<p>How important is the honors college app? I really don't want to spend much time on the app. I have a 35 ACT and ~4.0 GPA.</p>
<p>I plan on doing the app but I don’t want to spend much time on the answers. If my answers are not that great am I still pretty safe?</p>
<p>The stats of admitted honors students have steadily gone up…it’s pretty competitive. The honors app is also, basically, your application for Carolina Scholars or McNair (OOS), both which give you another level of opportunities and benefits aside from the obvious money. So take it as seriously as you would take any college scholarship form.</p>
<p>If you’re thinking your scores/stats make you a shoe-in…maybe not. I know someone who is close (and good EC) who got in Capstone, but not honors.</p>
<p>I know someone who was valedictorian of her class of 400 with high ACT’s and she didn’t get Capstone or Honors. No one is a shoe-in.</p>
<p>It’s an extremely competitive program. That’s like asking if you have all A+'s and a 2400 on the SAT if the application to Harvard is important.</p>
<p>The people applying for the HC are mostly high caliber candidates already. You have to show them that you stand apart from just your grades and scores because everyone they’re looking at for the most part already have high GPA’s and test scores.</p>
<p>PS. Does anyone know someone who transferred into the HC? I was looking at the information today but the application won’t be available until October. This is my last semester to be eligible to apply, so I’m considering it.</p>
<p>What is your weighted GPA? Is 4.0 you unweighted? Have you taken several AP exams and done well?</p>
<p>I have just shy of a 4.0 unweighted. I also go to an extremely competitive school where about half of our applicants are accepted into Honors.</p>
<p>Dorman, Dutch Fork, NFHS, FMHS?</p>
<p>If you really don’t want to spend much time on the application, do you really think Honors College is for you? SCHC requires a lot of hard work and self-discipline. Those selected are overachievers. Lack of effort on the application will show.</p>
<p>I really don’t want to tell what school I go to.
I really don’t want to attend USC but I am considering it because it will be free. I don’t want to spend much time on the app because I want to spend the time applying to better colleges. The level of work is not a big deal because pretty much all the colleges I am considering are more rigorous than USC honors.</p>
<p>I know people who chose USC over Ivy-League schools. (Yes, People who were legitimately accepted into the most prestigious schools in the world chose to attend USC instead.)</p>
<p>There’s a lot to offer here and I wouldn’t call into question the rigor of the school when you haven’t even been a college student yet. Rigor entirely depends on the classes you take no matter what college you go to. Some classes are more challenging than others. It’s just the way it is. Overall, USC offers a fairly demanding load for those who want it.</p>
<p>I understand choosing USC because it’s cost-friendly. I understand not choosing it because you got into a school with a name brand like Harvard. But what you said was downright insulting and showed your immaturity.</p>
<p>Applying to college is a serious business and you don’t know what the future holds for you. It really can’t hurt you to spend a few extra hours working on the Honors College application. If you have any interest- any at all- you should complete the application to the best of your ability. Do all or nothing. If you don’t want to spend a couple of hours working on a college application now, then what are you going to do in college when you don’t have to go to class and you don’t want to because it’s some general education class that you think is wasting your time? You need to seriously reconsider your attitude right now and adjust because you’re going to be in for a shock when college doesn’t go the way you want it to.</p>
<p>Our son is a McNair Scholar at the Honors College so he is plenty smart. Also, our family is in the fortunate financial situation of being able to afford the elite private schools. Our son applied, and was accepted, to elite private schools. In the end, he chose the Honors College. In fact…</p>
<p>When our son arrived home after McNair Candidate Weekend, he was so impressed with the Honors College that he announced he would be attending USC even if he did not win the McNair. He felt so strongly about this that, after the acceptance letter arrived from Vanderbilt, he said, “I really hope I don’t win the [full-boat] Cornelius Vanderbilt [merit scholarship] because people might start putting pressure on me to reconsider my decision.”</p>
<p>About halfway through our son’s freshman year, he told us, “Man, these Honors College kids are ‘legit’ academically! I can’t coast or I’ll get into big trouble.” The bottom line is that our son is challenged academically by the Honors College, loves the Honors College, and has not second-guessed his decision to turn down the elite private schools. P.S…</p>
<p>I remember that, at the end of a tour of one of the most elite Ivy League schools, our son turned to me and said, “I would never want to go to school here. I really don’t like the people. They’re too full of themselves.” Wild1…there’s your cue. Get to work on those applications. You’ll fit right in up north!</p>
<p>I’m not saying that I’m too smart for USC. I know plenty of smart people who have gone to USC. I just find it a little bit ridiculous that the HC app is longer than the supplement for most top colleges. I go to an extremely strenuous high school and I don’t have that much time to spend on college apps. Since USC is my safety, I didn’t want to have to spend so much time on it so I asked if it would be that competitive and if my essays would be extremely important.</p>
<p>It’s your choice. Write whatever answers you’d like. And when the results of your half-assed application come back, and the result isn’t what you expected, then don’t come crying to us. </p>
<p>Honestly, what did you think we’d say when you posted this question? Obviously, you have put on work for acceptance. No getting around it. I’d think a high achieving student like you would know that. Nothing will substitute hard work. </p>
<p>And do you think that the rest of the applicants to USC honors have no work to do? That you’re the only one who has schoolwork? Well let me inform you that that is not the case. We all have work; that is no excuse for not putting your best efforts in. </p>
<p>But like I said, it is your choice. Do as you like. Just remember, there are consequences for your actions (or on your case, arrogance).</p>
<p>Wild1, </p>
<p>Applying to the Honors College is optional. You can apply to SC as your safety without applying to the HC. Then the application is quite simple and much less time consuming. </p>
<p>I get the impression that most students who are applying to the HC have top stats and an extremely rigorous course load. I doubt they are less busy than you. It is also our assumption that the HC application is the way it is in order to weed out those who are not truly interested and so that they can make better informed impressions of the applicants outside of test scores, gpa, etc.</p>
<p>Here’s the thing…when you are applying to highly competitive schools, which you seem to care more about, lots of students have your stats or better. You won’t stand out as much as you think. Yes, the app for HC is a huge pain and is equal to what Ds did for top scholarships at top schools but it is basically the app for the top scholarships at USC, Carolina scholars and McNair. So, if you only care about having USC as a safety, don’t do the honors app. Capstone scholars are picked by scores so you probably would get that. If the only way you’d be happy at USC is in Honors, then spend the time on the essays. It is likely you can use them (or some version of it) for another college essay. Just don’t assume your favorite school will fall your way, especially if you are counting on merit aid. Ds got into lots of top schools that offered no money and stats were higher than yours.</p>
<p>Willd1, I understand where you’re coming from. I think I might know what school you go to from previous posts and I get it. It’s hard. You’re stressed. You have little free time.</p>
<p>At the same time, I went to a very rigorous high school as well where I had almost zero free time along with every other student at my high school and we still had a kid go to Stanford and had a range of acceptances into some amazing colleges, including the USC Honors College. It is what it is.</p>
<p>If USC is your back-up, then maybe you don’t even want to apply for the Honors College. If you end up going to USC, you can always apply for the HC as a transfer. More than likely though, from what I’m gathering here, you won’t go there and you don’t want to.</p>
<p>It is what it is. The Honors College will not make or break your experience here if you do decide to come here. If you think your time could be more valuable spent elsewhere, then that’s your call.</p>
<p>And sorry if there are any errors in this. Just got back from the Mizzou game. It’s been a long day. lol</p>
<p>The SC Honors app is used to weed out students who aren’t serious about being here. Those who make it through the app and are accepted in are some of the highest tier students I’ve witnessed.</p>
<p>I go to a prep school up North.</p>
<p>
Way to throw around stereotypes. That’s pretty helpful to the discussion.</p>
<p>To take Harvard as an example, only 17% of students come from New England. 19% come from the South.</p>
<p>[Student</a> Life | Harvard University](<a href=“http://www.harvard.edu/student-life]Student”>http://www.harvard.edu/student-life)</p>
<p>So I guess that means Southerners are just as “full of themselves” as Northerners.</p>
<p>I’m certainly not seeing the famed “Southern hospitality” in this thread. Or is that just a stereotype as well?</p>
<p>Lighten up, ya’ll are just a bit too defensive.</p>
<p>@Willd1 Hey, I am a current Honors College student at USC. I am also a McNair Scholar, Lieber Scholar, AP Scholar with Distinction, etc. from up north. I had a 2270 SAT and a 4.4 GPA. I was accepted by the University of Pennsylvania, Duke, UNC Chapel Hill, Schreyer Honors College at Penn State, UCLA, and Stanford among others. Despite the prestige of the institutions to which I was admitted, I chose to be a Gamecock. The Honors College at USC is the #1 Honors College in the country. Our undergraduate International Business program is also #1 in the nation. On the other end of the spectrum, we also have the #3 football team in the nation. Academically, the honors program here is no joke; our average test scores are increasing each year, and very few applicants are accepted. I strongly advise that you spend a good amount of time on your Honors College app. Considering your test scores and GPA are pretty average by Honors College standards, I definitely would not consider SCHC to be a “safety” option. Your average scores mean that you need to set yourself apart from other applicants; this is done through the completion of several creative and meticulously-phrased essays. You say that SCHC would be “free” for you to attend, but this is only the case if you are awarded the McNair scholarship. Your Honors College app serves as the app for this scholarship, and since only 20 students out of thousands of applicants are named Scholars each year, I would take it seriously. I warn you against ruling out USC just because you feel it’s academic prestige pales in comparison to the other schools to which you are applying. The students at USC are some of the smartest, kindest, and most genuine people I have ever met. This is an incredible institution on all levels, and you’d be wise to try your hardest to be a part of the Gamecock family.</p>