<p>This is somewhat a vent but I thought it might feel better if I wrote about it :). Getting kicked out of honors because I can't get the 3.5 cumulative GPA requirement. Initially I thought I could still get it by averaging with my abroad grades in spring and transfer classes, but now my advisor says A) transfer classes don't count (THE EXACT OPPOSITE of what the advisor before him who left told me) and B) abroad grades won't count because they don't come till October. So apparently Honors likes/encourages you to go abroad, they just forgot to mention they don't like it when your grades are below a 3.5. So the conclusion is, it actually would have been PHYSICALLY impossible for me to stay in honors, since I only had one semester to raise my cumulative GPA to a 3.5 after that one tough semester of being borderline depressed. At least I don't need to feel guilty about not getting straight As this semester either :).</p>
<p>I know this is my fault (despite the ranting, lol), but can I get some comforting words that it's not the end of the world? Honestly, the program wasn't really doing anything for me since it is for the general college of Liberal Arts... but I still feel bad about being about to be kicked out.</p>
<p>Did you enjoy it at all? Was honors a big part of your life? If it wasn’t, there’s no need to get down about it – it’s just one less obligation to handle. At least, that’s how I’m feeling about the honors program at my school. I wouldn’t be too horribly put-down if I were kicked out.</p>
<p>What exactly is your fault? It sounds like you had one tough semester, and you have otherwise performed well. You are choosing to take a semester abroad, which will probably be great, but that makes it impossible to make up your deficit. It may be too bad if you can’t stay in the Honors program, but it doesn’t sound like you have done anything wrong. Vent away, just not at yourself.</p>
<p>Also, why don’t you check the rules and maybe get a second opinion on the transfer and abroad grades issues? You have gotten contradictory advice from two advisors, and the policy (especially with regard to the abroad grades) is not so clearly reasonable. And talk to whatever dean is in charge of the program. There may be more flexibility than you think. (There may not be, too, and you may not care, but in case there is, and in case you do, don’t just give up on this.)</p>
<p>JHS, it is my fault because I actually haven’t been able to get 3.5s in any of my semesters thus far, first because an addiction to spending time with my first ever boyfriend, then depression (partly from breakup, generally loneliness, etc.) and then this semester because I overloaded myself with 6 classes and two jobs. I’m not ashamed of my progress, but I could have done better.</p>
<p>The abroad policy IS unreasonable though, as is the contradictory advice. I emailed the program saying I am leaving and those reasons are the why, so maybe they will actually consider changing one of those (though that won’t necessarily improve my chances much, but at least other people’s :))</p>
<p>I guess my probation was last year by the way, although I didn’t even know I was on it until my mom told me last week (she got the letter ages ago back home and never told me).</p>
<p>I may be the only one…but…is your life really about getting a 3.5…?
Or is it about living, trying new things, working to the best of your ability, and sometimes coming up short-but-choosing to see you have done your best and enjoying the process?
Can you look at yourself in the mirror, and see something beautiful? Would you trade your experience overseas for the 3.5?
Do check w/your Dean about the the transfer classes and overseas classes, just in case. You will never know if you don’t ask.
G’Luck! APOL-a mom</p>
<p>Son has been offered honors at his university for three years - I looked at what was offered and recommended that he not go for it. They have special housing but the location would be much worse than where he is now. His CS program is already a ton of work and he probably has the highest GPA in his major. He can do research in REUs and with individual professors. He will start taking grad courses this spring and could get close to a grad degree during his undergrad. He also has a part-time job that he enjoys that he would like to continue doing.</p>
<p>A 3.5 GPA can be pretty tough to maintain when you have a lot of outside stuff to deal with.</p>
<p>OP - does your school not have the requirements for staying in the Honors college clearly listed somewhere? My daughter’s school certainly does. As far as GPA her school is on a sliding scale with a slightly lower GPA for the 1st 2 years then a 3.5 requirement at the end of Junior year and on through graduation. </p>
<p>I think she is going to dip below the 3.5 just in time for the end of her Junior year so will probably be out of her honors program. Kind of shame as she will have done 3 years of honors classes, but I don’t think it is that big a deal in the long run. She really enjoyed most of her honors classes and it was nice to have some smaller classes (20 students) mixed in with the large classes (150 students) at her big State U. She had a couple of wonderful honors teachers. Also had a couple of dreadful ones.</p>
<p>Was he accepted into a 3-2 program or the like? I ask because most top graduate programs (including BC) allow only a limited number of transfer credits from an undergraduate program. Grad programs usually don’t allow ‘double dipping’ - giving credit for grad level courses that were used as credits to graduate an undergraduate program. They also restrict/cap grad level credits even if it’s beyond the credit requirements of the undergraduate program. For example, UNC limits any and all grad level transfer credits to 20 percent of the graduate school requirements. On top of that they may reject grad level courses based on their review/scrutiny.</p>
<p>Getting a 3.5, especially in the freshmen year, is very hard. At my son’s school, he estimated that over 65% of the kids that he personally knew got kicked out of honors.</p>
<p>Honestly, graduating with honors does very little for either employment or for future graduate school admission.</p>
<p>He’s in an undergrad-only program but he will be two credits shy after three year and there are two courses that are required that aren’t available in the spring. So he’s taking one grad course in the spring and then he could take two or three in the fall and then graduate or take more grad courses next spring. I’m pointing him towards more specialized courses as he would probably have to take the core courses in a formal grad program. The focus is most on learning material and having a year of grad course might make it a little easier to get into selective programs.</p>
<p>^As with most things called “grad school” it probably very much depends on the field and degree as there is just too much variability. In my fields (I sit in the middle of three), such an approach would not help at all with graduate school admissions, and might actually be an disadvantage. Also one would be expected to retake the curriculum anyway at the next institution for a host of reasons. Much better to spend one’s time doing research.</p>
<p>One of my kids may get kicked out of an honors college at any time too. It’s not a great feeling for a kid who is used to high achievement, so I can understand why you’re a little upset. </p>
<p>I am telling my kid not to worry about it, as long as he is still working hard. I don’t know anyone who still hangs an undergrad diploma in their office, and your career achievements will speak for themselves. Nothing prevents you from going above that 3.5 in subsequent semesters. If you want to, you might be able to reapply to your honors college when that happens. (Some schools let students apply to the honors college at any time during their academic careers.) Keep in mind that many students graduate with academic honors without ever being in an “honors college.” Some students elect not to go into honors colleges in the first place even if they are eligible. Sometimes they drop out voluntarily, because of a lack of interest in the honors seminars or for other reasons. My D elected not to fill out an application for an honors college program at one of her prospective schools, since she figures that her major is going to be tough enough without piling on more activities and work.</p>
<p>In your case, you were screwed over by a combination of factors (a bad semester and losing grades that might have offset it). It’s a shame your school didn’t offer at least one semester of honors-probation, and I hope that no scholarship funds were pegged to the honors program. </p>
<p>Ultimately, you have to consider whether this is really all that important. Some honors colleges just offer seminars that aren’t that interesting or housing that you may not really want anyway. Something else to consider is that sometimes getting an A in a regular class can be better than getting a B- in an honors class; for law school applications, for example, the first cut for applicants is generally based on LSAT and GPA numbers alone. The LSAC index number doesn’t distinguish honors classes from regular classes.</p>
<p>If it meant a lot to you, perhaps you can get readmitted down the road. If not, then just shrug and move on. Again, you are free to bring up your GPA and take challenging classes whether or not you’re in the honors program.</p>
<p>S1 was invited into the Honors program at his univ. He declined. He had a lot on his plate already. One of his merit scholarships req. keeping a 3.2gpa. He was in NROTC and worked a part-time job. Honors classes really didn’t mean that much to him and he had no desire to live in honors housing.
He graduated in May (magna cum laude) after four great years. All the honor graduates were recognized at graduation. No mention was made of who took honors classes.</p>
<p>Without being too harsh, it sounds as though the abroad policy and the conflicting advice had nothing to do with your being dropped from Honors. </p>
<p>Are you enjoying school? Even though it didn’t work out, did you at least enjoy some of the romantic relationship you were in? Did you learn anything about yourself that will help the next time you’re in one? Did you enjoy going abroad to study? Were there things you’d only heard about but got to experience first hand? Did you learn anything about yourself?</p>
<p>Blaming advisors and policies is pointless. Focus on what you have learned and what you’ve accomplished and move on. Being dropped from Honors doesn’t define you any more than breaking up with a boyfriend does.</p>
<p>Reading this thread makes me feel a little better that my daughter missed being invited into the Honors College by one point where she was recently accepted. They just changed their eligibility requirements for the incoming class of 2010. The ACT has to be 31 now. She got a 30. Even though she’s taking the test again next Saturday, I think she’s still reluctant about applying for the Honors College if the score increases. Maybe she’s even relieved that she’s one point short of the requirement. When I first encouraged her to apply back when the required score was lower, she expressed that she didn’t really want to add any more challenging classes to her schedule. I think she’s tired of being on the honors track ever since middle school and wants to take it a little easier in college. That’s not to say that the courses in her major will be a total piece of cake. But, why add the stress, she said. I tried to explain that there are other benefits of being in an Honors College. On the other hand, after reading some of the posts in this thread, I feel better about the fact that she might not even consider applying at all. Like someone mentioned, in the end when she’s holding her diploma, I doubt she’ll be crying over the fact that she doesn’t have the words “with honors” on it. She’ll be proud of herself, as will we, for earning that diploma, period.</p>
At least, that’s how I’m feeling about the honors program at my school. I wouldn’t be too horribly put-down if I were kicked out.</p>