<p>Does anyone here have experience with the HTC? Is it as good as it sounds? Are the non-HTC classes you have to take low-quality cattle calls? Is it difficult to switch majors? What's the admissions experience like? And is there anyone there from OOS? (Their web site profiles 6 Ohio residents...)</p>
<p>Consolation:</p>
<p>We looked pretty closely at OU for my second son for engineering, as they offered him a ton of money as an out of stater. The campus is really lovely - and the honors housing is excellent. We found everyone there to be very friendly and welcoming. He participated in an Engineering scholarship competition - so we got a good chance to talk with faculty and kids. </p>
<p>Since I only know about the engineering dept I can only say that in that department the classes would not be cattle calls. Clearly, they were seeking kids who want to stand out, participate, and be ambassadors to their program. With a little effort on the student's part they could clearly be well mentored. Beyond engineering though I have no idea.</p>
<p>I don't know as much about HTC (at this point you're probably wondering why I even answered this post! :) ), except that it is very competitive to get into. I think you have to be a pretty dedicated student to take full advantage of it. There is a dad on here (Digmedia) whose son is thriving in it. You might PM him.</p>
<p>When we went to the open house, there were a lot of people there, and yes, most of them were from Ohio! We got a prize for having come the farthest, LOL. I know there are kids from out of state there though. </p>
<p>I thought it looked like a really fun place to go to school. The town is great, and profs seem to all live right there too. </p>
<p>Hope that helps.</p>
<p>Search "HTC" or "Honors Tutorial" using the "search this forum" feature, or you can just scroll back through the threads until about a month ago. Digimedia's son is in HTC and loves it (actually, I'm kind of curious if I know his son!). I knew some people who really loved it. I HATED it. I don't regret going at all, because I know that I learned some lessons there that were important but it was not the right place for me. It is incredibly hard to change your major, which is bad since they make you choose one during senior year. Also, I'm transferring this fall and NONE of my HTC classes transferred. I worked my butt off during the hardest two years of my life and because the tutorials aren't "traditional" classes, I am getting NO credit for it. I lost over 40 credit hours. So, just make sure you're REALLY confident about your choices cause it's really complicated to make any sort of changes in your plans.
Mal :)</p>
<p>It seems very strange that credits wouldn't transfer because the courses are tutorials....I mean, Williams has tutorials, and I find it hard to imagine that schools would reject their credits.</p>
<p>May I ask what kind of school you are transferring to? Big public U? Small private LAC? Private U?</p>
<p>I'm transferring to Vanderbilt University (go 'dores!!!!). I will say that I did get into some good schools as a transfer, and the closeness of my relationships with professors probably helped. Dean Fidler wrote me a recommendation herself, so in that sense, the program did for me what it said it would. </p>
<p>Your experience in HTC also depends a lot on the major you're going into, as the structure of the program varies a TON throughout the different programs. My program was theater and all of this stuff about being able to "choose your own tutorials" and the "one on one" stuff was crap. I learned much too late that of the 9 tutorials before my thesis, 6 were already scheduled with topics and professors assigned. I took 4 tutorials and none of them were one on one. That said, many majors actually do offer the ability to schedule your own tutorials with the professors you want.</p>
<p>As for the transfer credit, it's not necessarily because the classes are tutorials, but because the subject matter is so random that other colleges don't offer it (sounded good at HTC, not so good now!!). Where most freshman would be taking Calc I, Intro to Bio, or Psyc 120, I was taking seminars on Poverty in Appalacia and famous Theater Theorists. Vandy does not offer any classes like that, so I'm not getting any academic credit. Even the ones that I thought would transfer for sure (my Greek Tragedy tutorial where we read 15 plays in a quarter!) didn't. </p>
<p>Basically, the things that started out as big benefits of the program have turned into HUGE problems as I'm morphing into a traditional student at another school. I used to think "This is so cool that I get to do all of this stuff that isn't offered at any other school," but now that has become a big problem for that exact reason-- other schools don't work like HTC. Feel free to PM me if you want; I can talk to you about my issues and I could also give you the names and e-mails of kids who have really loved the program.
Mal :)</p>
<p>Thanks, Mal and Digi. I read the back threads and gleaned much from them.</p>
<p>The big problem I see for my son is the necessity of declaring a major before even setting foot in college. I don't think that is a good idea for anyone, and particularly not for him, since his interests and areas of competence are not narrow.</p>
<p>Hey all! Im an Honors Tutorial College senior that is gearing up for graduation. I was interested in reading what others had to say about HTC, and I stumbled upon this site. Im going to weigh in on my experiences at HTC.</p>
<p>To all prospective students and parents, I definitely understand the trepidation of applying to HTC. The application process is somewhat grueling. When I applied, I had to write several application essays (which is standard to most college admissions), then be invited down for an interview. The combination of my test scores, recommendation letters, application essays and personal interview determined my admission to HTC. Luckily, I made itand it was totally worth it.</p>
<p>For the posters who believe HTC sees itself as exclusive and elite, I have to disagree completely. Yes, HTC prides itself on its one-on-one tutorial education, and it accepts a rather small percentage of applicants. To maintain HTCs tutorial system, student numbers must be kept low, or the student-faculty ratio would be disproportionate and discourage the highly individualized style of education that HTC is known for.</p>
<p>I am a journalism major, and have received an even BETTER education than what I expected coming into HTC. I was told to expect one-on-one and very small group tutorials, as well as traditional undergraduate classes. All my tutorials were one-on-one with award-winning faculty. My academic experiences have been absolutely fantastic. I know that when I begin applying to jobs next quarter that I will have respected faculty members asking me if they can write recommendation letters, which sounds totally odd. But HTC has afforded me this fantastic privilege.</p>
<p>All HTC students are required to write a thesis to graduate. Its a daunting task no matter how organized and intelligent you are. HTC has really fostered an environment of academic exploration. I was given the opportunity to enroll in tutorials about topics that are not taught in traditional undergraduate classrooms. This exploratory learning method has allowed me to develop a thesis about public relations in technosocial environmentsa topic that has not yet been studied in an academic context. The Dean and Asst. Dean have given much time and money to make my project possible.</p>
<p>Speaking of money, Digmedia is totally correct about how much HTC encourages and funds nontraditional academic activities. In the past year, I know that the Dean has given money to students to pursue academic research around the world (Nicaragua, Europe, Africa) and to present papers at academic conferences (all around the U.S. and even Hawaii!). She even made possible for me a two-month internship at an AIDS nonprofit in Denver. This college is more generous that ANY other program Ive heard of.</p>
<p>I am eternally grateful to HTC, its amazing faculty and staff and its ability to foster such unique intellectual development. To the people that seem to have a sour taste in their mouths about HTC, perhaps the individualized attention and high level of responsibility werent meant for you, but I can only speak for myself and how great my undergraduate years have been. Adjustment to this highly unique tutorial system took a while, but I can say that I know of no one that adjusted to the program and is dissatisfied.
All in all, HTC is the best choice I could have made for an undergraduate education. I encourage all bright students to look into this program. Although not all majors are offered, the ones that are offer an amazing education for a very affordable price. The staff is VERY HELPFUL, so Id encourage anyone to call the office and inquire about specific programs.</p>
<p>Thanks for reading! :)</p>
<p>I'm going to HTC this coming school year. I've been reading what other people have been saying on it, and to me, it seems that I would like it. I feel that any experience that could come out of it is a good one, and I can't wait until next year starts!</p>
<p>phoenixgirl...</p>
<p>Major congrats to you. From what I can see with my son's experience, it's like an extended family.</p>
<p>What major? You gonna opt for Hoover? Are you from Ohio?</p>
Hello! My son has been accepted to the HTC in Creative Writing and is considering both Oberlin College and the HTC. Do you know anything about the quality of the creative writing classes? Should we be looking at the regular undergraduate creative writing dept’s offerings to get a sense of what those classes might be (they actually don’t sound that interesting to me), or are there different classes, unlisted, that he would be taking in creative writing? Also, what if he ends up wanting a different major, like Psychology? Is it impossible to change? thanks