I have received invitations to apply to honors programs at a few schools I’ve been accepted to. I’m just wondering how much graduating from an honors program versus not will really impact me after college (grad school and getting jobs)? Is the harder/extra work worth it?
The biggest impact is probably not how it looks on the transcript. Most employers/grad programs won’t know what the criteria is for each honors program. But, some may provide better (or at least different) experiences while you are in school-sometimes providing preferences for classes or even special courses-sometimes placing you in dorms with other honor students. So the value of and fit to different honors programs will differ across schools.
Look at the program at the college and see what the benefits are…Quieter dorm? Preference in scheduling classes? better Access to professors? Special programs? interesting honors courses?
It certainly won’t hurt to apply, see if you get in, try it out, and then continue or not. I know my DD appreciated being in the honors dorm freshman year which was not as wild as the regular freshman dorms.
Honors really won’t matter much when applying for jobs. As said above, it’s more about the experience. D has enjoyed the smaller class sizes (honors classes at her school are capped at 15, she’s had classes with as few as 9 students), extra advising, lots of cultural enrichment opportunities, a peer group of highly motivate students, and closer relationships with professors. It has meant more work though, as her Honors classes really kick it up over regular classes.
It’s more about how the hard work and experiences benefit you as a person, allowing you to potentially bring more to the table than if you didn’t challenge yourself with honors. Every program varies, but there’s nothing to lose by applying. You can always decline or drop (just make sure you still can meet core requirements if you do drop).