<p>…But really wanted to be!
I was invited to the “University College” and my stats aren’t THAT great (2220 SAT, 3.75UW GPA) that I expected to be invited to honors…but do you know if appeals are common/listened to? If I appealed, explaining how much I want to be in the honors program and how much more likely i would be to attend American if I were in it, do you think they’d listen? Or is it simply disrespectful?</p>
<p>Check your inbox. I sent you a private message.</p>
<p>I would call and talk to an admissions officer. Several people from a few different colleges (including American) have posted that they were not offered Honors but thought with their stats they should've been, and the adcom said they were just overlooked and some of these students were offered Honors. Calling couldn't hurt.</p>
<p>I agree, it couldn't hurt to ask. If you have a good guidance counselor you could also enlist him/her to advocate on your behalf.</p>
<p>D is in the same situation. I wonder if it is because she was interested in SIS and there is a limit to how many they allocate per school? Her stats may not have been good enough for the SIS crowd. I advised her to call because she has other options available to her, but she really likes the SIS program - exactly what she wants. It just seems odd because she even received a fairly large scholarship. Go figure.</p>
<p>arjgn, when she applied did she apply to American University, AU honors, or SIS, and if it was AU honors or the university, how did she get into SIS? were the qualifications different? Thanks!</p>
<p>Not getting into the Honors program with good enough qualifications is no small matter. It may have a huge influence on OP's future experience at AU (if he/she decides to attend) as well as financial aid decisions.</p>
<p>I find the above post rude and distasteful.</p>
<p>I second swmass. That comment was completely uncalled for.</p>
<p>The issue with American is that there is a real gulf between the SAT scores of their general student body and their honors program students. And certain kids because of their SAT scores seem to fall through the cracks. D was accepted with a Dean's Scholarship and was not offered honors. Her SAT score is 1350/2130 and her GPA is 4.0 (top 5%.) She took all honors and AP classes. She is an honors caliber student without a 1440 SAT score. She woud be better challenged in the honors environment and now that the highest level kids are being put in honors classes (without her) she feels that American might not offer her what she wants academically. If she decides she is very interested in attending, I might perhaps try to see if anything can be done to get her into the program. (She has been accepted at Barnard, Brandeis, Muhlenberg, GW and Binghamton.)</p>
<p>I guess with those stats I would be tempted to call and inquire too. My D got in SIS with honors, SAT 700CR 680M 680w (but she also has 33 ACT). American is not her first choice at this point, but I am encouraging her to visit and give it a good look.</p>
<p>Thanks for your advice, guys, I do think I will call! I mean, it can't hurt right? :-)</p>
<p>good luck, mkt, let us know how it goes!</p>
<p>To all who were not invited into honors, I agree, their method of choosing honors students, with its emphasis on SAT scores, is not right.
While it is annoying/discouraging, etc., do remember that students can "self-nominate" once in attendance, with an adequate GPA. </p>
<p>Best of luck to everyone :)</p>
<p>Thanks for all your guys's support!
I emailed and got a (what looked like a form) email back saying 'you're right, welcome to honors!' A little weird, but I'm glad to be accepted so I'm not going to question it!</p>
<p>dependent upon SO many things, i don't think a general comment can be made about the split between the "regulars" at AU and those in honors. yes, as far as numbers go, there are kids at both ends and those in the middle. but that's where the discrepancies end. from there on out it's about the individual student, their major, their motivation, their desire to learn, seek out professors, internships, etc. AU is not a school with underachievers at one end, and rocket scientists at the other. it's much more blurred. the main problem has to do with the huge differences in financial aid, based on a few measly points in some cases. but it's a money difference, not an education difference.</p>
<p>I disagree. I know this will sound elitest and I am apologizing in advance, but I wouldn't have come to AU if I hadn't gotten in honors. No, it's not a huge gap, but there is a noticeable difference between the students in my honors classes and the students in my nonhonors classes. By no means are all kids not in honors "dumb;" on the contrary I feel there are a lot of people who should be in honors. But there is a part of campus for which this was a reach school and it shows. Sometimes I'm bored beyond belief at the pace of my nonhonors class. Granted, a lot of these classes are gen eds and I believe the difference between honors and nonhonors "intelligence" will close as I attend more years here. Its easy to say the honors kids are only different from regular kids because of SAT scores or GPA, but there is a whole different mentality to honors students than regular students as a whole. I know happycollegemom will disagree with me on this and I am aware this post sounds harsh, but I feel it needed to be said. (and once again, I do love this school so please don't write about how I should transfer if I'm not happy).</p>
<p>AUPolKid, it does change. I came into AU not having to take too many gen eds(Thankfully!) and have realized that the non honors gen eds are especially rough because the honors students usually take honors gen eds. In challenging upper level courses, and I emphasize the word challenging, you wont see many if any dumb kids. For instance, all of the upper level math and philosophy courses here have included many students who are extremely intelligent. However, if you are a comm major or take generic upper level SIS courses, you may still have some problems with those gen ed reach school kids. </p>
<p>I remember first semester freshman year all I did was ***** about how dumb the students were in my classes because, well, classes like World Politics tend to be flooded with students of extraordinarily low IQs. I remember I even thought about taking a regular macroeconomics gen ed here, and a girl raised her hand the first day of class and asked "Can I NOT take any tests for this course because I am a REALLY bad test taker". I almost regurgitated my lunch at the thought of that question being asked in a college level course.</p>
<p>Again, I have been emphasizing this to students because I generally think its true. If you come to AU with plans of taking on a cake major that can probably be learned by reading the latest version of the economist every so often, you will not be happy. These classes generally do not attract the most intelligent students because they do not require really any intelligence to take them. When I tell students at AU that I have taken higher level finance courses, higher level math, higher level philosophy, and Chinese I usually get the response -- "Wow! Everything I HATE", this is mostly because these classes actually require an immense amount of studying and at least some intelligence. I think that scares some. </p>
<p>AU has some great opportunities for those of you that will stand out here. Professors know the students who are talented and genuinely interested and are always there to help those students. The Merit office and Honors are also both very responsive to talented students. I don't know of any other quality institution in the country that could give so much attention to students with above average intelligence.</p>
<p>My advice: Challenge yourself with your course selection, get involved, and take advantage of the networking opportunities offered. You will be doing than most students here and will be rewarded for it!</p>
<p>Ryan -
Regarding you regurgitating your lunch. I believe that as a first semester freshman you're entitled to at least one stupid question, as it is quite a shift from High school to University. Also, do not put down people who take different courses from you, they may not do well in those specific courses, but in other courses they may be the best in their class.
I'm going to add that with your course selection there that is pretty much everything I hate too... but I don't care because I'll be in Kogod next year taking courses I actually care about. Chinese I don't care for, Math (especially a higher form) I don't care about, pyschology: i don't care about. So its all down to a person's perspective. You may see those as incredible classes and the others who don't take them are idiots. They think the same about you when you're not in their classes for a major. Everyone who got into AU has a certain level of intelligence, and a certain will to work to get the Major they want. Just because you don't like what they're doing as it is different to your major doesn't mean you can tear them down.</p>
<p>My intention was not to say that all people who take classes in certain majors are not intelligent, or have no potential. My intention was to merely state that for the most part these courses are not deemed as being challenging by anyone at AU. There is a reason why certain majors always pump out students with the highest GPAs on campus every semester. No, it's not because the teaching is THAT good, it is because the grading is THAT easy. You mention how people should only take courses in what they are good at or what they enjoy. It is obvious that people should take classes in what they enjoy, but if you enjoy taking classes that are not necessarily challenging, do you actually really learn anything in college? When you go to your job interview, what do you tell people are your tangible skills? I think in another thread on this board someone mentioned our low endowment and low starting salaries out of college in comparison with other universities. I would relate this back to what most people major in here. If you want to pay 40K a year to get a 25K job coming out of college then by all means go down that route. </p>
<p>I would be happy to take classes in other majors if they served a purpose for me individually. In fact, I have switched my major 3 times and have taken classes at AU in practically every discipline. I would rather be in an environment where I get a B+ or an A- with a top professor who challenges me, than an A in a course which demands that I write 3 papers all semester where only the best grade counts.</p>
<p>In my opinion, having been here two years already, it is clear who the successful students will be. They are hard-working, inquisitive and are very goal-directed about their career aspirations. This description has little or nothing to do with the honors program. Whether in the honors program or not, the individual student makes his/her own future. AU offers an extremely sound education regardless of the program. The success is up to them.</p>
<p>ryan - as always, you are degoratory in your AU comments. Your generalization that all non-honors students are idiots is immature and off target. You need to get off your high horse!</p>
<p>Connies- as per usual, thank you for taking my comments out of context. You turn my comments into generalizations. I, like everyone else here, am just sharing my personal experiences.</p>