Questions about the Honors College

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Alabama
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<p>I have lots of questions about the Honors College, and am hoping to get a little bit of the inside scoop here.</p>

<p>Do most Honors students take a large number of “Honors” classes, or do most students end up taking the bulk of their classes from the school’s regular course offerings?</p>

<p>Do most honors classes truly seem to be more engaging than their “regular” counterparts, or are the honors courses just smaller classes with more homework?</p>

<p>Is Honors housing (which I’ve heard is amazing!) guaranteed for four years?</p>

<p>How many students are in the Honors College?</p>

<p>Do most honors students find the Honors College to be a community of peers? Is the Honors College a viable way to make a large school feel smaller?</p>

<p>Oh, and please feel free to answer any other questions that I haven’t even thought of! Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Hi Laminate! My D is a 1st semester freshman so I can tell you what she’s said & more experienced students & parents can give you more details. </p>

<p>This semester D is taking 5 classes (plus 2 1-credit honors courses that are both already finished.) 2 of her classes (cultural anthropology and Pre-calc) are regular level, while the other 3 classes are IHP (International Honors,) UH (University Honors) or departmental level honors classes. The honors classes are smaller (10-15 students) and she loves them; the teachers are very engaging and foster good discussions. I don’t think she has more homework than she would if she took a non-honors version. It’s not “busy work” at all. </p>

<p>I <em>think</em> that the Honors College has around 5000 students total. M2CK will probably have the details on that :)</p>

<p>There are a lot of ways that the Honors College can help you make UA feel smaller from taking part in Alabama or Outdoor Action the week prior to most freshman arriving on campus, to taking part in Honors College football viewing parties & tailgating, joining Honors College Assembly, etc. The smaller nature of the honors classes helps you get to know people also. </p>

<p>I asked my D point blank if she thought her fellow students were her academic peers (she was a National Merit Finalist and there have been comments from some people about whether she “settled.”) She says that she feels that the students in her classes are at a high level, and that she’s not missing anything by not going to a higher ranked school. </p>

<p>And the dorms are awesome :slight_smile: If you are in honors housing, you are able to recontract for honors housing the following year. I’m not sure if it’s “guaranteed” but there is a lot of honors housing available. I’m sure someone else will know that answer.</p>

<p>Best of luck!</p>

3

<p>Welcome to the UA forum Laminate and Roll Tide!</p>

<p>A student only needs 18 honors credits to graduate from UHP (the “main” honors program). Completing IHP and/or CBHP will require more honors classes. Since a degree requires 120+ credits, the vast majority of your classes can be non-honors if that’s what you want. In reality, you can take as many honors courses as you want, provided that there is an honors section available or you do an honors by contract.</p>

<p>I know this is the official response, but honors classes are not necessarily more work than non-honors courses, the work is just different. In general, I find that honors classes have more student participation and I consider that more engaging. This is not to say that non-honors classes are not engaging, it’s just that honors courses are generally more engaging. I generally choose classes by which professor/instructor is teaching that section rather than if the course is honors or not. I have had many professors/instructors in non-honors classes who were “honors quality” so to speak, but the class was non-honors.</p>

<p>Honors housing is not guaranteed per se, but you should be able to get honors housing for as as long as you want. The honors housing is indeed amazing.</p>

<p>There are over 4000 students in the honors college (I seem to recall the current number as being 4367 students). What is different about UA’s honors programs compared to those at many other schools is that you really can choose how involved you want to be in honors. You don’t have to take an honors class every semester unless you want to and many departments offer their own honors courses that count towards UHP requirements, but are held in their own buildings, while most Honors College courses are in Nott Hall. I recommend being very involved with the Honors College, but some people choose to do other things. The Honors College Assembly (HCA) is working hard to provide even more opportunities for honors students get involved.</p>

<p>I do view the Honors College as a community of peers and for me, it does make a large school feel smaller. That said, I often forget that UA has over 30,000 students. Sure I’m always meeting new people and don’t know everybody by name, but it is very possible to find one’s niche, so to speak, in a large school. I do so by being involved in the Honors College and in clubs/organizations that interest me.</p>

<p>I hope I answered your questions. Feel free to ask for clarification, more details, whatever additional questions you may have.</p>

<p>Also, what state are you from and what is your intended major?</p>

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<p>My son is in the honors college, and CBH. His only honors courses this semester, he’s a freshman, are his CBH class and Alabama Action. He’s also taking an honors section of one of his freshman engineering courses, but I’m unsure if this counts towards UHP and/or departmental honors. He chose the course because he met the teacher at Bama Bound and liked her and it fit in his schedule.</p>

<p>My son has two courses that are non honors where he gets incredible individual attention, and they are challenging as well. Calculus I, because he did not want to do an honors math course to start out his college career, has about 80 students, but his teacher works homework and test questions and sends frequent emails with solutions and study tips.</p>

<p>His other non honors class is English 102, second half of English comp, and is a great class. It’s a themed class, Imagining the 22nd Century, and has only 25 students. It is very challenging, a lot of work, but he loves the subject matter. It is also a great opportunity to address his writing deficiencies at an early stage in his college career to better prepare him for upperclass work and research opportunities. After their first paper, his teacher is meeting one on one with each student in the class to address any shortcomings in their work, and has even referred my son to the Writing Center for additional help. This is not something we expected to find in a non honors course.</p>

<p>In short, take advantage of the honors college and fulfill the requirements, but do not feel like you’re going to be “left out in the cold” at a huge university if you do not choose to participate in the honors college. Explore topics and courses you’re interested in when choosing your courses, not just because they might be an Easy A or fulfill some requirement. My son had enough of that in high school, where he had no choice of electives, and the large size of Bama appealed to him in that he would have a greater variety of courses to choose from when fulfilling his core and honors requirements.</p>

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<p>Many thanks for the quick responses. This is precisely the information that is so hard to determine from websites and statistics.</p>

<p>SEA_tide – I am a Mom from Ohio, doing advance college research for my DD (currently a junior). She is a born writer, leaning towards a major in journalism. She has been debating the small LAC undergrad experience, followed by a graduate degree in journalism, vs pursuing a journalism undergrad degree, which is mainly offered at larger universities. UA’s Honors College may just provide the best of both worlds. :)</p>

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<p>Laminate: my younger D (currently a HS sophomore) is my writer. We’re trying not to push UA in her face too much yet, but from what I see of UA’s journalism program it sounds like it would be great for her. The Crimson White (UA’s student run newspaper) [About</a> | The Crimson White](<a href=“http://www.cw.ua.edu/about/]About”>About last night – The Crimson White) garners awards on a yearly basis; there is a creative writing minor [University</a> of Alabama Undergraduate Catalog 2010-12](<a href=“Page Not Found | The University of Alabama”>Page Not Found | The University of Alabama) as well as the journalism majors & minors: [Department</a> of Journalism | College of Communication and Information Sciences | The University of Alabama](<a href=“http://www.jn.ua.edu/]Department”>http://www.jn.ua.edu/) They also have a well respected MFA program in Creative Writing: [U&lt;/a&gt; of A English - M.F.A. in Creative Writing](<a href=“http://www.as.ua.edu/english/08_cw/]U”>http://www.as.ua.edu/english/08_cw/)</p>

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<p>Do most Honors students take a large number of “Honors” classes, or do most students end up taking the bulk of their classes from the school’s regular course offerings?</p>

<p>Once a student is in upper division courses, there aren’t as many honors courses because those classes tend to be smaller anyway. For instance, my son is a senior and his 300/400 level math classes are usually less 15 kids anyway…sometimes only 6 or 8 kids…LOL.</p>

<p>Most honors classes are for lower division core-curriculum requirements. There are also some honor classes that are specific for a major…but again, usually lower division.</p>

<p>There are some upper division honors classes - mostly those with the W Writing Designation. Those are good to take. </p>

<p>My older son will graduate in May with around 50 honors credits. During his first year, many of his classes were honors…Honors Deductive Logic, Honors Frosh Eng’g, Honors Cal II, Honors English Lit, Computer-Based Honors, Int’l Honors Frosh Seminar, Honors Physics, and probably something I can’t remember now…LOL. Then during his second year he took about 5 honors courses - including CBH, Honors Fine Arts, and Parody and an honors creative writing class with the W designation. His 3rd year I think he only had 3 honors classes. This year he won’t have any.</p>

<p>A student can take many courses in honors or not. A lot depends on how they will fit into one’s schedule.</p>

<p>**
*
Do most honors classes truly seem to be more engaging than their “regular” counterparts, or are the honors courses just smaller classes with more homework?***</p>

<p>Not really harder and not usually more homework…usually just more class discussion. Also, often more LAC-like.</p>

<p>Is Honors housing (which I’ve heard is amazing!) guaranteed for four years?</p>

<p>Housing is not guaranteed for 4 years. However, if a student recontracts early, they have been able to get housing. My kids have been able to get honors housing. My senior son opted to move to The Bluff this year which is even nicer than the honors dorms (his NMF scholarship pays for it.)</p>

<p>How many students are in the Honors College?</p>

<p>As SEA_Tide states, there are over 4000 kids in honors. I know that sounds like a lot (and it is), but the Honors College has responded beautifully by offering more and more honors classes. </p>

<p>Do most honors students find the Honors College to be a community of peers? Is the Honors College a viable way to make a large school feel smaller?</p>

<p>Yes and yes. To start in honors, a student must have at least an ACT 28 - which is the 91st percentile. So, by having a large honors college, you have a sizable group of smart kids. It is like a smaller LAC on a big campus.</p>

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<p>Laminate, good to get a head start!</p>

<p>You might want to explore the Blount program as well, if she’s looking for an LAC type experience.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>M2CK-How does the Bluff summer rental fee work for the NMF housing scholarship? Does the scholarship pick up the summer fee if the kids do not attend summer semester or does the student have to pay that? DS is interested in moving to the Bluff at some point but does not want one of his 8 semesters of tuition to be charged to the summer if he lives there.</p>

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<p>My son is a graduating senior, so no summer req’t for renting over the summer.</p>

<p>However, if a student is not a graduating senior, then I think summers are a problem. I would contact housing for their most recent policy (it has changed a bit over time).</p>

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<p>My son is in his second year. Last fall, he took Computer-Based Honors, Alabama Action, an International Honors class (I believe it was IHP 155) and a Common Book Experience. He is a huge proponent of the CBE classes. Students read an outstanding novel and have great discussion. He In the spring, my son took his CBH class and Alabama Action: Costa Rica. He loved his 10-day trek to Costa Rica where he built basketball courts and soccer fields, taught the BriBri tribe’s children English and learned about the culture and traditions. </p>

<p>This fall, he is only taking his CBH class, as he is taking other classes for his majors. In the spring, he will be doing the second half of that CBH class, but plans to take Alabama Action: Costa Rica a second time. This year, he and one of the other girls who went on the trip last spring, are student leaders.</p>

<p>One thing that has been mentioned, my son said, is that some students would like to see more math/science honors classes in the future. As the honors program continues to grow, one can be assured that those requests will be studied.</p>

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<p>Terrific information everyone – thank you very much!</p>