I am a high school junior so I am speaking totally hypothetically. If I were to get into the Honors Tutorial College and other prestigious schools that I may get into, I feel that I would have a difficult choice. My sister is currently in HTC and is getting a lot of individual attention and great internships. However, I also have the scores to get into schools that I have been looking at like Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt. After putting money aside, which type of school would get me more prepared for the real world in terms of job prospects and employment after I graduate.
P.S. please don’t give answers like “follow your heart,” I would like solid answers.
My comments may be outdated. That said, I started at HTC many years ago and eventually transferred. While it can be a great experience, two things were a disadvantage. Aside from my tutorials, the rest of my classes were regular courses. I wasn’t challenged. Also, HTC is a small part of campus. If you are looking for a more rigorous academic environment overall, consider your other choices. I do not want to dissuade you from HTC. I’m sure many have loved it there. It just wasn’t the best fit for me.
HTC is only one course a semester, the other classes will be targeted at a pace and depth that suits average students. Do keep it in play, but also apply to the many colleges that either cover full need (Kenyon) or want high-stats students (Denison, Allegheny, Wooster, etc), and if your EFC is high (ie., you’re expected to pay more than your parents’ budget) aim for big merit scholarships if you have the stats: Ohio State, UAlabama, UCincinnati, Pitt, etc.
Run the Net Price Calculator on each website to see what your parents would be expected to pay, and start the discussion about costs right now, so that you target affordable schools (either with need-based or merit aid).
Thanks for the answers, but how does HTC compare to other private schools in terms of jobs and how employers see an honors program vs. a prestigious school.
HTC is not private. Its point is not to directly impress employers (it might, but most likely it won’t), but rather offer you more opportunities and a better learning environment, more “learning comfort”, and a more challenging experience (since honors students typically like challenges and tend to do better in their honors classes) so that you can “do more” than the regular OU student. However, its offerings aren’t very extensive, so the benefits are more limited than at other honors colleges (like Schreyer or UAlabama’s or even tOSu’s) where you can take 2 Honors-only classes plus one honors-contract class every semester if you wish. HTC would be useful for grad schools since you’d have good mentorship thus good letters of recommendations.
It’s not the same as a prestigious school where all students have the academic level as the sole HTC and thus form the “mass”, which affectsnthe level at which professors teach, as well as your peers. It is however good sometimes to be a big fish in a small pond (like HTC) so it depends on the individual.
What are you interested in studying? One of the things I believe the HTC will demand of you vs. other universities is that you constantly be considering what your goals are, where you are in meeting your goals, and what you can do to further your goals. I think the purpose of the tutorials is to keep you working on those things. I’m not sure if the HTC will replace the opportunities available to you at the other universities you mentioned but if you are a person who would appreciate the assistance of professors in challenging you personally to set and reach goals then HTC might be a good alternative.
Our D is also considering HTC. OU in some ways is a better fit than some higher ranked universities. She is interested in becoming a Physical Therapist. It requires a Doctor of Physical Therapy professional degree which OU offers. The undergraduate program is less important than the completion of required classes, grades and preparation for the GRE. She is also a dancer and while she doesn’t want to major in dance she wants to continue to dance. OU has three dance minors one of which is a Dance Somatics minor which studies the movement and muscles involved in dance. They also have “trainers” similar to the sports teams for their Theater and Dance departments. They have two programs within the HTC which would fit her goals.
I would say if you are interested in pre-med/health (since grades are paramount and being the smart fish might be good for your grades and the relationships with the professors a boon to your application), journalism (excellent journalism school), Theater and dance, or merely feel that a very hands on approach to advising is important HTC might be for you. If you are motivated by highly intellectual peers or want to be more self directed or want the strongest undergraduate education in the most areas of study then the others might be better for you.