<p>To be honest, I think both programs are just things Maryland employs for marketing. Scholars is nothing special, but you meet people who become really close to you. Honors offers special H level classes, but Honors dorms (Denton, Anne Arundel) are so far away that the walking is annoying and you don’t have a close sense of community.</p>
<p>The honors dorms are Queen Anne’s hall, LaPlata, Wiocomico and Elliot. I just received that information</p>
<p>Anne Arundel is actually part of the North Hill community, which is actually in the middle of campus (closer to a lot of classes than even South Campus). Besides, the majority of freshman live on North Campus (Denton included), so that really isn’t a factor at all.</p>
<p>LaPlata isn’t Honors housing, unless they’ve completely changed that. It’s Queen Anne’s, Anne Arundel, Wicomico, Ellicot, and Denton, off the top of my head.</p>
<p>I think saying that Scholars is “nothing special” depends on what you’re looking for in a living and learning program. I would disagree, but that’s my personal opinion.</p>
<p>Sigh…I just posted in the “Who Got into Scholars” thread. Honors is not for everybody; Scholars is not for everybody, and each can give some very unique and personal experiences, or each can be nothing special. (I can’t comment on Civicus or other programs, as my DD’s experiences are with Honors and Scholars). My main point is that Honors is not the best choice for everyone. That program has been around a lot longer at UMD, and they get the first choice of new admits. Scholars tends to pick people with a broader background of community service, JMHO.</p>
<p>I was accepted to Honors and the information they sent me was:
Digital Creativity=Queen Annes
Ent and innovation and Integrated life sciences= LaPlata
Honors humanities=Wiocomico
Gemstone= Ellicott
University Honors= TBA</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Scholars requires an internship for the citation. Our DS did it, (Govt) he and I will be the 1st to tell you that they not only interned on the Hill for their college requirement, but when summer rolled around they were able to work that internship into a job in the political arena…every MOC has an office in their home state.</p>
<p>They then rolled that back in the fall for a pt job, and kept rolling it yr after yr…and now when they are looking at grad schools, they have a resume and all started with that mandated internship. Our DS is a jr., his scholar peers in his field have pretty strong resumes, and because they have been doing this for quite sometime, they also have pretty strong recs, even if they choose to not go to grad.</p>
<p>It is what we call in the real world “networking”…sometimes who you know matters more than what you know.</p>
<p>You may just now be starting your collegiate career, but remember certain doors only open to those with the opportunity. Do you want to close a door?</p>
<p>You can graduate with Govt from UMD and turn down Scholars/Honors with a 3.9 compared to them with a 3.4. Yet 4 yrs from now when you have not interned for anyone and do not have that citation, as an employer do I take you with your only job experience is summer jobs at Game Stop, or the student that interned and parlayed that internship into a summer job for even the city councilman?</p>
<p>Not hard choice for me, a person with an MBOM and core concentration, HR…the 3.4 gets the job, their experience trumps the .5 gpa difference.</p>
<p>Boff the dorms, that is not why you do these programs…you do it for where you will stand in 4 yrs when it comes to the next stage of your life.</p>
<p>FWIW, I have no bone in this fight about after college, our DS will be commissioned USAF 2nd Lt. and serve for at least 4 yrs in the military before entering the real world. My post was from seeing where his Scholars friends are now compared to non-scholars, since they have 1 yr left.</p>
<p>Also, your freshman yr they do tend to be a tighter group, but again DS is living in a TH and none of his roommates are scholars. His best buddy from fr/soph yr joined a frat, they no longer see each other. Your life will change. That dorm is only as a freshman, not 4 yrs.</p>