<p>Hello! I was recently accepted into UW honors program, but I'm still full of questions about it...and UW in general, of course. :)</p>
<p>1) with merit aid, how likely is it that they'll rescind their offer? I ask because I've recently suffered a grade drop after in math (post-calc? they call it "higher mathematics") and biology (my potential major!! ARGH). I still have a some time to get them up, but with the IB exams on the horizon...:(</p>
<p>2) How difficult is it to take the courses that you want as a biology major? I'm worried about scheduling because it seems like there are so many courses to take, and registration seems like a pain...and I'm also hesitant about large class sizes and such.</p>
<p>(and how difficult, do you think, would it be to minor in music...?)</p>
<p>3) college honors vs. departmental honors???</p>
<p>4) ...how's the food? :)</p>
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<li>and 2.) someone else know?? </li>
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<p>3.) i think by college honors you mean the honors program, which you have to apply to when you apply for admission. deparmental honors i think has to do with having a certain gpa in ur department classes, i'm actually completely guessing here. but i'm pretty sure anyone can do departmental honors, and that for an average college confidential student it would be fairly challenging but entirely doable. </p>
<p>4.) i don't know about dorm food but on the Ave. which is right near the uw there is bomb indian, mexican, pizza... bubble tea, and of course starbucks. then at "uvillage" which is also really close there is jamba juice, QFC (and Noah's Bagels). </p>
<p>just my opinions, lets here back from others please!!!!!!</p>
<p>minjiminji, I see you live nearby. Congrats on getting into Honors! Just how bad is your grade drop?</p>
<p>PM me about bio course registration, I might be able to point you to an "insider" :) if she is not too busy with her activism. </p>
<p>Re: food. A friend's son is a frosh at UW. He moved into a dorm, but comes home on the weekends (with a bag of dirty socks, I assume). Mom is devastated - son thinks he gets more variety and choices at UW than at home! Bottom line: you are not going to go hungry.</p>
<p>Info on College Honors vs. Departmental Honors: University</a> Honors Program: College Honors vs. Departmental Honors</p>
<p>Departmental Honors varies from department to department and in some cases is even more competitive than general Honors (e.g. honors for the Jackson School of International Studies only accepts around 12 students per year). It is possible to not do College Honors and just do Departmental Honors. Personally, as an Honors student, I'm more thankful for the Honors courses available for Honors Program students than for Departmental Honors because Honors courses are designed to help you think more critically about the topics and to really go deeper with your ideas. It's been a great experience for me, and I've written plenty about it among the UW Honors threads if you're interested.</p>
<p>stefany, thanks for the food recs! Despite living fairly near Seattle, I've actually only been near UW once or twice. Shameful, I know...:)</p>
<p>BB, thank you! I was very excited when I got the letter (and so were my parents, of course)...as for the grade drop, IB HL math and bio II are both at an all-time low- B-. The most recent exams were brutal. :( And thanks for the reassurance (yay for food!) and the offer! I'll make sure about my decision before I ask you to bother her, though...wouldn't want the insider info to be in vain! hehe. If you don't mind me asking, what is she involved in re: activism?</p>
<p>PH, I'll go read those threads right away. :) The honors program actually sounds like a much, much more intense version of IB, which is really appealing to me...how difficult was it to get all the credits? With the honors core (47) replacing the AOK (75), I suspect that there would be less classes taken just the satisfy the general requirements, but it seems like a lot of those can be satisfied by high IB exam scores? Oh, I don't know. Maybe I'm worrying for nothing...But it does seem like I won't be able to go for that music minor I was hoping for. Darn.</p>
<p>minjiminji, I would not lose sleep over those B-! Those are very hard courses. Just do not get Ds or C-.</p>
<p>Just to give you an example of what UW students do besides sitting in a classroom, check this story:</p>
<p><a href="http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/355101_students15.html%5B/url%5D">http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/355101_students15.html</a></p>
<p>minjiminji--Actually I thought Honors would be like a much more intense version of IB/AP classes, but it's completely different. It's less about regurgitating a bunch of information and more of thinking outside the box and really about redefining the box, if that makes sense. </p>
<p>The credit you get for IB will take care of some general credits, but none of it will count towards your Honors core. The flexibility that you get from Honors should allow you enough room to minor in music. I wouldn't rule it out just yet.</p>
<p>It's actually easier to get a 4.0 in Honors than in non-Honors classes--you're graded more on how much you challenge yourself to learn than the raw results. One thing to know about Honors is that great grades and high test scores get thrown out the window in your Honors class. The profs are passionate about what they teach, they're extremely personal, and they want to challenge you to really learn. I have no doubt you'll have a great experience in Honors.</p>
<p>Thanks for the link, BB! That's a fascinating article...It's strange how we so often choose to be ignorant of the origins of the goods we consume. While I feel guilty for that Husky cap I bought the other day, it's so encouraging to know that UW students are so active and aware. :)
(I am severely sleep-deprived, however, thanks to other things in addition to the deeply unsatisfying grades....In fact, what am I doing at CC at this time of the night? ehhh.)</p>
<p>I don't know, PH. :) I rather like my IB classes, even if they make me lose sleep. I find there's not a lot of busy-work or regurgitation involved...I don't know about redefining the box, but there's been quite a bit of knocking things around that the box gets upturned at times. History of the 20th century, though far from being my favorite subject, was like that. I honestly can't remember any of the dates (and it doesn't matter too much), but I love analyzing and examining different historians' perspectives and whatnot. Ahhh...but I digress. I usually start losing focus around this time...lol.
What I was going to say was, again, thanks for the useful info! I emailed my peer mentor about the credit issue today, but you'd already answered it in my absence. Anyway, did you find getting all the necessary credits not too much of a trouble? I'd hate to take on, for instance, physics and chemistry together in one quarter, but if I don't take all the required classes for my major...ugh. And why are there so many series??!! It's driving me crazy to track down all the pre-requisite classes I'll have to take for bio to get into certain highly desirable courses. But I'm glad Honors will be less about the grades and more about the learning itself! I'm so excited about peeking in on some of the classes come "Honors Experience" day. :)
no, seriously, thanks, PH! It's really difficult to find good sources of (insider) information on UW Honors...</p>
<p>(and yay for music minors! The 25 credits don't look too daunting, and there's that one Latin American music course that's calling my name...oh, but what am I talking about. I haven't even decided if I'm going to UW yet....though it's looking more and more likely. heh.)</p>
<p>I'm glad you enjoy your IB classes! I knew my older sister's IB program was a lot more intensive than my AP program, so I know it's not all busy-work. I guess I enjoyed my AP classes too, so I should probably rethink how I phrase that. =) You have a great approach that I think will allow you to really benefit from Honors.</p>
<p>About the credits, I'm glad I covered your question. =) If I understand your question about necessary credits correctly though, are you asking about the Honors Core and major requirements? I took courses in the areas I was interested in and it helped me narrow down to what my major is now. The way I made sure I could fill all my requirements and Honors Core was to put together a four year (five year, in my case) plan that had all the quarters you spend at UW. Then I'd go through and put in the general requirements I needed to take. It's helped me see visually what requirements I need to fulfill and empty slot where I'm finding time to take classes I have an interest in (like Astronomy). It's useful for multiple reasons, but send me an email if you want to see what I mean.</p>
<p>One thing I might mention about the Honors requirements, particularly the H A&S series, is that you don't have to take them in order or even complete a series. They're just course designations so they aren't actually part of a series. Does that make sense?</p>
<p>I hope that helps! For Honors Experience, see if you can get Clarke Speed's class. =)</p>