Honors Program

I’m interested in finding out more about the Honors Program. Does anyone have any experience with it? Thanks!

I can only speak from an engineering perspective. My son was invited to the honors math track and it was nice because he had small classes (they’re all small anyway, but these were a bit smaller), had good teachers, and was around all strong students (5 on AP Calc BC to be invited in). He elected not to apply to the general honors program, because for engineers, the classes add to rather substitute for classes in an already packed curriculum. If the classes required for honors can be used as part of your standard curriculum, then I’d recommend it. Honors students always have priority during enrollment period. They go close to the athletes! Good luck!

My son will be in Mechanical Engineering, so it sounds like the general honors program might not make sense for him. I didn’t realize there was a separate honors math track. Are there other subject specific honors tracks?

I think, but am not certain, that math is the only one. I’m not absolutely certain the admission criteria either. It’s based on AP score. I know a 5 on the Calc BC AP will get an invite to Honors Calc III, but I don’t know if a 4 will. I also don’t know what will get an invite into Honors Calc II. Here’s the number to the honors college: Phone: 805-756-7029. Congrats to him BTW! It’s a great program and a tough admit.

Thanks. Cal Poly is his first choice, so he was pretty bummed when he got deferred from ED. Very happy to have gotten in RD.

I’m curious, though, about the general honors program course requirements. The FAQ says that it shouldn’t add to the number of credits needed, as the honors courses are supposed to replace regular GE courses. Did your son have a lot of AP credit, so he wouldn’t need to take those GE courses? Mine will have some, but we won’t know the extent until after he takes the AP exams in May.

The program definitely looks intriguing, but I also don’t want him to be extra stressed out, especially his first year.

He did. He researched it and said the classes he’d have to take would have just added bulk. He’s an ME also. The curriculum is rigorous, he’s heavily involved in an engineering club and has a campus job, so he didn’t want to squeeze anything else in. I can’t blame him. There has to be some non-academic time for sports, surfing, hiking, parties, etc. too. It may work better for your son thought. Good luck!

Thanks. That makes sense. We definitely want him to have time for non-academic stuff!

This is what my son did, and it worked for him and makes sense. It’s one approach.

He went to the day where everyone talks about their clubs, in booths on campus I think, and went to several meetings of several clubs that interested him. He narrowed to one, but then quit going for two reasons. One, freshmen often don’t have much to offer. He felt like he wasn’t a good enough welder or drafter and didn’t have enough engineering course work to be of much assistance. Second, he wanted to make sure he got all his academic ducks in a row. The adjustment is daunting even on the most organized, smartest students. During his second year, after he got good at Solidworks and had some important real engineering classes under his belt (mechanics of materials, dynamics, etc.), he dove in feet first.

Most engineering students feel like it’s pretty straightforward until the first round of tests. Then they realize they might be long, possibly too long to finish, or their profs are extremely picky graders, they get a few grades lower than they’re used to, and they adapt. It’s typical.

Make sure he get’s syllabi and old tests online for all the classes that he plans to use AP or dual enrollment credit for that are classes he will build upon, Calculus and Physics for example. He can then see if he has the chops to move on. If he’s a little rusty, he can just bone up on those topics. If it’s all foreign, he should repeat. There’s a HUGE advantage to being ahead, but that’s the only way to know if you’re ready. Good AP scores, are that, good AP scores. If he does that he won’t be surprised.

Good luck!

Calc BC has been difficult for him this year, for a variety of reasons, so even if he scores well on the AP exam, he may consider taking the standard sequence next year just to make sure he is well grounded. We’ll have to see about Physics. Chem was a couple years ago, so he will definitely want to take that again. It’s most likely that he will use the AP credit for GE stuff, but not for Math or Science.

That’s interesting to hear about your son’s club experience. Mine hasn’t been a real club enthusiast in HS, so it remains to be seen whether he gets into them in college. He was looking at the list online the other day, though and I think there were a number that were intriguing to him.

Thanks for all your information and insights!

My son is in his second year, Business major/ Accounting Concentration and is in the Honors Program. He has been able to take the Honors requirements thus far that also cover GE requirements. But he passed 10 AP exams in HS so it has been a little tricky to navigate things he still needs and meet the requirements of the program.

Thanks @Proudmomof2boys, that’s good to know. My son will have taken 10 AP exams by the end of HS, but we won’t know until May what his final results will be. The Honors Program application will be due before then.

What does your son think of the Program? Is he enjoying it? Did/does he live in the Honors housing?

@berkeleymom4, I wouldn’t council him to repeat Chem. Materials builds on it a bit, but the course sequence doesn’t go beyond the single course. It’s rigorous and time consuming with labs and best eliminated if possible. As for math, he won’t want to move forward if he hasn’t verified that he’s ready. If he is though, it’s a waste of time and money to repeat it. The ME curriculum is 200 hours, 20 more than the average Poly degree. It’s already longer than 4 years by design. If he can get a jump without compromising his foundation, it would be very useful.

@eyemgh, it looks like a 2 course Chem sequence (124 and 125), but he didn’t score high enough on the AP exam to place out of 124. We’ll just have to see with the math. He may well be more comfortable with some parts than others. I’ll certainly suggest he look at the syllabus for each of the courses he ends up being able to get AP credit for.

I forgot, my son had dual enrollment credit for Chem. I don’t think a 5 will even completely eliminate Engineering Chem.

Right. A 5 will get you out of 124, but not 125.