Honors College - is it a good idea? Pros and cons?

[JPE]

Hello, my son was recently accepted and invited to join the honors program. Does anybody have an idea on whether this is worth it, or a good idea? From my understanding, it seems to somewhat segregate students with strong academics into special dorms as well as classes. Is the purpose to provide a stronger academic environment, or is it more of a way to provide distinction on a resume?

My son plans to pursue engineering, and some professors in that department felt the honors program did not offer much benefit. They felt engineering students already take more of the advanced classes, and the honors dormitory is not conveniently located for engineering students.

[hokie95]

The feedback my daughter got from current engineering students on the honors college was positive overall. Pros: honors dorm (good location, quieter, and good for study groups), smaller classes, priority registration. Cons: honors classes are extra work (generally one extra project or paper per class), extra requirements. In the end several of the kids we talked to dropped honors college at some point during their four years but all felt it was valuable in the earlier years.