Hello!
I was fortunate enough to be accepted to the UMASS Honors College, which was a bit of a surprise. I’m in the process of deciding between a few schools, mostly small liberal arts colleges (MHC, Bryn Mawr) and a somewhat small university (UVM), and hadn’t really considered UMASS due to its size (I worry I’d get lost-- physically and figuratively-- at such a large university). But since it’s an incredibly low cost option and my parents are very excited about it, I figured I’d take a closer look (I plan on going to vet school, which will land me in lots of debt post-graduation-- around $150,000-- so I may as well consider all my options). I was wondering if anyone could answer a couple questions that I had…
- Are all classes guaranteed to be smaller? Or will I still end up in a huge introductory class, like BIO 101?
- Are all classes guaranteed to be taught be an actual professor? Or are some of them taught be grad students?
- Is "honors housing" guaranteed for all four years, or is it a lottery system after the first year?
- Close relationships with my profs, and access to good advising are extremely important to me-- is that one of their strengths?
- Any general information on its strengths and weaknesses would be much appreciated!
Thank you very much! And I’m really sorry if this was the wrong spot to post this question, this is my first time using this site!
Welcome to CC! And yes, this is the right place to post this. Even though I’m not a part of the honors college, I can answer some of your questions (so if I skip a number, I probably wasn’t able to give you a definitive answer).
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Yes and no. Some classes will offer special honors lectures but not all of them. Those that do are for the most part smaller. However, you can make some of your non-honors classes count towards your honor credits, which basically means going to a regular lecture but being given more work that only students that are taking it for honors credit will have to do.
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No, it’s actually a lottery all 4 years. The only difference between being a first year in CHC housing and being an upperclassman is that you won’t be able to live in a suite or apartment style room as a first year. You’ll be stuck in a regular double. Also, if too many CHC freshmen want to live in the honors college, you might get unlucky and put into somewhere else on campus (which rarely happens, but is entirely possible).
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Strengths is that you’ll have your own special advising offices for when you need help with picking classes/finding out what credits you need to take and that type of stuff. Also, you get to live in the nicest part of campus (only dorms to have AC) and being in the CHC a great thing to put onto your resume. As for weaknesses, I mean, you have to take classes that will require more work. Also, at the end of your senior year, you have to write a thesis paper for your major if you want to graduate as part of the CHC.
Also, don’t worry about getting lost. Almost every freshman will get lost at one point or another during their first semester here at UMass, but you’ll get used to it. I’d recommend doing the class schedule walk during the first couple of days during fall NSO (if your peer mentors are hosting it, if not, just ask them about it and they’ll be able to help you out). Also, there’s a map. The campus is stretches about a mile to get from SW to NE, so you should probably get used to the bus system before winter comes. As for figuratively, you could always join an honors RAP if you plan on living in the CHC. Here’s more info about it: https://www.honors.umass.edu/raps
Thank you so much @BladeHunter, that clears things up a lot!
@gardening365 Yeah, no problem! If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask.
Also, hopefully someone else will be able to answer those questions that I couldn’t.
i know someone at UVM, and she loves it there. she just met bernie sanders this weekend. also congrats! honors college is great