<p>oos, will be a semifinalist (and probably a finalist) next year. class of 2011. does anyone know if u of Arizona will continue to give full rides for NMF? if not to everyone, then maybe at least competitive?</p>
<p>That’s the scholarship I’m receiving. Currently, all NMS semifinalists and finalists get $15k/year [so $60k total] and automatic admission to the Honors College [which is going to start charging some inane, pointless fee… but maybe the phrasing is just due to my extreme hatred of our Honors College]. If you don’t count dorms into the equation, it’s pretty much a full-ride and should cover even the tuition raise next year. However, if you plan to live in a dorm, expect to take out a loan or find some other way to make up for the difference.</p>
<p>@atomic cafe</p>
<p>Why do you hate the honors college? DS is still in high school but I was thinking the honors college seems to have some benefits: priority registration, better dorms, maybe better classes? Am I missing something?</p>
<p>@Mommymom:</p>
<p>The only reason I stick with it is the priority registration. [Which apparently went into the trash this semester. I should have registered with the juniors, yet I noticed some non-honors sophomores register before me and seniors register after me.]</p>
<p>For the dorms: yes, one of the honors dorms is nicer in terms of structure and room size, but some non-honors dorms are the same size. I was unhappy with the dorms in general due to some AWFUL roommates and res life not lifting a finger to help me. [I’m talking about threats, harassment, bringing strangers over each night and doing the nasty in MY bed, etc.]</p>
<p>For classes: I’ve taken 4 honors classes. One was the single worst class I’ve taken in my entire life, no joke. They didn’t have a syllabus, the grading was completely up in the air until the last day, essay grading was so harsh that no one seemed to have gotten above a C on any assignments, and the lectures were dead boring. The second class was a complete joke: we walked in, talked for about five minutes about time management, and left because there was nothing more to say. The other two were run by the English department but considered honors, and I had no issue with either; one was amazing thanks to the professor [who had never taught honors before, ironically], and the other was decent.</p>
<p>Overall, I think freshman are the only people to get anything out of it. If your son is the first in the family to go to college and has no idea what to do when he gets there, he’d like the Honors College because they have so many programs that are self-explanatory to those of us who have been planning for college all our lives, but may be less obvious to others. The majority of the upperclassmen I know left the Honors College because they didn’t see any benefits in staying. They do help with internships, it sounds like, but I found some by myself and am set for the next three years. I also don’t need academic help or a push to get involved on campus, and that’s all the Honors College could have potentially helped me with.</p>
<p>To summarize: it’s great if your son feels lost about entering college, needs an extra push, doesn’t know how to get involved, or just wants priority registration. If he’s anything like me and has family members who are in/have graduated college and can motivate himself, it’s a waste of your money.</p>
<p>Atomic,</p>
<p>What honors courses would you recommend to an incoming freshman (from personal or friends’ experience(s))? Are some subjects generally better than others? Also, how many honors classes should I take my first year?</p>
<p>Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.</p>
<p>@OG-J</p>
<p>That’s pretty hard to say. There are two courses that I know of directed towards incoming freshmen.</p>
<ol>
<li>Paladins: It’s a one credit class where an older student teaches you about coming to college. [Time management skills, where things are on campus, etc.] Like I said in my previous post, this is only really useful if you know NOTHING about the campus or what to do now that you’re in college. At least the people are decent.</li>
<li>Honors Quest: This is a gen ed (TRAD104), and I’d recommend against it with all my heart. This is the class where the syllabus changed every week, grading was inconsistent, and everyone was panicking more about the strange grading system than whether they were learning anything.</li>
</ol>
<p>Every other class beyond that depends on your major, really. There’s a host of classes that are honors in every department, so take whatever you feel comfortable with. [If you’re a science major who is great at chem, try Honors Chem, for example. Only heard terrible things about that class, but I wasn’t in it.] The one class I definitely recommend, if you can test into it, is ENGL109H. Honors English. My professor was phenomenal, and it sounds like every friend I had who liked their professor was in the honors class.</p>
<p>Also, you can contract honors classes to make non-honors into honors by adding another assignment or something. I wouldn’t do this first semester since it’s kind of confusing and you won’t know what to expect. [I still don’t know since I haven’t contracted and the instructions are really vague about it.]</p>
<p>@AtomicCafe
Are the paladins and honors quest classes mandatory if you are in the honors college? And what is the test like for english placement? Do we just write an essay?</p>
<p>Neither Honors Quest nor Paladins are mandatory, but you do need a certain number of honors credits to stay in the college so a lot of us took them just to make sure we kept over that number. Also, there is no English placement test. Before orientation, they look over your information [AP English classes, AP scores, SAT scores, English scores overall, etc.] to determine whether you belong in 101, 102, or 109H. If you disagree with your placement, you can appeal by sending in a portfolio.</p>
<p>atomic cafe: what is your major? and you said that national merit finalists do NOT receive a full ride (noncompetitive)?? i was under the impression that NMFs were offered a full ride</p>
<p>I’m a bio major.
NMFs do get what considered a full ride, but I’m not sure how much it’ll cover with tuition rises now. I know it’ll cover tuition and maybe a little more, but what I meant [and sorry for the bad wording] is that it doesn’t cover all of the dorms/books/etc. Living in a dorm last year, before tuition increases, I still had 2-3k not covered with it. So, yes, it is a full ride, but it doesn’t cover as much as many people tend to think is a full ride. Sorry for any misconceptions about my last comments – need to stop posting so late, haha.</p>
<p>*Currently, all NMS semifinalists and finalists get $15k/year [so $60k total] … If you don’t count dorms into the equation, it’s pretty much a full-ride *</p>
<p>??? If what you wrote is true, then it’s not even close to a full-ride unless you can commute from home and eat at home. Who calls a scholarship that doesn’t even cover out-of-state tuition (which is $25k) “pretty much a full-ride”. It’s not even close to a full-ride. The school costs over $35k to attend as an OOS student and the scholarship is only $15k per year! There’s $20k per year that is not covered!</p>
<p>However, if the NMF scholarship is more than what you’re saying, then maybe it might be a full tuition scholarship, but still not a full ride. A full-ride includes at least tuition, room, board and books. </p>
<p><a href=“https://financialaid.arizona.edu/money/estimated-cost.aspx[/url]”>https://financialaid.arizona.edu/money/estimated-cost.aspx</a></p>
<p>edited to correct… Arizona does give OOS students $25k per year, so that covers tuition. So still not a free ride. That’s a full tuition scholarship…NOT a full ride. That still leaves at least $10k per year uncovered.</p>
<p>wow. truly disappointing. i was under the impression that it was a full ride, or at least close. but the 16k (!) difference in tuition for oos and in state students kills it</p>
<p>@ atomic cafe,</p>
<p>Thanks for all the detailed info, it’s really good to know… I would have never thought that the RAs or whoever is in charge of the dorm would allow all that…</p>
<p>When you say it’s not worth the money, it seems like there is (or will be) an extra charge? That is surprising too.</p>
<p>Yep, there’s a brand spanking new $250 fee to be in the honors college. It’s another fee gouge to create programs that no one wants, uses, or cares about. If I wasn’t a junior only 2 credits short of finished honors up, I’d quit the program.</p>
<p>[Arizona</a> Daily Wildcat - Honors students have aid for $250 fee](<a href=“http://wildcat.arizona.edu/news/honors-students-have-aid-for-250-fee-1.1429620]Arizona”>http://wildcat.arizona.edu/news/honors-students-have-aid-for-250-fee-1.1429620)
[Honors</a> College - University of Arizona](<a href=“http://www.honors.arizona.edu/HonorsAcademics/Policies/FeeFAQ.htm]Honors”>http://www.honors.arizona.edu/HonorsAcademics/Policies/FeeFAQ.htm)</p>