<p>Can you only be accepted into them as a first-year student, or if you do well in college, can you be accepted as, say, a sophomore?</p>
<p>Most schools offer both options. Getting in later can be a challenge sometimes, but it depends on the school.</p>
<p>For UGA and Georgia Tech's honors programs, it is possible to be accepted as a sophomore.</p>
<p>I think for most, to be accepted later you have to still have a certain number of credit hours to complete at the university. Check their websites, they'll usually say.</p>
<p>My son, a rising senior, will most likely attend our flagship state university. He will most likely be invited into the honors program based upon anticipated National Merit Finalist status.</p>
<p>We don't know much about honors program. We received a letter regarding some of the perks of being a part of the honors program this week from the university, however, my son is unsure whether he wants to be a part of it. While he has excellent scores, class rank, GPA, etc., he wants a college experience where he interacts with a wide diversity of people. He's afraid that the honors program will limit him to interacting with a somewhat limited group of people.</p>
<p>Is this the typical experience? What are good and bad things about honors programs?</p>
<p>JDA: I go to my state university, and I have had an EXTREMELY more diverse experience within the honors college than what I would have had without it. Students from out of state/international students are much more likely to come to a state university for the honors program, plus, the diversity of majors within the honors college is insane! My best friends from school are biology, theatre, chemistry, business, philosophy, psychology, and engineering majors...and so much more. Without the honors program, I believe I would have had a much less wonderful time at school.</p>
<p>However, the honors program at my university is very different from the other state university in my state. So, there really is no general good and bad about honors programs, it varies by each one. PM me if you have any questions specifically.</p>