<p>I actually am a former student of the Honors College at FAU, so hopefully I can offer a different view. </p>
<p>The school, as most can agree, is not for everyone. That being said, it has incredible faculty that will bend over backwards, spend hours talking to students in their offices, and genuinely care to see students learn. The campus is small, so this provides a really family-like community; everyone knows each other within a few weeks and supports each other through the four years and beyond. The quality of education is stellar. </p>
<p>Now, that being said…the Honors College can be a completely wrong fit (many students find this out by their first semester, and transfer soon after) if a student is looking for a bustling array of experiences that larger universities offer. Compare 300 students to 30,000–there is a difference. There are activities going on constantly, but not at the same scale as large universities. The work is hard, and I know many of us sometimes question whether the work is worth it when really, the HC is still attached to FAU, a not-so-great university. There is a huge difference to the HC students versus the main campus students–many HC students could have gone to Ivy League schools, and many do end up going post-grad. Now, unfortunately the main campus has got itself into a bit of an administrative wreck recently, and budget cuts from across the state have severely affected the HC–the course selections are minimal, and dwindling. For neuroscience, however, there is a greater amount of courses available, and many of the students intern at the Scripps Research Center/ Max Planck just across the street. </p>
<p>What I can’t stress enough is knowing what you’re getting in to. The HC will change you as a person in the best of ways if you let it, and are not looking for the “Traditional” college experience. Otherwise, you will be miserable and most likely transfer. The dorms are extremely nice, and the campus is small, but homely. The community is wonderful, but also know that you can walk out of your dorm on the weekend and not see a single soul at times. </p>
<p>Being attached to FAU is a common worry, but if all else fails, one can always just put “Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College” on a resume and just accidentally leave out the FAU part 
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<p>If you haven’t visited the HC, that is the best way to get a feel for the school ([FAU</a> Wilkes Honors College - Visit Us](<a href=“http://www.fau.edu/divdept/honcol/admissions_visit_us.htm]FAU”>http://www.fau.edu/divdept/honcol/admissions_visit_us.htm))
They have tours as well as schedule preview days, where prospective students can sit in on classes and talk to students and professors. </p>
<p>Overall, the merits will be solely based on how you perceive them; on paper, FAU may not look so great, but once you leave the HC, you will be very prepared for graduate/medical school due to the research and level of learning that occurs. The merits may really only be internal growth, but then again, there are plenty of HC students who have made it to top-name grad/med schools (Columbia, UNC Chapel Hill, and Harvard Medical to name a few of the graduates of the class of 2013). </p>
<p>Please don’t hesitate to ask me anything else you’d like to know :)</p>