Daughter is applying to a few schools who invited her to apply to honors college, but she feels living in the honors college community isn’t for her. Will it hurt her admissions chances if she doesn’t apply to the honors college?
I don’t think so at all. A lot of students feel this same way.
^This but I would still recommend applying to Honors and deciding after decisions release, as she might decide that she likes the Honors experience after further research. 
My D did not apply to HC at one of her safety schools because she had a rolling admission decision with a full ride from her other safety. She was still accepted with a ton of merit. That said, she did apply to HC to all her matches. It’s been a super experience for her!
I think it is more an enticement for the applicant.
@bopper There are definite advantages, for example, the University of Central Florida’s Honors College offers small sections (~20 people IIRC) of intro pre-med courses. However, yes, it’s meant to draw students who have the stats to get into more selective schools but are either lacking the extracurricular activities or can’t afford these schools if admitted.
@PikachuRocks15 or more importantly to attract kids who want the small, strong education-focused community with great research opportunities, specialized housing, classes and advisors, early registration (huge asset at a large school) AND also want the whole D1 CFB school experience. These are kids they hope will become their high dollar (athletic) donors in the future, while increasing the school’s overall academic status now. Win/win
@kdzmom check with the school; D20 is in an honors college, but she chose to live in a stem focused LLC (Living Learning Community). She has all of the benefits of being an honors college student plus honors dorm perks like study rooms, kitchen, honors dorm social activities, etc. without having to actually live in the honors dorms.
Apply to the Honors College and decline later if she doesn’t want to join. They usually have some nice perks. Had the same discussion with my kids. You can always decline but you can’t get an application do-over.
Kids in LLC’s typically do better academically.
FYI my S20 is in the Honors program at Georgia Tech. I don’t think it’s as a big deal at GT compared to other schools. Under normal years not sure he would’ve got in but he’s on campus and they had last minute openings. He didn’t like his original dorm so he went. So far I think he made the right choice. He likes the kids and the location.
Why does she not want to apply to the honors college? Extra essays? Or added pressure if she gets in? If it’s the latter, I get it. My daughter turned down a school that offered a large merit scholarship because she didn’t want to go in having them think of her as a “top student.” She felt she wouldn’t have the freedom to be anything else. I can imagine some students feeling the same way about getting into the honors college at their school.
That’s a double edged sword. The flip side is surrounding yourself with peers that aren’t as motivated or intellectually curious. That can create a different set of problems like playing to the level of your competition in sports terms. It’s probably more school specific. Obviously if you attend a T20 school most students there are highly motivated. At your state flag-ship or lower rated private maybe, maybe not.