<p>I should probably know, but what is an honors college? I know somewhat, but could someone please give me a specific description? Also, what are some of the prominent honors colleges?</p>
<p>There are as many answers to the question as there are honors colleges. Generally, they are an organization within a uni, college, or school that seeks to bring the best students in that institution together for living, studying, relaxing, and learning. The benefits to the students may include an honors dorm, honors courses (generally smaller enrollments than other intro courses), honors academic and career counseling, internships, early course registration, early housing registration, and some others. The benefits to the institution are that they can create a space where the brightest kids will be enabled to do their best work because they will fit better with their honors classmates than with the student body. But as I say there are many variations on the theme and you’ll have to look at each institution and how it is set up in each.</p>
<p>@jkeil911 is correct that there are many variations. My son found some that he really liked. Others did not appeal because the classes an honors student needed to take did not appeal to him personally. </p>
<p>Honors colleges can be a great choice for those attending a larger school. Honors colleges offer valuable perks and let you meet some of the top students at your college. However they are often oversold with glossy pamphlets implying a small LAC has been set up inside the larger university giving ann elite private education at the public school price. On this forum you’ll read posters who also say/imply that.</p>
<p>Depending on the program offerings may range from separate honors classes to taking just one honors seminar per semester. And some of the “honors” offerings may just be a special discussion section of the regular class (at many U’s you meet 2-3x a week in a large class with the prof, then everyone meets weekly in a discussion section with a TA). You really need to dig in to find what a particular school offers.</p>
<p>Keep in mind honors programs typically offer the small classes and hand-picked profs only the 1st two years of college. They can do this because doesn’t take that many classes to come up with a set that will meet the lower-division requirements for most majors. It is rare to find more than a token amount of upper-division classes since the honors program simply doesn’t have enough faculty members to create entire major(s). So the last two years most/all classes are taken with the rest of the students in the regular U’s classes. The teaching of the profs will be geared towards the normal U level, the discussions and student involvement in class will be dominated by the regular students, and so on. Class sizes may balloon, too, if you’re in a popular major.</p>
<p>Peer effects are big, too; when almost everyone around you at school is a strong student you have lots of good student to emulate in class or outside it such as doing research or internships. If the top kids are a few hundred strong dispersed among tens of thousands at the U then strong examples may be harder to see. When it comes to finding a job, employers are less likely to send recruiters to a campus with a limited number of honors seniors when they can get a campus-full at more highly regarded schools.</p>
<p>Honors colleges do offer some valuable perks, in addition to the classes. Typical ones include registering for classes before everyone else so you get the classes you want (a perk worth its weight in gold!), special counselors, guaranteed housing, special library privileges. They will mark your diploma with special recognition. But I would be dubious about attending a college for its honors program in place of a more highly regarded U if finances are not an issue. </p>
<p>Very helpful! Thank you. I will certainly consider all of these responses. </p>