<p>What is the difference between the two? Does it make a difference when you graduate or do employers/grad schools just see Penn state? Thanks</p>
<p>it really doesn't matter. most lower-level majors are in the honors program. engineering majors have a challenge either way. A degree is a degree, worry about learning the material that you need to know to be successful.</p>
<p>When you graduate, you do receive special recognition as an honors student and I believe that this is noted along with your academic information. Honors is definately more of a challenge, but there are also a lot of benefits to it. To complete the honors curriculum, you will write a thesis by the time you graduate, and this is a major piece of work that is something that most undergrads don't have that is impressive to grad schools. the honors college also affords the students more opportunities for special programs and gives them priority in scheduling classes, smaller class size with more attention, more personal advising, and the honors program staff will go out of their way to help you.</p>
<p>I'm a freshman at PSU in the honors college and definately think that it is the way to go. I've only been there 3 months now, and there have already been a lot of awesome opportunites and events just for the honors college. plus, the dorms we get are so much better than the regular ones. =)</p>
<p>if you have any other questions about the honors college, feel free to ask me.</p>
<p>and actually, there is quite a big percentage of the honors college that major in the sciences, so I'm not really sure what the previous poster is referring to when they said the "lower level majors". I know a lot of engineering majors in the honors college and I am personally in biochemistry.</p>
<p>Cool Uber, if I get into PSU (I should as long as I apply before Nov. 30) I think ill apply for Honors
The only bad thing is I got a 1300 instead of the min 1350 :( (if I dont get in i suppose there's always sophmore year to apply)</p>
<p>BTW-Hows is it up there now that PSU is going to BCS bowl :P?(I would think some of the vic parties woulda been great)</p>
<p>haha yeah it gets pretty crazy when we win any football game, but after beating michigan state, there were just masses of people out in the streets yelling penn state cheers all night, and a ton of crazy parties of course.</p>
<p>and even if you don't have the SAT, if you have something exceptional about you then you've got a shot at honors i think. good luck.</p>
<p>even if you're not in the honors college, you can still take honors classes, too (which really is great; my honors class this semester was by far my favorite). </p>
<p>and uber, until honors housing gets moved to west, i challenge you on the "better housing" :)</p>
<p>haha yea okay i'll give you west dorms, but for freshmen who generally get stuck with east halls, the honors dorms are definately better</p>
<p>My S was admitted to PSU and now I've found out about the honors college. He has the SAT score to qualify, however, we were unaware of the program.</p>
<p>If he doesn't apply this year (which apparently isn't going to happen as the deadline is tomorrow), I've been told that typically students can transfer into an honors program after their freshman year. Is this true at Penn State? </p>
<p>I'm still not sure of all the implications of the honors college, but my understanding is that it helps keep kids academically focused, which is a concern at a large college.</p>
<p>Apple17:</p>
<p>The 11/30 deadline does not appear to be a hard cutoff:</p>
<p>"Applications postmarked after the priority deadline of November 30, 2005 are reviewed on a rolling basis, with notifications on or after the first-round date of February 21, 2006. The final application postmark deadline is March 17, 2006."</p>
<p>WilliamC,</p>
<p>Thanks for noting that. So I'm back to my original questions:</p>
<ol>
<li> Is this impossible to get into? My S does meet the SAT requirement (1430).</li>
<li> Is this worth exploring?</li>
</ol>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>Doesn't look impossible. For 2004:</p>
<p>"Fall 2004 entering Scholars had an average SAT of 1428 and an average weighted high school GPA of 4.08."</p>
<p>and 2005 was 1427/4.09</p>
<p>It appears that the program is well thought of by grad schools and the same batch of employers who cherry-pick the College here at Penn every year.</p>
<p>So, yes, I'd say it's worth filling out the forms and writing the $25 check. It would be interesting to know how many spots are filled by the pre-11/30 applicants though.</p>
<p>My son was accepted to Schreyer last year, but ultimately decided to go elsewhere. There will be openings and thus a possibility of admission for the fall.</p>