<p>Son was admitted into this....Anyone have any experience about this campus honors program?</p>
<p>Hi, hope I can help. I’m a current sophomore in General Engineering and a Chancellor Scholar. The Campus Honors Program (CHP) is the most selective honors program on campus, inviting only 125 incoming freshman to join. Overall, CHP is what you make of it. At the minimum, students must take 5 honors courses specifically through CHP (cannot designate normal coursework as “honors” like James Scholars can.) These specialized CHP classes are typically on interesting topics and feature small class sizes (under 20) taught by an esteemed professor. For example, I have taken an architecture class, a class on children’s literature, and two anthropology classes. If these course requirements are fulfilled along with maintaining a 3.3(?) GPA and participating in a few easy activities, your son would graduate in the Campus Honors Program, a high honor.</p>
<p>In addition, CHP offers lots of social events, professor lunches, study abroad trips, and much more. I definitely recommend joining if invited. Let me know if you have any other questions! :)</p>
<p>CoolJay, Congratulations to you and thanks for the information. Son is also admittted into the general engineering program, so your opinions of the program is definitely helpful. </p>
<p>The letter also mentions that Chancellors Scholars can participate in undergraduate research with a professor. Is that truly an opportunity made easier if you are a chancellors scholar? It seems that you have to jump through hoops to do research with a professor at UIUC, and this would be a definite plus. </p>
<p>Also, could you please explain your comment about the study abroad. do the Chancellors scholars have priority, or do they go as a group abroad at times?</p>
<p>any information would be great! Son is deciding between several schools.</p>
<p>Wow! Great coincidences. I’m glad that I came across this thread. Anyways…</p>
<p>Research:
Unfortunately, as a GE interested in more the management and business side to engineering, I don’t know much about research. I had never heard of these connections between CHP and research (although developing professor relationships through these small class sizes would certainly help;) however, I don’t think that obtaining research positions is actually that difficult. My roommate a chemical engineer (coincidentally also in CHP) began doing research her freshman year while I have other friends in biology who began this year without stellar grades or major connections. I have been led to believe that if a student wants to do undergraduate research, it isn’t very difficult to make it happen.</p>
<p>Study Abroad:
I was referring to a special program where roughly every 1-2 years CHP takes an international trip as a group. Recent destinations have included Japan, the Galapagos Islands, and Curacao this upcoming summer. These trips usually include 15-25 students as well as several CHP faculty members and a professor of the region visited. Students are admitted to the program by writing an essay showing interest. They travel for 2-3 weeks which sometimes includes visiting multiple cities or countries. I haven’t been on any of these trips, but I have friends who have loved them. Students get to bond by taking a few fun classes together (like scuba diving) during the trip, staying with host families, participating in social events and cultural events, etc.</p>
<p>I’d also be happy to answer any other questions about CHP, GE, engineering in general, extracurriculars, etc.</p>
<p>You are a wealth of information, CoolJay! thanks for posting!</p>
<p>Now, what about advising? some other colleges have special advising for their honors students…Is there anything like that for CHP? Have you found advising to be helpful? I have run across nothing specific about advising at UIUC.</p>
<p>I’m glad that I could help.</p>
<p>As for advising, CHP does not offer honors advising, but frankly, I don’t see how it could be helpful. There are hundreds of majors and hundreds of classes at UIUC, so I don’t see how one adviser could be knowledgeable about the entire university’s offerings. Instead, each major or department has its own advising office which is specialized in that major’s curriculum. For instance, General Engineers and Industrial Engineers share a department which has many advisers of its own including deans, professors, and paid advisers. Students must meet with an adviser every semester before registering to ensure that proper pre-req’s and requirements are met.</p>
<p>In addition, deans in “Engineering Hall” are also available to give guidance whether broad advising about one’s major or specific advising about certain courses. Both are excellent resources.</p>
<p>If you’re curious, here’s a map of the GE curriculum. Given the relative rigidity of the curriculum, advisers are barely needed since students only have to make choices about non-engineering courses for the most part.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.iese.illinois.edu/ugrad/forms/GE1.pdf[/url]”>http://www.iese.illinois.edu/ugrad/forms/GE1.pdf</a></p>
<p>I’m just throwing a comment in as a regular ECE student in terms of research. If you want it you can get it. I was selected for the PURE research program which connects undergrads with research. You just have to go and look for it.</p>
<p>But how do you “look for it?” Another student said you need to be aggressive and talk to professors asking them for opportunites… something Son would never do.</p>
<p>I’d say one could “look for it” by introducing oneself to professors and/or at least emailing them, attending research workshops and informational sessions that give tips on obtaining research, talking to friends and upperclassmen in one’s major, etc.</p>