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BHP Turns 40
by Rick Ponds
The Business Honors Program enters its 40th year on the 40 acres. From its modest beginnings to its current state of 479 outstanding students, more than 1,000 have graduated with an Honors Degree from the Business School at UT Austin. While many elements have changed in the program's 40 years, the one factor that has remained constant is that it continues to attract some of the nation's best students. Routinely, the program vies with top private schools like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, for the cream of the Texas crop.
One need only look at the BHP's most recent graduates and its incoming freshman class to understand that the more things change, the more they stay the same. BHP students are truly among the brightest on campus. They command the highest starting salaries of our Business School graduates (close to $42,000 a year with a signing bonus of around $4,000), and are highest in demand among b-school students for paid internships.
Perhaps this explains why the program received over 500 applications for 1999 freshman admission. Admission to the BHP is highly competitive and students are selected based on SAT or ACT scores, high school class rank and grades, and leadership abilities. Of the 174 students offered freshman admission for fall 1999, 130 enrolled in the Business School. Their average SAT score was 1405 and their average high school rank was in the top three percent.
In addition to freshman admissions, the BHP also admits a limited number of sophomores each fall. Admissions criteria include first-year college in-class grade point average (GPA), challenging course load, and leadership abilities. For fall 1999, a record number, 102, applied to the BHP for sophomore admission. Thirty-six sophomores, with a lofty GPA of 3.92, were admitted to the program.
But these students are not one-dimensional. The BHP is committed to diversity in the program and includes national merit scholars, a concert pianist, a Miss Teen of America, and an Olympic-hopeful gymnast, to mention only a few.
As a small and challenging program within a major research institution and the largest university in the country, the BHP offers its students the best of both worlds. Students appreciate the ability of the BHP to stimulate and develop their abilities. They are proud to be among one of the best undergraduate experiences in the country. Its successful alumni throughout the world can attest to that.
In celebration of the 40 year anniversary, the BHP will be involved in the graduation ceremony for the class of 2000 in May and will host a birthday celebration on campus in the fall of 2000.
If you are a BHP graduate and would like more information on the upcoming events, please contact Rick Ponds at 512-471-0684 or texasbhp@mccombs.utexas.edu.
Or visit the Business Honors Web site.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
