<p>D is considering pursuing the NM scholarship at one of these but we know very little about the culture/feel of these campuses. She likes schools in a city that still feel like a true campus. Thoughts on the quality of the honors programs as well as dorms would be appreciated.</p>
<p>Arizona has more of a true campus than ASU, but you really have to visit to see if ASU fits your needs for a campus feel. The Honors College at ASU has its own little corner of the ASU campus. The facilities are very nice and the academics are wonderful. Arizona has a couple of Honors College dorms (one just opened this year), but they are part of the UA campus.</p>
<p>TCM, we’ve visited ASU but not UA, but DS is applying to UA (may make a visit in the spring if it’s still in the running). He’s more of a humanities kid, and UA has better depth in that area. ASU’s facilities are amazing, but (as glido points out) pretty separate from the rest of campus - there’s an honors dining hall (which non-honors kids have to pay extra to eat at), an honors workout room, an honors computer lab, etc. The dorm rooms come in a variety of layouts (single, double, suite).</p>
<p>Do consider the overall university. Not all courses the full 4 years will be in the Honors College- you want the best nonhonors rigor as well. Check on the courses available in likely majors. Go for the best fit overall, not just the honors aspect.</p>
<p>Both UA and ASU are very good schools. The Barrett Honors College, however, is one of the best Honors Programs in the nation. Barrett is very well organized and spending a lot of effort in the honor students. There are also the endowment from the Barrett family to support the Honors College. UA’s Honor College is very average by comparison. If for Honors Program I would pick ASU Barrett over UA Honors. (Full disclosure: my son is a Barrett senior)</p>