Any real benefit to 'Honors College' ?

Parents Forum
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<p>I COMPLETELY disagree that no one cares where you studied. It comes up all the time, in meetings particularly. Maybe I'm just in a high-powered deal making New York environment where this is valued more. It might not come up off the bat, but when you go to an expensive dinner to sign a big deal and the guy you are signing the deal with says he went to Brown, you give him credit subconsciously. To say it doesn't matter is speaking to limited experience in my book. </p>

<p>Of course it isn't critical, but its a lifetime boost.</p>

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<p>I COMPLETELY disagree that no one cares where you studied. It comes up all the time, in meetings particularly. Maybe I'm just in a high-powered deal making New York environment where this is valued more. It might not come up off the bat, but when you go to an expensive dinner to sign a big deal and the guy you are signing the deal with says he went to Brown, you give him credit subconsciously. To say it doesn't matter is speaking to limited experience in my book. </p>

<p>Of course it isn't critical, but its a lifetime boost.</p>

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<p>And all those folks turn and bow to the west when the "Oracle of Omah" from the University of Nebraska speaks.</p>

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<p>You are right, idad.</p>

<p>Some people on this site don't realize that the ivies and a few elite LACs may turn heads in the rareified academic and investment banking worlds but the big state schools rule in most of the country throughout all levels of socitey.</p>

<p>I proudly reported to my N.C. cousin that I was living in the town named for a top mid-atlantic LAC. Her response: "I've heard of that. Isn't that a girl's school?" We don't always realize the size of the pond we're swimming in!</p>

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future employers and grad schools will want better grades and wont be as impressed with the honors designation (...) anyway, to sum it up, you have to get rid of the high school mentality when going to college

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<p>I sincerely apologize for the tone of this, but how many people have you hired in your career? How many graduate schools are you involved with? Are you a professional school admissions officer, by any chance? Except for medical school, which I don't know anything about (other than that they don't require undergrads to have degrees in biology or chemistry), professional schools care about a lot more than your GPA. That is a high school attitude. Business schools, in fact, may pay more attention to your work experience and GMAT than they do to your undergrad GPA. As for employers, I interviewed hundreds of college students when I was at Andersen Consulting, and I only paid any attention to grades if they were less than 3.0. I did care about what the student did with their college years. I was looking for something that stood out -- and it could have been exceptional grades, unique work experience, what the student did during summer, sports, academic-oriented ECs, etc. Someone who finished college with a 3.0 and nothing else on their resume would have not been impressive. I would have noticed the honors program designation and been impressed that someone went above and beyond to challenge themselves. </p>

<p>Undergraduate admissions is heavily numbers-driven. For most employers, we are trying to find a certain fit for known jobs in our companies, and generally spend more time on the process than most undergraduate admissions officers can afford. I was going to have to work with a lot of the students I helped recruit -- I definitely didn't want people I wasn't going to want to work with.</p>

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I COMPLETELY disagree that no one cares where you studied. It comes up all the time, in meetings particularly.

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<p>I don't know if it's a west coast thing or a tech industry thing or a youth thing, but after the first couple of years of my career, I rarely know where people went to college. Especially in California, I didn't usually have the faintest idea. Here in Washington, it seems like 75% of college grads went to the University of Washington (and most of the rest graduated from WASU). Why ask when the answer is always the same? As far as being impressed with where someone went to school -- not in my life. You can either do the work or not. </p>

<p>(OK, I'm lying. When I was a first-level manager I kind of delighted in giving menial tasks to new hires who had an attitude about the college they went to. There's nothing like having a Stanford grad spend six hours making photocopies to add a little perspective to their life.)</p>

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<p>I agree that outside of Medical school, high grades are not the be all and end all. </p>

<p>For PhD programs, course rigor is more important than raw grades. When I was in charge of econ PhD admissions at my current place, I paid particular attention to people from honors programs and was more forgiving of lower grades from those with science/tech/math backgrounds vs students who had only done the minimum to earn an econ degree.</p>

<p>You could tell the difference between those who breezed through with A's mostly taking "soft" classes vs those with 3.5s who had taken Real analysis, advanced calc, and micro theory from tough professors. The former rarely stood a chance. The latter got a second look.</p>

<p>In that sense, some (but not all) honors colleges give you a leg up when applying to PhD programs.</p>

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<p>Does honors program have any real effect in the real world? YES! I've seen enough students who graduated from my school Honors Program and get into top graduate school and top-tier firm over the average students to have any doubt. If I was an employer, I want my prospective employees to strive for the best wherever they are. Honors program at most colleges are challenging, at some other it's a joke, but it doesn't hurt to show that you are challenging yourself, or at least, try your best to be challenged.</p>

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<p>I agree with Not quite old ... The significance of an Honors degree is " this student did something more than his peers did to earn the same degree". Who does not want that? And it looks like even VERY COMPETITIVE schools have some form of Honors program. How about University of Pennsylvania's Ben Franklin Scholars? My child benefitted tremendously from this program, because even at a very expensive place like Penn, lots of freshmen classes are HUGE...</p>

<p>It is not just about the obvious perks (priority registration, special dorms/advising, etc) or goodies (scholarships, study abroad, etc) but think about it: After just one semester, chances are an Honors freshman will have a faculty who will know them well enough to write a meaningful letter of recommendation... And all the good stuff (internships, prestigious scholarships, REU programs, etc.) REQUIRE letters. And how about the extra opportunities for research? i have yet to see any grad school who is not paying attention to hgh quality (real) undergraduate research (I've read some applications for science grad school applicants and I know this is true). So, even if the Honors designation on the diploma is not an endorsement per se, all the other things that happen between the freshman and the senior year in the life of an Honors student (who takes advantage of what's offered) are!</p>

<p>Yes, it is true that not all Honors programs are born equal (the same way not all universities are born equal), but some DO have real classes dove-tailed with the major requirements to minimize the number of "extra" credits required, and some DO offer real upper division, specialized classes in science, engineering, business, etc. </p>

<p>There are many benefits to attending a large state research U, but many problems, too. An Honors program can make this option acceptable for a lot of kids who would otherwise feel very lost and ignored...</p>

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<p>I believe in Honors Colleges. Most of the schools I'm applying to are colleges that would be considered "lower tier" here on CC, but they all have Honors Colleges. I could get into some pretty good schools w/my stats, but I would rather get a scholarship to a decent college than attend a prestigious one that offers you nothing. I am not a "prestige whore" like many people on this site. I just want to get into a decent college that has an Honors College (hopefully w/ a scholarship) and graduate w/a degree that I earned, the same degree that someone from a school like HYPS earned. </p>

<p>As much as people would like to believe that your school makes all the difference in the job market, it really doesn't. My M was talking to a woman whose son is a CPA who attended a city school. He works for the same accounting firm and gets the same salary as someone who graduated from NYU Stern. The difference is, the city school guy doesn't have the bloated student loans to pay off that the Stern guy has. Money is a big issue for people. A kid from my school was accepted into Harvard, but chose to go to the University of Delaware instead (he got a large scholarship there). </p>

<p>The bottom line: Getting into a top 30 college might mean everything to high school students now, but it might not be the best way to go if you want to be in debt for years. I'll take a free-ride and a seat at an Honors College over a seat at a top college that costs lots of money anyday.</p>

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<p>anyone, any experience with rutgers honors college?</p>

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<p>Good thread. </p>

<p>I have to agree with the last few posts. We may very well end up going the honors college route. It's a good choice, I think, if you don't qualify for financial aid and you can't come up with 44K/year. Especially if you find a program that is a good fit.</p>

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<p>Does it help you go to GRAD SCHOOL?!?!?!!!!</p>

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<p>Schreyer Honors at PSU has a 100% grad school placement. Of course that means they must be steering students in certain directions.
So it must help - as long as you are the right candidate.</p>

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<p>do you have to have completed the honors program? What is wrong with just taking some honors courses? I don't feel like killing myself in college. I did that in HS.</p>

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<p>In many places, you can't take honors courses unless you are in the honors college.</p>

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<p>I don't think you have to be an honors student to take honors classes but you are last in line for registration if you are not in the honors college. This can make a difference at a big place like PSU</p>

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<p>It so depends on the Honors Program. Some offer smaller classes with profs teaching and fewer grad students involved, It can also offer special courses open only to honors kids, and early registration, a real boon to those going to schools where the pickings can get slim. There are Honors dorms and first crack at dorms. There are some Honors lounges where students can sit and study, or just chill. Some real benefits for those in that Program. Also if you apply to local, particularly affiliated professional schools, a degree from the Honors College will mean something. Such as the schools of law and medicine. My friend's daughter got a grant for $2500 for first year law which I think is pretty rare. Since she had to borrow most of the remainder, that was a nice prize. The low sticker price, being a state school made it even more attractive. She was also notified very quickly of her acceptance.</p>

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<p>quitejaded - </p>

<p>At D1's school you need to take 6 hours/year to stay in the honors college, but you need to do a lot more than that to "complete the honors program" and get an honors diploma (things like taking so many hours honors science/math, taking upper level honors, doing research and writing a thesis paper, etc). So, at her school you do not have to complete the program to take a few classes (although there is that minimum). </p>

<p>At D2's school there is no minimum. As long as you're qualified for honors you can take as many or as few or even no honors. You can be on again off again, taking only what interests you.</p>

<p>It depends on the school and the program. Personally, I think there is a tremendous benefit from taking at least a few honors classes if you can, and that will help with grad school, either in terms of increasing your gre score, or getting to know a professor better for a letter of recommendation, or finding a research project to work on (some grad schools may expect you to have done some ug research no matter how good your grades or test scores are). But if taking honors is going to stress you out and hurt your gpa, then it may not be a good idea. Some majors like engineering are hard enough all by themselves.</p>