<p>Since UW's science departments are really good, does the benefit of being in the honors program (small classes and research opps) truly outweigh the amount of work an honors student will receive? Will the student still be able to enjoy his/her college experience like the rest of the UW students or do honors students work their butts off?</p>
<p>I'm debating whether or not to even apply to the program because I'm afraid of how the website hints at massive amounts of work for science students, especially since I want to go to med school and not necessarily do anything with my undergrad degree.</p>
<p>Fair question. It mostly applies to the lower level classes and the smaller size would be nice for a little extra work. The other major thing is a final project/paper which is important for grad school and would look good on a med school app.</p>
<p>I think the honors programs put someone on a fast track to research at Madison. It is usually geared towards incoming freshmen who have a clearly defined goal or simply looking for more challenging workload. </p>
<p>I am not familar with med school admission. Instead of investing your time and energy at honors works, perhaps focusing on ECs e.g. volunteering/working at area hospitals, make more sense. Post your question in the med school forum.</p>
<p>Go to the UW website, click "more" under academics, look under "undergraduate learning programs" - "honors" to get to the various programs. The online catalog will have info also. You can even sign up to get weekly e-mails from the L&S program. Honors in L&S is not a "fast track to research" it gives tougher classes and can be entered/ left at any time ( it would be hard for a senior to meet the requirements to graduate with honors...). It is not only for freshmen, nor is it limited to the sciences. You have to do the thesis to get the honors degree, but there are other designations so taking courses without it still means recognition...</p>
<p>Volunteer work does NOT replace a solid, challenging academic courseload for medical school. The purpose of the honors classes is to give more than the standard classes, research is part of science, but there are plenty of nonscience classes to be with the best students and learn more. If you feel the workload should be easy, don't bother being premed, you won't survive the medical school curriculum. Your primary concern should be to get the best education possible, the honors courses give that something extra, even if it's only a paper- if you qualify, why not take as much as they can give you? Remember premed is an intention, not a major, choose something you like and take the prerequisite courses if you want to go to medical school. Being in Honors classes may lead to work in a lab that generates a good recommendation and shows ability but it can also lead to a nonscience rapport with a professor as well...</p>
<p>I was an Honors Program chemistry major and became a physician, the "extra work" I did in all sorts of courses benefited ME as well as "looking good on the record". The best students will not be overwhelmed by the work, they will be saved from boredom in the regular classes. A physician continues to study his/her whole career; you certainly can't stop learning the day you get your diploma. Many of us enjoyed the class work, that is after all why you go to college.</p>
<p>Finally- every course you take shapes who you are, whether it is the expansion of your knowledge database or discovering what you can handle, what you like/dislike etc. Consider that you may discover you don't want to become a physician, or that you are one of the many who apply and don't get in- your undergraduate experience lays the foundation for your future regardless of your major or future plans.</p>
<p>Thanks wis75. I am always delighted to read the alum's testimony. I think OP should heed wis75's advice and prepare to work (and play) really hard if you intend to premed. </p>
<p>I also hope to clarify a few things. L&S, CALS, Business, Engineering etc have their own honors programs. Each program has its own set of requirements and benefits. But they usually require upper class students taking on additional works to earn the "honors" designation in their respective degrees. Note that many colleges/schools also award other academic honors, e.g. "Graduated With Highest Distinction" being given to top 5% of engineering graduate class. </p>
<p>I know the honors system in Madison can be quite confusing. But instead of creating a "honors college" like some others, Wisconsin chooses to make the honors experience available to anyone who inspires and willing to take on the challenge. </p>
<p>The HLA program makes it possible for a well-qualified freshman to start on a honor track from day 1 in L&S and transition to the honors programs outside L&S. For those who stay in L&S, they could participate in the Honors in the Major (HM) programs and earn a Comprehensive Honors upon graduation. </p>
<p>From the little research I've done it seems like you don't really have to join Freshman year.</p>
<p>Atleast for L&S. I'm going to be an Econ major and from reading that department's page (and consequently, its section on honors) I feel rather confident that an intelligent, inspired individual should have no problem being accepted at some point in their time at wisc.</p>
<p>fndrplayer8, that's one of the points I hope to come across in my post. For those HS students who don't wish to participate HLA at freshman can get back into a honors track later.</p>
<p>Yes, the point is that Honors at UW is structured so anyone can take honors courses, although program people have priority, and you can come and go. You don't need to do the research but it is an opportunity to become involved, for many fields research is what the field is all about, you get into real lab situations instead of just the structured experiments of the regular classes. The program has changed since my day but the essence is the same- a chance to interface with the grad labs in sciences and get more from your classes than the regular ones. They have also added a lot of perks, as evident in the e-mails and website, a lot more interaction and opportunities than in my day (having an Honors advisor and classes seemed to be the only benefit then). I prefer that Honors is part of, not separate from, the regular campus- the whole university is good, honors makes it better. Also, there is no segregation by dorm, choose one that suits you, you are not limited to any specific one (some liberal arts majors may choose based on the Chad offerings, but it is not an honors dorm).</p>
<p>Thanks for all your input. What I really meant was that I didn't want my 4 undergrad years to be a repeat of my workload in my high school Junior year. I took 6 AP classes each semester, had no time outside of school (including sports and extracurriculars), and walked around like a living zombie during the day because of sleep deprivation. I know that I'll encounter that in med school, but I really don't want to miss out in any normal college experiences because I studied in the honors program all 4 years. </p>
<p>I was just a little perplexed by UW's whole honors system because it seems so different from the other schools' honors degrees, and because the website seems to allude to a message like "beware: if you designate honors and follow through with it, be prepared for lots and lots of studying."</p>
<p>I totally understand what you meant. Sorry, the best we could do is to throw in our 2c and the rest is up to you.</p>
<p>Not to sound repeating. The key is you can choose the honors track when it is right for you. I hope you begin to appreciate the "beauty" of UW honors system. :)</p>
<p>It may be helpful for you to get some HLA contacts (students, advisors etc) from adcom and talk to them. Not only will you get a better sense in term of academic and social life, you may put together a better application as a result. Post here what you find out!</p>
<p>"Normal" is what you make of it- college is not like HS, you don't think at all about anyone else's perceptions of what you should/shouldn't do; there are far too many courses and activities for any two people, even in the same major, to duplicate each other's experiences. The amount of studying will vary- some students could have been successful at the toughest private college if there were room for every qualified candidate and find the Honors courses not difficult, for others it really stretches them (think AP classes, some don't study much and get 5's on the AP exams, others study hard to get a 3...). Never be afraid to challenge yourself, medical school was a lot of work but we were in it together; likewise in college you can meet and make friends with people just as intense academically and not miss out on the kind of college life you want.</p>