<p>if a student thinks that they may want to enter honors if GPA is acceptable after the minimal semester requirement, can they or should they be looking to take the honors courses required for honors starting in the fall.</p>
<p>If it interests them, yes. Otherwise there is no real reason to. And actually, unless they have changed the program, the Honors Colloquium (if that is what you mean) isn’t required even if you are in the Honors Program already, although Dr. Luongo did consider that at one point. If you just meant because the HP requires at least one honors course a year, then again they don’t have to certainly, but they might want to get into an Honors section anyway. So yes, they can take an Honors course even if they are not in the program yet, but the should part is absolutely just a matter of if they want to. The requirement to take a certain number of honors courses doesn’t kick in until they are officially in the program.</p>
<p>Fallenchemist,
I don’t know why they didn’t offer me the Honors program, but merit aid. But any ways, what’s the advantages of the honors program and would I have any advantage doing finance and creative scholar program if I’m in Honors?</p>
<p>Let me put it this way. In order to be accepted to the Creative Scholars Program you are going to need really good grades (I would think) and as long as you have those grades (>=3.6) you should join the Honors Program. Remember that one of the major aspects of the Honors Program is keeping you on track to graduate with Latin Honors (magna or summa cum laude) which requires a 3.6-3.79 or 3.8+ respectively, plus a research thesis. I would imagine it is an advantage for the committee to see that you value scholarship enough to do this.</p>
<p>As far as your first question, there are lots of people that get merit aid but are not invited to the honors program. In the past they usually invited Presidential winners plus about half the Distinguished Scholars winners. At least that was my impression. this year they seemed to have expended it some, but it is still on a selective basis from the pool of merit winners. If you think you were overlooked for the Honors Program, you could contact them after they see who has decided to come to Tulane and the class has taken shape. Right now there is probably too much else going on.</p>
<p>Thanks, fallenchemist!
So, there’s no absolute advantages of HP to get a high GPA, right? I could be not accepted and still get a 3.6+ to get in the Creative program. Or would I have an advantage to get in the Creative program if I’m in the honors? If there is something about the honors program that is much better, I’d try to get in after May 1st. Tulane application was the first one I did, actually as a safe school practice application back then. My common app and other later apps have way better organized and way more EC that I thought of after the Tulane application. My high school Weighed GPA was 4.14/4.0 and SAT wasn’t too high, 1320/1600. Do you think they would give me a higher scholarship or accept me in the honors after many people turn down Tulane after May 1st?</p>
<p>
That’s really hard to say, but as long as you won’t be too disappointed if they don’t change it, then you have nothing to lose by asking. The SAT probably held you back. That is a very, very good score, but not in the top 10-15% at Tulane.</p>
<p>For your first question, there are no absolute advantages, you can certainly get a high GPA, even a 4.0, and decide you don’t want to join the HP because you don’t want to do an honors thesis, which people in the HP are required to do. So yes, you can certainly still get into the Creative Scholars Program without being in the HP, but you cannot get into the CSP without making really good grades, of course. I am only saying that maybe, perhaps, it shows more academic “mettle” to go the whole way to graduating with honors, but I don’t know that it really makes a difference. I do wonder, though, what you would say in the interview if they said “guheng, you have done very well in your courses so far, a 3.85 is outstanding. We were just wondering why you have not decided to accept an invitation into the honors program”. Of course they may say nothing of the sort, I guess my point is why wouldn’t you make every move possible to show you are the academic type?</p>
<p>But you know, this is something (assuming you don’t get into the HP before August) you don’t even have to worry about until after your freshman year, and you see what kind of grades you actually get. Because again, if you don’t get the grades that would at least give you the option of being in the HP, then the rest is moot. Assuming you do though, by the end of your first year you will have had time to talk to lots of professors, to people already accepted into the CSP, and get a feel for what it takes and what is the best path.</p>
<p>So now that I think about it, ignore most of what I said until the last paragraph (lol), stay focused on doing well in your courses (but have fun too!), and you will get the best information from just being there and talking to others that are involved now.</p>
<p>That’s some really good reasoning. So I guess getting into Honors freshman year isn’t such a big deal. If I’m doing well, I can still get in honors after freshman year! That gives me a relief. But will they change the merit aid offered to you based on your college performance? Right now I only have the academic achievement award for 15k. That was given to me based on my reported 4.03 GPA and 1280 SAT back then when I applied. My status changed a lot after turning in my Tulane application as a first practice app.</p>
<p>They won’t change the merit award once you start, as far as I know. So you definitely want to see if they will move you up to the $20K based on your higher SAT and GPA. These stats are not hugely different, so don’t get your hopes up, but again you have zero to lose by asking. Just understand their position that they have to be fair to everyone else to whom they have awarded merit scholarships. I have no idea where the cut-offs are exactly or how else they figure what to give to who, but based on others that have gotten their awards adjusted even after committing to Tulane, they seem to be very fair about this.</p>