<p>My D is trying to decide between an average out of state university Honors College program with financial incentives and our state university which has a higher overall ranking. The Honors College program has many perks (smaller classes, more faculty attention), but I wonder how it is viewed post graduation, i.e. Diploma from average state university Honors College vs. Diploma from good/better state university. Does anyone have any experience or insight?</p>
<p>That's a tough one. Have you looked at grad/professional school placement rates better the honors program and local state U? That might offer a clue.</p>
<p>Wpuld I find that information on their respective websites?</p>
<p>It may not be posted. You want the information by department if you can get it - you will most like have to call or e-mail for it.</p>
<p>most honors college programs only offer the small classes and top profs the 1st 2 years, when for liberal arts majors its easier to craft a standard set of offerings that will meet the distribution requirements for almost any major. It is rare to find more than a token amount of offerings upper-division since the honors program simply doesn't have enough staff to duplicate an entire major or set of majors. So the last 2 years most/all classes are taken with the rest of the students in the regular U's classes. So the teaching of the profs will be geared towards that level, the discussions and student involvement in class will be dominated by the majority of her peers, and so on.</p>
<p>Honors programs offer perks like early registration, guaranteed housing, and so on and its worth doing if you're going to that school anyway. But I would be skeptical of attending a college for its honors program in place of a more highly regarded U. If your D is willing to go to office hours she can get the same faculty contact at your state U. And since the "honors" programs are so popular these days the odds are good it has one of those anyway.</p>
<p>Caffeind, I understand if you don't want to, but if you felt comfortable mentioning the name of the out-of-state university with the Honors program, (but don't mention your state uni.), you would get a lot more good advice here.</p>
<p>I agree with chocoholic, if we know what college we are talking about we can provide much better advice.</p>
<p>caffeind -</p>
<p>Unlike many other honors programs, the Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University is different. Check it out at <a href="http://ouhtc.org%5B/url%5D">http://ouhtc.org</a></p>
<p>It's very difficult to get into (only 60 students across 27 majors, thus just about 2 students per major) and you get the usual registration preference, good housing, etc. But at OU, the "tutorial" part of HTC is that many of your classes in your major are taught either one-on-one with the professor or in VERY small (2-3 students) seminars. Plus they seem to be VERY aggressive at helping to get the best internships and job prospects.</p>
<p>AND, if your D can get into HTC, she's probably good enough to get one of their automatic merit scholarships. Please check this one out.</p>
<p>thanks. this is a great post.</p>
<p>I have always wondered whether the honors college students feel that they are part of the honors college student body, with its presumably more talented and more directed students, or whether they are just some sub-group of the whole university's student body, with any implications that follow from that.</p>
<p>From what I hear from my son, the honors classes are taught at a more indepth level and the students tend to be more serious. A few even have a different curriculum than the non-honors version.</p>
<p>He seems to like living in the honors community. Although there is partying, I think it is less than the usual dorms. Also, it makes it very easy for students to visit eachother's rooms to ask a homework question or to work on a group project. He plans to live in the honors community again next year.</p>
<p>While I think the honors students know eachother because they live together, I don't get the impression that they are isolated. S has many "non-honors" friends, too.</p>
<p>I think you need to investigate each program in detail and see which fits the best. My D looked into attending an honors program at the local State U. There were not many advantages. A lot of the courses in the honors program were courses that may have been great, but she was interested in different other fields of study. Except for the honors courses, the program had little to offer.</p>
<p>If your state U is UVA or UC Berkely, it isn't worth it. Conversely, if the honors program is in an otherwise mediocre state school with a much lower ranking, it also may not be worth it. However, if the honors program is in a school more along the lines of, say, Rutgers, and your state school is U Illinois Urbana-Champaign, it would probably be worth it.</p>
<p>I agree with edad that you must investigate individual programs. I would check on things, such as special advising and priority registration, honors thesis, research opportunities, special degree, honors class details, honors housing, and honors community activities. Your final choice might depend on the academics of the schools you are comparing, as well as your daughter's intended area of study.</p>
<p>In addition to other things mentioned, honors students also tend to hear first about summer internships. </p>
<p>Some honors programs add significant value to the education at a particular university. Others are window dressing. Check into each closely to find out what it offers.</p>
<p>If you are talking ASU, I know a family that was very happy. The son graduated without debt and is now in a San Diego law school.</p>
<p>At UF at least, the honors college means virtually nothing for job placement. You get an AA with honors, but really, once you have a bachelors does any job care what AA you have?</p>
<p>Honors colleges and program vary considerably. Without knowing the name of the honors program at an average state university versus the better known state university, my recommendation in general is to attend the honors program. My son is in the honors college at his "big state u", Texas Tech, and the advantages to an honors student there are considerable versus attending two better known state universities, the University of Texas - Austin and Texas A&M University, as a regular student. The small classes and interesting professors are indeed a tremendous advantage in the first two formative years in college. Not hundreds of kids in vast lecture halls for the introductory classes as at A&M and UT for the regular students but classes limited to no more than 25 per class taught by a full professor at Tech's Honors College. Not dorms with students crammed 15 to 20 stories high or no dorm room at all (the case at UT for regular freshmen who don't sign up early enough to get on-campus housing) but the best dorm (three stories) on campus.</p>
<p>Combine that with early admission to Tech's medical school and law school for many honors students; undergraduate paid research opportunities with top professors (not usually available to the regular student); and the usual goodies of being first in line to sign up for classes and the honors college is a hands-down winner to me over being a regular student at A&M or UT.</p>
<p>The Honors College experience at Texas Tech has lit my son's academic fire (he has a 4.0 after three semesters). And he would have been among the masses of regular students at UT and A&M that are being discussed in this thread. </p>
<p>Of course, Texas Tech also has thousands of regular students as well in high rise dorms who go to the introductory classes with hundreds of other students. The Honors College tipped the balance for my son in big state u's favor.</p>
<p>I also hasten to add that if a student has an honors college opportunity at A&M or UT-Austin, then by all means take it because both schools have awesome resources. However, the discussion is targeted to the masses of regular students who may have an honors college/program opportunity at a middle-of-the-road state university.</p>
<p>What happens to the honors college students from "big state u"? Ask the particular honors college. Anecdotally, Texas Tech's Honors college students appear to be doing quite well. For instance, a recent cc poster from Tech's Honors College transferred after two years to Rice University (enrolled there now); another cc poster last year transferred to Penn. An Honors College graduate from 2003 wrote an update in Tech's honors newsletter, "The Voice", about teaching in inner-city schools. She is now enrolled at Duke University Law School. On it goes.</p>
<p>Anyone know anything about the Honors College at UMass?</p>
<p>I'm quite familiar with the honors programs at Pitt and Penn State, if anybody needs info on those.</p>