<p>I am wondering if anyone could suggest some state school honors programs that people have found to be very good. Child will definitely qualify, number one in class, high test scores, National merit semi-finalist, etc. We are looking for affordable options.</p>
<p>I know of Plan II in Texas, and am wondering what other great programs people have found. I would like to know what opportunities kids are afforded by being part of these honors programs. </p>
<p>Remember the key word here is affordable, which is why we are currentlly looking for state schools. OUr own state school has been researched and is definitely not an option!!</p>
<p>Mary Washington University, Fredericksburg VA</p>
<p>University of Delaware, Honors</p>
<p>University of Georgia Honors</p>
<p>You S or D might have a shot at admission to University of Virginia (expensive OOS, 30% OOS allowed) or Wm and Mary, or Chapel Hill with the Robertson Scholarships, but UNC limits OOS to 15% by state law. </p>
<p>I don't understand why you are not considering some applications to Liberal Arts Colleges. If you child is a Son, many of them are not quite balanced by sex and it is likely high scoring boys will be offered partial tuition regardless of your income. High Scoring girls may also be heavily recruited, too for partial tuition. My alma mater, Furman University offered half tuition to young men I know who were also admitted to many good colleges where merit money was hard to come by. Some students prefer the intimacy of small classrooms and close relations with full professors offered in LACs and there is plenty of evidence that LAC grads are sought after in graduate schools and often pursue masters and PHDs.</p>
<p>University of Wisconsin, Madison is a great school and much beloved by its alums. Nice college town too. I'm not sure how affordable it is w/ out of state tuition, though.</p>
<p>others to check into ............University of Central Florida, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas A & M, Texas Tech, Arizona State, Wichita State University</p>
<p>privates to consider that may be affordable options.............univ. of tulsa, baylor, tulane, case western reserve</p>
<p>baylor has an online merit aid calculator at their website that is useful.</p>
<p>Ole Miss has a very good honors program, and the Computer Based Honors program at Alabama attracts national caliber students, but is very specialized.</p>
<p>St. Mary's College of Maryland is a state school that is strictly honors, and stand-alone, so it has the feel of a LAC. Only problem is that it's pretty isolated. But if your S is at all interested in ecology/marine studies, it can't be beat since it's on the Chesapeake and I believe the Atlantic.</p>
<p>University of Maryland Baltimore County is an honors state university, although I don't really like the school.</p>
<p>Most of the Ohio Universiities are very good and offer a lot of choices. You should check out:</p>
<p>Ohio state university ( strong overall school with most choices when compared to other Ohio schools. Very large number of students. Strongest programs are business and engineering. Give good scholarships to National Merit folks.)</p>
<p>University of Cincinnati has the strongest programs in Ohio for music, design, art and architecture. It also has very good program in engineering and business. It is the only Ohio school that provides a guaranteed 1.5 years of paid coop experience as part of many programs, which makes this school very reasonable in tuition. Also,they are known to give the best amount of scholarships over that of any other Ohio school ( usually a minimum of $5,000 for out of state students in addition to need based awards), but they also have the highest out of state tuition of any other school However, when taking the scholarships into account for both good students and NMF, the coop pay, the overall cost can be the lowest cost of all.</p>
<p>Ohio University: This is a rising school that has a number of good programs. Sadly, it also has a party school reputation and is located in the middle of no where.</p>
<p>Miami of Ohio: This is Ohio's version of a liberal arts school. It is quite good for liberal arts.</p>
<p>You should also consider NY State universities,which have fairly low tuitio for out of state folks ($15,000 per year)</p>
<p>Robert Cook honors program at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The Cook honors program is a school within a school. It's filled with quirky, curious students with a zest for life. Although the underlying school is not well-known outside the immediate area, many graduates of the honors program are accepted at well-known graduate schools.</p>
<p>Also, the University of Arizona has an honors program with excellent scholarships for NMS.</p>
<p>Although they accept only 18%oos it is always worth a shot. Readers Digest named this the #1 Honors program in the country. Every student receives $3,500 minimum honors scholarship per year. Extra for 5 NMF. It is pricey though for OOS although there are departmental scholorships as well.</p>
<p>honors advisors, special housing and programs, research opportunities, study abroad, early registration, many honors courses. And of course Penn State football. In addition they accept most AP's for credit. This is rolling admission so the sooner the better.</p>
<p>Thank you for all the replies. Student does not want very small schools, would like to explore state schools currently. There are some LACs on the list, but we would prefer to look at state school options right now. </p>
<p>She is interested in liberal arts right now and would like to continue with her music, but not as a major.</p>
<p>U of Maryland College Park has a good honors program, and with your child's stats, getting a President's Scholarship ($8000/year) is likely enough, which is good since UM can be a little pricey for out of state kids. </p>
<p>H-versions (no TA discussions, just extended time with the prof, smaller sections) of many regular classes, amazing honors seminars (really in-depth classes capped at 20 students), honors housing, and other good stuff. There's also Gemstones, which is a division w/in Honors where students form teams and work on a research project to present their senior year, and Honors Humanities, which is another living-learning program w/in Honors (I don't know too much about it).</p>
<p>I'm only a freshman in the Honors Program, but I'm loving it so far.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, however, that all honors colleges are not created equally. Some schools offer more substantial programs than others. So, it pays to do your research and ask a lot of questions, both of the program and of current students. Specifically, I'd look for programs which: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>Offer significant course opportunities across all four years of study that are relevant to all undergraduate majors.</p></li>
<li><p>Require an honors thesis or project.</p></li>
<li><p>Provide residential opportunities for honors program participants to live together in a community setting.</p></li>
<li><p>Require a separate application for admission to the Honors College in addition to the application for general admission to the larger university.</p></li>
<li><p>Have its own Dean, operating and staff budget, and considerable control over its policies, admissions, curriculum and faculty selection. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>University of Arkansas has a very good program, too. And waay more generous than many on the list. (Walmart moo-lah). Clemson is a standout and their National Honors is incredible. HTC (Honors Tutorial College) at Ohio U is another small intense highly selective program with great aid. UT-Dallas has a phenomenal free-ride + program that has all sorts of extras thrown in including travel.</p>
<p>At most schools acceptance into the Honors program does not automatically qualify you for merit aid.</p>
<p>On the EAST Coast I agree with Maryland, Penn State and Delaware. I like the latter because about 14% of students are in it where as at Penn Statae its about 3%. Univ. of Pittsburgh also has an Honors Program. Many large private schools have them too of you can afford them or qualify for need based or merit aid. Most do not require a seperate application to be considered--just the regular one. However, Penn State does and its a bear.</p>