Hello,
Can anyone explain the idea of honors college? I tried looking into it but I don’t seem to be understanding the idea entirely especially after someone told me that honors college isn’t “worth it” which really confused me even more. I would like to know more about the benefits not just during college but after college (Also can you graduate early through honors college?) I’m looking at two schools right now (ASU and U of Minn) and their honors program looks good but I just a bit more help understanding this.
Thanks!
Every school’s honors college (or program) is different.
Some benefits found at some schools:
- early registration for class - means you’re less likely to get locked out as classes fill up
- special housing
- smaller class sizes
- advanced sections of courses specifically for Honors students
- enrichment programs
- more opportunities to do research
- a special Honors adviser to help you with scheduling
Some cons found at some schools:
- adds to the General Education requirements, making it more difficult in certain majors to graduate on time (I’ve seen Honors program that weren’t open to science and nursing majors for this very reason)
- can isolate you in an “honors bubble”
- “honors” sections of classes might not really be anything special
- many just don’t live up to the hype
Typically an honors program isn’t going to help you graduate early - it can even add to the required number of courses you need to take.As for benefits after college - you can write on your resume you graduated with honors, but that probably won’t make a difference to most employers.
Typically students who benefit from honors programs are high achieving students who are looking for additional academic rigor. And if you get the benefit of early registration - that can be huge at many schools.