<p>I suspect many students admitted to the University of Florida who qualify
for the Honors Program (GPA/SAT above criteria) elect to not participate in
what seems to be a solid program. Further, I suspect many of these non Honors
Program participants have many AP, IB, etc credits. Do most of these qualified
non Honors Program participants choose to not participate in order to expedite
completion of the BA/BS moving on to professional/graduate programs?? </p>
<p>I didn’t make the SAT mark for the Honors program, and didn’t know that I could appeal. I would have definitely gotten in even if I had applied with appeal because a lot of people at my school with lower grades and less course rigor got in. </p>
<p>I didn’t choose to not go for it… but I didn’t know I could. Anyway I would also like to know the benefit of the Honors Program other than the option of being able to room in Hume and having first dibs on HONORS courses (which seems worthless).</p>
<p>D got into Honors, but didn’t complete the four classes. Took two: H phys 2060 and 2061. She had so many AP credit she only had one gen ed left (diversity), and so she opted to stop there. She was already into upperlevel engineering and science that was specific to her major and there were no honors sections for those. She’s doing honors in her major instead.</p>
<p>I got into Honors through the lateral admission last year, and ended up declining. </p>
<p>For me, the perks didn’t really outweigh the requirements. first of all, hume was WAY lout of my price range, last I checked I think it is like 1 thousand more per semester than any other dorm. I didn’t really think it was worth all that just to share a bathroom with less people, and besides, it is really far away from most classes. not as far as lakeside, but still far.
Also, if you are coming in with a lot of ap credits, the honors classes aren’t really very good options. they mostly only count for gen eds. I had already finished all of my gen eds, and as part of honors you have to take 4 of the honors classes, so I would have had to take extra classes that i didn’t need or want. besides, after I got accepted, and I started looking through the list of honors courses, I saw that I wasn’t really interested in any of them, so it would have just been a hassle to take them.<br>
also, I know there are honors advisors, but i think my advisor through the business college was pretty top notch, so I wouldn’t have ever needed them.</p>
<p>personally, if there had been a few more perks and privileges, I may have actually tried to continue with it after I got accepted, but in the end, it didn’t really seem like being in honors would have helped me much.</p>
<p>Students – I appreciate the replies, I’m a Dad here. My daughter’s
first choice is UF with her tickets honors level +. </p>
<p>In your minds, are you guys programmed thru a professional/graduate
school degree?? Once you’ve saved 4 courses(+)via AP/IB, is it worth it
to take on the 4 requried honors courses? One of you sort of said “No”.?? </p>
<p>Does the Hume/Honors Program make a large flagship university smaller as
some suggest? Does the Honors certificate assist with grad apps?</p>
<p>well, in that case it may be worthwhile to go into the honors if you want it on your grad school application. I had absolutely no plans on going to any kind of post-grad school, and am trying to graduate as early as possible due to financial issues, so that is why those extra 4 courses wouldn’t have worked for me. also, some of the advisors/crc reps I have met w/ sort of emphasized that for those more on the career track rather than aiming for academia, honors wasn’t that big of a boost.</p>
<p>but, a lot of my friends are in the honors program, and it seems like an extremely large percentage of honors students are aiming to go on to grad or med school, so in that case it may be worth it to join honors even if you have to take classes you don’t need.</p>
<p>For the question about the 4 APs… it would depend what APs they are and what credits they cover. Here is a link on AP credits and what they cover. </p>
<p>4 AP classes wouldn’t go over the 45 credit limit or cover all the gen ed (apparently no AP course covers diversity, so everyone has to take at least one gen ed course). So is it “worth it?” I don’t know, but your daughter will be taking more gen ed courses whether they be honors or regular to cover the credit requirement. I would suggest having your daughter take a look at the honors list of classes and see if shes interested.</p>
<p>The previous poster said it wasn’t worth it because he/she had completed their gen ed credits with their AP classes like I have. I personally don’t like gen ed classes and came to college to take subjects that I enjoy. Being forced to take certain classes that one has no interest in… well… it depends on the perspective. Some call it broadening your horizons, and some find it a waste of time.</p>
<p>I am actually debating… on whether to apply for the Honors program (you are allowed to apply during the fall semester of your freshman year) but I haven’t found real perks other than Hume… and first pick on Honors courses.</p>
<p>acheung-- Thanks for the input. With regard to the “4” AP/IB classes I added
a “+”. I was just trying to set up an equivalent with the Honors 4 course requirement.</p>
<p>Curious about two items-- </p>
<ol>
<li><p>The Business College student seems content with his non honors advisor. I
had thought having an honors advisor was a large selling point for the Honors
Program. Yes, No?</p></li>
<li><p>Beyond the 4 Honors courses the Honors student is required to select among
internship, research, or study abroad etc. Do you guys have first hand experience
with study abroad or know an Honors student who has completed study abroad?? </p></li>
</ol>
<p>I can only answer the 1st question, as I don’t think I know anyone who has done any study abroad. as far as i could tell from what I was told, the honors advisors are for more general things. sort the same as the liberal arts advisors in farrior hall, where they just tell you about what you need to stay on track, and can fill out forms and such for you and deal with people from all majors, but they just handle a smaller number of students than the ones in farrior.
but in the business college, the advisors are assigned by major, so i could get more specific help regarding my career and academic goals.</p>
<p>D’s honors advisor was helpful for her initial registration during preview. He reinforced what her dad had been telling her (which was different than what the engineering advisors had told her) and put her in Calc 3 to start like we wanted. Her dad is an engineering, knew her capabilities and told her she’d be fine doing that. Honors advisor, thank goodness, agreed. (Parenthetical: she got an A). He got her into her honors class (physics 2060), and he noticed the class she’d set aside for diversity had only a couple of spots, so he popped her in before she was sent into the room to “officially register.” However, for her … she’s a hard science girl (ChemE major), and she was already thru her GenEds. She wants to graduate in 4 years and w/ no summers, so that meant not filling in courses to fulfill the certificate that she didn’t need. A professor who’s mentoring her told her that honors in her major would be looked upon quite well for grad school, which is planning to attend. She’s been doing research w/ this professor since fall of her sophomore year, and she’s a paid undergrad assistant w/ her this summer. With that kind of support … getting the certificate for the honors program wasn’t high on her list. Her brother, who just graduated UCF from the Burnett Honors College, had quite a different experience with honors, including taking 10 honors classes, I think. But he also had a liberal arts degree: a B.A. in Economics, which was easier to work w/ a 4 year program. I do think having that on his transcript helped with his admission to UF law school where he’ll be going this fall. Good luck!</p>
<p>zebes- Thanks for the student case study. I’m pondering your anecdote.
My D has a strong interest in the Micro program. I note UF has a blended
bac/masters program that you apply for(MS) after approx a year on campus. Sounds
like the Honors advisor helped you guys out. This is good.</p>
<p>My D is a pretty serious student which is why I’m trying to sort out the pro’s
vs con’s of the general Honors Program. She will have considerable IB AP credits.</p>
<p>We are registered for the August 5th Honors Program get together for prospective
freshman. This should provide an even better feel for the general Honors Program.</p>
<p>By the way, I’m a full prof at UCF and have had considerable contact with UF
over the past 3 decades.</p>
<p>Even though I qualified for honors, I didn’t apply because I thought it a waste of time…and especially a waste of money if you select to live in Hume. Not all will agree, but this is my perspective. My thought process was that graduate schools and employers want to select and hire well rounded people - those who do something meaningful with their time. If all you can do on your application or interview is say “I am in the honors program at UF”…well, what did you do in this honors program? And if all you can say is “I got to live in a nicer dorm and took four required honors courses (and possibly study abroad)”…well, that may not cut it. You can study abroad without the help of this honors program. You can take other classes that can improve your marketability or open up new perspectives. You can volunteer how you want to and explore/participate in meaningful activities which you enjoy - and that will give you something meaningful to talk about on your application or in your interview. I’m not saying that the honors program is worthless, but to some - to me - it is. There are other, more meaningful honor programs/organizations out there that provide better opportunities. If all you’re looking for (not saying you are in particular) is prestige and to say “I’m in the honors program”…well, that will only get you so far.</p>
<p>Again, this just my perspective. Coming from an IB program with a lot of structure and guidelines, I enjoy having the room to explore without too many guidelines saying I have to take these classes or volunteer this many hours. College is finally my time to grow…on my time. </p>
<p>Hope this helps at all from a student perspective.</p>
<p>Edit: If your D is interested in microbiology, the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences has their own honors program that is THE ONLY upper division honors program at UF. You can take graduate courses as a undergrad, work closely with faculty, and perform independent research. You will automatically qualify for magna cum laude and those with 3.85+ GPA will graduate with summa cum laude.</p>
<p>Oh yeah, for other readers, graduating with honors is not the same as being in the UF honors program.</p>
<p>I will also say, and perhaps to her detriment, that she didn’t fully “embrace” honors at UF. By that I mean, she didn’t search out opportunities within the program, perhaps for additional advice, counseling, recommendations for fellowships/scholarships (excellent student at UF, btw). I think somewhat she was tired of an “honors” label, having always been labeled “gifted/honors.” And, again … she has seemed to create her own path, which has been working well for her. I know that the honors program at UF was in flux. There were a lot of people who felt that it just wasn’t “adequate” in terms of … take 4 classes, get a certificate. I know that there was a push for change, but I don’t know how much has been implemented since D started two years ago. UCF has an excellent honors college, which was a huge thing for S. And, if you don’t compare anything else about the two schools, UCF is hands down better in that area. D always wanted UF, however, and UCF did not have her major … so that was that. She did not, however, factor their honors program much into her decision making process. UF offered so much for her past that. But, again, she could have made more effort, and I am sure that their are kids within the program who thrive and find the environment both stimulating and helpful, in terms of advising, seminars, etc. Just wasn’t her “cup of tea.”</p>