Why choose to participate in an “honors college?�

[athena1277]

I’m starting to explore college and scholarships with my 9th grade dd. The college she is most interested in has an honors college that she would probably qualify for. What are the advantages of being a part of it? I look at it and see more work for the same degree. What am I missing?

[KarenC]

I’m starting to explore college and scholarships with my 9th grade dd. The college she is most interested in has an honors college that she would probably qualify for. What are the advantages of being a part of it? I look at it and see more work for the same degree. What am I missing?

Every program is different.  At my daughter's college, there are smaller class sizes and the students usually really want to be there and are more involved in the class.  Honor students get to register first.  They live in the same dorm, which cuts down a little on the parties/noise.  The students are more serious overall.  Some programs cover the cost of books.  

[8filltheheart]

Depends on the school. My 2 current college kids are both in honors colleges: Bama's and USCarolia's. Bama's opened up some unique English courses, honors dorm, and more importantly qualified him to apply for specialized honors programs like their Randall's Research Scholars (used to be CBH). Similarly, being accepted into the HC at USC qualified Dd to be considered for their Top Scholars program. Both of them were accepted into the specialized programs and both programs have fantastic perks.

[katilac]

Priority registration, lol. 

[...................]

I’m starting to explore college and scholarships with my 9th grade dd. The college she is most interested in has an honors college that she would probably qualify for. What are the advantages of being a part of it? I look at it and see more work for the same degree. What am I missing

A dear 18 year old young friend of mine chose to do this, at a young Christian university and being part of the Honors College has been amazing.  It's a very tightly knit community.  They all get to know each other because they have a few classes which are just for them (less than 15 students), they have viewings of movies, they have field trips just for them...they were invited to a university several states away to participate in a huge honors college event.  They meet one on one with a mentor twice per semester to discuss how things are going and any areas they need help with.  They have priority registration. And i don't know if this girl's college does this, but many of them guarantee on-campus housing all four years (usually only the first two years are guaranteed and then in many universities you're forced off the campus for your junior year exposing you to higher costs, less controlled atmosphere, and the inconvenience of being further away from the library etc.)  

 

BUT HOnors college, IMO doesn't seem to be right for STEM majors.  Most of the special class, events, discussions, etc. revolve around spending a lot of extra time with literature and history.

[8filltheheart]

BUT HOnors college, IMO doesn't seem to be right for STEM majors. Most of the special class, events, discussions, etc. revolve around spending a lot of extra time with literature and history.

That is too much of a generalization. My ds is a physics and math double major. His specialized honors program is research focused and crosses all majors. (And RRS adds even more course requirements, but they have been nothing but advantageous.) My dd's HC is the number 1 in the country and is full of STEM majors.

[JanetC]

There is no universal definition of "honors program." You have to explore this college by college.

[Angie in VA]

Yes, I "Liked" every post, even contradicting ones, lol. 

 

My dc reaped the benefits mentioned above: smaller classes, priority registration, close knit relationships, etc. but it was probably the required honors thesis that impressed me - and challenged my child - most. Helpful for the rigors of grad school. 

 

But  :iagree: YMMV.

Edited February 23, 2018 by Angie in VA

[serendipitous journey]

Other than academic perks/rigor: increased exposure to outstanding peers, and more time spent with them having really great discussions. 

Edited February 23, 2018 by serendipitous journey

[Mabelen]

At my daughter's school, the biggest perk I would say is that the honors program kids have professors instead of TAs in their discussion groups, that, and being housed with likeminded peers. The biggest disadvantage is less flexibility in course selection because you have to include certain courses.

[elegantlion]

t my school there are several advantages of being in honors: We have general studies honors and majors honors

 

For general studies that means you take most of your general studies in smaller classes,  you get the chance to take interesting colloquium - so far I've done a study on space cowboys, dystopian fiction, and heroes in fiction. 

priority registration

special housing

 

 

Majors honors allows you to do a few colloquium, complete a long-term research project with a couple courses relevant to that study, then you have either submit for publication or present. You are also eligible for priority registration and can take general studies honors courses. For me, majors honors was vital because our major doesn't have a capstone type of class. I needed a decent writing sample for graduate school applications. There is a huge difference between the quality of writing project you researched for a semester versus  one done for an honors project. I spent 18 months researching and writing. 

 

 

[rocassie]

Where I went to college, honors college students registered for classes 1st.  Also, there were specific honors classes for some of the electives.  Those I loved because they were smaller class size and ALL the students were working to get the best grade.  In these classes I didn't mind group work because everyone contributed and did their part.

[Kendall]

I agree that it is different for each college. I remember reading somewhere that there are 3 different types of honors programs, but I can't find that. One was great books oriented, one was just more work, I can't remember the other type. And the perks vary as well. 

 

My son does not get priority registration and they did away with the honors dorm because the students didn't like feeling set apart and above(college has an average ACT of 30 so many kids qualify but don't choose honors). My son definitely found community with fellow honors students and the classes are much more discussion based and great books based. Also, his sophomore year spring honors class is a very good prep for graduate school with a semester long learning/writing project that the students design base on their interests. My son was not even considering graduate school when he started college, but has switched his major and now plans on a 5 year PhD program after graduation, so this course will be really helpful.  His school gives a small honors scholarship ($2000 a year). The last two years they can explore any topic they want with a faculty mentor(s) of their choosing. It is a way to integrate their major with other areas of interest that they don't have time to major in.  They don't get college credit for the last two years, but do get the scholarship. 

 

Bottom line - ask lots of details about the honors program from official channels and also try to get the inside scoop from current honors students to see what they actually think. 

[athena1277]

Hmmm. The school dd is considering is already small, so all classes are small and there’s no separate dorm. I’m not sure if priority registration (if available) would be a big deal. You all have given us a lot to consider. Thanks!

[London]

A dear 18 year old young friend of mine chose to do this, at a young Christian university and being part of the Honors College has been amazing.  It's a very tightly knit community.  They all get to know each other because they have a few classes which are just for them (less than 15 students), they have viewings of movies, they have field trips just for them...they were invited to a university several states away to participate in a huge honors college event.  They meet one on one with a mentor twice per semester to discuss how things are going and any areas they need help with.  They have priority registration. And i don't know if this girl's college does this, but many of them guarantee on-campus housing all four years (usually only the first two years are guaranteed and then in many universities you're forced off the campus for your junior year exposing you to higher costs, less controlled atmosphere, and the inconvenience of being further away from the library etc.)  

 

BUT HOnors college, IMO doesn't seem to be right for STEM majors.  Most of the special class, events, discussions, etc. revolve around spending a lot of extra time with literature and history.

 

I did honors college many moons ago, we were 90% science majors. YMMV - again very school dependent.

[London]

Hmmm. The school dd is considering is already small, so all classes are small and there’s no separate dorm. I’m not sure if priority registration (if available) would be a big deal. You all have given us a lot to consider. Thanks!

 

It can matter if she/he is applying for other graduate or professional schools. It is another feather that many of the other kids have that are applying for the competitive programs. My brother had to write a thesis as part of his honors program. Very variable, but if you kid is scholastically oriented, I would say why not?

[Frances]

A dear 18 year old young friend of mine chose to do this, at a young Christian university and being part of the Honors College has been amazing. It's a very tightly knit community. They all get to know each other because they have a few classes which are just for them (less than 15 students), they have viewings of movies, they have field trips just for them...they were invited to a university several states away to participate in a huge honors college event. They meet one on one with a mentor twice per semester to discuss how things are going and any areas they need help with. They have priority registration. And i don't know if this girl's college does this, but many of them guarantee on-campus housing all four years (usually only the first two years are guaranteed and then in many universities you're forced off the campus for your junior year exposing you to higher costs, less controlled atmosphere, and the inconvenience of being further away from the library etc.)

 

BUT HOnors college, IMO doesn't seem to be right for STEM majors. Most of the special class, events, discussions, etc. revolve around spending a lot of extra time with literature and history.

Although my son’s Honors College did focus more on literature and history (basically a great books approach), it was actually dominated by STEM students. My son, like many of his honors college friends, enjoyed deeply studying a wide variety of subjects, not just those in their major. And he had some pretty amazing non-STEM related experiences through the honors college. Plus, STEM profs seemed to prefer honors college students in their labs since they knew because they were required to do an honors thesis they would actually fulfill their commitment. And both inside and outside of the honors college there were plenty of STEM related special opportunities.

 

Priority registration if offered can be a big bonus. It doesn’t really help much with honors college classes because everyone there has it. But for STEM majors, getting to choose lab and discussion section times first can be very nice.

 

But fundamentally I would agree with many of the posters. Each is very unique and has to be examined in light of a student’s goals and interests. I believe there is a website that reviews and ranks many of the honors colleges in the US.

Edited February 25, 2018 by Frances

[Bambam]

Every college is different. My oldest loves hers. They have to take so many honors classes each year. Those classes have smart kids who are mostly willing to engage in discussions. The level of instruction is higher and more interesting. The courses are more challenging than the typical same credit class. The honors kids tend to hang out together too - finding intelligent curious people is wonderful! They have a mentor program for the older honors students to help the freshmen honor students as well. 

 

The scholarship money associated with it is a big plus too. They get to register for classes earlier than the rest of the students. They have to do so much community service each semester too - and she has enough service hours to get even more scholarships. 

 

However, an acquaintance went to a different school but is in their honors college. The main plus she found - free paper and printing. They can print all they want. She gets a very nice scholarship as well. 

[happypamama]

My school’s honors college got/still gets:

 

Priority registration

Nicer dorm

Hefty scholarship

Honors classes — either honors sections of regular classes or specific honors classes, which meant smaller classes/sections at my huge state university.

Honors advisors in the major

Doors opened for honors college students that were harder to open otherwise. I don’t want to say that honors college students were snobs or flaunted a status, because most didn’t seem to be that way, but it did feel like people were more willing to grant favors, independent studies, etc. if you mentioned you were in the honors program. It was subtle, but I did feel it a few times. I know we were also encouraged to come to the honors program powers if we had any problems, and they’d help.

 

Plus we got a cool medal, a special ceremony, and our theses put in the library (a few years ago I showed my kids how they could look my name up, LOL). From what I can tell online, not much has changed in twenty years since I graduated (I am old), but it seems to vary by college.

[chiguirre]

Sometimes the honors program is a separate major. For example, UT, TAMU and U of Houston all have separate Business Honors majors in which all the required business-specific courses are taught using case studies. UT also offers a separate liberal arts degree, Plan II Honors and U of H has a separate liberal arts minor, Phronesis. So, depending on the school, some honors programs are highly structured, completely separate entities. You just have to research the schools your student is interested in to see what's offered.

[MarkT]

worth looking here for your specific college if public:

http://publicuniversityhonors.com/

[RootAnn]

From what I can tell online, not much has changed in twenty years since I graduated (I am old), but it seems to vary by college.

Not old yet! You're just past puppy stage on this board.

[London]

Those classes have smart kids who are mostly willing to engage in discussions. The level of instruction is higher and more interesting. The courses are more challenging than the typical same credit class. The honors kids tend to hang out together too - finding intelligent curious people is wonderful!

THIS. It is huge to finally find a tribe when  you may not have found it in highschool.

[happypamama]

Not old yet! You're just past puppy stage on this board.

I love you. :)

 

40 is the new 30 right?