LSA Honor: worth the trouble?

<p>My D is invited to submit an essay for LSA Honors. They are offering a few perks. My daughter thought the housing option might be cool. But honestly, I am not terribly impressed. There is no mention of any kind of scholarship eligibility. Being out of state, middle-class with a huge EFC, the "financial aid" UMich is giving us is quite laughable. Are we reading this correctly, or did we miss some crucial information? Is it worth writing yet another essay?</p>

<p>LSA Honors is what u make of it. Some ppl think it's worthless, others get a good experience.</p>

<p>But I have to agree, South Quad housing is a good deal.</p>

<p>Honors has nothing to do with scholarships or financial aid. The benefits are special honors classes/sections, honors housing, and supposedly more personal advising. There are also some special honors lectures and activities. If your daughter likes the academic aspect of it, then definitely have her write another essay. She can always turn it down - but most students don't.</p>

<p>Definitely worth it from an academic standpoint. Honors program students are generally those that are competitive for other top colleges and Ivy league universities but were either not accepted at their first choice schools, or chose Michigan for financial reasons.</p>

<p>heyy juust asking you can live in south quad non-honors right?</p>

<p>The academic benefits look great to me, although she cringes at the thought of the Great Books. She's a math/science type. lol.
PhatAlbert, OOS students in certain income brackets can't assume Michigan's appeal in terms of cost vis-a-vis comparable private schools. She is still waiting to hear from some private schools which can actually end up costing less than UMich. She loves Michigan. Kinda ironic.</p>

<p>its not worth the trouble...but yes SQ is freakin sweet</p>

<p>I'm not sure how students like umar who aren't in honors can claim whether or not the program is worth it when they have no experience with it. In my experience, it has been well worth the little effort to write the essay. There is tremendous housing, great community within honors, and some nice small classes to enjoy. As far as Great Books goes, I'm an honors "math/science" type as well, but at Michigan, you have to take 7 credits of humanities and satisfy a freshman writing requirement anyways. The beauty of Great Books is that it's the only class (I believe) that does both at the same time and the grades tend to be pretty high because it's Honors.</p>

<p>I don't see the logic in making ur life harder than it will already be as a premed...maybe for somethin else tho cool</p>

<p>I think people like honors because it mostly makes your life easier and more enjoyable. Central housing, more accessible profs, and tons of academic resources living right down your hall. I feel bad for all the North Campus kids who have to come all the way down to South Quad to do homework with their friends in honors.</p>

<p>Advantages of honors: South Quad, baby! I also loved Great Books and there is better access to some seminars and such. Honors advising can also pull strings for you in a big way and if you're considering applying for competitive scholarships, you'll have a big advantage</p>

<p>Disadvantages: too few honors course offerings that people actually want to take, honors advising is still awful in terms of giving advice. Honors is basically a way to bring smart, motivated kids together at U-M more than it is an academic program. If you're looking for the intense honors college experience, Penn State may be a better option.</p>

<p>Nefer: what other schools is your daughter considering? Michigan financial aid is pretty awful and I think that if you're OOS, you may get more bang for the buck elsewhere.</p>

<p>Probably a stupid questoin, but if I apply to honors, does it mean I'm committed to go to Michigan? It's a longshot, but it's worth a try...and if I get in, I'd be almost completely certain to go.</p>

<p>I just want to make absolutely sure before I send any kind of request. Thanks!</p>

<p>I was admitted to Honors, but I wanted to apply for the regular housing because I don't want to be with kids that study all the time and I would think that the other housing would be more fun (not North Campus). Is this stupid?</p>

<p>Whatever...I'll just send a request. That question was stupid anyway.</p>

<p>if you get into honors you arent committed to go</p>

<p>Thanks for the response!</p>

<p>99999999, if you get honors housing, you will DEFINITELY find that honors is not kids who study all the time. In fact, I've never been in hallways as loud and exciting as honors hallways. On weekends, there are drunk people everywhere just like in other dorms, and since you have class with the kids who live in your hall, you're likely to be better friends with them, so it's more lively than most halls if anything.</p>

<p>The problem with the Honors program is that it pales in comparison to the rest of the university. Let us face it, the honors college is like a LAC. You get 10-15 courses offered in any one major at any point in time. The regular LSA course schedule offers 60+ classes in each major at any one time. There just so much more availlable to the regular students because Michigan as a wehole is such a leviathan. On the other hand, as Chibearsfan clearly and aptly points out, there are a great many benefits of being part of the honors college.</p>

<p>I'm not sure that Alexandre and I are talking about the same honors college here. As far as courses go, there is very little distinction between honors and the university at large. The only difference is that honors students can get into classes designated "honors" with no trouble, whereas those not in the honors college have to get a special override, etc. Otherwise, any classes offered to one group of students is offered to all of them. So course selection is better for honors students if anything.</p>

<p>wait so you arent limited to 10-15 classes if you are in Honors?</p>