OP is, based on previous posts, a Business/Marketing major, not Engineering.
Cyclonegrad, if in the honors program, to graduate with a honors diploma you need so many honors credits. It is much easier to get these in your beginning classes as they are offered. Many of the upper classes are not honors (although I believe you can make a class an honors class if you talk to the professor and take on some additional work…this is a lot harder to do than just attend one that is already offered.)
kjcphmom, I understand that but also too many Honors classes as a Freshman could kill the GPA. I personally would rather have a high GPA at graduation.
The best way to go about this is to take HU as honors because they will not kill you as much.
1 honors course as thorough background for the future major, one English /comm honors class, and PERHAPS one discussion-based class or frequent-group-project class, would be plenty.
Don’t forget that if you are in the STEM to MBA program you take 12 credits of Honors courses just in that program alone.
There are plenty of potential GPA-killers for first semester freshmen . . . but I disagree that being motivated enough to take multiple Honors classes is one of them.
Honors sections of classes are significantly smaller than non-Honors sections (15 students as compared to 62 for Calc I, for example), and the instructors are often (though not always) the best in the department. As far as I’m concerned, that’s a recipe for success, not failure.
Apparently Calc I Honors at Alabama is not proof-based, so she should be fine with one math, one for her major, and English or comm , total = 3.
@dodgermom: because freshmen may not know how to work and get organized, and honors classes may require substantially higher thinking (that’s hard to “quantify” since it’s not “more problem sets” or “more pages to read”), overachievers will often underestimate how much time they need to spend on these classes. So, a balance of 3 honors classes in a variety of subjects + 2 “easy” classes would be a good balance for the firs semesters, till the students know a bit more.
It’s especially crucial for the subject of Math, where many Calculus Honors classes are proof-based - ie., very abstract and different from what a business major would need.
You’re correct, typically smaller class size + great instructor = better experience, more learning, better grades.