<p>I was accepted into the Burnett Honors College but I don't know what to do. I'm afraid I'm going to miss out on college life because classes will be harder, but is that really the case? I'd like to work more hours when I go to college. Is there more homework or work in general to do in the honors program? I'll be living at home, so the pros of having a sweet dorm don't come into play here. Pros and cons would be great!</p>
<p>Thanks a whole lot, guys!</p>
<p>I think you have a big misconception about what the BHC offers.</p>
<p>First of all, the Honors Classes are smaller and not necessarily harder. (All the honors classes cover the same material. The exception is Bio 1 honors, which has a very different lab). Second, you don’t have to take all honors classes, and it’s impossible anyhow because not every class has an honors section.</p>
<p>Your requirements to graduate with Honors are</p>
<p>4 Lower Division (1000 or 2000) level classes. ENC 1101 and 1102 (English 1 and 2) must be two of them unless you APed/IBed/Other credit out of them. (This group is mostly gen. eds.)</p>
<p>3 Upper Division courses, including 1 honors seminar. These are any honors 3000 or 4000 level class. Depending on the major, you may be required to take specific classes, and the amount of classes offered for a major varies with the popularity. For example, Biomedical Science and Engineering majors have a bunch of honors classes, because those majors tend to be the most popular. Honors Seminars are “fun” classes that usually combine two disciplines and allow you to learn about something not relevant to your major but interesting to you. </p>
<p>Pass Honors Symposium your Freshman Fall- You literally have to try to fail this class (which is pass/fail). If you follow all instructions provided to the T, you will be fine. Also, you have to teach elementary school children for 5 weeks, which is really rewarding. (They will LOVE you.)</p>
<p>You also have to maintain a 3.2 GPA and a 3.0 honors GPA…which there’s really no excuse not to…short of horrible things happening in your life.</p>
<p>So ultimately, you have to take 8 honors classes out of the 10s of classes you take at UCF. Their content isn’t much harder than what you would find in a regular class.</p>
<p>Now to answer your specific questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>Is there more homework/work?</li>
</ol>
<p>Depends on the class. Most teachers don’t collect homework, they just provide suggested problems. It’s up to YOU to determine when you have done enough homework problems. However, the Freshman English classes do require a bit more work than their non-honors counterparts (if you have to take them). Work in general depends on the professor.</p>
<ol>
<li>Missing out on college life</li>
</ol>
<p>Already answered. The difficulty of honors classes aren’t changed. The professor is a better way to determine difficulty, not the honors designation.</p>
<p>Pros:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>You get to join Honors Congress, which has a ton of events, free breakfast on Mondays and other stuff.</p></li>
<li><p>You automatically get priority and multi term registration. Trust me, you want this. (Things like Chem II lab can be IMPOSSIBLE to get into otherwise.)</p></li>
<li><p>You get access to the BHC computer lab/reading room.</p></li>
<li><p>You get to choose honors classes, which are smaller and allow you to have more interactions with the professor. They may even learn your name (don’t count on it.)</p></li>
<li><p>There are more opportunities for you, such as scholarships, jobs etc. in the BHC</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Cons:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Meeting the honors requirements can be hard if you are entering with a ton of credits already and/or your major doesn’t have many honors classes.</p></li>
<li><p>You have to take Honors Symposium. I actually LIKED the class and thought it was interesting. However, most people do not enjoy it. (It’s a good way to meet others though!)</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I honestly can’t think of anymore cons. However, I may be biased. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.</p>
<p>Wow! Thanks for providing such clear insight on the program. I feel much more comfortable now with accepting the honors program.</p>
<p>Totally 2nd TheTicks assessment of BHC. S graduated from it in 2011. He did have a major which allowed flexibility with regards to obtaining the required honors coursework for graduation (BA Economics) and he did come in with a lot of AP credit. Advising was helpful and accessible, and the multi-term registration for every class (honors or not) was HUGE. He was NEVER shut out of a class he wanted/or needed. He did not particularly participate in Congress functions, as his out of class time was already jam-packed with other things, but he knows friends who really enjoyed this social aspect of the program. S also loved the honors building where he’d study between classes or use the free-printing (not sure if that’s still available or not?). One of his honors economics professors wrote one of his recommendation letters for law school (he’s finishing his 1st year at UF law school), and S got to know this professor during class and then took additional classes from him. </p>
<p>zebes</p>
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<p>How difficult does this make things? My son was accepted into BHC and he is coming in with 45+ dual enrollment credits from UWF. He’s already done English 1 and 2, some chemistry, physics, calculus 1-3, etc. He hasn’t chosen a major but is leaning toward engineering. Will he have a tough time meeting the honors requirements?</p>
<p>The requirements include 4 lower level classes (Gen. Eds.)</p>
<p>These include…
2 Englishes
1 Speech
2 History
1 “Cultural”
Math + Statistics
1 Social/Soft Science
1 Physical Science
1 Life Science
1 Government/Econ <–If your an Engineer, this won’t apply. You take an Econ class that is 3000 level for the major.</p>
<p>You don’t get credit for honors if you AP/DE/CLEP/IB out of them.</p>
<p>Engineers are required to take specific upper level courses that he probably hasn’t taken. These include Statics, Dynamics, Engeering Stats, Thermodynamics, Principles of Electrical Engineering or the Research Seminar. (He needs 2). Those are offered specific semesters and tend to fill up quickly…If your son HAS to take Statics his first semester because he has nothing else (appears likely), the honors adviser tends to be pretty awesome with overriding into full honors classes.</p>
<p>Moreover, if he doesn’t have enough Gen. Eds. left, he can take more than 2 of the upper level courses to replace them. Also, some lower level classes he doesn’t have to take do have Honors sections (Physics II, for example).</p>
<p>Engineering tends to have less trouble getting their upper division courses because so many honors students start (and end) as Engineers and it’s a huge department. If he chooses a smaller department, like Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics etc., he may have a hard time fulfilling upper level requirements.</p>
<p>Edit: Just thought of this also. Although your son needs to take 2 of those engineering classes if he ends up choosing that major, some of the Engi majors require Computer Science classes (which being popular, has honors sections!), including Comp Sci 1 and 2 and Intro to C.</p>