Honors College vs. Other schools

Hi, I was recently accepted to the UVM honors college, and am very pleased as it is one of my to programs. However, I was additionally accepted to Boston University, University of Rochester, Kenyon, and several other higher ranking schools.

What is the general academic lifestyle in the honors college, and how does this designation relate to other colleges?

A college admit counselor from Columbia recently told me the uvm honors college is ranked higher in prestige than Vassar… is this true? Im trying to figure out which school I would succeed and grow in, but also afford. I’m looking to go to a high ranking grad school and/or law school so any help would be much appreciated

Hello G4R217. This is my first CC post so apologize for the wordiness…I cannot speak to the national ranking or perception of UVM HC however my daughter recently visited the honor college accepted student day program and stayed overnight in the HC dorm and loved it. Like you, she was accepted to higher ranking schools as well as the Scholar Program at Univ of Maryland College Park where she received a merit scholarship (she is MD in-state). After her stay in Burlington she chose the UVM Honor College. Both she and my husband felt the individual attention daughter would receive there was exceptional vs the other schools. Daughter kept commenting about how intelligent and friendly everyone was in the HC and the campus as a whole. “Aware” and “polite” are words she also used about the students and faculty. They were told that all the research is performed by the undergrads and there are no grad students teaching the classes. Have you visited the school? In my opinion, and this is what I told my daughter: go to the school where you personally will be the happiest. If you are happy you will be successful. No undergraduate degree is worth $250,000 or more, especially if money is an issue for you and your parents. Get the best grades you can and save the money for grad school. UVM gave our daughter a generous merit scholarship - although it will be more expensive than the Univ of MD, UVM’s 100 level lecture halls are approx 125 students vs Univ of MD’s 400 students. Burlington, VT is also a very beautiful town with lots to do. I hope this helped!