Honors Programs/Colleges: Great, Good, Meh Experiences and Recommendations

College Search & Selection
1

Inspired by posts #113-127-ish in the thread asking if more high school students are applying to Southern-destination colleges these days, this thread is dedicated to discussing recent honors/programs college experiences.

What schools have some great honors program/college experiences these days? Which ones are meh and don’t offer much? Are there expensive ones worth the extra cost? Or others that don’t charge fees and are excellent value-added experiences at the school?

What should juniors/seniors know when researching honors college programs within a school? Any insights that can give students realistic expectations of what to expect with these programs is appreciated.

Moderator Note: Please feel free to add your recommendations for honors and research programs to the thread.

5 Likes
2

S21 was admitted to:
U of SC Honors
NJIT Honors
UCF Honors
Clemson Honors
Villanova Honors
Did not apply to honors at UF by choice, due to the fact that program did not seem to be a match. Not sure if some of his other acceptances had good honors programs. There may have been some burnout with the applications at that point.
Ultimately choose UCF Honors because of the availability of engineering honors classes, options for small classes at one of the largest school in the country, advising for honors, Honors housing option, COA and location.
So far the only issue is worrying about housing for next year, but apparently it seems to be happening at many schools. As discussed on here previously, if applying to UCF it is best to get the application in Aug Sept for the best merit chance.
D23 was invited to apply to an honors program so far, but after researching we agree it is not a good fit for him.

5 Likes
3

It depends on what’s important to you. For many, getting priority registration is a primary reason for joining an honors program, for others it’s better dorms/dining halls, and for others it may be access to advisors, research, study abroad programs.

For some, it helps make the decision to attend a lower tier, but affordable college more palatable.

Costs vary, so make sure what you are actually getting in an honors program for the cost, is worth it to you.

Programs that are regularly mentioned on here as being great/good are Alabama, ASU, University of South Carolina. @tsbna44 (I believe I have the user right) speaks highly of their daughter’s experience at College of Charleston.

My daughter was invited to the honors program at her university (Virginia Tech) and determined that it was not worth it to her to join. Extra classes are required, which she is not interested in, and she has had no problems getting into classes each semester. In other majors, where getting classes is difficult, it might be worth it.

While there may be an “Honors” designation somewhere on the degree or a special sash to wear at graduation, employers will be more interested in Suma/Magna Cumme Laude and/or Phi Beta Kappa honor designations.

Also note that at most colleges if you meet the criteria, you can apply to the honors program once you’re a student there, if you think it will add value to your academic esperience.

5 Likes
4

My daughter has had a fabulous experience with Purdue’s honor college. She will graduate this year with honors so has been part of the community her entire time.

Extra fee $200/year.

Honors at Purdue is a bit different than some other schools in that it’s not the top 10% of all the applicants. It’s the top 10% of the applicants to each of the university’s colleges because it’s meant to be an interdisciplinary experience. That makes it more competitive for CS and engineering where the average GPA/test scores are already significantly higher than the university as a whole. (Thankfully there are lots of other living learning communities at Purdue if a student isn’t admitted to honors).

Perks -
Special housing, advising, courses, honors specific study abroad, peer mentoring, and tons of leadership opportunities. Some companies also specifically recruit from honors college (especially for the early internships).

Honors was especially great for freshman year as the advising office and all the offices of the honors professors are in the building. My D’s seminar class professor was also their floor “leader”. He hosted weekly dinners, hikes, and movie nights for their floor which made it easier to meet friends and make connections.

Engineers have their own honors design course. D thought that was a huge positive as the professors were amazing. In addition to their projects, they took field trips to companies and labs, and had all kinds of guest industry speakers. It was her favorite class freshman year. Others thought it made the class too competitive so it probably depends on the personality of the student.

Each student has a specific 1st year honors advisor. Then they transition to a different advisor for the rest of their time. My D found that model to be super helpful.

The mentoring program is fantastic, both for the freshman and for the upperclassmen who help run the program. My D has been heavily involved and it’s been a super experience.

Requirements for graduation with honors were a pretty easy bar to meet. GPA requirement was recently lowered from 3.5 to a 3.3; 24 honors credits (super easy to get because students are able to “contract” courses for honors credits which basically means adding a paper, presentation, or project to a regular class; and a major scholarly project. The project is probably the biggest hurdle for most students.

Our D’s experience was that honors opened more doors with companies for internships and co-ops. She should also be graduating with latin honors but she won’t know until the week before graduation because it’s the top 10% of the class, not a GPA cut off.

5 Likes
5

This is very similar to Clemson’s; D20 loves the smaller class sizes in gen-eds and engineering classes. She’s also really enjoyed the seminar classes offered to only HC students and has participated in research offered only to HC. HC is what they make of it; some just do it for the designation, others take advantage of the extra opportunities. It’s really up to the student how much or little they want to participate.

6 Likes
6

A friend’s kid was in the Honors program at Northeastern. I am sure she had some excellent benefits, but her housing alone was fantastic. Large single rooms and a shared bathroom with one other person. The building was like a hotel.

5 Likes
7

My DD was in UGA’s honors college. Fantastic experience. Benefits include nice, centrally located dorm, priority registration, smaller classes with the best professors, better research opportunities, special scholarships, internships, leadership, and study abroad programs only available to honors students, various enrichment and fun
activities, and more. No extra cost, but highly competitive (average ACT/SAT/GPA on par with elite schools). Also, certain elite employers only recruit from the honors college. Very tight-knit community.

8 Likes
8

How does he find the stem honors classes (teachers and format) compared to the regular classes? Are the smaller classes worth it? Or is it still very teacher dependent? UCF is too on my kids list. Already admitted to honors.

Also, is he in towers 3? Would love to hear what he thinks of honors overall.

Thanks.

2 Likes
9

Honors is highly variable. At my son’s alma mater, Cal Poly, classes for everyone, honors or not are small, and taught be instructors with terminal degrees. Honors give earlier registration, but he was a year ahead, so registered early anyway. It added 10 hours to the curriculum, but none of them were tech classes. As a result, he didn’t sign up when invited.

Contrast that to Oregon State where honors classes are small, taught by instructors who have to compete for the privilege, with honors engineering classes that go well into the curriculum. It’s one of the best honors programs we ran into.

9 Likes
10

These are very helpful posts - hope that more parents and students find this thread and give their feedback!

6 Likes
11

Can anyone weigh in on Auburn’s Honors College? My son really liked it after meeting with their staff, but would be interested in firsthand feedback.

5 Likes
12

My son was in the honors college at Kansas State University. He had an excellent experience with it. He took the honors English class which was all around spies the year he took it , literature, movies, non-fiction and really enjoyed it. He thought about their Chemistry class which is supposed to be excellent. No extra cost, smaller classes, dorm available but not required, good advisors, early registration. That said he dropped it in is sophomore year because for the program he was in, BS/DVM type, he wouldn’t finish in the Honors College since he decided to go to vet school after 3 years. It was not because of the program. They did have access to study abroad options too. He did his through his department which also had an honors program. Overall I think the school does a great job with honors in departments or school-wide.

3 Likes
13

My daughters really liked their honors programs at UDel and Clemson, UDel was free I believe but Clemson is $1000 a year. According to my TCNJ graduate there is no reason to do honors there, no real benefits. Honors didn’t exist at Rutgers when my daughter was accepted but I don’t think she would’ve had the stats to get in anyway.

7 Likes
14

S23 is currently comparing honors programs at Colorado State and University of Minnesota.

CSU - Best dorms and dining hall on campus, priority registration (Honors students and D1 athletes register a week before anyone else), an additional advisor (that we hear is very valuable), alternatives to large gen ed. classes that are small discussion-based seminars, social opportunities, many (non-required) workshops and lectures, an additional thesis advisor and thesis “prep” course, honors study abroad options. On our tour it felt very immersive and “value-added”. The retention rate is over 90%.
Students are invited to apply to the Honors program and then must submit an additional application. No additional costs and an automatic $1,000 scholarship each year you are part of the Honors program.

UMN - Additional courses required, honors dorm is in the worst location for most majors with a mediocre dining hall, some social opportunities and clubs that meet weekly, additional advisor (we hear this is usually not someone students see as valuable). No early registration. Honors classes are at odd times (perhaps to make sure students can fit them into their schedules) Additional research opportunities. Thesis required. We hear it feels like a “chore” and most kids drop either before or after sophomore year. I’m not sure about the retention rate, but I’d guess it’s below 50%. It seems more like a status designation than something that is value added.
Students are admitted to Honors based on their application. No additional application is needed. No additional fees.

6 Likes
15

I can’t speak to either program from personal experience, but our experience with our older son’s honors program at a different university taught us that priority registration adds value, particularly if students regularly get shut out of classes. If, however, a student comes in as a freshman with advanced standing due to college credits earned in high school, they already are at an advantage over other freshman if registration is by credits earned.

2 Likes
16

It is still a bit teacher dependent. I would always suggest reading rate my professor to see what they say. Has had no problems with class availability.
He loved Towers 3 last year.

2 Likes
17

Great post! I’m going to pin this for a while, as it might be a great source for students and parents, and help people with their decisions.

I was inspired to learn more about Binghamton University, where my son is a senior. I found some excellent programs, including the Scholars Program, wherein approximately 120 students live together in one of the newest residences. Prospective Students | Scholars Program | Binghamton University

The new Beckmann Scholars program offers $21,000 to students to pursue their own research.

The Source Project offers Humanities and Social Science research opportunities:

The Innovation Lab and its Scholars program just opened last year. It looks amazing!

There’s also the 3 semester First Year Research Immerison program.

There are other programs specific to the School of Management and the Watson School of Engineering.

There are many ways to be involved with research at the Watson School of Engineering. Sponsored Programs | Division of Research | Binghamton University

More information about all these programs can be found here: Honors Programs | Undergraduate Admissions | Binghamton University

6 Likes
19

what about pitt honors?

3 Likes
20

I have a daughter who is sophomore honors at Pitt. Loves the program. First year honors has option to apply for honors dorm Sutherland, up hill near Peterson Center, but bigger rooms, air conditioned, with Perch dining in base of building. She liked it and met great group of friends. Honors students got early registration starting spring Freshman year, it was helpful for getting professors with higher ratings. Courses she has taken in honors have been smaller class size. Honors has lounge area on top 2 floors of the Cathedral of learning, extra events, seminars, additional honors specific advisors, options for summer and research fellowships. This summer Honors program received large funding from Alum, so it’s now Fredrick Honors College, so expect more positives coming. H2P (Hail to Pitt!)

11 Likes