<p>What does this program entitled to? Is it even worth the trouble in applying?</p>
<p>Definitely worth it for those who want the best academics they can get. You join the Honors program to be able to take the Honors courses/sections of courses. There are other opportunities for some activities and information. If you join now you get Honors advising at SOAR.</p>
<p>You can join the program at any time but to graduate with Honors (see the L&S Honors website on the UW one) you will need a certain number of courses so waiting too many semesters could delay graduation to get that. There are options for honors in the major and more. You don’t need to take Honors courses every semester if they don’t fit your schedule. See individual majors for the required courses to be eligible for Honors in a specific major. UW does NOT give the magna/summa cum laude designations on diplomas but instead utilizes the Honors program designations.</p>
<p>Being in the Honors program as an entering freshman allows you to get into Honors courses and Honors sections of courses (the online course guide tells you which courses are available each semester- there are plenty at all levels). There are also some Honors activities as well- see the website. There are course sequences in Chemistry, Math, Physics and ILS (integrated liberal studies) available to freshmen. The Biocore Honors sequence in biology requires Organic Chemistry. All of these will have top caliber students. There are many other courses as well. Also- Honors sections may have the professor instead of a TA for the discussion group. Typically you will get more material presented. </p>
<p>There are no special Honors dorms (a good thing as Honors students have diverse preferences in where to live). There are no required general seminars- also good as you take the courses that interest you instead of wasting time on survey courses. You can take Honors courses in any field regardless of your major, but you don’t have to. For example- you may not want the extra work/challenge in some of your courses but may in other electives. </p>
<p>I know of no disadvantages except for having to take the time to fill out the required application. You can then sign up for Honors courses/sections. You can easily drop out of it later if you choose to (or simply not meet the Honors degree requirements). You get an H on your transcript for all Honors courses registered for and completed with a B or better.</p>
<p>I am copying here a response I just made to another thread, which was not focused on Honors specifically. Honors at UW is not about the perks – it is about opportunities to deepen and expand your learning. </p>
<p>As a parent of Honors student at UW, I will add that I prefer the way UW does Honors. At a number of other midwest flagships, Honors is bases on automatic gpa/stats alone, and it brings perks like Honors dorms, etc. Those schools tout it in terms of benefits separating kids from “non Honors” students. At UW, it is a program which all admitted students are invited to apply to, not a separate college, and UW does not try to create a separate pool of kids with a different experience than other, non -Honors kids. </p>
<p>The idea underlying Honors at UW is that it is a program which provides students with opportunities for deeper examination in courses they are interested in. This could include an Honors discussion section which is led by the prof teaching the course, or an Honors only class with smaller enrollment. Taking section with the prof is huge – an opportunity to work directly with incredible researchers in their field of interest. Honors optional classes involve extra work to deepen the study in that course. To graduate with Honors in the Liberal Arts, a student needs to complete basically breadth requirements in Honors courses – showing a range of Honors work. </p>
<p>The idea is that all UW L&S students are capable of this level of work, but only some choose to pursue it. </p>
<p>btw- eons ago I got a BA in Chemistry with comprehensive Honors. I was able to take many Honors courses in electives as well as in courses related to my major. Those opportunities still exist today. I met the degree reqs for both the BA and BS and chose the BA. Son got his BS with Honors in Math, also did a Comp Sci major recently. I did a senior Honors thesis in a pharmacology lab while friends did theirs in various grad Chem labs. He did his Honors work by taking some grad level math courses while an undergrad. Even as recently as his time at UW not all students were invited to apply. Now those that do still show the desire to get the most academically out of college. Many different paths to getting an Honors degree. Go for it.</p>
<p>My d applied for the l&s honors program a few weeks ago. Does anyone know if admissions notifies them either way? Or just those that are accepted?</p>
<p>I have never heard of anyone being denied from the L&S Honors program.</p>
<p>Everyone hears one way or the other, my son got a hard copy letter within about a month of the application. </p>