<p>My son just received his letter today that he was accepted into the Honors Program at the school of his choice. My cousin's son goes to this school and also took an Honor's class (I don't know if he was actually IN the program), and she said her son had to bail in order to keep his grades up. She talked my son trying to discourage him from Honors, but he is not budging. He wants to take the courses. His explanation to me is "I don't want to go to college, just to say I went to college...I want a challenge"</p>
<p>On this note: He has taken every rigorous course in HS can has been offered. He hasn't slacked, is Stuco President, has a 3.98 gpa, 35 on ACT, etc. Still I'm worried that this boy that has a hard time keeping his room clean is taking on a bigger load than he might manage. He usually has to be reminded about things, and is headed off three hours away. </p>
<p>Any suggestions from Honors parents on how we get him geared toward a Honors course load?</p>
<p>If the honors program classes are really interesting - go for it (and send the Aunt back to her own corner firmly) But check out the classes. I found one honors program that was held captive by the classics/religion department. All honors history and English were about plato or Virgil. No thanks.</p>
<p>From your description, it sound like he can handle the work load - And GPA becomes less important in College. Getting a top flight education definately is important.</p>
<p>If he has a 35 ACT, a 3.98 unweighted GPA and has managed these grades and scores with minimal nagging (about school work)....and he WANTS to do the honors program, he should certainly be encouraged to do it.</p>
<p>Whether or not he's in the honors program, he's not likely to keep his room clean. But...it's been known to happen....especially when there's an even messier roommate!</p>
<p>Key words of advice: If he has not needed nagging. Any parental pressure to make good grades and do the work will be absent in college. If he is a very self motivated student, it will be in his realm. If it's been parents that have been pushing along (perhaps the case with the cousin?) he may stumble and struggle.</p>
<p>Side note: Perhaps the Aunt will be jealous if your child succeeds where hers has failed and this is why she is discouraging.</p>
<p>Sounds like he'll be fine. My s takes a few honors classes each semester and they ARE more challenging. But he had a good GPA and scores and took very difficult courses in high school. And he's doing well.
So go for it. He can always back out if he can't cut it...but there's a very good chance that he'll do great.<br>
Side benefit: Honors classes are usually smaller and therefore there's more of a chance to get to know the professor. A bonus!</p>
<p>Also depends on major. D is in a hard science, takes math, physics, and chem in one semester, and needs a high GPA for grad school - she took one honors course which was small and personal as noted, but she gets sufficient mental exercise without it. In a non-science major, where class discussion and peer interaction play a greater role, honors courses probably have a greater impact.</p>
<p>Let him find out for himself. His cousin's experience will not be identical to your son's. I don't want to speculate on your cousin's motivation in pushing this, but I would politely thank her for her advise and then let the student make his own way.</p>
<p>How well do the requirements of the honors program mesh with what your son wants to do in college, in terms of his major and career plans?</p>
<p>My son was offered the option of being in the Honors program at the University of Delaware. He decided against it because it involved rigorous and intensive courses in liberal arts, which would have been a distraction from his major interest, which was computer science. (And in the end, he didn't go to Delaware anyway.) I cite this example because underclass honors programs are sometimes very liberal arts oriented. If the student's focus isn't on liberal arts, they may be more trouble than they are worth.</p>
<p>My son opted out of honors for a similar reason as above. He is in engineering and most of the honors classes were in the liberal arts and not much interest to him. The challenges he faces with working 10 hours a week for spending money on top of a Engineering major and Japanese minor were enough. He felt he had no time for the additional work in honors english, etc.</p>
<p>I think it should be completely your son's choice. In the honors college at my daughter's school they have to take 6 credit hours a semester as honors classes. She is a science major but her 1st two years has taken her non science requirements as honors. She has enjoyed the balance of having a couple of really small personalized classes with 10-20 students to offset some of her huge classes with 150 to 250. She loved her English teacher so much that she is planning to minor in English. She would never have formed the relationship she did with that teacher in a large class.</p>
<p>Let him make the choice. If it is too much, or he doesn't like the classes, he can always opt out down the road.</p>
<p>
[quote]
If the student's focus isn't on liberal arts, they may be more trouble than they are worth.
[/quote]
True. Most of these programs are very Liberal Arts oriented. My child found classes not to be as challenging as regular math/science courses and hard to fit into an engineering schedule.</p>
<p>I have two who went the Honors College route at state flagship U's. One graduated already and is in a PhD program.Loved her experience (it was ASU's Barrett Honors). She was a Music Performance major but frankly wanted and needed the doses of liberal arts,etc that the Honors provided. It gave her a great community of scholars to live amongst.She did an Honors only summer study abroad.Her circle of friends have been highly successful in their postgrad years(PhD,MD,Dental,Law,Engineering,Physical Therapy,Pharmacy).She had great mentoring when her desired major changed.She graduated from there Summa Cum Laude,and seemed to have no problem competing for funding and getting accepted to graduate school..
S is currently in the Honors College at the U of South Carolina.He picked his U for his major of Sports Management but would not have attended w/o an Honors College setting,as he too needs the extra stimulation and intensity of the classwork. He also lived in Honors housing for his first two years and has made his best friends through the program.He has an extra advisor through the program.He loves the class offerings, which are varied and interesting,ranging from sections of reqs like the lab sciences to 10 person seminars on all sorts of topics.He has had some top notch,inspiring professors.Like your S he is messy and appears unmotivated but has been exteremly successful (now a junior) having a 3.9+ cum GPA..without parental prodding...
Both kids had/have merit scholarships
I am an advocate of the Honors College system at state U's!
Hope this helped.</p>
<p>^good point raised above, which is Honors programs can provide additional advising opportunities. As far as I am concerned, there can never be too many of these, especially in a Big State U setting.</p>
<p>Thanks for the quick advice. He does do the work on his own, but has a problem with two big P's...procastionation...and perfection...he wants his work to be perfect even if he waited to the last minute to do it. This is what I have to "nag" about. </p>
<p>His grades are not by chance. He studies hard and pushes himself. I sometimes have tried to discourage harder classes thinking he couldn't manage it all, but somehow he does. His disorganization and time management are sometimes a problem. That was his brother's downfall in college. </p>
<p>However this one has gone from a 32 on his ACT in 9th grade and has increased one point every year to a 35. 2170 on the SAT. He has one B in all of his HS years. HOWEVER...his plan is to major in Engineering....maybe civil...but he's interested in Aeronautical also. The Honors students have their own dorm community so to keep them focused. He hasn't decided whether to live there or not. The good news is his gf is equally intelligent and was accepted to Honors too. They challenge each other and do well at keeping each other on track....the bad news is that he should not need anyone to keep him on track.</p>
<p>And how would an 18 year old HS student know what a university Honors program actually entails? My kids ultimately make their own decisions, but can use all the information/advice they can get, parental or otherwise.</p>
<p>If an Honors dorm is involved, I would encourage participation. But look closely at how Honors requirements would fit into an engineering curriculum -- it's often hard to do.</p>
<p>I teach at a college that has an honors program and students get priority enrollment in certain classes. If honors college membership comes with priority enrollement you'd be crazy to turn it down. If your child is interested in a popular major,it might keep him or her from getting shut out of classes freshman year - -and insure that he or she gets out in four years, not five.</p>
<p>I would first find out which courses are being offered in the Honors Program. Then talk to other students from the same Program to find out about their experiences before making a decision.</p>
<p>My DS was accepted in an Honors program within a 7 year BS/MD program at a top College. However, when he read the list of Honors courses that were offered by the school, he found out that most of the courses were Humanities courses (were not of my DS's interest). So, he decided not to select the Honors College. Had the Honors College offered courses in Biochem, Cell Bio, Physiology or Anatomy and such, he probably would have been keen to go for it.</p>
<p>It's more important that you review the selection of courses with your son rather than simply jump to accept the "honors" title. Not everyone who is offered Honors College accepts it. </p>
<p>It is true though that some schools do offer priority in housing for Honors students.</p>