Can anyone explain what the University of Maryland Honors College involves and what it offers? My daughter was admitted but we don’t know much about it from a student perspective
It is like a fraternity for smart kids. This is who the meet first year and hang out with.
The Honors College is made up of 7 or 8 different programs, each having a different and specific focus.
You will be asked to fill out a form specifying the program that you want to be in.
Some of the programs, have a limited capacity, so not everyone gets in. ACES is a example of one.
Each program has an associated dorm. That is the Living Learning Community for that program. The freshmen enrolled in each program will be assigned to the dorm associated with that program.
Specific info can be found under the UMD Honors College link
My daughter was in University Honors and lived in Hagerstown and I would say most of the friends she made hung out with freshman year were NOT other Honors College students. Although her freshman year roommate who was in the Honors College did become a BFF and they roomed together sophomore and junior years.
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Hi, my D had a similar experience, University Honors/Hagerstown Hall, with her roommate becoming a BFF. They still get together several times a year, and her former roommate is going to be one of her Bridesmaids this summer.
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My D is a freshman and currently in ILS/La Plata Hall. She liked the program and made many new friends, who were in the same dorm and same classes last semester.
My daughter was accepted to honors college. She does not know how easy or difficult it is to move between programs or do you get locked in? She likes bio so saw the science one but wonders it better to be more general liberal arts. She also was not interested in a big school like Maryland but applied anyway to be near DC. Does it feel smaller in size with honors? Do you benefit from this in some way or is it the same as a regular degree from Maryland. Thx for any advice
This can be a tricky question to answer.
The real answer is that it depends on your daughter.
The Honors College does tend to make UMD a bit smaller. Her choice of a major can make it smaller. Her choice of activities, clubs, friends can all make it smaller.
My D was in the Honors college and the Honors College offers courses that are limited to 20 students or less. Various Departments also offer Honors Versions of some of their courses. My D took 2 such courses in her first year. One of them actually required her to see a Broadway Play in DC.
Each Honors College Program requires the students to take a certain amount of classes to earn their Honors College citation.
As far as I know, these courses satisfy either GenEd or Major courses that are required for Graduation. So, they do not necessarily evolve any additional work.
Completion of the Honors College Citation appears on the student’s transcript.
There is also Departmental Honors, which students can apply for at the beginning of their Junior Year. These programs generally require the student to prepare and defend an Original Honors Research Thesis. This Achievement appears on the Diploma.
Based on my D’s experience, a Departmental Honors student is assigned a Faculty Mentor and Graduate students to provide guidance. It is serious work. Some students actually get their Thesis published.
This work generally involves a higher amount of interaction with various Professors.
There are opportunities at UMD. There are opportunities at all colleges. It’s up to the student to look for them and take advantage of them.
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My older son is a current university honors student and loves UMD. I think honors does make a large school smaller. For example, he was in honors sections for entry level Accounting classes and those sections were approximately 30 students instead of larger lectures. He has had very few large classes. In addition, he became close friends with the people in his living learning community.
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Thanks for all the detail. This is very helpful.
Also, did the course have your daughter see a Broadway play or a DC play or both? DC has a strong regional theatre scene (Arena, Signature, Fords, Studio, Woolly, Shakespeare, Round House, Olney etc). But B’way in NYC isn’t that far!
It was not at any of the regional theaters. It might have been at the National, or maybe Fords. I don’t remember. It was a play that had been or was running on Broadway. My D also took 2 or 3 bus trips, sponsored by UMD, to NYC to see plays on Broadway, during her time there
Maybe a nat’l touring production at the National or Kennedy Ctr? Fords is regional. B’way is only in NYC. Sometimes shows will preview regionally before going to B’way (Dear Even Hanson at Arena, Come From Away at Fords). All good theatre, though!