<p>Hey guys. I recently received an email fro UW asking me to apply to the Life and Sciences Honors Program (I am going in as a Bio major). I just wanted to know how competitive it is to get into the honors program at UW and also what the benefits are.</p>
<p>I know the L&S Honors Program (Letters… I did not assume you meant this and my post reflects this) and it is very worth your while to apply for that, assume other schools/colleges also good. As a freshman most of your courses will be in L&S. At UW you can join an Honors program at any time but starting with your first semester gives you Honors SOAR advising and any special events for incoming freshmen. You are not required to take any courses every semester but are eligible for them while those not in the program may not be. No limits to the numbers in the program- the competition comes from meeting criteria and doing the application. A Botany or Zoology major could be in L&S as well as Ag the other school.</p>
<p>Specific Honors sequences are available for freshmen in L&S Calculus, Physics and Chemistry. Later the Biocore sequence is excellent for Biology (it has Chemistry prerequisites). Check the UW wbsite for other courses and the various program details. There are Honors sections of some courses and you can do extra for Honors credit in some without an Honors designation. There are also other advantages outside the classroom- see the website.</p>
<p>There are no special dorms. This is good as you are not limited in your choice of housing style or area. Honors program students live all over despite any claims that certain dorms are better than others.</p>
<p>I know of no disadvantages to being in an Honors program. It was great in my day and improved in my son’s recently. You need a B or better for Honors credit and this shows up on your transcript. Your diploma would also indicate the type of Honors degree obtained (see the UW website for specifics). You have the flexibility of taking as many or as few Honors courses in any department as you wish in any semester. Of course, if you don’t take enough you won’t fulfill requirements for graduating with Honors. UW does not do the gpa designations of magna, summa cum laud et al so the only way to get distinction on your diploma (and bragging rights) above the usual is through taking the Honors courses with officially getting Honors credit at the time (ie even if you do the work you have to have signed up to get H).</p>
<p>Go for it. Challenge yourself with the best courses and peer group taking them.</p>
<p>Would echo wis 75’s comments – definitely worth pursuing, though I only have a first semester freshman. In addition to Honors advisors, Honors discussion sections for large lecture classes, there is also summer research stipend you can apply for through Honors.</p>
<p>I have no idea how competitive it is to be admitted to Honors within different schools. My son, who is Letters and Science, felt like if you wrote reasonably interesting essays, you would probably be admitted. I don’t know if that is true. I didn’t double check the figures, but I generally recall that within Letters and Sciences, only about 10% of the students are in Honors. </p>
<p>As a parent, I really like that UW invites every admitted student (again, at least in Letters and Sciences) to apply for Honors, unlike many publics that have strict gpa and test score cutoffs and if you don’t make the cut-off, you are ineligible. </p>
<p>Apart from the essay-writing fatigue, I cannot think of a reason not to at least apply for Honors and, if accepted, to pursue Honors at UW. </p>
<p>Good luck, and congrats on admission to UW.</p>
<p>Thank you both so much for all of the insight! Yeah, I meant Letters and Sciences… Oops! I am definitely going to apply because it seems as though there are only positive benefits! Thanks again, Go Badgers!!</p>
<p>Just a few years ago UW did not invite every student to apply for the Honors program- ie circa 2005-6. They since decided every admitted student was of the caliber to do Honors work if they chose to. Most students will find the regular courses challenging enough. That 10% want more and it is available. Like public flagships in every state UW draws students who are of “Ivy League” caliber but for various reasons, including financial (and that there is nowhere near enough room for all qualified students) choose UW. The Honors courses provide courses that are as good as those found at the most elite US schools. Since the school serves the state’s students it also has courses that fit the majority of top WI HS grads and not only the extreme top. </p>
<p>Students will choose the Honors courses that suit them, often the regular courses suffice. An example is a foreign language- taking the regular sequence will provide knowledge without the extra work required, this time can be devoted to another course. I do recommend taking courses for Honors even if they are not related to your proposed major. However, everyone has strengths and weaknesses- it may be wise to stick to the regular course in an area you are not strong in. Your goals also matter- an engineering major may want the problem solving approach to calculus instead of the theory provided in the Honors Calculus sequence. There is a reason there are Honors advisors at SOAR- every student’s needs are different. One size doesn’t fit all and the UW Honors program offers something different for every student. Being in the Honors Program doesn’t restrict you in any way.</p>
<p>heyy, so approximately how long after you got your acceptance email did you get the email to apply for the honors program?</p>
<p>Girlwhowaited – cannot recall for sure, I think it was a few weeks between acceptance and invitation to apply for Honors, though my son was admitted in Feb not fall, so not sure if there may be a bigger gap between those dates for earlier admits. </p>
<p>Check your spam filter if you haven’t received it. You can also check for info online. </p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>Girlwhowaited – another important point about Honors app – the deadline is specific to you individually, based on when you were admitted. A few years ago on this board, there were some very frustrated folks who had missed the email invitation to apply. No guarantees, but I think the Honors app was due somewhere around 4-6 weeks after my son’s acceptance to UW. </p>
<p>So, if you have been accepted, this is something to follow up on promptly.</p>