<p>The mentality at my high school seemed to suggest that the "Honors College" route was the best option. Essentially, a large % of the best students from my high school go to honors colleges at inexpensive lower tier places instead of "top tier" places. What do you all think: Good idea? Bad idea?</p>
<p>Depends on the school. Michigan residents who get into the University of Michigan's Honors Program can get an outstanding undergraduate education that IMO is comparable to that offered by the very best LACs, at a fraction of the cost. Same is true at places like Texas, Penn State, Michigan State, to name a few I'm familiar with, and some of these schools offer generous merit aid to top OOS students. But it depends on how far down the academic pecking order you go. Schools like the above-mentioned have outstanding faculties in almost every field. Further down the food chain it becomes much spottier; even further down, there's just not very much real academic quality to be found. So I don't think you can generalize. You need to investigate school by school to see what caliber of students the Honors College is attracting, how it's structured, who's teaching, what their academic reputations and the reputations of their home departments are, what current and former students think of those programs, etc.</p>
<p>Honors colleges are often oversold, the glossy pamphlets giving the impression a small LAC has been set up inside a larger university. Honors colleges do offer some very valuable perks and let you meet some of the top students at your college. But when you're thinking of honors colleges the pitch is often that you're getting an elite private education at the public school price. Regrettably this isn't true.</p>
<p>Depending on the U's program, what they offer may range from taking separate honors classes to taking just one honors seminar per semester. Some of the honors offerings may just be a special discussion section of the regular class (at many U's classes can have 100-500 students, then everyone meets once a week in a smaller group with a TA). You really need to dig in to find what a particular school offers. And keep in mind honors college programs typically offer the small classes and top profs the brochures promise during the 1st two years of college, because it doesn't take that many classes to come up with a set that will meet the lower-division requirements for most majors.</p>
<p>It is rare to find more than a token amount of offerings upper-division since the honors program simply doesn't have enough faculty members to duplicate an entire major or set of majors. 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 that level, the discussions and student involvement in class will be dominated by the regular students, and so on. And class sizes may balloon, too, if your in a larger public U and a popular major. When it comes to finding a job, employers are less likely to send recruiters to campus with a limited number of honors college seniors compared to the campus-full they'll find 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 stamp your diploma with some indication of honors college or make a note on your transcript. But I would be skeptical of attending a college for its honors program in place of a more highly regarded U if finances are not an issue.</p>
<p>To give a specific example, bclintonk recommends the Penn State program among others. Skimming thru the student brochure it looks like they have a comprehensive advising system set up, they require a thesis, they encourage and support lots of opportunities for research, internships, etc. If I knew someone going to Penn State I'd definitely recommend they do the program. </p>
<p>But... They say "As a Schreyer Scholar, you’ll take 32 credits of honors courses before you graduate." That's 32 units out of the 120 you'll need to graduate, or only about 1/4 of your classes. The rest are regular Penn State classes, which could be of any size and which will have the ordinary level of rigor and content.</p>
<p>I have to agree with mikemac. I went to an already small LAC that offered an 'honors program.' The actual honors program was only 5 extra classes that were different from what the regular students took, and we were required to write a thesis. But anyone could write a thesis, and most of the 'honors electives' were regular upper-level courses that anyone could register for. Therefore, the honors program was mainly a sham.</p>
<p>So you have to look at what the actual stipulations of the honors college/program of the school is and what they have to offer you, and if possible talk to an admissions counselor about it. At most large universities it is NOT like setting up a small, private LAC just for you and a couple of other choice applicants -- more like you're taking honors-level classes at a huge university. Which can be great, but if you want to go to a small LAC, go to a small LAC, not an honors college in a huge university. They're different.</p>
<p>Mikemac gives a very good overview.</p>
<p>I opted for an Honors college at a public school. I would agree with Mike that the "Honors feel" is a bit oversold. That said the 2 honors classes I took out of 5 were filled with exceptionally bright students and we had some high level discussion that I think would be comparable to any institution in the country.</p>
<p>My non-honors classes were easy A's, and I had plenty of free time for activities such as working a research job with professors.</p>
<p>It will save my family thousands upon thousands of dollars and probably set me up perfectly for whatever grad school choice I decide on. In my case it was a no brainer, but you need to map out your own personal priorities in choosing a school. I think if you're planning on grad school it is a much more sensible option than burning money on a more prestigous undergrad.</p>
<p>As someone who does well at school, but likes not to have to kill myself for it, it's been a good balance.</p>