<p>Hi everyone, as an incoming junior in High School I am now beginning to look at a wide variety of universities. As I reside in the state of Oregon, I have been looking at two great colleges within the state, (Reed and the University of Oregon). Reed seems to be substantially better for academics, but the lifestyle at the University of Oregon keeps drawing my interest. Last year my High School counselor told me that the University of Oregon has an honors college that I would be a great candidate for. As I have been able to read great deals of information about it, I can't get an idea about how prestigious it is, or how the program compares to other top universities nationwide. By itself, where would you guys rank the college as if it were a true university? Any input would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>I think that’s a pretty difficult question to answer. If you’re looking for “prestige” you’d be better off at a school whose name resonates with people. (Of course this varies by region – my son is at a very prestigious east coast college (Amherst College), but most folks in Oregon have never heard of it.)</p>
<p>What is it that you’re looking for with regard to a college’s prestige? Do you want it to signify that you’re an excellent student when people hear you attend there? Do you want an educational experience that will lead to good grad school options?</p>
<p>Think about why prestige matters to you, and in whose eyes this prestige is important.</p>
<p>As public university honors programs go, Clark Honors College is very well-regarded. Of course it is more well-known in-state than outside of Oregon, but grad schools will widely know its strengths. There are state universities with better known honors programs (Barrett in Arizona, Texas, Penn State, UGA), but Oregon’s is also always featured in lists of top honors programs.</p>
<p>I will say that I have one kid at Clark Honors College and the other at a highly selective liberal arts college, and my kid at CHC is getting every bit as good an education as the other kid… and in certain ways an even better one because of the enormous resources, opportunities and course selection that a large university can offer.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Cornell University and decided to enroll at the Honors College at UofO instead, primarily because I was awarded the Presidential Scholarship. If your parents are willing to pay the entire cost of your education in advance, then pick the prestigious university. If you need to go into debt to go to the selective university, then I’d recommend you pick the honors college. Unless you get into Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, or Princeton, then going into debt if you’re planning on going to Graduate School is a terrible idea. Especially if you are doing medical school where you need to do at least a year of internship before you can start paying off your debt. </p>
<p>If you consider prestigious as getting “props” from random people for going to a name brand college, then no, Clark is not prestigious. If you consider prestigious as employers noticing that you made a pragmatic, cost-efficient choice as to your college, then yes, you may call it that. Indeed, you’ll get more employment opportunities from being a 4.0 at Clark than being a 3.0 at virtually any top 20 university, perhaps with the exception of the top 5 or so.</p>
<p>zbballer, you can learn more about the Robert D. Clark Honors College by clicking through to:</p>
<p>[Home</a> | Robert D. Clark Honors College](<a href=“http://honors.uoregon.edu/]Home”>http://honors.uoregon.edu/)</p>
<p>We really recommend that you make contact with the honors college to discuss these questions. 541-346-5414 or <a href=“mailto:honors@uoregon.edu”>honors@uoregon.edu</a></p>