FWIW…
I looked at intro level physics for the past two years. While just 1 section of honors level physics was offered Fall & Spring of 2013 and 2014, I see that there are 2 sections of Honors Physics being offered Fall of 2015.
Chemistry has likewise seen an increase (though smaller) in honors lab sections. So, I suspect UA is adjusting to the influx.
From freshman engineering student this year, DS only got one Honors class, though he tried for a few. There were no openings on day of registration in some classes, others just could not fit into his schedule. I believe I already stated here that the one Honors Calc II he tried to get into had a max of 45 students. They only added one seat from June 24/25 to August 13th (?) To me, it seems you need to get the early registration dates if you want more opportunities in that regard. .
That being said, w/ the courses DS is taking for ECE, they are still going to be tough courses. Maybe class size is bigger, but I don’t consider that a deal breaker. The main reason DS likes the HC is the early registration. That is huge. That is also the main reason for the honors classes, as he needs to have so many credits specifically w/ the honors designation.
He did manage to get the EN 103 course, honors. This was great as it eliminates him having to take 2 regular English classes. DS does not like English. I got a message from a parent on the FB page about one slot open at 8:12 one evening, so I went in and picked it up for him. 
He couldn’t even get into a regular Physics class this first semester, though it was advised for Freshman starting w/ Calc II. Not one single opening. It did seem to me, the kids not in the STEM tracks had better experiences.
Not giving you the “numbers” just our experiences so far. However, he did get a full schedule, and it is a schedule he really likes, so in the end it worked.
No college is going to be perfect, there are always going to be things that should run better, smoother, but don’t. I think he is getting one terrific experience & education there.
I haven’t talked STEM MBA course detail with DD, but it seems the courses in STEM MBA are more like a seminar structure - essentially half a course a term (1.5 hours). So in the 4 years would have 4 courses of MBA done (a healthy enough start that it weighs out for students wanting to continue on rather than get lured into job market with BS degree). DD will have the same professor during the four years (so this is her third 1.5 hour course with this professor) - I believe that assists in assuring that the students have the comprehensive preparation desired.
Many honors courses are not more work. DD was in Honors CalcI and it was not more work. I doubt her honors civil eng intro was more work. I think chemistry decided they wanted more with their course. I do think smarter kids in various subjects will take the honors designated course - so that was the basis for my comment about Physics. Engineer advisors may be able to provide some specifics on certain pre-eng courses (and at BAMA Bound, engineering majors do work with these advisors in setting up their course schedule). DD loved Physics and the challenge - it is tough to get an A in that course (which she didn’t).
The intro chemistry course is something required by so many degree plans that the chemistry dept heavily serves students in a lot of majors in this first chemistry course. I imagine they encourage their honors chemistry majors to sign up for the honors chemistry section. Intro chemistry at UA is not easy to get an A with either (and DD didn’t get an A there either).
Solid honors students at UA don’t have to take every honors course offered in their major; they don’t have to have an A in every course to be a strong honors or engineering student.
DD is doing her best. Has a solid GPA. We believe UA is offering an excellent education.
Just another perspective, but DS looks for the best/most compatible professors when choosing a course. There are some excellent professors teaching the regular courses and he’ll sometimes pass on an honors course for this reason.
Kids can always look at rate my professor. My DD just chooses not to do that - she has a strategy she is going by.
I certainly hope Rate My Professor is filled w/ disgruntled students, because almost all the professors DS got are rated very, very poorly. DS likes the schedule though, so we’ll see how that plays out this semester.
what’s the strategy, @sosconcern?
From post 38 in this thread - My DD selects and schedules her classes based on what she needs and the time available.
She is confident enough on her ability, and hasn’t gotten burned yet on any professors. Many students do peak at rate my professor and talk to other students.
Here is more of that post: First semester she didn’t even realize one course was an honors until I told her - it was her one credit CE 121, Intro to Civl Constr Evr eng course, and was taught by the dept chair Dr Fridley (he now has been promoted to Senior Assoc Dean and UA has a different Dept Head for civil eng). I was impressed that Dr Fridley wanted to have the experience/exposure with his entry honors students. DD is in the STEM MBA program, which is an honors class.She is not bent on seeking honors versus the regular class - she looks at what she needs and how her class selections fit into her schedule. However, she knows she would not sign up for honors physics II for example, because regular physics I was challenging enough. As time goes on, I am sure she will count up her honors hours to make sure she if finishing enough along the way. Many, many students realize the benefits of the class priority with honors designation. I just saw a comment by another parent that her DD took honors chemistry which requires a paper every week with the lab that is done - great for a chemistry major but may not be something a student who just needs one chemistry course will want to do.
Here is some new info, that I had shared with another parent on PM: The other night I had to defend DD taking honors calc I at UA even though she had AP credit. Her AP course was HS junior year and didn’t offer the next level senior year (plus she was working on her higher ACT score senior year). She took Statistics HS senior year (easy A or A+ for her) just to keep her math brain going. With being in Million Dollar Band (the marching band at UA, MDB), it didn’t hurt to get started on level 1 with Calc her first term at UA. Plus the Calc II coordinated with the Physics course she took 2nd semester. She is continuing on with Calc III this term, but will take the challenging Physics 106 spring term when she can devote more time/energy. Physics at UA is challenging for most kids.
A student needs to feel comfortable with their selection of classes, their advising, etc. DD gets the support and has the confidence.
I hope that helps! Roll Tide!
Oh, by the way, DD is taking Statistics (part of her degree plan) and I asked her about it. Info was familiar because she did have statistics in HS. To me statistics was easy (I needed to teach a mini-statistics course within the Marketing Research course I taught at a University because the kids either had no background or no aptitude for statistics - however I had degrees with research courses in psychology and marketing, so I had it run by me a few times).
^ re post #45, there is a saying in the world of customer satisfaction: if you like something, you’ll tell someone; if you don’t like something, you’ll tell 10 people. RMP is a pretty useless gauge - highly unscientific, and why set your student up for thinking that they will not like someone before they even meet them based on stars or chili peppers?! Unreal. It’s learned pessimism. Use RMP with caution. I say this all with hindsight, as a parent of a senior now. Because I used to be a meddlesome helicopter parent, I put too much personal investment into those ratings. I was wrong to do so… I’m reformed now…
In order to get an honors designation on the diploma, the student needs the following:
“Honors students are required to earn at least eighteen hours of Honors credit, including at least six hours of Honors Foundation courses, and graduate with an overall GPA of at least 3.3.”
So, only 12 hours of honors classes are needed outside of the Honors College. DS has taken one class each semester - Engr103 first semester, Physics I second semester and Physics II this semester. He chose not to take honors for chemistry (not his favorite class) or Calc 3 (coming in with AP credit, felt like he’d do better in regular). He enjoys Physics and had two years in HS (Pre-AP and AP) so felt that would be a good class for him for honors.
DS has not had trouble getting the classes he needs. He is not particular when it comes to the professor or time. He’s the type that just rolls with the punches! If you’re flexible, there shouldn’t be a problem.
…back to our regularly scheduled program:
The HC is great, and a lot of students have found their niche there and are helped by that program. It is a nice way for UA to make itself smaller to a lot of students. There are also a lot of students who are members of the HC simply because they qualify for it, get the benefits of it, and take the bare minimum honors classes to continue to qualify for it. If you are not part of an HC program specifically (CBHP, University Fellows, or similar)…then meeting your ‘basic’ Honors requirements (i.e., a certain # of classes, seminars, etc) is only an issue your first and possibly your second year.
For incoming FR, yes, it will be difficult to get into “core” classes with an Honors designation - you are ‘competing’ in a way for a limited # of seats, and from the sounds of it, this has gotten tighter over the years to get into those seats, despite additional sessions being added for some courses. As time goes on, and as you get more and more credit hours earned, you begin to move up the registration food chain, and it is much easier for you to get into Honors (those seminars and service-based learning courses, especially)…but, not many upper 300 and 400 “core” courses have honors sections. (By “core” I mean the classes you need for your specific major.) HC credit hours can also be met by honors-by-contract (search for that on this forum - @SEA_tide has written extensively on that subject), and this is useful to keep in mind for your upper years. I know for a fact that those classes do require extra work!
Qualified FR should have no problems whatsoever getting into at least one Freshman-Only Honors Seminar their first year, however. (these are capped, and they just add more sessions, as needed, to accommodate everyone)
Anyone with access to mybama can search previous years and see how many seats there were in each class and how many sections there were. @khidhala did this ^ partially for a few Honors classes already.
@beadymom post reminds me of a good point that HC students should be aware of: there is graduating with an honors distinction on the diploma…and then there is graduating with Honors in your specific major, called “Departmental Honors”. I have written extensively on that subject (!), so search away, but in a nut shell, here is a link with the 15 majors offering that program, and for some majors, the requirements to graduate with Departmental Honors are substantial: http://honors.ua.edu/programs/campus-programs/ . If you fall within any of these 15 majors that offer Dept Honors, specifics can be found on their individual department websites. Good luck with your Honors choices! 
With respect to Rate My Professor, I will respectfully disagree with Aeromom and say that we have found it to be useful. Of course, you can’t just take it at face value. There needs to be a critical mass of reviews, you have to check which classes they’re for (sometimes a prof who is great teaching one class is a disaster with another), and you have to read the comments carefully. You can often tell from the comments whether you have a disgruntled student or a student who doesn’t do assignments or is looking for the easiest A. I would say that where my daughter has relied on RMP (meaning there were sufficient reviews with comments that she felt she could take the professor’s RMP rating into consideration), it’s been spot on in the vast majority of cases.
Students don’t graduate from the HC and there is no distinction on the diploma for completing the HC requirements. Those who complete the requirements receive a separate certificate a few weeks after the diploma arrives by mail. Latin honors do appear on the diploma.
@bamagirls - I know you mentioned this to me in a previous PM…but can you explain this again? when did this change occur, and is there a link on the HC site that explains this or ??? how did you find this out, etc. or was it always that way (no distinction on diploma), and we just all thought there was!? thanks!
This changed two years ago. When our oldest graduated in May we were disappointed because the HC website still said the diploma would show the HC distinction. Her diploma showed Magna Cumme Laude and she completed her HC requirements, but only the Latin honors were noted. There was no seal or distinction of any kind for completing the HC requirements. The Registrar explained that the HC requested that this no longer appear on the diploma. The HC confirmed the change. Students receive a silver cord, but no tassel from the HC upon completion of their requirements and graduation.
Here is the link:
http://honors.ua.edu/honors-q-and-a/
This is the information provided in the above link:
"How do I choose a major in Honors College?
Students enrolled in The University of Alabama Honors College choose their majors just like any other student on campus. In fact, our students represent most every major on campus, from engineering to fashion design. There are no specific “Honors” majors since Honors College is an enhancement to your educational experience.
How do I complete the graduation requirements of the Honors College?
All Honors College students must maintain a 3.3 GPA to graduate from their respective programs. Your transcript will indicate an Honors designation upon successful completion of the Honors College requirements. Make sure to check out the Honors College Requirements for more specific requirements.
So do I actually graduate from Honors College?
No. You graduate from The University of Alabama. Because you complete the requirements of The University of Alabama Honors College, you receive an Honors certificate of completion in addition to your diploma. Honors College is an enhancement to your academic experience at The University of Alabama."
That is disappointing.
Yes, we were very disappointed since the HC website wasn’t updated until mid summer, so we were expecting the seal on the diploma when our student graduated in May.
I am reading these posts with great interest. I have one question. If there is no distinction on the diploma
what are the benefits other than the obvious ones of taking more rigorous and in depth classes. If one was to go to graduate school or apply for a job would they even know or see that a student took the more rigorous classes in HC?
How many employers ask to see your diploma? Really, as long it appears on your official transcript, that’s all that matters. You add it to your resume or CV and it’s good to go.