<p>Does honor students got priority for the research opportinities in the school if there is a space limit? I remember my son got a letter from the department dean telling him there are many opportunities.</p>
<p>Rocko, according to posts in the decision thread, some people do hear about scholarships later. </p>
<p>Iammichelle–I think there are many opportunities for research; students just have to ask.</p>
<p>I agree with MD Mom. My daughter hasn’t had any trouble lining up directed research projects (unpaying, but for credit) in the psych department.</p>
<p>is there an admitted student portal?</p>
<p>Is there a limit to the number of honors courses you can take a semester? Or a recommended limit so you aren’t overwhelmed by the courseload?
Do you think it’s more beneficial to only take honors classes related to your major so you can really devote your time to them, or take a mix of honors classes to expand your horizons?</p>
<p>My daughter started out as a physics/Japanese dual major student, so I am certain that her experiences are different than most. However, I did not get the impression, 011lxu, that students try to take all honors sections as they do in some university honors programs. </p>
<p>My feeling is that students start off in their area(s) of interest and take honors classes that fill general ed requirements and/or are of specific interest to them. My daughter was told by an upperclassman to take the honors physics because that was her initial major interest(and Doc Stewart taught it), but to skip the honors calculus because it got into subjects that only math majors would want to know (she has since switched majors to applied math!).</p>
<p>Once you get on campus, you will get all kinds of opinions as to what you should do. The advisor my duaghter had for her first registration was very knowledgeable about what she should take and also helped her to balance her schedule. </p>
<p>The students I know the best other than DD are engineers, so they do not have the choices a humanities or social science major would have.</p>
<p>iammichelle - I don’t know if honors students receive priority for research, but I think one has to give kudos to Pitt for making research opportunities available for freshmen. No, you don’t have to know a professor to get involved in research. One simply applies as a first year student. [First</a> Experiences in Research](<a href=“http://www.as.pitt.edu/undergraduate/experience/first-experiences-research.html]First”>http://www.as.pitt.edu/undergraduate/experience/first-experiences-research.html)</p>
<p>As a second semester freshman, my daughter is participating in this program. She loves it! Prior to December, she didn’t know the professor and didn’t take any of her classes. The professor was part of the program - agreed to mentor 2 students who would assist in her research - and viola…she’s now gaining valuable experience that she wouldn’t otherwise if she were left to her own devices of trying to cultivate those types of connections.</p>
<p>Pitt does an outstanding job of trying to provide research opportunities for those students who want it.</p>
<p>MD mom, thanks for the insight! I’m strongly leaning towards pitt so it’s good to hear the advisors will be helpful :)</p>
<p>Question - do many honors college courses end up satisfying the general ed requirements in arts & sciences? That would be a real benefit as compared to being in larger classes. Maybe those going to the March 18 honors day program can find out? We’re going in April so it’ll be interesting to get questions answered and everyone’s impressions.</p>
<p>Satisfying gen eds isn’t really a benefit of honors classes… if the honors class can fulfill a gen ed, then the regular version of the class can as well. For example, Bio 1 can fulfill the natural science requirement and so can the UHC version of Bio 1, but if you are considering taking the class only for the gen ed requirement you probably shouldn’t take the UHC class.</p>
<p>But some UHC classes more specialized and interesting than the regular college classes. My son took Apocalypse Then and Now and Great Books in the Honors College this year - they satisfied gen eds - and he found them more appealing than regular classes. What was also nice is thet the class sizes are very small. Great Books only has 12 or 15 I think.</p>
<p>BUT - they are also more rigorous than regular classes, so keep that in mind as well</p>
<p>I would think taking an honors class to satisfy a gen ed requirement would be more interesting (and yes, more work) than a non-honors equivalent. I see that as a benefit.</p>
<p>The professors are usually excellent too, so along with the small class, that’s another benefit.</p>
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<p>If you’re taking a UHC class because you think it’ll be more interesting, then that’s a good reason to take the class because then you’re doing more than just taking it for a gen ed requirement. I said that it wouldn’t be a good idea to take a UHC course ONLY for the gen ed requirement it fulfills.</p>