Eligible for Honors Program?

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Los Angeles
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<p>Did a lot of you get this... and is it a good indication that you can be in the Honors Program?</p>

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<p>Did it mention the Honors Program in your acceptance letter? It didn't in mine (my GPA is high enough but not my SAT score), but I still plan on applying because I'm in the top 2% of my class so I can qualify that way.</p>

3

<p>If you're eligible and apply, then you're in</p>

4

<p>how did you get notified? or, how do you apply? also what are the min stats?</p>

5

<p>"If you're eligible and apply, then you're in"</p>

<p>Seriously? So just so I apply, I'm in the honors college? What's the point of going to Honors Day then?</p>

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<p>^yes, everyone that applies (qualifies) basically gets in. but you have to qualify. i would HIGHLY recommend you get into honors if you can as a first year, because otherwise you will have the last enrollment appointments and get stuck taking classes you don't want/need.</p>

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<p>ya it was included in the Congratulations! letter</p>

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<p>whoops, I missed that, hahah! I'm eligible.. yaaay, me.</p>

<p>do we get early class enrollment/any other perks? I looked on the website but my brain is not functioning at all at the moment.</p>

9

<p>so what exactly is the honors program?
is it A LOT more rigorous?
is it worth it?</p>

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<p>how many get invited to this thing?</p>

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<p>im wondering the same things... someone please answer these questions!</p>

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<p>theantithesisof: The requirements are at least a 4.1 GPA and at least a 2080 SAT/31 ACT OR you can also qualify by being in the top 3% of your graduating class</p>

<p>Here's the link where I got the info from: <a href="http://www.college.ucla.edu/up/honors/freshman.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.college.ucla.edu/up/honors/freshman.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>
[quote]

so what exactly is the honors program?
is it A LOT more rigorous?
is it worth it?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>If you consider yourself as a competitive student, then be apart of the honors program. There are some "not particularly special "benefits, though. That's all I can say.</p>

<p>
[quote]

do we get early class enrollment/any other perks?

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Yes. This is one way.</p>

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<p>If I'm an international applicant applying with GCSEs A/s Grades, am I still eligible for the honours program? converting my grades?</p>

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<p>^^ Agreed on the "not particularly special" benefits.</p>

<p>To be honest, I think that around half of the entering class starts out with College Honors (based on what I have heard in the past). At the end of the day however, only a few hundred actually graduate with it (~10% of the class). Evem if you don't get in now, all you need is a 3.5+ for a quarter once you're at UCLA.</p>

<p>It seems that most people only join for the priority enrollment and try to ride it out as long as possible. To be honest, I wouldn't blame them considering that almost everybody has priority (from athletics, regents, GE clusters, AAP (at least previously), and whatever else offers it) and it certainly would be a disadvantage to not have it.</p>

<p>So that's the main "perk" besides the separate graduation where you get your name called out. (That's somewhere on one of the many (perhaps outdated) UCLA sites.)</p>

<p>As far as rigorousness, umm.. well you just need ~40 units worth of honors designated (or petitioned) courses for one plan. (You have to have a certain number of units at the end of each year.) The other requires less units but instead requires a thesis/research project? These classes are open to everyone, so they're not special in anyway. And the only other requirement -- perhaps the hardest -- is ending up with a 3.5+ overall GPA. (The minimum to stay in the program actually starts out closer to 3.0 and increases slightly as you progress.)</p>

<p>From what I've heard, College Honors was a reputable program many years ago. Currently, it's really something you associate with only by title. I think other colleges have programs where it's more unique/exclusive and close-knit (like honors housing, get-togethers, etc.).</p>

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<p>No, it's definately not 50% of the first years. You must be hanging out with the smartest group of people than lol. Seriously though, no. Not even close. More like 50% of the the first years WANTS to get in or want priority enrollment. First of all, only a tiny proportion of the incomming class are in honors. Just check the standards. There's absolutely no way for even 20% of the class to qualify (even though it says 4.1 W... I was told by someone in the honors office that they increased the GPA to a 4.3 Weighted (not UC CAPPED GPA)), let alone apply for it (and some didn't even want to apply, like me when I was admitted). 2nd, by the end of the first quarter, some people that want to apply as a continuing student can't because they don't have a 3.5. A's aren't given out, especially for South Campus Classes.
I have the earliest enrollment time (honors + soon to be senior standing), so I'm not complaining :)
But yeah, if you don't have ANY other perks, I'd definiately do it. Keep in mind that just because you think you can doesn't mean you will. So if you are banking on entering as a continuing student, it will get harder as you progress if you don't get in winter quarter because the 3.5+ is overall (not just one quarter). Obviously no one here can predict your true capabilities.
I disagree with the repuable part. Afterall, it is UCLA. Even without the honors designation, you're highly respected. Graduating with honors just means that you are the best of the best (regardless of which path you choose... I must say graduating Summa Cum Laude is the most an AMAZING achievement). The average South Campus GPA is a 2.9... that should explain itself right there, especially since everyone that goes here is pretty smart (otherwise,they wouldnt have gotten in)</p>

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<p>Well I didn't get the 50% figure from anecdoctal evidence. That's what I heard during a workshop given by the Honors people a couple years back. Well I don't think they gave the percent, but rather the actual number. It's been a while... so... :o But my main point was that it isn't as selective or as hard as everyone first makes it out to be, especially since it asks for a brief statement. However, as we found out here, anyone that meets the minimum stats and writes anything cohesive enough gets in.</p>

<p>Tony, you said that the minimum is a 4.3, which is just about the average right? It's conceivable that roughly 50% qualify assumming that the distribution is more or less ideal.</p>

<p>As for my reference to the program reputation, that is what one of the Honors Fellows that (used to) come here said. Maybe it's in a thread here somewhere, but most likely it was from a conversation we had outside of CC. You're right about it being respectable simply by being a Bruin. But then that's the bulk of it; the Honors itself isn't adding a lot more. Based on what you said, it seems to imply that the most important aspect of it is that it designates a certain level of GPA acheivement, similar to Latin Honors. And that's all there is about it, in my opinion.</p>

<p>I think that when people initially hear about the "program," they think that it's a (significantly) different set of coursework and that it's very selective/unique experience (that comes with exclusive class/research opportunities, community, what not). But it really isn't the case here at UCLA. If it really is, then they're not doing a good job of keeping everyone informed.</p>

<p>They are trying to improve by incorporating student participation through the Honors Fellows initiative which started a few years back. But that's about as much progress as they have made since. The students doing that are asked to provide ways to improve the program and the only thing that's been done is some sort of tutor thing, I think.</p>

<p>After having said all that, I'm not saying that no one should join the program. It is important, however, to see it for what's it really is. :)</p>

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<p>Services & Benefits
College Honors students are nurtured with services and benefits designed to support them, including:</p>

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<p>hmmn... the average was in the 4.2s last year. Well, it depends on how they calculate the gpa. There's only 2-3K students in the program. Overall, what you said is true.<br>
If the honors program factors into your decision making, definately check it out. It's kinda hard to set specific VIP only class to since most people are qualify to handle the workload, unlike other state schools where honors program supposedly exclusive. I def. agree with Ucapplicant's points.
The no question ask policy of going over the max units is very nice. Just tell them you ned 23 units, and they'll approve it on the spot, no question asked :)
Sometimes the little things do matter since navigating through Murphy Hall can be a pain from time to time.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
Graduating with honors just means that you are the best of the best

[/quote]
I would beg to differ with that point. Honors doesn't mean that- it just means you decided to take a few extra courses. Depending on the route you take, those requirements can be quickly and very easily fulfilled, and I doubt the extra designation would give you any extra boost in most people's eyes. The only real benefit that means anything would be the priority enrollment (but it was already said before that there are many different avenues to get this, and so many people have it that at times when I needed a lower division course, its quota would already be filled by the time my priority enrollment time came around). Extending the max units at Murphy only takes 2 minutes tops without any lines, no questions asked (just have to meet the minimum gpa requirement which I think was just a 3.0).</p>