So I want to apply to take honors classes at citrus college, and I was wondering if anybody here knows anything about honors courses in general? what is it like? how much harder is it compared to regular classes? Is it worth it? especially considering that keeping my GPA high is important for transfer, should I apply? My high school gpa overall is a 2.6…but my 12th grade gpa is 3.5…And is the honors program important, or necessary for transferring to UCB, UCLA?
I didn’t go to Citrus College, but taking honors classes at my CC really helped me and completing the program was definitely worth it. If you go to an accredited honors program, you’re eligible for UCLA’s TAP program, which significantly increases your chance of acceptance if you’re applying for L&S. According to my honors counselor, TAP students get in at an 80-90% rate while non-TAP applicants get in at around 20-25%. You’re also allowed to select an alternate major in your application–so, if they decide you’re not a good fit for your first major, they can review you for another. As far as benefits beyond TAP go, I’d say that being part of the honors program at my CC really improved the way that I write and the way that I approach research. Some honors classes were easier than my non-honors classes, and vice versa, it all depends on the subject and professor. It’s all up to you and what your goals are, but in my case, being in an honors program was a huge help.
I noticed that the honors courses at my community college always included a research paper of some kind and usually a presentation as well in the curriculum (along with the usual midterm and final). There was also usually a lot more group work than individual work. Other classes didn’t usually require as much work. Also, the classes were always smaller (they got down to under 20 people by the end of the semester) and supposed to be formatted in a socratic seminar fashion, where students have open discussions about the material. Some professors followed this format, while others combined it with lectures, or just lectured entirely without any discussion. I think all of this was supposed to better prepare us for what the classes are like at four year universities. I guess I’ll find out whether honors prepared me or not this fall!!
Honors courses at CC don’t seem to be harder than the normal ones except for a couple extra assignments, from what I’ve seen; it may differ at various CCs. If you enroll in the honors programs that offer those courses, and satisfy their requirements, you can benefit from significantly increased chances of successfully transferring to UCLA. Berkeley doesn’t really have an agreement with CCs with regards to priority consideration for admission for those who complete honors courses.
Honors classes aren’t really necessary for being competitive as a transfer applicant to these schools, though.
how high is the rate of acceptance into the honors program if I apply?
I loved SMC’s Scholars program. The biggest reason was that the professors were amazing! And having a smaller class size was also awesome.
@Underdog95 you should email the Honors coordinator and ask. SMC’s was something like 85-90% acceptance thought the years.