Is being an honors student necessary?

Graduate School
1

<p>Hi! I'm going to be attending a mid-western LAC in the fall of 2010. I know its really early to be asking this question, but I did not get selected as an honors student, will this severely affect my chances of attending a top Phd program in econ (harvard, uchicago, columbia, etc)? Or am i just worrying too much?</p>

2

<p>

This.</p>

<p>Whether you get into a good graduate program depends on what you do with what you’re given, not what you’re given.</p>

3

<p>Purplemist - it depends on what you mean by “honors student”. At some schools this refers to the top x% of your college, in which case it is very important - it reflects your class ranking which is a valued measure. At other schools, this refers to a specific and more challenging program of study/research, in which case it really does not matter - you can usually get into the more challenging courses anyway, and can still get involved in research as an undergrad. More, if honors courses are not grade inflated, your gpa can actually take a hit - my school had one, and very very few of our top-gpa students were in the honors program, as thesis and presentation time interfered with study.</p>

4

<p>No. You may find that there are programs independent of the honors program that you can take advantage of in college that would be more worthwhile. When I started college, I was in the honors program but realized early on, that satisfying the lame-o requirements for the honors wasn’t nearly as valuable as taking the extended biology sequence or the advanced chemistry sequence of courses. Also, if the honors requirements in any way impinge on your ability to spend time in lab, you definitely should dispense with the honors crap.</p>

5

<p>I’m in general agreement here. Make your own honor’s program and lose the need for a fancy ribbon to put on your CV. </p>

<p>Take graduate courses, take more than the bare minimum of laboratory courses… throw yourself into research.</p>

<p>True honors aren’t obtained by taking a shopping list of courses.</p>

6

<p>Unless you need that scholarship money or/and ego-booster, those honors programs aren’t worth it.</p>

<p>With the help of your major advisor, you can create your own “honors” program through specific selection of classes, additional summer research experiences, and independent study.</p>