Has any current or past applicants to the Calhoun Honors College scheduled a visit with the honors college? We just did and it says that we will meet with a Honors College staff member and possibly a student in the honors college.
Just wondering if this is treated like an “interview” or more like a tour and informational session?
Thanks for any insight!
My son and I scheduled a visit with the Calhoun Honors College when we went for our final “let’s be sure this is the right place” visit in April when he was making his decision between Clemson and Miami of Ohio (he’d been accepted to both Honors Colleges). We met with a CHC staff member, a graduate student who had gone through the Honors College, and a current sophomore. They showed us around Core (we didn’t see a dorm room, though we saw all the public areas) and they talked to us about the benefits of honors courses (challenging, smaller, more personal), having faculty-in-residence, honors-only special events, and the enhanced travel abroad opportunities offered to Honors students. It was definitely worth our time to talk to people who were familiar with the program and who could detail what it added to their Clemson experience.
That visit was at the end of a day filled with a detailed campus tour; he also talked to some people from the Math program since his major is statistics. After all of our planned events, we got ice cream cones at the student-run dairy (the '55 Exchange) where he said Clemson was the place for him.
Fast forward to today: He has enjoyed the Core living experience as part of the Honors College and and the challenge of his two honors classes (Calculus and Diplomacy). He told us a few weeks ago that Professor Lasser, the faculty-in- residence, sat down with him and his roommate for lunch and they had an interesting discussion about politics. Even though there is an extra fee for Honors, he feels (and we agree) that what he’s getting from the experience is worth the extra fee.
Our CHC visit was definitely more “let’s show you around and please ask all the questions you want…” as opposed to an interview. Unlike Miami of OH, Clemson’s Honors College requires a stand-alone application and they select students for the solely from that stand-alone application pool. Enjoy your visit!
Thank you so much for the great information! Glad your son is having such a great experience!
OiseauNoir, we were also going to tour UGA on this trip and trying to only miss one day of school bc she has such a demanding senior schedule. I was thinking about doing the CHC visit in the am and UGA tour in the afternoon and then flying home. My question is: did you guys see enough at Clemson during your CHC visit to get a good flavor and general feel of the program /school that it would be ok to save a full tour for later - if she gets in?
@lizzie888 the CHC “tour” is really limited to the actual honor college facilities and meeting with administrators and students for information about CHC. You definitely get a good feel for the CHC however, you really don’t get a real feel for the school without the regular school tour.
The campus itself is very nice and if your daughter is serious about Clemson she should do the tour if not on this trip on some trip. My daughter is a current Freshman in CHC and I have been to the campus last October, an admitted students day in April, orientation in June and parents weekend in September and I can tell you that with every trip and walking around the campus I like it more each time.
@Lizzie888 I second @burghdad that a CHC visit only will not give you a feel for the whole Clemson experience and campus. As he noted, the CHC visit just focuses on the Honors College. It would also be cramming a lot of driving into a short day IMO if you tried to do a short CHC visit at Clemson, then drive to UGA, then fly home. I’d suggest spending the entire day at Clemson if possible to get the full flavor of it and her thoughts on it, and trying for a comprehensive UGA visit another time. I say this understanding the desire to try get as much in on days off from school as possible, especially with a demanding senior schedule and particularly when flying…we are in Missouri (10.5 hr drive from Clemson).
My son ended up visiting Clemson twice before his decision: once for a very general visit in spring 2017 when he was a junior and he and my DH were driving home from spring break in Georgia (no Honors College visit), and the second visit detailed above when, after visiting 7 universities, he’d boiled the choices down to Miami of Ohio and Clemson. We drove to Oxford in March for a final review and flew to Atlanta/drove to Clemson in April (attending probably the same Admitted Students event @burghdad mentions above).
Off topic to @burghdad: I’ve enjoyed your posts since discovering CC this spring; wonder if your daughter and my son have met!
Thank you both so much for your advice!! I really appreciate it! ?