Ithaca Honors

<p>Does anyone know whether BFA students can do the Honors stream at Ithaca? I gather you have to be invited to apply, and the applications are due next week. On the other hand, they must have some mechanism for allowing late honors applications for students admitted later in the process.</p>

<p>The honors kids get to sign up for classes before everyone else, which is a compelling reason to do it if invited, based on my own college memories about all the classes I wanted being full already.</p>

<p>I just found this on the IC Peers questions forum in response to a student asking about honors classes for theater students. From admissions:</p>

<p>I can assure you that your application for admission to Theatre Studies is being given careful consideration. An important component of your application to Theatre is the interview. The Department’s recommendation is included in the Admission Committee review. We are releasing Regular Decision decisions as we are able and all applicants will have a final decision by April 15. The Director of the Honors program is aware of the fact that there are Theatre Studies students who are interested in the opportunity to apply to the Honors program and that their applications might still be in review at this time. Once an admission decision is made we can talk about next steps regarding the Honors program. How would that be?
Holly</p>

<p>It still leaves the question as to opportunity if your package did not include honors notification. Our acceptance mentions nothing about honors courses, but I know my D would like them. I have heard they fill up fast so not sure what it all means. If anyone hears more, I would be interested. Thanks.</p>

<p>I gather from the Ithaca website that there is an exact number for the Honors program each year (I think it is 100). There are special honors seminars, a special lounge, trips, and maybe even an honors dorm. Also, you get priority in class assignments. If one is invited to apply it seems worth doing.</p>

<p>@prntosome - Your acceptance letter will not include anything about honors. If you are invited to apply to honors, you will receive a separate letter; it should also show up on your myithaca as well. I heard from someone else that you could still send in an application, even if you weren’t invited to apply, but I’m not sure how true that is. Hope this helps.</p>

<p>There are no additional scholarships associated with the Honors program, are there…?</p>

<p>The Ithaca Honors is a somewhat separate track of classes. They allow 430 students in. The classes are “interdisciplinary” and have a lot of discussion based learning, along with the requirement for an eventual thesis. They allow theatre students in on a late basis since notification of acceptance into the theatre programs is so late. I do not believe there is any additional scholarship money with these classes and they are not limited to a specific GPA or such. They are based on the student’s “curiosity”. Entrance is based on 3 essay questions (and the rest of your file, I assume).</p>

<p>This is an old discussion but thought I would add to it for future eyes and interest. The honors program allows theatre students to apply, as stated above. You need to contact the school and ask for them to provide your accepted student with the application - and it is done through IC Peers (online). The application consists of 3 questions and they ask for 250-500 words for each. My D completed this and in fact, has been accepted into the honors program. The problem is, we now have been told by many of the students in the MT program, that there simply is not enough time to be able to do the honors program, as you have no time to fit the lectures and classes in. Keep in mind that the first 2 years at Ithaca are almost ENTIRELY conservatory based. It is more of an option for the acting students as they have a bit more flexibility in their schedule (and in fact, acting students can take more gen. ed classes overall for this reason). So, she likely will be turning down the acceptance, unfortunately. We haven’t talked to the head of the theatre dept as yet, so this is still in flux.</p>

<p>@prntosome - I believe there’s approximately 430 total in the program, but only 100 incoming first-year students are accepted into the program. Acceptance is based on the 3 essays and academic achievement.</p>