I’m not suggesting that none of the other discussions about the honors college weren’t true, I just want to see a student’s perspective. Alabama talks about a bunch of community service opportunities and priority registration etc., but I want to know what it’s like from a social perspective. Are the honors dorms hangout spots for honors students? Are honors classes more enjoyable than regular classes? Please let me know and feel free to answer any other questions I might have. Thanks!
My kids really liked the UHP classes because they’re very small and more discussion-based.
As a recent alum who spent a lot of time in and around the Honors College, the first thing I’d say is that every type of student is present in the Honors College. The second thing I’d say is that one doesn’t have to base their social life around the Honors College unless they want to. If you’re interested in something, you’ll probably find an event about the topic or will at least find people who are also interested in that topic.
The honors dorms tend to be quiet and some students will hang out there, but there are so many nice places to hang out on campus and in Tuscaloosa itself that many hang out elsewhere as well Honors classes can be more enjoyable if one likes discussion-based classes with small class sizes Honors Courses aren’t necessarily more difficult than regular courses. In fact, some students find honors courses easier as they prefer the discussion-based format, even if the material is actually more difficult.
DS, a current sophomore, attends a good number of the social functions, but not all. He has attended and enjoyed catered dinners on the river and football viewing parties at the stadium where they served Full Moon Bar B Que. He has taken serious classes, like Physics, through the Honors College and more fun things like “Improv music through Jazz” or something like that. Needless to say, he said the instructor “rocks” and he is loving it. For him, the Honors College is one of several social connections he has found on campus. I think the Honors College does a good job of providing a wide mix of social programming and that way students can attend what interests them.
My sophomore DD has taken advantage of several opportunities provided by the Honors College - including, Alabama Action Abroad Ecuador last summer (and will going on the alternative spring break service trip this year). She has enjoyed these events and made some new friends that she might not otherwise have made. However, she and most of her friends are active in various greek houses and therefore the Honors College is not part of their typical social schedule.
What’s great about the Honors College at Alabama is that you can be as active or inactive as you want to be - unlike some other schools we looked at that basically segregate the Honors students from the rest of the student body. You can chose to live in Honors housing, or not. If you go greek, you will probably just take your required honors hours and participate in service activities or special events as you are inclined. If you aren’t in a fraternity or sorority, or an organization like MDB that involve huge time commitments, the Honors College offers opportunities to develop closer bonds with similar students.
Thanks all! This was really helpful.
Son has benefited greatly from the priority registration! On several occasions grabbing the last spot in a class that would be closed if he was not Honors. Dorms are wonderful. Quiet overall. He has had great roommates all 3 years.
He has really enjoyed the small Honors seminar classes. Loves the discussion based set up. But has not attended a single thing social or otherwise for Honors students- by his choice. But definitely worth going honors. You have nothing to lose.
Are the honors versions of classes much harder than the regular versions? For example, Is psychology 105 (for honors) much more intense than psychology 101? My daughter has ap credit for that one but it’s the only example I can think of. I know that there are other examples (freshman English honors classes, entry-level chemistry honors, etc.)
I am curious to see what @SEA_tide and all others have to say about these classes.
I know for Honors Accounting they had one additional group project.
I’m a freshman honors student. I participated in Alabama Action and I took psych 105 last semester. I’m currently taking EN 216 (Honors British Lit). Honestly, I don’t know if I’ll even graduate with enough honors hours to finish the requirements. I would rather spend time taking my major classes and be able to graduate a year early than worry about graduating with honors. But the priority registration is SO worth it.
Keep in mind that there are several types of honors courses.
- UH, IHP, CBH courses: These are taught by Honors College faculty and do not have non-honors sections. They tend to be very discussion-based and are not necessarily difficult for those who don’t mind participating in the occasional discussion.
- Departmental honors courses: These are honors sections of popular courses and have smaller class sizes. They usually have an extra assignment, slightly different grading scale, or a discussion-based format to differentiate them from non-honors sections.
- Honors by Contact Courses: These are courses where a student makes a contract with a professor to complete an additional assignment or more difficult project in return for honors credit.
- Graduate (500+ level courses): These courses are either only taught as graduate courses or they are 500-level courses taught alongside their 400-level equivalent. The graduate level version of the course must be demonstrably more difficult to satisfy the graduate program’s accreditation requirements. This is usually accomplished by an extra project or modified grading scale.
During my first year at UA, I had discussions with Dr. Sharpe and his predecessor Dr. Halli about not being able to complete honors requirements because I came in with over 75 credits and chose majors which didn’t allow the honors writing courses to substitute for their own writing intensive courses. They encouraged me to take graduate courses to satisfy UHP requirements provided I took the required 6 credits in UH/IHP courses. While I did take an honors by contract course, I officially satisfied UHP requirements by taking IHP 105 (3 credits), Alabama Action (1 credit), two Common Book Experience courses (1 credit each) and 12 credits of graduate level courses.
I don’t feel that the UHP requirements are very hard to achieve provided one finds a way to take 6 credits of UHP/IHP courses. Many majors teach 500-level versions of 400-level courses which would help satisfy UHP requirements, which makes satisfying the remaining 12 credits of the 18 credit requirement that much easier.
It’s really what one chooses to make of it. You can take all honors classes, do the extra-curricular stuff, etc or just do the bare minimum.
Priority registration is nice and so is the Honors Housing at Ridgecrest. Although Honors Housing is by no means a “Nerd Colony”, Honors students are in every residence hall. I wouldn’t really worry about it though, they try to scare you by saying if you don’t live in honors housing once, you can’t again. Probably about 90% of Sophomores, Juniors and Seniors live off campus anyway.
So it doesn’t sound like it is actually as “close knit” as they advertise. I liked the idea of a guaranteed social group for my DD, but it doesn’t sound like it really provides that. Is this accurate?
A diverse nerd colony is exactly what I was hoping for.
Our student has found social connections from the Honors College. He is a current sophomore and is still connected to students he met in Alabama Action, an Honors service program held right before his freshman fall semester. A student can make as much or as little as they wish with Honors social programming.
Keep in mind that the HC at UA is very large, like 1000s of students. It is not at all like a super uber small, tight group of elite students as might be at other colleges with honors programs. (love the mention of honors “segregation”, post #4, above!) There is a huge variety of HC students at UA, as has already been mentioned, so your diverse nerd colony box will be checked, lol. While there is a LOT that the UA HC does for students, the HC experience is what YOU make of it. Students need to avail themselves of these opportunities and get involved! For example, it may be true that there is no instant or guaranteed social group through the HC, per se, but attending events that the HC holds would be very useful to meet a diverse group of (probably) like-minded, smart people.
Re community service, the HC offers several (like, a whole bunch!) of service-based learning courses every semester. These act as 1 of the 4 ‘pillars’ of the HC (see this: http://honors.ua.edu/about-honors/our-four-pillars/). To quote another source on this subject: “Service learning is not [just] about volunteering. It’s about learning problem-solving skills, and, more importantly, shifting perspectives…If you’re at the top of the mountain looking over Rio, it’s a beautiful city. But if you’re living in a favela at the bottom of the hill, it’s ugly and harsh…Through service learning, students begin to realise that what they see depends on where they stand, and what they hear depends on whom they listen to.”
The book “A REVIEW OF FIFTY PUBLIC UNIVERSITY HONORS PROGRAMS” can be found at major libraries. UA’s HC is featured in there.
The Blount Initiative is not part of HC is it? Seems like it should be as it sounds pretty intellectually stimulating. Still, is it a closer group of students?
Just a little food for thought. College is a time to grow. Having a built in social life may not be the best thing for your student. There are over 300 active clubs at UA. Encourage your kid to find a few that interest her and get involved. Once she’s out of college, is she going to find a career with built in friends? What better time to stretch a little and learn to make your own social life. These are young adults, not children. Learning how to make friends, find other people with similar interests is up to the individual. UA or any other school can’t do it for them. Just my two cents.
@LucyTheLakie has a son in Blount and speaks very highly of it. From what I’ve read it sounds like it might be a good fit. Hopefully she will see this and be able to comment further.
BigDaddy,
I’m not trying to limit her, I just want her to have a safety net.
@SEA_tide was the problem with the 75 credits that you chose to not take lower level classes to meet the reqs., or that you were blocked from taking them because of the standing? Were the credits just AP or did you have dual enrollment credit that affected the course availability? Any other things to watch out for with that # of credits? Any advantage in student football tix purchases?