I know we get added benefits through the honors college, but is GMU really challenging? I want to eventually go to law school, and I’ve heard that law schools really want applicants to have a challenging, rigorous curriculum. So how does GMU Honors compare to a college like William and Mary or UVA? I don’t want to sound pretentious or anything, so please don’t take offense, but how does GMU measure up?
A relative of mine initially attended GMU in the Honors program, but then transferred to UVA. His take was he got more academic focus at GMU than UVA, but overall he still is happy he transferred, largely for non-academic reasons.
Challenging depends on what you decide to major in undergrad. If you an engineering or premed student it is challenging at any school you attend because the first two years are weed out classes. My daughter is doing honors, engineering, and premed so I think she is challenged but at the same time she says she enjoys her classes.
The honors classes are smaller and coming from an IB high school the courses are not bad. Being a part of the honors program has given her priority registration so that she graduates in four years and she has had opportunities to do research with professors starting freshman year. Her teachers know her well. It really depends on the quality and strength of your foundation that you got in high school. It depends on your time management and study habits. You can choose to take 4 classes a semester or 5 or 6. How much would you like to challenge yourself? Are you up to taking 18 credits a semester and working part time? Your college experience is dependent on you and what you make of the opportunities made available to you. If you are a student that attends every class and are proactive on campus to make the most of the opportunities available to you then you will get more out of your experience then a student who just attends class and is not engaged in anything else the school offers.
Whichever school you decide to attend you will meet like minded people who share common interests and goals.
There are all types of students on campus. Figure out what it is you wish to accomplish in four years and where you would best be able to accomplish those goals. Do you want to take on a 2nd major or maybe a minor? It is up to you how much you wish to challenge yourself.
If you are interested in law are you aware that GMU is located very close to the courthouse? There are many opportunities for internships since there are so many law offices so close to campus.
Yeah, I figured that one of the major benefits to gmu is the location/internships because of DC and the courthouse nearby. On double majoring, I’ve heard that it takes away from the college experience because you have to work to fulfill both majors’ requirements in addition to any other program requirements. So I was thinking of going into college trying for one major and one minor, but open to other options.
How is your daughter doing at GMU? I’m definitely not going into engineering or premed (partly because of the math, and for the latter, partly because of the blood involved), but I am interested in the sorts of opportunities the campus provides. What sort of courseload is she taking? Is she taking a foreign language class? Do any of her friends plan on having a humanities-related major? Also, has your daughter been able to take 18 credits per semester? I think I’m well-prepared after highschool IB, but sometimes taking 18 credits worth of classes seems like a lot…