<p>Guess we hadn't looked in awhile, but we just realized that the honors program raised requirements for admission: Must used combined (cr/math/AND writing) SAT of 2070 now, and a 33 ACT composite with writing. Well, that one shook my D up for a minute until she realized she had the ACT score. Had no trouble making the SAT cr/math requirement, but when they added in the writing this year, she's 30 points shy. Can't write quickly w/o revision to save her life. Now, a friend of hers that was 50 points shy on the SAT... can get in because he's got the writing score to bump him up, whereas he couldn't make it with just the cr/math.</p>
<p>Anyway, the question is ... how long was the previous 1410/1600 around before it changed this year? Hate to think this thing could go up again for the '09 class.</p>
<p>If you are close to meeting the requirements for honors admissions, you can usually petition it by getting letters of recommendations and writing an essay. I'm glad that I applied before FL schools started looking at writing scores... mine wasn't that great haha.</p>
<p>Anyway,
The 2070/33 requirement is for the class of '09. For '08, it was 1400/33. Since applications are already coming in, I sincerely doubt that they would raise it again for this years applicants. It usually goes by a percentage on who gets admitted, so they might average the top 10% who commit to go there and then make that the lower bar for the honors program.</p>
<p>I had signed up to retake the SAT in October because I got a 1390/1600 on an earlier test date, but now that they're counting the writing, I'm well above the 2070 requirement which makes me happy :)</p>
<p>1400 on the old SAT was only our top 75% admitted for the last class. Thus 25% of the new FTIC class would be eligible. It's makes sense that they would make it more difficult to get the benefits of the Honors Program.</p>
<p>I don't believe that the writing portion is in anyway indicative of the caliber of writing to which a person's capable. The best writers I know are not necessarily "fast" writers who are able to take topics -- including some pretty innane ones -- and turn them into acceptable prose without some revision. My s didn't do much better on the writing portion than my d, and yet, his current job is as a freelance writer, a job he was offered after his boss had read several non-paid pieces he'd written. Yet, even he couldn't "hit the magic formula for SAT writing." My d writes a mean technical, research paper ... but on stuff like, "discuss the value of bla bla bla...," she's going to take the first 30 minutes just to come up with an idea, let alone get it down on paper. I'd say ... yeah, make this a part of the component for admission, IF there weren't already a critical reading/english portion already being used. But it's a double whammy for those, like my d, who are math oriented ... to not only perform well on the cr, but also the writing. </p>
<p>Interestingly, the 33 does not represent the top 25%. A 31 would have [going by those admitted in 2007, which was the data I looked at to get in this year].</p>
<p>Hmmm....D and I went to an invitation only "High School Scholars Weekend" back in June and they specifically said that while admissions was now going to use the writing portion of the SAT, the honors program was still going to go by the 1400/1600. Not that this is a problem for my daughter, it just irks me that they said that to the entire room. </p>
<p>By the way, my D got a 720 on her writing, but only a 7 on her essay. (She says the SAT people just don't get her.) So even though she effectively blew the essay, that's still a pretty good score she was able to pull out of it with multiple choices.</p>
<p>^^^
Ooooh, I'd be irritated if I'd been told that. <g> We applied for the scholars weekend as soon as we opened her letter in the mail, but, apparently, it was after the first 200 kids, so she wasn't able to attend. She still used the code they'd given her for her application, however, as the admissions counselor we talked to told us she should do that.</g></p>
<p>My D's okay now that she realizes she doesn't have to retake the blasted SAT, LOL. And, she's really glad her friend's now eligible for the program, so all in all ... after her first panic attack, she's calmed down. Frankly, I don't think she cares that much about the program, other than being in it allows her to live in Hume. She wishes they had the same "perks" to their honors program that UCF has for its honors college, i.e. things like total priority registration for 4 years.</p>
<p>From what I can tell, UF's honors program is lacking in perks. I would like to be in Hume though, and I'll admit that I'm high-strung enough to simply wish I could say I was in honors, you know? I can't see honors as being any more/less stressful, and I think I would do it if I were applying for this year.</p>
<p>I remember UF-induced panic attacks. <em>sigh</em> Everything will be alright! =)</p>
<p>Don't live at Hume. Don't do honors. Waste of time and money.</p>
<p>Hume is a pretty residence, but it's far and it's very unsocial and weird. Unless you're a fanatical Christian or play 40 hours of video games a week, it's not worth it.</p>
<p>The honors classes are ******** as well. They're almost all automatic A's, the teachers care about the subject but don't care enough to treat it as a real course, and so consistently miss class or give vague information. The course descriptions are always ambitious but the classes never deliver.</p>
<p>(I have taken 4 honors classes, and they were all like this. I do not know anyone satisfied by an honors class).</p>
<p>At the end of this experience, you get a meaningless certificate. </p>
<p>Do yourself a favor and don't do honors. Live in Rawlings and make normal friends. Take real classes.</p>
<p>Well Im not an honors kid but it seems the BEST perk is signing up for classes really early. Honors kids get early registration, so you'll basically be guaranteed placement into the courses and times you want.
I can't tell you how many times my "non-honors" buddies had horrible registration times and didnt get placement into the classes they needed.
=/</p>
<p>Of course, if you have a lot of credits coming in as a freshman, that helps too.</p>
<p>The early registration is for honors classes, not the rest of their schedule. </p>
<p>My child has stated the guys in the honors dorm in general spend a lot of time in their dorms playing WOW/CS. "With all the hot girls on campus, they spend it in their rooms. What a waste."</p>
<p>Yeah, the extra credits as a freshman help more as honors registration at UF only pertains to honors classes. That's a huge difference between the honors college at UCF and the honors program at UF, actually. UCF registration is for all classes. Drat UF ;)</p>