Honors vs. Community-Based Research Scholars

Hello all,

I recently received my acceptance into American University, but was not admitted into the Honors program. This surprised me a bit because American was more of a safety for me and I thought I had a good chance of getting into honors. I was however, admitted into the Community Based Research Scholars program.

I don’t know much about this program, and I would like to know how it compares to the honors program. How selective is it? What sort of opportunities are available to CBRS students? I really had only planned on going to American if I were admitted under honors, but if CBRS seems to be a good option I might still consider it.

Thank you!

I am in the exact same situation! Also, I’m wondering, which is better: the Scholars program or the University College? Let me know if you find out anything!

Long story short: the honors program was revamped last year and has gone from selective to very selective (there was a metric for this when I was a junior last year and actually cared, but believe me when I say that it’s extremely selective now) because AU’s Honors Program wants to model itself off of prestigious Honors programs at Ivies, etc. In the past, the Honors program took pretty much anyone who qualified with the minimum GPA requirement.

In my opinion, freshman shouldn’t read too much into the LLCs. If you’re in it for the learning experience, be my guest. But if you’re in it to bump your nascent, high-school-filled resume and you think it’ll give you some competitive edge, don’t. LLCs started out at AU as just a way to unite students with similar interests and backgrounds and, due to the interest and positive feedback AU has received about them in previous years, AU has decided to try to make this CBRS program that really does nothing for you but give you more work (research, mandatory Freshman Service Experience, onboarding, blah blah blah) for little return. There are so many better ways to do research, participate in volunteer work, and boost your resume. It’s a joke. Given what I’ve just said, I can’t say with certainty how selective it is.

P.S. University College is not selective.

edit: I’m a senior. This is only my opinion.

Hi there! So, I’m a current freshman in the CBRS program and I’d first like to point out that every person chosen to be in CBRS is within honors-range and therefore chosen for the program based on their interest in community service. It’s true that the honors program has become more selective, but that does not mean that CBRS is any less selective–in fact, it’s highly selective as well and chooses students based off of their interests as well as their academics. Within CBRS, you are given the opportunity to live in an LLC which is an excellent experience because you really get to know your fellow classmates and bond with them outside of class! CBRS has a lot of research merit that is not typically offered outside of the program. It’s true you can do research without being in the program, but this research is much more specific to non-profits with the DC area. Furthermore, in CBRS, you will take a class for the first year that will guide you in your research pursuits. This year, we learned a lot about research proposals, how to construct and carry them out, which is a skill that will absolutely be helpful in research we conduct outside of the program. It does, too, boost your resume. I currently intern at a non-profit that was extremely interested in my work within CBRS and were impressed when I explained the work we do (which helped land me the internship over other applicants!) Again, it is true that you can get research experience and resume builders outside of CBRS, but you do get an advantage within CBRS with those things. Moreover, the program offers a lot more than that: faculty connections, support and classmates you will absolutely become close to. If you have any other questions, feel free to email the ambassadors to the program (who should have reached to you, I believe!). Good luck and hope to see you on campus!

Hi! I’m also a freshman in the CBRS program and can say that it will immensely help your resume. I personally have gotten two different job opportunities, because of the skills I’ve acquired in the program.