<p>My son is a prospective 2014 student at TAMU and has applied to the honors program. He is top 1% with a 2030 SAT. What are all of the benefits of the Honor program? My son has taken all AP classes in High School and enjoys challenging himself, but are there other benefits. Does being accepted into the Honors program help with scholarships? Just looking for some info.</p>
<p>Priority registration. </p>
<p>To apply for [University</a> Scholars](<a href=“http://honors.tamu.edu/Honors/UScholars.html]University”>http://honors.tamu.edu/Honors/UScholars.html), he has to be in the University Honors program.</p>
<p>Off-topic - when I was reading about the program, the “Discuss socio-cultural topics and global issues” on [Honors</a> Housing Community](<a href=“http://honors.tamu.edu/Honors/Housing.html]Honors”>http://honors.tamu.edu/Honors/Housing.html) got me laughing SO hard ;D</p>
<p>Its funny you say that about the socio-cultural topics. My son was just saying he hopes the program includes some non-nerd type folks. My son is very bright and can hold his own in any adult conversation, but he also likes to just have fun.</p>
<p>I second Hillo on priority registration. I was with my son at his New Student Conference (one of the latter sessions) and the regular registration process was crazy difficult – good thing he’s spent a lot of time with computer games and his fingers could fly over the keyboard to beat other kids into the classes he wanted! Next semester registration as an honors student should be easier.</p>
<p>There are two types of honors programs, both get you priority reg. as well as a designated advisor, and access to honors-only courses. Univ. Honors now requires you live in the honors dorm, so my son opted for the honors program in his major instead so he could live in a regular dorm since he is more of a social non-nerd type (agreed the write ups on intellectual topics scared him off). The honors program students were very diverse, as they chose based on whole resumes - most were leaders or competitors of some type as well as being top students. You do get more attention overall as an honors student, and they do both social & academic oriented activities. There are lots of high achievers at this school, not all of them are in honors. It does require some extra commitment time & certain classes. It opens up more scholarship opportunities too.</p>
<p>When you get invited to apply to the honors programs, they reply with an offer (or not) and then you choose whether or not to accept the invitation to join their program. You could always visit the dorms to see for yourself if the atmosphere would work for your student but it isn’t a commitment to join when you initially apply. Last school year was the first year of the mandatory dorm requirement, so we just had to guess what it might be like.</p>
<p>I would probably classify my S as “a nerd/geek”. (similar stats to your son…perfect SAT score…4.0 freshman year, etc. but also a “small friend group” kind of guy!) He elected not to do university honors, but he is in engineering honors. His friends that do both enjoy university honors…it seems to provide a good community for freshmen especially. It is diverse and full of students with many interests. I personally wish he had given it a try, but he didn’t like some of the requirements and he is a “nonconformist”. He was able to get mostly honors classes his first semester (including a history class he liked very much). Engineering honors does help with scholarships and early registration as well.</p>
<p>Howdy whciv01!</p>
<p>Sounds like you’re getting good feedback from others. You can find more information about the various honors tracks at [My</a> Site - Honors Programs](<a href=“http://honorsprograms.tamu.edu%5DMy”>http://honorsprograms.tamu.edu).</p>
<p>If you are planning a campus visit and would like an appointment with an advisor in the University Honors Program while you’re here, you can give us a call at 979-845-1957 to set that up. Information about our application process is available on this thread: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1538307-tamu-honors-application-open.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/texas-m-university/1538307-tamu-honors-application-open.html</a>.</p>
<p>Please don’t hesitate to ask if you’ve got questions!</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Jon Kotinek
Associate Director
University Honors Program</p>
<p>JKotinek, how does the Honors Program affect transfer students? If I’m currently enrolled in Honors classes, PTK, SKD, etc. at my current college & transfer could I start off in Honors classes or would I be ineligible, or have to go through a waiting period (a semester) before being admitted?</p>
<p>Howdy franko5150!</p>
<p>Transfer students can apply to the University Honors Program via the Continuing Student application ([Applying</a> for Honors](<a href=“http://honors.tamu.edu/Honors/Applying.html#Continuing]Applying”>http://honors.tamu.edu/Honors/Applying.html#Continuing)). We encourage you to visit with an Honors Advisor ahead of filling out the application because the bulk of the application is reporting which Honors courses you will take to complete distinction requirements and our advisors can help you plan that out.</p>
<p>Depending on your major, you might also have the the option to pursue a college or departmental-level Honors distinction ([My</a> Site - Honors Programs](<a href=“http://honorsprograms.tamu.edu%5DMy”>http://honorsprograms.tamu.edu)). Regardless of whether you are pursuing a university, college or departmental Honors distinction, you will have Honors Priority Registration, the ability to do Honors Course Contracts and Honors Independent Study, take graduate courses for undergraduate Honors credit, and have access to specialized Honors advising.</p>
<p>If you are not interested in pursuing a distinction, you may take Honors courses at Texas A&M so long as you have a cumulative TAMU GPR or 3.5 or better. If you would like to take an Honors course in your first semester (before you’ve established a TAMU GPR), you can visit with an Honors Advisor and we will consider your request on a case-by-case basis. Your previous Honors work would be helpful in this decision process.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Jon Kotinek
Associate Director
Honors and Undergraduate Research</p>
<p>Thank you so much. I will definately look into all that info.</p>
<p>When can you apply for the honors program for fall 2014 incoming freshman? My S is retaking the SAT in Oct. and wondered when applications started.</p>
<p>Howdy whciv01!</p>
<p>The Honors freshman application for Fall 2014 opened up August 1 and closes December 1.</p>
<p>You can find more information and a link to the application at [Honors</a> Program](<a href=“http://honors.tamu.edu/ProspectiveStudents.html]Honors”>http://honors.tamu.edu/ProspectiveStudents.html).</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Jon Kotinek
Associate Director
Honors and Undergraduate Research</p>
<p>Thanks Jon. We applied using the form.</p>
<p>If I read everything right, there is a university wide honors program and also departmental (like engineering) honors program. Is that right? Also, is there any benefit to a particular one? I’ve read that the departmental honors program do not require students to live in the honors dorms.</p>
<p>So a student should apply for honors BEFORE he/she even gets accepted to A&M?</p>
<p>Also, I am also confused like whciv01, about the different types of honors programs. My S is applying to Engineering. Should he apply for engineering honors, regular honors, or both?</p>
<p>whciv01 - The primary benefits for the University Honors Program will be the broader focus and focus on developing critical thinking skills in the freshman learning community. We also think that it is a benefit that our students come from various colleges and majors (about 50% engineering). This helps provide perspective to freshmen about how their fields fit together. The benefit of a college or departmental Honors program is the disciplinary focus it provides.</p>
<p>TexasAtHome - Yes, most students will need to apply to the University Honors Program before they hear an admission decision from Texas A&M. Our application deadline is December 1, 2014.</p>
<p>We have created a page that lists the various options for Honors study at Texas A&M: [Honors</a> Programs | Texas A&M University](<a href=“http://honorsprograms.tamu.edu%5DHonors”>http://honorsprograms.tamu.edu).</p>
<p>At this site, you can see what programs your student can pursue, whether or not there is an application required, and contact information for the person or office coordinating the distinction.</p>
<p>For example, an incoming freshman who has been accepted to the aerospace engineering major has the option of pursuing university, college, and departmental Honors (any combination of the three). The only one of these options that requires a separate application is the University Honors Program.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>Jon Kotinek
Associate Director
Honors and Undergraduate Research</p>
<p>JKotinek,</p>
<p>Thank you for you long and thoughtful replies.</p>
<p>I guess what I am asking is we already submitted the Application on ApplyTexas and everything tells us it is complete, but we have not yet submitted the Honors Application.</p>
<p>My S should be auto-admit M: 770 CR: 690 W: 680</p>
<p>Are you saying the application is not complete because we marked honors but have not submitted the Honors Application and he will not be admitted until that honors application is submitted?</p>
<p>Thank you so, much for your time.</p>
<p>TexasAtHome - My apologies for missing the point of your question.</p>
<p>The ApplyTexas application is for admittance to the university. The application to the University Honors Program is a separate application which should be completed if your student wants to be in the University Honors Program the first year (there is also the opportunity to come in after the second year when we do not have a a housing requirement).</p>
<p>Hope this clarifies the issue.</p>
<p>Best,</p>
<p>Jon Kotinek</p>
<p>Mr. Kotinek</p>
<p>Thank you for clearing that up! I feel better now. :)</p>
<p>You’re welcome!</p>
<p>= )</p>