I would like my daughter to consider some universities that offer good honors programs. She has visited Northeastern, but didn’t like the very urban feel of it. Any other choices for colleges with 6000+ undergrads that have good Honors programs?
There are many:
South Carolina
PSU
Arizona State
Alabama
Ole Miss
are just some off the top of my head.
What are your DD’s stats?
What is your budget?
Many schools that have good Honors Colleges do not give much need-based aid, but some do give good merit scholarships (not PSU…bad merit and bad aid).
From a previous post…
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my daughter will be a junior in Sep. Smart, great grades in the 90’s, all AP and Honors courses, etc… She wants to start researching colleges this summer. She wants to go somewhere where there are few dumb-dumbs, to put it bluntly. She has little tolerance for partiers and wastrels. She is definitely liberal, but she is not a hippy, so not into Birkenstocks, etc…(I would describe her as normal with a punky edge, likes indy music.) For her, it will be really important to go somewhere with like -minded students, but definitely not a huge school. Suggestions please.
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If the above is still true, then that all needs to be considered.
Are you now considering HC’s because you’re hoping for larger merit awards?
Are you now considering HC’s so that your DD is more insulated from (in her words) dumb-dumbs?
Haha good have a good memory! All the above is still true. I wrote that post nearly a year ago and have learned a lot. Mainly that her great stats guarantee nothing. I want her to consider honors programs so she has more options AND to see if the merit aid is good. Thanks for your suggestions. Since that old post she has very strong ideas. Defintely prefers LACs.
Well, tell us more…
What are her stats
What is her major?
How much merit do you want? What do you want your net cost to be?
Okay, SAT 2240, first go. GPA 94, all Honors or AP. Three AP this year, 4 next year. Will probably get all 4s or 5s. Taking two SAT sub tests, will probably do well. Majors…undecided, leaning towards Psych, Computer Sci, or English. good merit is a bonus, not a necessity. Return of Investment is important to my husband. She def prefers LAC type schools, and has heard repeatedly that it is easier to make a big school feel small than vice versa. I am aware that her GPA might not be quite high enough.
We used this site to compare a lot of the different programs which are not created equal http://publicuniversityhonors.com/
@Rdtsmith , thanks, that is a very good site!
Also, @mom2collegekids she still wants to avoid the dummies, but has now realized that a lot of bugger colleges are full of smart people. She just prefers smaller campuses, but she realizes that it is vey competitive out there and is more open to considering bigger colleges if they offer Honors programs.
“She wants to go somewhere where there are few dumb-dumbs, to put it bluntly.”
A good start would be telling her that this is a foolish way to think about colleges. There are (believe me, I live next door) plenty of “dumb-dumbs” at Harvard.
Also, you’ve said twice just in this thread that your daughter prefers LAC-type schools- so why the big interest in public honors colleges? Even if the honors classes/honors college is smaller, she’s still going to be in a huge community within the university itself- 50K at Penn State, 40K at Alabama, etc. Being in the honors college does not mean she’s going to be on a completely different campus with completely different classes, events, etc. She also might have some troubles with partying, too, because large state publics (large enough to have a robust honors college) are often going to have quite a bit of drinking and partying. She might be in different dorms but that does not mean that she will not be exposed to it and that it will not be a part of the campus culture.
D was accepted to George Washington’s honors college. We attended admitted student briefings and she was very impressed by the program. They awarded $100K in merit aid with similar stats
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if she is considering CS then many large publics make it very difficult to change into that major. Best way in is to be offered admission in that major.
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you may be overestimating the “smallness” of honors colleges. What they do is all over the map; at some all your intro classes are special honors classes, at others its just 1 class a semester or regular classes with a honors discussion section meeting 1x per week. And while honors generally offers special housing and early registration, honors colleges don’t typically have their own majors. Upper division classes are usually taken in the regular U, and that’s who offers the major (although the diploma will have a special honors stamp)
@Lindagaf, we have found that there are at least 12 public honors colleges or honors programs whose students have average SAT scores in your daughter’s range. The most selective is the Echols Scholars Program at UVA (+1500), and the average SAT scores at UVA as a whole are in the upper 1300’s for all students. Other highly selective honors colleges and programs include Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, UT Austin Plan II, South Carolina, Honors Carolina (UNC), and Rutgers.
All these except Illinois have separate honors residence halls and/or Living Learning Communities. For freshmen and sophomores, especially, honors colleges and programs feature mostly all-honors classes, averaging 21 students per section, and strongly encourage (some require) participation in the honors residence halls. This is the honors experience that most closely resembles a LAC. After one or two years in honors, most students are well-settled and able to go forward even in the largest universities. Many of these honors programs also offer upper-division honors classes, both all-honors and mixed, and most require an honors thesis or capstone project. The caliber of students in the non-honors classes will vary according to the selectivity of the university as a whole. Several of the universities mentioned above are quite selective.
This is not to say that the overall experience at a public honors college or program mirrors that of a LAC. If a student genuinely feels that a large campus will not do for him or her, regardless of honors “offsets,” then, if money is not an obstacle, a LAC or private elite university would be the answer.
Qwerty568 I don’t think you read this thread very well. The quote above is from nearly a year ago. She and I have both learned much about the admissions process and if you will notice I state clearly in my initial post that I, her parent, want her to consider honors programs. Read this all again, I explained why she might want to look at honors programs. And if she wants to be with smarter kids, that is her choice. Yes, she likes LACs, maybe she won’t get in the ones she chooses. At least she will investigate,then decide. Far better to be informed than the kids who think their A+ GPA and 2400 SAT guarantees admittance to Harvard, which she has zero interest in, btw.
Penn State Schreyer is pretty selective (8% acceptance rate this past application cycle) with the normal honors perks like housing, early registration, advising, special orientation, scholarships, and lots of support for study abroad. If you claim honors housing your first year, you’re guaranteed to have it if you want it for the remainder of your time there. None of that stressful housing lottery stuff. 
So, if she can put up with how big the rest of the university is, that might be worth looking into. 
I just finished my first year there (intended ChemE major, Spanish minor) with a solid 4.0. If, as you investigate potential colleges, you have any questions about Schreyer, let me know!
^Yes, Schreyer is a great honors college. They also give $$$ to every honors student. Their average SAT is just below the ones I listed above, so still very selective.
^Though not much $. $4500 a year doesn’t make much of a dent in Penn State 's costs. I agree, though, that Schreyer is an excellent honors program. Test scores (SAT/ACT) are not considered in the Schreyer admissions process.
Thanks all for the helpful suggestions. I should say that she has no interest in attending any colleges in the South. I also am learning that there is much variation in what the Honors programs offer. I think her main criteria is finding smaller classes if possible.
Might she be interested in U of Vermont? We didn’t look at it as my D really wanted a southern location, but one of D’s brightest, most intellectual friends is headed there, and I have heard good things about Honors and the town of Burlington.
U of Delaware and U of Maryland might be worth researching. I think U of D is pretty predictable in terms of honors admissions and merit; Maryland is more variable (from what I’ve heard).
Is William & Mary too far south?
@LuckyCharms913 , thanks, she can look into those schools. And yes, William and Mary is on the list, but it is extremely difficult to get into as an out of state student, so she isn’t counting on it.
@LuckyCharms913 How does the FA of UVm hold up against UDel and UMd?