Toured yesterday. It was nice. But guess what–UVM has these “Living Learning Communities” that seem just as nice. They are right next to the honors dorms and look very similar. There are fantastic opportunities right in the building (there are 5 connected dorms), a pottery studio, a photography studio, and “living communities” on a variety of subjects, from knitting to sci-fi to global learning to baking.http://www.uvm.edu/~rlc/?Page=about_rlcs/about.html&SM=about_rlcs/about_sm.html If I were going, I might want to live there, and anyone not getting into the honors college who wants a similar feel should check it out. Also, they have a “TAP” program http://www.uvm.edu/~cas/tap/ that sounds very similar to the seminar style honors classes. So definitely take a look at UVM, even if you didn’t get into the honors program because these other programs looked awesome.
The other thing I learned is that the honors program is a close watch program for only the first two years. The dorms are basically for the first two years, and the seminars are for the first two years. Then they want you to take your experience to do great things out in the larger community. You do have to do a thesis, and engineering students have to do a thesis and a senior project. They take an additional 100 kids a year as sophomores, and they have a hard time keeping boys in the program for some reason. The speaker seemed to say boys tend to goof off and asked us to “speak to our sons.” Some of them drop out and some of them are asked to leave the honors program because they didn’t do the work. There were many, many more females in attendance than males. It sounded like they are looking for quality male candidates, so if you are one, maybe a call and begging into the program might work…?
My D is a graduating senior. She did not get an invite to join the honors college until her second semester. She never lived in the honors dorms but did live in the environmental dorm next door. She is writing a thesis for the honors college now. She received many grants to conduct summer studies on campus and to spend last summer abroad as part of her thesis. She did very well at UVM and is happy. She had multiple advisors by being a dual major and a member of the honors college and always felt she had easy access to her professors.
Just got an invite from the honors college. So, so surprising. My UW GPA is a 3.51 (but at other schools, it would be a 3.7~ because we have a weird system). SAT is 1910. I am considering UVM more now - the honors college seems like a great opportunity (and the rooms each have their own bathrooms with showers!!)
the rooms don’t each have their own bathrooms. there is one bathroom in a suite, which is a few bedrooms and a small communal living room/kitchen area. so it’s like, 6-8 people to one bathroom or something like that.
@redpoodles U Heights also offers singles/doubles (not suites) with bathrooms. https://reslife.uvm.edu/content/housing_options_reslife/room_styles
My brother attended the honors college and lived in U Heights. He shared a suite with three other people. It was two doubles connected with a living room/kitchen.
Some double rooms also have a bathroom in the room. They are more expensive than the doubles that share a bathroom as part of a suite. My daughter requested the suite-type arrangement her first year, but ended up with the more expensive option.
They do??? They did not show us that on the tour, or tell us about it!
It was not a huge difference in cost, and they do have a program to help if that happens and you receive need-based assistance. From the residential life website:
A discretionary housing fund is available to offset a portion of the higher room rates associated with some rooms in programmed housing areas (such as University Heights and Living/Learning). Students who receive need-based assistance and are members of these programs may receive support through the discretionary fund when they are assigned to a qualifying room that is more expensive than the standard traditional double and Student Financial Services determines this presents a financial hardship for them. Eligible rooms include private singles, private doubles, suite singles, and traditional singles. Suite doubles are not eligible.
In the Honors dorms, where the students in a suite share a bathroom, are there also communal bathrooms in the hallway?
@Madison1979 I don’t believe so