Thoughts on Wilkes (FAU Honors College)

I’ve read the available posts and several threads mentioned concerns re: availability of classes.

Those posts are quite dated, though, so I’d love to hear about more recent experiences…are there enough classes now to allow students to graduate on time? Are the research opportunities worth the lesser reputation of FAU (as compared to say UF) for a student who’s likely interested in bio-medical research? What types of students attend?

We’re making a short list of Florida schools to visit and am curious to know more about this option.

Campus life is sad and the kids are mean and elitist. And the class availability is most definitely a problem. I’m a double major, and I need one more required course in each major. Both are offered for the first time in three years next semester, both higher level, both on the same days. They say you can take classes in Boca if things aren’t available on time but registering anything there requires both your arms and legs (and a car).

Some majors are decidedly worse than others, IMO. Anything Arts or Math you really have to do yourself since there’s no classes in either for more advanced study of the topics.

Research opportunities are really picky, and you’re more likely to have a more impactful and more important role in a research project if you work personally with a professor at UF. Very simply put, one of the admin mentioned that most the profs here are apathetic towards thesis, which is the big undergraduate research capstone all students undertake. It’s pretty true. If you’re so intent on going to Scripps or Max Planck for biomed research, Scripps has its own PhD program. If that association is so important, you can admit there as a grad student and still have a fulfilling and successful undergraduate career. If it’s something that can’t wait for graduate school, Scripps has a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, and a Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) program for the summer semester. Housing is free in some of our (nicer) dorms, you get paid around $5,000, might get a pub out of it, and get to work on the same amount of projects/a project as some HC kids do in 2 years at the labs. All this, without the experience of actually going to the HC.

Bonus points for this managing to also be a crazy liberal arts college, so the students are on point for what you’d assume.

Maculata, thanks so much for your detailed response. I think Wilkes is officially off the list now for several reasons. I I appreciate the heads-up about the SURF program though! Good luck getting those final classes!

Thank you for the well wishes! Best of luck in your college search too.