<p>My D is at Clark Honors College at University of Oregon. My son is at Amherst College. I can tell you, one is not getting a better education than the other. My D is utterly not “rah rah”, has a strong aversion to all things “Greek”, but wanted a larger school for the broader opportunities it offered, as well as wanting to be in a larger campus community after having grown up in a small town.</p>
<p>The CHC at UO has been excellent. She’ll graduate in June.</p>
<p>Younger D was part of Macaulay Honors @ CUNY, and she attended Brooklyn College for her Freshman year.</p>
<p>There were some separate courses for the MH kids to take, and they could register for their other courses before the other students @ BC. She still was, however, a student at Brooklyn College so it was hardly a cloister environment. (She transferred for other reasons - not dissatisfaction with MH).</p>
<p>Your child should visit the program and sit in on classes if that is possible, to see how he likes it.</p>
<p>Ah, m2ck you made me laugh, I had one of those S’s. But hard to believe they made it to grad school.</p>
<p>Let me also say this, unless your kids go on to be engineers or doctors or other equally rigorous occupations they will be working with and for some of these “low-stat kids”. And of course in many cases they will be voting for them.</p>
<p>Good info. Appreciate rentof2’s perspective.</p>
<p>Anyone have experience with ASU’s Barretts?</p>
<p>I’d love to hear about UMass honors college-- Commonwealth College. I’ve heard good things but secondhand and we know several kids who are interested.</p>
<p>I would love to hear about IU’s Honors College. The campus culture seems to have changed a lot since I attended in the 80s. I didn’t live in the only Honors dorm that was available during my days. DS currently won’t even look at the school because of the size, but might reconsider if I can give a compelling reason.</p>
<p>Re: Delaware</p>
<p>The Honors Program staff was knowledgeable and engaging. The Honors orientation encouraged DD to do multiple Winter Sessions abroad, which turned out to be an important part of her education. And I think it really helped that freshmen Honors students were housed together. DD drifted away from the Honors Program after freshman year, as she wanted to take some courses that conflicted. But she did stay friends with many of the students in her freshman Honors dorm.</p>
<p>MizzBee, D3 is currenty a junior at IU and a Hutton Honors College member. She too did not want to attend a large school but ended up at IU due to parental job loss. She takes one honors class each semester-usually in her major now but in her first 2 years in classes like math or econ which she felt she would benefit from the smaller class size and more personalized instruction. She pulled A’s in those classes so I guess it was helpful : ) The honors college scholarships are a bonus- for high stat kids especially. She was on the lower end stat-wise for test scores (looking at honors college kids) and still received $1000 per year which was wonderful to stack on top of the automatic merit scholarship that she received when admitted to IU. She’s studying abroad right now and received 2 scholarships from the honors college for that venture totalling just under $3000.
She has really enjoyed the events that HHC members can participate in- dinners with speakers on campus etc. and has been involved with the programming in the dorms (honors college has a council in each dorm for students to get involved in). She did not live on an honors college floor because she chose to live in a living learning center (Im not sure that is the correct name) that focused on a specific academic interest. It really is up to the student to get what he/she wants from the opportunities available. As far as the size of IU, it took D3 only a few months to find her niche within a large campus. She cannot imagine herself anywhere else; well, except for this semester in Ghana-a place I truly do not think she would have considered if she had gone to another school.</p>
<p>Thank you hoosiermom!</p>
<p>mizbee… does your son have interest in research… look into the STAR program at IU (no additional merit) but an excellent program!!! was what attracted my son to IU… he was accepted to iu, hutton honors, star… would have loved to go.</p>
<p>He is interested. What is keeping him from IU seems to be the size. He is applying to IUPUI and has been in contact with a few professors there. It seems the scholarship money has improved there, though it doesn’t appear to be as good as IU Bloomington right now.</p>
<p>Just wanted to say I really appreciate this thread.</p>
<p>Current Rutgers Honors junior chiming in for a first hand perspective. If I’m interpreting what you’re asking correctly, my experience says that being an honors student is really the best of both worlds, especially if the college offers honors housing. My dorm was filled with bright kids who were very involved both inside and outside the classroom. I don’t know if I’d describe everyone I lived with as “more intellectually stimulated” (although it wasn’t uncommon for us to have discussions about philosophy or politics at 2 AM on a Saturday), but I would definitely describe them as highly motivated students who understood what it takes to succeed. This means that very often the people I lived with are the ones who are leading clubs, doing research, and winning many of the awards Rutgers gives out. At the same time though, we aren’t segregated from the rest of the university at all; honors students here generally tend to blend in with the rest of the population to the point where I’ve met honors students and not had any idea they were part of the program.</p>
<p>As for academics, I never got the sense that I was in a small college (60 person classrooms will do that to you), but that isn’t to say that is a negative thing. I’m very involved in classroom discussion, meaning that I’m engaged and challenged by professors and students in much the same way I would be at a LAC (or at least I assume that’s how it is). What’s more, if your son or daughter is going to an State School honors college, chance are he or she will simply be a cut above the average student, which is a MASSIVE advantage when trying to do anything outside the classroom, research or otherwise. Chances are your S/D will be at/near the top of his or her class, meaning if they put in any effort to get to know their professors they will get tons of doors opened because they’re top of the class. Of course, the downside to all of this is that if your child isn’t motivated and has a habit of just skating by on talent then there’s a very real chance they could do that in an honors program, simply because they will be more talented than the average student.</p>
<p>Nonetheless, I couldn’t be happier with my experience at Rutgers Honors. It’s allowed me to meet people from all sorts of backgrounds, given me the opportunity to gain real world experience that my two siblings (both of whom went to smaller colleges) simply don’t have, and provided an academic environment that I can thrive in. </p>
<p>And most everyone I know graduated in 4 years, and I will as well with a double major.</p>
<p>Edit re: Size. The school really does shrink tremendously once you get involved. I had the good fortune of being placed in a dorm where everyone always becomes family, but joining clubs helps tremendously. Over time Rutgers shrunk from a massive sea of 30k people to my little world of ~150; the only times I’m really aware of the number of students here is on the buses and whenever I see a Psych 101 class.</p>
<p>I suppose that I should chime in, being that I have two kids in honors programs - one in the UHC at Pitt and the other in SHC at Penn State.</p>
<p>The most significant aspect to the the honors programs that I have seen is that the kids my daughters have roomed with, go to classes with and otherwise hang-out with are all hard-working, serious-minded scholars (who do let their hair down at times!) with some truly amazing backgrounds.</p>
<p>D1 - (now a second year Pharmacy student - fourth year at Pitt):
D1 has now had three (funded!) internships - two for research and one for clinical (pharmacy-based) experience. In addition, she’s been working as a research assistant in one of the UPMC hospital research units and has two published papers as a named author. Her belief is that all the original internship ultimately came out of the relationships she developed in her freshman honors biology class, which, in turn, have segued into her other internships. She’s also received grant money to attend a couple of national bio/pharmacy seminars. I should mention that none of these programs were specific to honors students, but the knowledge and awareness of the opportunities are better distributed to kids in the honors programs. Her experience with the honors professors have been that they are aware that their students are more serious and so they spend more time and effort with them. (It hasn’t all been a bowl of cherries - honors organic chem turned out to be a nightmare, and I’ve heard several stories from others in that year - D1 ultimately dropped down to the regular organic chem program and was much happier than her buddies who stuck it out.)</p>
<p>Her roommates have included internationals, Chancellor scholars, and kids in the guaranteed med school program. She is still rooming with her freshman roommate, who, by the way, just finished her summer internship at the Stanford School of Medicine. Another roommate spent the summer in Russia and China, all as part of her studies, with support from the school.</p>
<p>D1 has NEVER mentioned any animosity or difficulty from fellow students who were not in the honors program.</p>
<p>D2 is a second year architecture student at PSU:
Her experience, so far, with the honors program has been different from that of her sister. However, by far, the primary reason for the difference is the demands of the architecture program. The tremendous hours that she spends in studio have pulled her away from some of the programs that Schreyer has for the honors kids, but being in the program has also enhanced her relationship with other professors in her non-architecture classes. They acknowledge that she is a serious student, and that her requests for schedule changes are not frivolous. (Although, D2 does say that all the arch students are perceived by the majority of their fellow students and professors as being extremely busy!)</p>
<p>D2’s roommate is double majoring, as are several of her other friends. Some of her friends began their matriculation at Penn State with sophomore standing, due to multiple credits from AP courses in high school. Again, the common thread is that by being in the honors program, my daughter is surrounded by serious, hard-working fellow students, in a campus setting with a whole lot to do (and a major football program, which was one of D2’s desirables when picking out her final choice).</p>
<p>I should mention that D2 has mentioned receiving some negative feedback from non-honors kids at PSU. I wonder if the small size of the honors program at PSU (300 per entering class in a class of 7,000) versus the somewhat more encompassing program at Pitt makes a difference in perception.</p>
<p>Someone said earlier that you should not choose a school solely because of the honors program. I would agree with that assertion. I think both of my kids enjoy their schools, but being in the honors programs provides some enrichment and perhaps some additional opportunities which just adds to their educations.</p>
<p>Thanks QuietType on your feedback about Pitt Honors. D2 is in the process of forming a college list and that’s on for now. I keep hearing good things & I’m encouraging a visit in the Spring.</p>
<p>Every school is different. Honors College versus Honors Program is one. UW-Madison has an Honors Program. It has evolved over the years since I got my honors degree and son got one this year. At Wisconsin Letters and Sciences has the majority of students, I know that Honors Program, other UW schools/colleges differ. </p>
<p>At UW a student can join the program at just about any point, useless too late in the college career to qualify for any type of Honors degree. This means if you don’t start as a freshman you can apply and join as a sophomore etc. Honors in the major, liberal arts or, meeting reqs for both of those, a comprehensive honors degree- noted on diploma.</p>
<p>Now entering freshmen admitted to the Honors Program (L&S) get more than the Honors advising I did. There are some activites and emails of opportunities available to them. There are straight Honors courses including sequences in calculus, chemistry, physics biocore (a biology sequence requiring organic chemistry) and integrated liberal studies (ILS). There are Honors sections of courses at all levels, not just the first two. Plus Honors credit can be arranged with a professor for doing extra work. Each major specifies what is needed coursewise to get Honors in their major. A two semester Senior Honors Thesis is required senior year but grad level courses may be substituted- some majors, like math, lend themselves more to the grad courses than research. A gpa of 3.5 is needed as well.</p>
<p>There is no separate housing. Students choose the dorm that suits them- there is a diverse selection available at mainly two areas of campus. Many classes will be with regular students anyhow. The overall caliber of the general student is high enough that there doesn’t need to be segregation of Honors Program students. No limiting Honors students to taking certain courses be in Honors (I have seen course lists from some colleges that sound junky- overviews instead of real in depth subjects).</p>
<p>The Honors Program offers advising and courses that offer more challenges than the regular courses. No separation from the rest of the campus. Involves all four (or more) years. I have seen some college websites where certain courses are offered but only for the first year or two, only junky courses instead of a Chemistry or Physics intro level course for majors, mandatory seminars. Not a “one size fits all” model at UW. Not scholarship related. Not housing related (some have said many honors students live in dorm x- but they live all over).</p>
<p>All of our responses underscore the need to examine what is included in the term Honors, and beyond the freshman year. UW students are self directed/independent by nature and the nuturing nature/seclusion of some schools’ version of Honors wouldn’t suit them. Another reason to choose the college attended, different schools have different atmospheres.</p>
<p>MizzBee, I have a college friend who is a professor at IU. We visited informally this week (DS decided the Big12 experience there wasn’t his cup of tea). My friend shared that his students from the honors college are absolutely top-notch (and friend went to top-notch schools himself). When his own children apply to college, he’d be happy to see them in the honors college - but he is not crazy about the non-honors track at IU for an intellectually curious student.</p>
<p>^That is the problem that I have seen. I went there in the Dark Ages, and maintained Dean’s list while partying most nights. When I actually took Honors courses, they were excellent, though.</p>
<p>It’s very true that honors colleges/honor programs differ greatly between schools. Each develops from the history and needs and desires of each college and the college’s leadership, faculty and students.</p>
<p>It takes some work to tease out the ways in which they differ – much more work than distinguishing between LACs of similar size and selectivity, or between flagship state univ’s generally.</p>
<p>My D’s honors college (Clark HC at UOregon) is the oldest honors college in the country. It has its own building, and although students major in their chosen departments in the larger university, the honors college seminars thread through all four years. There is an honors dorm, but choosing to live there is optional, of course. A thesis is required, and the university’s gen ed requirements are replaced with honors college requirements (students do have to earn more credits overall, but have the benefit of small classes taught by professors – some who teach only in the honors college, others from other university departments.) There is also an additional fee on top of regular tuition… so you do pay more for all of this, but it’s been well worth it.</p>
<p>MizzBee, if your son is interested in research, ask lots of questions at all the schools. Friend’s child had offers for full rides several years ago at IU, IUPUI, Purdue. The student ended up at IU because it offered the best research opportunities (chemistry, I think). That student was in the STAR program, was named a Goldwater Scholar and is now in grad school.</p>