<p>Im attending LS&A in the fall, and I'm debating whether or not to apply to Honors. I plan on transferring to Ross (assuming that I get accepted that is) my sophomore year, so I'm not quite sure if I would be benefited by joining Honors in the way that a person graduating from Honors would be. A family friend of mine, however, is on the board of directors of the Honors college, so of course she is very biased towards it. She told me that it would benefit me for the time I was there, my housing would be better, my classes would be better, I'd belong to a tighter community, etc. She also claims she can practically guarantee me acceptance if I apply.</p>
<p>So can someone preferably with experience with Honors help me out? First of all, how hard is Honors compared to regular LS&A? I'm a fairly strong student, but I don't want to be completely overwhelmed by my class load. And mainly, do you think it would be worth it for a student to attend Honors for just one year? Thanks.</p>
<p>And I have a second question. Am I too late to apply? I just read back over the introductory email I received, and this is what it says in terms of deadlines. Nothing seems very concrete.</p>
<p>"While we urge you submit your essay to us before the deadline, as long as we receive your essay by March 29, 2013, we promise to let you know our decision no later than April 24, 2013, a week before May 1st, when your enrollment deposit, confirming that you will attend the UM, is due.</p>
<p>If we receive your essay after March 29, 2013, but before April 15, 2013, we promise to let you know our decision no later than May 1, 2013, which is when your enrollment deposit, confirming that you will attend the UM, is due."</p>
<p>Honors is absolutely no different in terms of difficulty or class load. It’s a program, not a college, so you’re taking the same classes as non-honors students. The differences are that there are some classes that are honors-only, and some classes that have completely honors discussion sections tied in with the normal lecture section. These are not necessarily more difficult, but are just intended to create more engaging environments because the philosophy is that if you are in a section of entirely honors students, everyone will be more intelligent and willing to be involved.</p>
<p>This is flawed logic, because I’ve been in honors and non-honors sections and students have been equally intelligent and willing to participate. The issue is that honors students at UMich, unlike possibly at other schools, are not the smartest kids on campus. They’re simply the ones who applied to the program. There are hundreds of qualified students who don’t even apply to the program.</p>
<p>The main benefit is the housing, because you’re guaranteed housing on Central Campus, specifically West Quad (normally South Quad but it’s closed next year) and this dorm has possibly the greatest location on campus, and while it’s not the nicest dorm, it’s still very much nice enough. It would be worth it for you to be in honors for this year, just for the guaranteed housing. A lot of people I know went by this idea, and it’s worked for them nicely. The thing about being in honors for freshman and sophomore years is that it does absolutely no benefit to you in terms of academics in the long run, because you can enter the program in your junior year, bypassing all of the dumb requirements for the first two years, and still graduate with an honors degree by writing a thesis.</p>
<p>I’m not really going to say a definitive “yea or nay” to it for you, but here are all my thoughts and feelings so you can decide based on that.</p>
<p>Also, no, you’re not too late. As you can read, the deadline is April 15th, which is Monday.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input. I did read that due date, but I don’t know if I will be able to whip up an essay in two days. It doesn’t really list the 15th as a definitive due date though. It looks like there is potential to send it in later, but I won’t be guaranteed a response in time.</p>
<p>Was the “yay or nay” a homage to former Honors professor Ralph Williams or just coincidence?</p>
<p>No longer “former”! He’s my professor for English 368 this semester, haha.</p>
<p>Oh, good for him! He did strike me as the kind of guy who wouldn’t stay away too long.</p>
<p>jobryan, did you end up joining the honors college? and if you applied to ross yet or have heard anything else about applying for sophomore year, could you talk a bit about it because I’m planning on possibly doing the same thing (if i get accepted into michigan in the first place) but I’m class of 2014.</p>