Top Public Honors Colleges in the Nation

<p>Michigan and Michigan State both have multiple fine honors-type programs.</p>

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yes brad i do have proof to back it up, people who are admitted to the honors program at maryland have higher SAT scores and GPA's then Hopkins honors students. i read it in an article about the honors program. and brad i am 100% right on that. college park spends an unbelievable amount of money for full ride scholarships to compete with Hopkins and many other state and public schools. Call maryland what you want, but i know, 100% there honors program is one of the top notch in the country.

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<p>I think Abe is right on this. UMCP has one of the best honors programs, including gemstones, and hum/honor. Based on what I saw/heard, their honors program and students are top qualities. Many in-state top students (Montgomery Blair, Churchill, Whitman, Woodson, etc) turned down JHU and like for the UMCP Honors for better education and absolute free-ride (Tuition/R&B/Books) - they are actually getting paid to attend the school :).</p>

<p>IMO, if you are into science/engineering, it’s not illogical to turn down 45K+ JHU engineering for a free UMCP Honors (pampered/world-class cs/eng programs, close to DC, a slew of potential internships and employers including NASA/Goddard, NRL, Pentagon, NIH, and a slew of beltway contractors including Lockheed, Booze Allen & Hamilton) !!!</p>

<p>UMCP does indeed throw numerous merit scholarships at top in-state students, and the existence of multiple honors programs available to these students (University Honors, Honors Humanities, Gemstone) makes the offer even more attractive.</p>

<p>Maryland students with SAT scores of about 2300 and unweighted GPAs of 3.9 or thereabouts have a very good chance of going to UMCP for FREE. About 200 such students are offered full-ride scholarships (called Banneker/Key Scholarships) each year. It's very hard to argue with FREE, especially if you're planning to go to medical or law school, where you will accumulate substantial debt.</p>

<p>I think, though, that when you're talking about UMCP vs. Hopkins, the correct comparison is with Johns Hopkins as a whole, not its honors program. I don't think Johns Hopkins has an honors program.</p>

<p>American U is on of my safeties... is their honors college good?</p>

<p>how about rutgers honors college
does that count for a lot more than regular rutgers in the real world</p>

<p>In the real world, i.e., employers, I doubt if any honors college will mean all that much unless the hiring manager is well-attuned to higher education. It will look like an honorific on the grad's resume, perhaps like graduating with high honors, magna cum laude, etc.</p>

<p>The real difference should be in the quality of the education - smaller classes, better profs, exclusive lectures/seminars, and many of the other characteristics described above.</p>

<p>r-dooley - you may be right but grads from the honors college at Penn State report that employers "cherry pick" those students - I would say this is an advantage. I do agree though that the educational experience is what really counts. You want to look for a program that's more than window dressing.</p>

<p>Passionflower--</p>

<p>Roger's right in that being in the honors program will just look like another honor on a resume. The rutgers honors program does have its own smaller classes and seminars and a bunch of other stuff (honors dorms, etc.) though so it is definitely a program to look into. In general, I don't think it's very smart for students to go OOS to a different state school (besides, say, W&M or UVa) because most state schools have the same vibe and provide nearly the exact same experience. Check out the rutgers board on CC or <a href="http://rchonors.rutgers.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://rchonors.rutgers.edu&lt;/a> . Also keep in mind that with the consolidation of the undergrad colleges at RU starting in one year, the honors program will be a little bit different, but not that much.</p>

<p>And I beg to differ on the comment on Echols @ UVa. I was admitted to Echols and the only benefits are really that you get to choose your courses first... and maybe honors housing, i forget. And I didn't get into the Ivies, so the people who were admitted didn't necessarily get into HYP. :)</p>

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unless im drastically misinformed about uva, being an echols scholar is not the same as being in an honors program. it simply lets you get priority registration, and possibly a few other unnotable perks - not something you'd get with an honors program at say penn state.

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<p>I'd agree. I'm Echols at UVA. I wouldn't say it's an "honors program," it just offers some perks to the students who demonstrated the greatest desire to learn--NOT necessarily the students with the best stats. I get priority registration and freedom from all course and division requirements, and I have to say, it's AWESOME. :) That's really about all, though; there are no special "Echols" classes and no seperate advisors or administrators for Echols students. We're very much a part of the university and I don't feel that as a whole we're of higher quality than the rest of the university. Everyone here is very high quality! :)</p>

<p>Will somebody please answer my question about American's honor college?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

<p>what is a honors program?</p>

<p>bump!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>thanks for the advice on rutgers honors program. i have a few friends that go there (in state), mainly for financial reasons because rutgers gives lots of merit money in state, and they say there are a few seminar type classes, but that's about it</p>

<p>university of michigan - ann arbor.</p>