We’ve read about the program online and plan to do more research, but it would be great to hear from other’s experiences. Whether it be parents, students, those that have visited and met with reps from the program, etc. How does it compare to other Honors College programs? TIA
@universitymom67 - Honors invitations for upcoming first-year admits are awarded to something like the top 10% of the college of entry. So, for instance, honors at CSOM is something like a 3% accept rate (30% to Carlson - which might be a tad high now, not sure - then 10% of that). You’ve probably seen the Honors review and section criteria as well as the average range of stats for each college, but here it is just in case (scroll down for the stats):
https://admissions.tc.umn.edu/honors/review.html
The class ranks and test scores of those invited to honors at UMN actually rival the top “elite” private schools elsewhere. Compare, for instance, the test scores of CDes-Honors to those at RISD or Pratt or (if available) Stamps at Michigan. Compare the stats of CSE/CBS-honors to MIT/CMU. Compare CLA-Honors to top liberal arts programs at the T-20 (as a concrete example of this last one, my son has a 1530 SAT and a 3.94 uw with multiple AP’s; he was admitted early and given merit - but he has not yet been admitted to Honors and it’s not clear he will be).
Anecdotally, friends with kids who have been through UMN Honors say it’s a great experience - they get the best advisors, the smaller labs and classes (sometimes), and have a venue for doing a major research project. The Honors program at any flagship is going to be head-and-shoulders above non-honors in terms of rigor, peer engagement, intellectual quality, and so forth. Most will probably rival private elite schools elsewhere for a fraction of the price (for in-state). It probably shouldn’t be the only selection criteria but for many kids it’s an important one and will tip the scales come May 1.
Thank you! Yes, it seems Honors Programs/Colleges are becoming increasingly popular as a way to attract top students. It has also been our experience that not all programs are created equally - some schools (which I own’t name here) seem to have the title for the program, but no substance. I’m glad to hear that Minnesota’s program is strong - definitely a factor in the final decision.
Minnesota has a highly regarded program among Big Ten Honors programs and other public schools nationally. The access to honors advisors is a huge benefit, as is the support in seeking out research and internship opportunities and access to recommendations for national scholarship and fellowship programs. It does vary a bit by college and major. Some students find more benefit and others just end up seeing it as more work. At Minnesota it’s also the only way to graduate with Latin honors if that is important.
Thank you for the input. My son got accepted to CSE right away in the fall and honors within days after that. He seems to not be too excited about honors. He doesn’t want to stay in Middlebrook, he doesn’t want to join a learning community, he just want to be a “normal kid” (his words). He’s a sporty all American MN hockey goalie, and seems to not be aware of how special it is to be in this program. On resumes, in the real world, do differentiations such as honors matter to employers?
We were in your shoes 4 years ago, and struggled with the same decision. Seems like your son is similar to mine – regular, down to earth kid, hockey player, very athletic but also very smart. He did not want to live in Middlebrook, but also wasn’t crazy about Pioneer Hall, partying and all that. He chose to live in Frontier Hall which was LLC for engineering students. It turned out to be great decision for him. I highly recommend it.
As far as Honors program, he would tell you that he can see real benefit for CLA students, as they get grouped with other “smart” kids in the same classes throughout all 4 years. For CSE students that’s not the case, with the exception of first year where you take honors classes in physics, chemistry, calculus that are smaller and presumably get better instructors (not always the case). After that, there are no honors classes in CSE, every class is hard and you are surrounded by very smart people. Because of all his AP credits from HS (he officially entered college as second semester sophomore), he only had to take 2 or 3 non-engineering classes. He chose supposedly hard honors classes, and said the level of each was several degrees lower than any “regular” engineering class. He said it was “a joke”, and could not imagine what a non-honors class in CLA looks like.
He is now working on his thesis as that is the requirement to graduate with Latin honors at UMN (he graduates in less than 3 months!). He is a very competitive kid, so he stayed in honors program just to get that piece of paper, but he saw no real value in it after first year. However, there is no real downside either, so I would take the option, and decide after first year whether to stay or not.
Another difference is that you get 2 advisors – one from honors program and one from CSE, instead of just the one from your college. And honors adviser is supposed to be “better”. His personal experience was just the opposite – the honors adviser was late or missing meetings, not knowing anything about CSE, not helping at all. The one from CSE was good.
As far as job offers and grad school admissions, honors program doesn’t seem to make any difference. Hiring companies care about your major, GPA (very important!), internships (super important!) or co-ops. Again, this is specific to engineering students, not sure how important it is for CLA students to secure employment after graduation.
I hope this helps you and your son make the decision. Feel free to ask if you have any specific questions.