end of the valley has a similar belief system except that it has banned goat sacrifice. This other village has a much lower death toll from the plague than yours does. Write a well-organized essay describing how you as village leader would make a decision about further actions to avert the plague. As part of your paper, discuss possible schemes for gathering further information that would guide your village's decision about whether to continue goat sacrifices.