Choosing between the two programs - Can anyone give insight pros and cons between the two programs? Which would you choose?
http://www.reddit.com/r/gatech/comments/2sbylb/how_difficult_is_the_honors_program/
http://www.reddit.com/r/gatech/comments/23eiaz/why_is_the_honors_program_so_restrictive/
http://www.reddit.com/r/gatech/comments/2shdgo/applicant_question_what_are_benefits_of_the/
http://www.reddit.com/r/gatech/comments/21ce7l/questions_about_the_grand_challenge/
^links don’t work
they do. **** = reddit
Sorry! I forgot about the editing on CC. Yes, these are from the GA Tech Reddit area.
You’re lucky to be able to choose between the two! (I assume you wouldn’t be asking otherwise at this point.) The two programs are quite different.
HP has students take special topics courses, such as these: http://honorsprogram.gatech.edu/content/spring-2015-special-topic-courses. It’s a way of getting a liberal arts-type education at one of the world’s finest technical institutes.
GC has students design solutions to real-world problems, such as: http://grandchallenges.gatech.edu/content/27/student-projects-2013-2014.
Each program is worthwhile for the living learning community and network of students it has. Each program offers events on and off-campus for its students. Currently, the GC students are tighter-knit than the HP ones, but HP is changing things next year so I’m not sure how things would be for you.
If you choose GC, you’ll still have the opportunity to take classes outside your major. If you choose HP, you can still get involved with projects that impact the community/world, such as via Engineers Without Borders or Engineers for a Sustainable World.
People dislike each program and people drop each program. GC is almost definitely more time consuming than HP - it entails a 3 credit class, so you can’t just slack off on your project.
When faced with your decision, I chose HP, but that’s not to say I wouldn’t be just as happy if I’d chosen GC instead.
@gogeorgiatech My Daughter was accepted to Honors but was also applying to the College of Sciences LLC SMART program since she will be a physics major. Do you know if students can do both? I know if they accept the spot in honors, they must live in honors. You mentioned the HP special topics but not the core classes. Is it true that the core classes are not necessarily harder than their non HP counterparts but that they are simply smaller sections and that in some classes, the recitations are with the professor and not with a TA?
I’m in the exact same situation. I have already been to an information session with Grand Challenges, and it is really impressive in terms of reach beyond Tech as well. I think the next step for me, and it would be wise for you too if you are able to do so, is to shadow both and possibly spend the night with a student in each program to get a better understanding.
@saismom Students cannot participate in both HP and SMART because HP requires freshmen to live in Hefner/Armstrong while SMART requires freshmen to live in Folk/Caldwell. If you look at the SMART FAQ, though, it says HP math/science majors are “welcome to participate in the SMART LLC program excursions and may be considered for SMART scholarships.” (http://smart.gatech.edu/faq)
HP core courses vary. HP Physics is just one specially-designated section of modern physics (meaning you do coding in your lab and you don’t have a recitation - it’s super popular and there’s a good chance one would be taking it anyway instead of classical physics). HP English is like a regular English class - there’s huge variation between all English classes at Tech in the first place, HP calculus is proof-based (but also not existing 2015-2016, I believe), HP CS for engineers is like regular CS but with a project which ends up being a huge grade boost, HP chem addresses the policy side of chemistry in addition to actual chemistry, HP bio has a huge project which spans the semester and includes field trips. I don’t think there are any other HP core courses.
Thanks so much! Will pass the info to my daughter. She actually thought some of the elective courses looked interesting and is looking forward to them. Yes, I noticed the math sequences have changed.