<p>Hey everyone, I've applied to most of the colleges I'm interested in, and now I'm starting to look at their honors colleges. With my grades I can get in to almost all the public universities in my state, but because of my lower SAT scores I don't qualify for all of the honors colleges. This got me wondering, is it better to go to a less prestigious school and be in their honors program, or attend a more renowned university as just a regular student? For example, I have the grades and test scores necessary to get into the Honors College at Texas Tech, but at UT I would just be a normal student. Which option should I go with? Is the Honors College a really big deal, or does it make little difference? Thanks in advance for any help!</p>
<p>Depends on the benefits that come with the program I.e preferred housing, priority course registration, smaller classes, research, faculty advisors, etc</p>
<p>Hi LittleTexan,</p>
<p>Hopefully I can help you. I have a S going to UT (no honors classes) and a D going to Tech in the honors college. They are truly the perfect fit for each of them.</p>
<p>My S loves UT. There is so much to do, loves living in the city and thinks Austin is the best place for him. Classes are tough and they are big your freshman year. Registering for classes also not much fun. He never got all the professors he wanted and had to change his schedule around but it has worked out okay. There are lots of classes to choose from. He was a top high school student and I think going into UT as just a number was tough for him. He didn’t really interact with his professors until his junior year. This was partially because classes were so huge, the professors a little intimidating and that he was shy. He still would not change schools. Loves UT and the atmosphere there!</p>
<p>My daughter is in the honors college at Tech. Great advantages are living in Gordon first year, being able to register before anyone else (this is a huge advantage!) and having a group of people that are similar to you in academics. Honors students seemed to take there studys more seriously, still partied and had fun, but made great grades. She was also very busy meeting people, attending clubs but the activity was centered more around the school than at UT. Not much to do in Lubbock although everyone in the community and the school are very friendly. Honors advisors are the best and I do feel she gets more support.</p>
<p>So, a few items helped drive the decisions my kids made. My son wanted a city to live in. He is very liberal. My daughter is a little more conservative. Lubbock has grown on her. It’s small and manageable. For my daughter, who wanted to be an engineer, it was an easy choice. She probably could not have gotten into the school of engineering at UT so the honors college was perfect for her. She has a 4.0 GPA, loves her classes and professors. </p>
<p>Obviously, you need to visit to see if you can picture yourself at that school. Make sure you can get into the major of your choice at UT.</p>
<p>Hope this helps a little!</p>
<p>Cat2fat’s reply was superb contrasting the prestigious, flagship university experience (UT but could have been A&M) as a regular student versus the special treatment you receive as an honors college student at a less prestigious, but still very good university (Texas Tech). My son graduated from Tech’s Honors College a few years ago and had a wonderful experience, exactly as cat2fat described. The first year honors classes are limited to 25 students or so with lots of interaction with the professors versus the huge lecture classes 200-300 student lecture classes. I would recommend Tech as an honors college. Lubbock is nothing like Austin but can certainly more than hold its own versus a College Station or Waco. If you decide “regular student” at a flagship is the way to go and you live in North or central Texas, you might also consider the University of Oklahoma and University of Arkansas. Both are much smaller than UT or A&M, but have fiercely loyal alums and great traditions. My son’s choices were Tech’s Honors College, OU as a regular student and University of Tulsa. Best of luck.</p>
<p>Anyone have experience with the Honor Program at UT Dallas. My D should get into the Engineering school at UT but the size of the university and the fact that she would love to get out of Austin, her hometown (nothing against Austin except her parents still live here). Plus a potential scholarship to UTD would be helpful financially.</p>