I noticed in the Class of 2020 thread that most posters were not applying to Honors. What are the positives and negatives of participating in Honors programs?
To me one of the drawbacks of University Honors is the requirement to live in the Honors dorms. Some kids can’t afford those dorms, some would prefer a nicer dorm (Hullabaloo) and some wNt to branch out from the “Honors crowd” post high school.
I was one of the posters in the Class of 2020 thread and one of those not applying to honors. I had heard from a couple of different people that some college honors programs just added a lot of extra class work with extra costs without showing much benefit. I don’t know about TAMU’s honor college specifically but I thought I would do better spending the time and money taking another couple of courses like a foreign langauge. My other reason for not doing honors is the dorm situtation. I am planning on living off campus freshman year. and didn’t really want to sacrifice that for the mandatory dorm. I am applying to business honors though. Who knows if I will get in.
I think you could probably branch out by joining different clubs and organizations and find other friends outside of the honors dorm. So if you really want to join honors, i wouldn’t let the dorm requirement stop you.
First of all, there is more than just University Honors available, many majors/colleges also have honors programs & other select groups. Positives are definitely early registration with honors programs. Negatives/positives after that are based on your perspective. They often have opportunities for meet & greets and special activities. UH has honors housing, some other honors programs do not have that. They have additional activities you attend. They require a certain GPA to retain your status (often 3.5), require certain courses be taken at honors levels. Offer/require different opportunities for involvement. Some require internships. I guess it is all based on your perspective. Some honors programs are more competitive for admission than others and the same is true for some of the other select groups. Some also offer scholarships specifically for honors.
I had one opt for Business Honors Program, the other opted for a specialty program within her major. For their respective years, they would have both qualified for UH but elected not to participate in that group. The UH program has changed in recent years, adding the housing element, making admission application based (use to be check this box) & different requirements academically. Everyone has their own reason to choose one option over another. It truly is an individual decision based on your personal set of pros/cons. Everyone can be successful, there isn’t as wide of a gap between honors/non-honors at this school as there is at some other universities, so students don’t feel like it is do or die when it comes to honors. Do a little research within your field of study to find the opportunities that best fit your plan for college.
One item of note is that being in an honors program is NOT required for graduating with honors nor awarded based on enrollment in a certain amount of honors courses. It is straight GPA based calculated at the end of your final semester ( magna, summa & cum laude).