<p>I know all about the Honors program from an FAQ on this website.</p>
<p>However, my questions are more geared towards the prestige factor of the program. </p>
<p>What does the Honors "mark" on your transcript do for you exactly? Do graduate schools (for example: law school) really like it? Or would they rather see a really solid GPA? </p>
<p>Also, if I decided not to apply/participate my freshman year, could I still be designated as an Honors student for any of the following years if I apply/participate later?</p>
<p>I don't want to do more work if the payoff isn't good. Please tell me about your personal experiences with the Honors program at UCLA. :| The due date for the application is next month. I'm planning to go into Economics.</p>
<p>If you decide not to do honor at your first year, you can still apply into it for later years. I am not sure about its prestige though. And if you plan your courses properly, then you just need a course for honor collegium to complete the honor program.</p>
<p>An honors ‘mark’ on your transcript shows that you chose to pursue the most rigorous curriculum possible at one of the most academically challenging universities on the face of the earth.</p>
<p>I think if you’re smart enough for honors, you’re smart enough to figure out if that will help you or not ;-)</p>
<p>Honors should not affect your GPA; students in honors actually have much higher GPAs than the average student body, because you have to maintain a 3.5+ to graduate with College Honors (along with having completed years worth of honors coursework)</p>
<p>My personal experience has been great. My honors classes have been smaller than many others, and if you choose to pursue research and whatnot then that will also count toward honors. Additionally, honors advisors have been really helpful in getting me the classes (and letters of rec!) that I need. </p>
<p>I say go for it; try it for a year, and if it’s not for you then forget about it! Good luck! =)</p>
<p>I’ve also been wondering whether to apply for this or not! One of the benefits it seems to me, especially in this day and age, is that honor students get priority filling.
Is the honors curriculum particularly harder than regular classes?</p>
<p>The percentage of guys who began and come out with honors is really, really low. It’s just a gimmicky thing they do to try to get you into the university. I think your GPA speaks more about your academic career than Honors.</p>
<p>8% of UCLA students are enrolled in the honors program, and 3% complete it with the necessary GPA/coursework for graduation. So if you were to write “graduated with College Honors, a distinction awarded to only 3% of the graduating class” on your resume, I’d say that would look pretty good to employers.</p>
<p>And sentiment, since you aren’t in honors, I’m not sure you’re qualified to speak on the merits of the program. Through it, I’ve taken small classes (less than 25 students) with a Pulitzer Prize winner and former Secretary of State. “gimmicky”?? Ignorance is bliss, I suppose.</p>
<p>HC courses are definitely gimmicky. Most of the topics are incredibly esoteric, and none of them relate to my major or any of the hard sciences. The Warren Christopher class looked interesting, but I’m not sure how the application process worked. I certainly had no chance of getting in.</p>
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<p>True, though it’s also misleading. It’s a distinction that you chose to get but probably a third of the school could’ve qualified for if they so wished.</p>