benefits of Honors Program???

Colleges and Universities A-Z George Washington University
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<p>GW is my S's first choice. His credential is lopsided. Terrific/unusual EC. SAT which is likely to put him well above the 75% marker for GW in the Oct round, but GPA not at that level. So, it's not guaranteed that he will get admitted, but he is shooting for ED, which will help him.</p>

<p>SO, the question of the Honors Program may not even be relevant (meaning, he won't get into that program even if he is admitted to GW). That said, one can dream, right???</p>

<p>So, here is the question. In the common app GW supplement form, they are asking "are you applying for the Honors Program, and if so, write additional essays". My son is wondering whether he should even bother.</p>

<p>I would like to know what the benefits of the Honors Program are? What are the down sides? </p>

<p>Especially, is it going to be tougher to get good GPA in the Honors Program? </p>

<p>My S will be an ROTC student. At the end of the 4 year, they get assigned to the job (ranger, aviation, intelligence, infantry, etc). I am told that the better your grades are, they more likely you will get the kind of "job" you hope to get. Army is strictly number driven. So much so that Podunk Univ GPA 3.6 trumps Harvard GPA 3.5, other important factors being equal (like leadership scores and what not), and it does not matter whether the courses are hard or easy. </p>

<p>So, if he is likely to graduate with lower GPA because he was part of the Honors Program, this will result in not getting the job he wants in the Army, which will be a major disappointment. </p>

<p>I understand there is no simple "yes" "no" answer. I would like to hear from students/parents. I am just collecting various view points and opinions. </p>

<p>thanks in advance for sharing your views.</p>

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<p>My S is a freshman in the Honors program. So far he really likes his two required honors courses–says his profs are really smart. The classes are very small, and they count toward university gen-ed requirements. A great thing about the Honors program is that students get priority registration (even before grad students) the second semester of their freshman year and both semesters of their sophomore year. This is a very nice perc because it’s often hard for underclassmen to get the sections or even classes they want.</p>