<p>Does anyone have any insight as to the differences in the University of Alabama Honors and the Univeristy of Georgia Honors programs?</p>
<p>Alabama’s Honors College has 4 programs…</p>
<p>**2 programs admit by stats - ACT 28 or SAT 1250/1600 **
If you have the stats and apply, you’ll be admitted to UHP and/or IHP.</p>
<p>University Honors Program (UHP)</p>
<p>International Honors Program (IHP)</p>
<p>2 programs have very competitive admissions.</p>
<p>Computer-Based Honors Program (CBHP) only admits 40 students - avg ACT 33 or SAT 1460/1600</p>
<p>University Fellows Program (UFE) - avg ACT 33</p>
<p>More info about Bama honors here… <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063465381-post1.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/1063465381-post1.html</a></p>
<p>UGa has only competitive admissions. UGa considers various aspects for admission. Their avg ACT is a 33. </p>
<p>From their website…</p>
<p>What can I do to improve my chances of being accepted into Honors?</p>
<p>The Honors Program at UGA follows the same basic criteria that the University evaluates when granting admission. Rigor of the high school curriculum, high school grade point average, and standardized test scores (SAT and/or ACT) are all basic factors considered in Honors admission.</p>
<p>To improve your chances with regard to Honors admission, we suggest a challenging schedule of high school classes including Advanced Placement (AP) and/or International Baccalaureate (IB) courses. We evaluate transcripts and students based on the number of challenging courses they took compared to the number that were offered at their high school. Weighted grade point averages are taken into consideration, with specific emphasis on the core classes taken during high school. Honors looks at SAT scores on the 1600 scale, though writing is required and is evaluated for admission to UGA. </p>
<p>Honors Program Statistics 2009–2010 </p>
<p>Honors Program Students 2350
2008–2009 First-Year Class 520
Average First-Year High School GPA 4.09
Average First-Year SAT 1463*
Middle-Range SAT 1430 – 1490 </p>
<p>Foundation Fellows (FF) 78
Average First-Year High School GPA 4.11
Average First-Year SAT 1524* </p>
<p>Ramsey Scholars (RS) 42
Average First-Year High School GPA 4.27
Average First-Year SAT 1522*
*Critical Reading and Math Sections Only </p>
<p>What in particular do you want to know? </p>
<p>What are your child’s stats?</p>
<p>Besides the differences in locations and mascots, I really don’t know. UA is said to have modeled its honors and scholarship programs after UGA and U South Carolina modeled its after UA. What I can tell you is to research both programs, visit both, and see how your child likes each one. Then, look at the scholarships and financial aid each school offers. It would also help to know your child’s state residency. If a GA resident, the HOPE Scholarship is hard to beat, but recipients aren’t always admitted into UGA.</p>
<p>Best of luck with the college search and please feel free to ask any more questions you may have.</p>
<p>I agree with SeaTide: after researching on paper, put your feet on the campus. We were expecting a similar feel at UGA as at UA (what with them both being large, SEC schools) and were surprised by how different they felt.</p>
<p>Agree with RobD and SEA_tide! My daughter has EA to UGA and the Hope Scholarship, but none of us got a good feeling when we went to the campus. Has a completely different feel than UA.</p>
<p>I would definitely consider an on campus visit before deciding!</p>
<p>Although the University Fellows program at the University of Alabama is attempting to emulate the Foundation Fellows program at the University of Georgia, the two remain worlds apart despite their geographic proximity.
Standards for admission to Georgia’s Honors program may be the highest in the nation due to the Hope Scholarship & Athens, Georgia’s proximity to Atlanta.
Metropolitan Atlanta has a population exceeding 5 million & is one of the most sophisticated cities in the nation. Many students at UGa. come from the Atlanta metropolitan area.
The University of Alabama retains an old world Southern charm in some respects & is somewhat like a 1970s University of Georgia–which I consider to be a plus.
The main difference between the two universities is found in the quality of the students. Georgia students are very intelligent from top to bottom due primarily to the Hope Scholarship instituted under former Governor Zell Miller. The is a significant drop off in the quality of student at Alabama below the Honors College students. Alabama’s guidelines for entrance to their Honors College are not strickly enforced while Georgia’s Honors Program requirements keep soaring.
The campus cultures vary significantly despite their common heritage & SEC membership.
I am not a fan of the honors program/college at the University of South Carolina except as a last best option whereas Georgia students routinely turn down admission to elite Ivy league schools to attend UGa on full scholarships. Alabama, on the other hand, has found a wonderful niche offering strong students many incentives without competing with the likes of the Ivy League, Chicago, Northwestern, Stanford, MIT, Georgetown or even Duke.
Alabama’s honors students primarily select between Vanderbilt & an Alabama scholarship.</p>
<p>When I spoke with President Witt of the Univ. of Alabama in 2006, he told me that the University Fellows Experience was modeled after the University of Georgia Foundation Fellows program (the first group of University Fellows started in the Fall, 2007).
It is interesting to try to match campus “feel” & campus cultures among colleges & universities. In my opinion, the most similiar to the University of Alabama are the Univ. of Arkansas, the Univ. of Mississippi, LSU, the Univ. of South Carolina and, in several respects, Vanderbilt University. As an aside, Arkansas has well funded, but often overlooked honors scholarship offerings especially, as best that I can recall, for applicants to the business school. The Univ. of Georgia is not similiar to the Univ. of Alabama according to my judgment.
Top students attracted to the Univ. of Alabama might also like Washington & Lee, the Univ. of Virginia & Wake Forest University.</p>
<p>Students attracted to the University of Georgia might also like the University of Virginia & the University of North Carolina, in my opinion. Foundation Fellows qualifiers probably would fit in at Princeton, Harvard & Northwestern Universities among other super elite schools depending on one’s interests.</p>
<p>SEA_tide Post #3:
Although possible, it is unlikely that the Univ. of South Carolina modeled its honors program after the Univ. of Alabama’s Honors College since South Carolina’s Honors Program was headed by a now retired pioneer of the recent (past twenty years) honors program/college evolution. However, maybe USC recently revamped its program & your observation may be accurate. USC certainly needed/needs to do something, in my opinion.</p>
<p>Gosh you guys rock! I guess I should have put a little more info in my post. I would really like to know what you think of the academics of the Honors program of both of these schools and what you’ve heard from the streets/kids about what is thought of of both of these programs. Here’s some of my son’s background to help out…</p>
<p>Lives in Atlanta…born an raised.
Attends a private prep school here.
ACT 34
SAT 1460 (2140)
Critical Reading 700
Math 760
Writing 680</p>
<p>Because he’s lived here in Atlanta his whole life he is thinking he would like a smaller town. </p>
<p>He was not accepted to the UA Fellows, but did like the feel of the campus. Also, his grandfather was an alumni. He will be going in two weeks to spend some time with a couple of friends that are freshmen there. He plays ice hockey and one of his friends is on the team there. I hope this will help him with his decision.</p>
<p>He was in the top 2% of kids to apply to UGA Honors b/c he received ‘the’ letter asking him to join their Honors program. He has not even visited the campus…probably b/c his mom is not thrilled about UGA…nothing to do with the school itself…Tech girl…so it’s rough. I know I need to just suck it up because he didn’t even apply to Tech 
We will be planning a visit now to UGA and there are obviously plenty of people we can hook him up with.</p>
<p>He’s applied to W&L, but he needs a REALLY NICE scholarship for him to be able to go there. He did not make the cut for their Johnston Scholarship :(((((((</p>
<p>He is a semi-finalist for the Richmond Scholars at Univeristy of Richmond. :)))) He did visit there but it POURED down rain the whole time he was there. He liked the campus, but wants to go back for another visit to get a better feel.</p>
<p>He’s also applied to Furman, Birmingham Southern, and Vanderbuilt. Has a couple of small scholarships at Furman and Birmingham Southern, but of course won’t hear from them till ‘regular’ dates in March/April.</p>
<p>So, I guess we are trying to stay as much ahead of the game as we can. Right now financially it’s UA or UGA, so I just wanted to get some input as to what you guys are hearing on the programs, not necessarily the campus, etc…or any of the others I mentioned.</p>
<p>Thanks for all your insight…it really helps!</p>
<p>If your son is a student at the Westminster Schools or Pace Academy, he should have plenty of student resources at both the Univ. of Alabama & at the Univ. of Georgia. Because of the schools to which your son has applied–Washington & Lee, Furman, Birmingham Southern & Vanderbilt–he appears to be a match for Alabama Honors College, in my opinion.
My son is different. He declined the University Fellows offer in favor of Northwestern University. The only two schools which interested my son were Harvard (where he spent two wonderful summers & had faculty support) & Northwestern. He refused to fill out a scholarship application sent to him after applying to Vanderbilt (I strongly encouraged him to apply to Vandy). He has never once regretted his decision.
My point is that the student may be the best judge of what is right for him or her. For example, my son received strong encouragement to apply to W&L, but refused because he knew that it wasn’t an environment that interested him. If your son selected the schools to which he applied without excessive parental prodding, then he appears to be a much better match for Alabama than for Georgia.</p>
<p>:)</p>
<p>Nice stats!</p>
<p>Did your son apply to CBH?</p>
<p>What did he put as his major?</p>
<p>He obviously gets the Presidential full tuition. 
If he’s majoring in Eng’g or Comp Sci, then he gets $2500 more per year. :)</p>
<p>Yes, he does have a lot of resources at UA and UGA; actually he has resources at all the schools he’s applied to. Between UA and UGA we are leaning towards UA, but want to make sure it’s for the right reasons :). As the info comes in from all the other schools he’s applied to, we will of course re-evaluate. As I said…just trying to stay ahead of this, what seems to be a, full time job!</p>
<p>Why do you think UA over UGA though?</p>
<p>Campus culture. But, and this is important, I do not know your son or of his interests beyond what you have shared in the above posts. My evaluation is primarily based on the list of other schools to which he has applied.
Your son is likely to be an academic superstar at Alabama, which will be a significant asset when applying to graduate school debt free. Alabama’s Honors College will be a nurturing & supportive environment. At my son’s university, students get very little hand holding & even the least qualified students offer substantial competition. But my son went to an academically demanding private school, similiar to Atlanta’s Westminster Schools, where over 45% of his graduating class was accepted to at least one Ivy League school even though many did not apply to any Ivy, thus he enjoys a highly demanding environment.
In what type of academic & social environment does your son thrive? If you indicate which private school he attends in Atlanta, I may be able to offer some further comparisons.
P.S. I too am surrounded by Georgia Tech graduates.</p>
<p>His major, as he sees it now, is Neuroscience. Both parents are engineers and he does not want to be one…LOL, nor have we really encouraged him! Honestly, it’s just what ever will make him happy. That’s why I’m on this site, is for help and opinions, we just want him to be happy, so your input helps us as parents a lot!</p>
<p>We are very proud of him, as I’m sure all the parents on this site are. He seems to be on the cusp of some of the decisions made for some of the ‘top’ scholarships, etc. though. Your opinions help because there is SO much out there. This is our first time doing this. When we went to college you pretty much just signed up and paid…LOL!</p>
<p>Okay, well thanks for that info…never really thought of it that way. He has informed us though he will be going for his PhD or equilivent. I’ll probably be dead when he does finish! :)</p>
<p>If your son is going to pursue a PhD program, rather than professional school such as a law, medical or MBA degree, than graduating debt free is less important since many PhD programs are funded. The actual 9 month cost of attending an elite private university hovers around $60,000 when including all costs. Feel free to PM me as, even though I don’t live in the Atlanta area, I am very familiar with the private & parochial schools there & with colleges & universities nationwide.</p>
<p>*When we went to college you pretty much just signed up and paid…LOL! *</p>
<p>Isn’t that the truth!!! LOL</p>
<p>*If your son is going to pursue a PhD program, rather than professional school such as a law, medical or MBA degree, than graduating debt free is less important since many PhD programs are funded. *</p>
<p>True…but as a senior in high school, it’s hard to know what a student will do after graduation. A high school senior may think PhD now, but may think med school or something else later.</p>
<p>Wonderbreadmom: UA has an ice hockey team? Well, that will make my D happy to hear :)</p>
<p>Please visit UGA and soon. If he’s visited UA and liked the campus, he really needs to make a comparison to UGA. I will tell you that when we visited, we left before the honors college information session (we had gone to the regular info session & the campus tour.) All 4 members of our family were there and it just didn’t “feel” right to any of us. Very subjective of course, and no slam on the excellent academics available there. In a moment worthy of the thread <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/705291-stupidest-reason-child-wont-look-college.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/parents-forum/705291-stupidest-reason-child-wont-look-college.html</a> my D was done when our tour guide stood in front of the chapel and said a lot of girls there “picked their date before they picked their mate” because the chapel calendar filled up quickly ;)</p>
<p>Also, for us, it was a drive to campus that was long & not convenient to anything we would do on a regular basis. UA is 3 1/2 hours away and we pass the home of long time friends who we visit on a regular basis anyway. It wasn’t a dealbreaker but added to the list of cons.</p>