<p>So Oberlinian!<br>
Personally, I think it’s great to pursue learning for learning’s sake. But I have to agree with mamenyu. I do a lot of hiring, and when I see that a student graduated suma cum laude, phi beta kappa, highest honors, I immediately perceive that person as either very smart and/or very ambitious and hard working—all of which favor that job candidate. I suspect that graduate schools look favorably on such distinctions. It is not the honor itself that matters, but rather what the honor implies.</p>
<p>My point is that a student who has the credentials to get into the honors program would be likely to have the grades and recommendations to get into graduate programs, with or without the official stamp of honors. Many of our best students elect not to apply for the honors program because they would rather spend that large fraction of their senior year doing something other than independent research (such as taking another couple of classes, or completing a second major), and they seem to be accepted into graduate/professional school at about the same rate as those who do honors work. There are many ways a resume can demonstrate academic and personal excellence.</p>
<p>I’m with Mchs on this issue. It’s not all about grad school. I work for a Fortune 50 global corporation. I hire people. I regularly chat about candidates with other executives who hire people. The Latin honors and Phi Beta Kappa look impressive as hell on a resume submitted to a top corporation. Listing GPAs is something that isn’t done in corporate America except when you are very young with little to no experience. The Latin honors and PBK speak to your grades even 20 years later, so you don’t look like an inexperienced kid by putting down your GPA.</p>
<p>Some Oberlin kids might actually decide to pursue a career in corporate America. </p>
<p>People can take the “learning for learning sake” thing a bit too short-sighted. Like it or not, the real world awaits. Not everyone wants a career in academia.</p>
<p>As an example, I would wager that a student in English at Oberlin who is Phi Beta Kappa, wins the Bongiorno award, and does an honors thesis stands a better chance of getting into the type of graduate school that could lead to a successful job search than a student who completes two majors instead. Graduate and professional schools look for focus and good grades, and honors theses. Also internships, conference presentations, publications…But it depends on what the student is aiming for.</p>