<p>Totally new at this, so please pardon my ignorance. DD is a junior, with her sights set on Pitt nursing. Great GPA (4.46 weighted, 4.0 UW), 29 ACT (first time), 1840 SAT (first time), plenty of ECs. I've come across "honors college" but not sure what it entails. Can someone explain?</p>
<p>It is kind of hard to say what the honors college is so i guess i will start with what it does.</p>
<p>The first thing the honors college does is it organizes a community of people interested in ideas and being around (somewhat) intellectually driven people. So like there is a retreat in the late summer, there is freshman and upper class honors housing, there are two floors of the cathedral to hang out in, there are clubs it runs, and SHAC (student honors activities committee) organizes fun activities. The retreat is by invitation and housing is by application. Otherwise all of these community activities are open to EVERYONE in the university.</p>
<p>The second thing the honors college does is runs honors classes. These are typically smaller, harder, and more in depth. Like any classes some are good some are bad. However, out of all my classes lasted year I liked 4 out of 10. Out of my honors classes I liked 3 out of 5. However, my least favorite class was also honors. All and all though i would say the classes are better. To take UHC classes as a first semester freshman you need to have a SAT of at least 1400 OR you need to ask permission which i will almost guarantee you will be granted as long as you seem interested in the class. After that you need a cumulative GPA of 3.25.</p>
<p>The third thing the UHC does is give the Bphil degree. This is a research based honors degree for people in any of Pitt’s schools.</p>
<p>The final thing the UHC does is provide support for those students seeking to win national scholarships. It also provides support for those looking to do research at Pitt.</p>
<p>The honors college does not have a list of people in it. There is no such thing as being “in” the honors college. If someone wants to be “in” the honors college they can just start participating in some honors clubs and hang out on the 35th floor and then they are as much in the honors college as anyone.</p>
<p>Anyways, I really like the honors college. It is a great community and I have really found a lot of cool people and things through it. I don’t want to put words in anyone’s mouth but some people may feel differently. Some of this I think is connected to legitimate criticism about things that could be done better. Like, for instance, i don’t think the honors college does a good enough job advertising the fact that everyone is invited and people end up feeling not included. </p>
<p>Anyways, I would encourage your daughter to check out the uhc website or visit. It really does have a lot to offer.</p>
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<p>It’s probably obvious, but just to avoid any confusion: CuttingEdge means an SAT score of at least 1400 out of 1600 for CR + M, so without the writing section. You can find a lot of information about the program, including eligibility, by going to [University</a> Honors College](<a href=“http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/]University”>http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/).</p>
<p>Pitt Nursing is a great program - I don’t think your daughter would be disappointed.</p>
<p>I keep hearing about the SAT scores that you need to get into the UHC, however, I don’t think this is always true. I know a good number of people, including myself, who have been admitted to the college and did not have that high of SAT scores. I think that they also consider other aspects of your application. I don’t think that your SAT score will automatically cut your chances out.</p>
<p>Emi2008</p>
<p>What do you mean ‘admitted’. I promise there is no list of admitted people. If you mean that letter it doesn’t really mean anything one way or another. It is just to save a million phone calls asking, “why is my son/daughter in the honors college?” </p>
<p>Did you get invited to apply for honors housing? My understanding is that is a strict cutoff for Forbes, which is unfortunate in my view. Basically anyone can take honors classes with permission so it doesn’t matter much.</p>
<p>IDK the honors college should be thought of more like a place and a collection of activities and people who like to do them and less like a program. The UHC is not a membership organization and no one is officially admitted or excluded. I think the misconception that there is some list is really unfortunate because i am sure we lose people every year who would contribute to our community but feel uninvited.</p>
<p>As a Pitt alum, I would really like to see Pitt either make the honors college into a more cohesive program (like the Schreyers program at Penn State), or just stop calling it the honors college altogether. It should be a membership thing. IMO, Pitt’s UHC really can’t compare to other programs in terms of content and perks. The courses are sort of hit-or-miss, the housing is inadequate, the advising is poor and I did not detect any special assistance to locate internships or jobs. What is the benefit really, unless a student used the honors thesis as a head start on graduate work.</p>
<p>CuttingEdge</p>
<p>By admitted, yes, I do mean the letter that comes with the admissions packet. And yes, I did get invited into Honors Housing, but I chose to decline. In reality, I have never taken an honors course, never lived in honors housing, and have never gone to any honors events and my Pitt experience has still been just as good. The only perk from the Honors College is the scholarship I receive from them.</p>
<p>I’m just not understanding the whole emphasis on SAT scores… it seems like a lot of people on this board are concerned with it, but I never knew that it was a definite requirement. Maybe I never really looked into it. </p>
<p>But on campus, it doesn’t seem like anyone cares you’re in the Honors College or not. It doesn’t exclude you or include you (except for housing I guess). It doesn’t seem to make a difference for most students.</p>
<p>If you are already a student Emi, the SAT cut-off may be something newer. I really don’t know. There are other threads that do talk about scores. </p>
<p>The honors college may very well see some changes over the next few years as there most certainly will be a new dean. Doc Stewart liked an inclusive college and wanted kids who were curious to be able to explore their interests. The honors college today puts the responsibility for taking honors courses on the student rahter than having a student being in an honors program and taking all honors level courses. I think that it is a different way of looking at honors.</p>
<p>Emi2008,</p>
<p>I agree with you completely. I am not sure now what extent SAT scores play a role but to whatever degree they do i think it is unfortunate. I agree that no one on campus cares if you are in the honors college. In my opinion, they should have no reason to. Choosing not to participate in the honors college is perfectly fine. I think that is probably the right decision for most people (not because they aren’t good enough or something but just because it is not their sort of thing). </p>
<p>I really have personally enjoyed the honors college. I would recommend to anyone else to try it out and see if they feel the same way. All i can say is that the UHC, like any number of other institutions at pitt, has made a positive contribution to a lot of people’s experiences.</p>
<p>lkf725,</p>
<p>I think you are missing the point all together. </p>
<p>The UHC is not a privileged, something to brag about, an "IN’ into jobs, or anything like that. If people want an honors college like that there are plenty to choose from as you mentioned. The point isn’t perks.</p>
<p>Perhaps this analogy is valid: The UHC is to other honors colleges like the University of Chicago is to other top ten school. Sure, there are more opportunities at Harvard. Sure, Princeton is more prestigious. If you pick Chicago over one of those schools you are literally hurting yourself in terms of prestige, connections, grades, etc. But Chicago isn’t trying to be better at that than those other schools. It is not trying to produce a bunch of wealthy, well connected alumni in the way ivies are. It is trying to maintain an intellectual atmosphere and give a great education.</p>
<p>The same goes to the UHC. If it did attract the type of prestige seeking types that would be attracted to a more exclusive honors program then people would be here for the prestige. Mostly people aren’t. They are here because they like thinking and like being in communities with people who are thinking. THATS the perks. Its the only big perk. And if we want to maintain a community that sees that as a perk then we have to maintain a kind of honors college that doesn’t attract the wrong people for the wrong reasons. </p>
<p>IDK i feel like this is really hard to get across on a site like CC where prestige is such a big concern. The UHC doesn’t really focus on that and I think that is why it gets so misrepresented here.</p>
<p>Well said, Cutting Edge.</p>
<p>I got into Honors College. There isn’t really anything “special” about Honors College when it seems as though everyone and their mother is in it. However, there are specific courses only Honors College students can take, and, well, the classes are very interesting.</p>
<p>^^^
How many people get into Pitt Honors with a 1300/1600 SAT or 29 ACT? I think most are in the 1400+ range and and according to the Common Data Set for Pitt there are only 20% of the entering freshman that have a 700+ on either their Math or Critical reading SAT scores. How many have 700+ on both? Even allowing for those students that finished at the top 5% of a weak academic high school the number of accepted students in the Pitt Honors program has to be substantially less than “everyone and their mother”.
[url=<a href=“http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/about/eligibility.html]Eligibility[/url”>http://www.honorscollege.pitt.edu/about/eligibility.html]Eligibility[/url</a>]</p>
<p>I know that 20% of the incoming class is offered admission into UHC. Of that, I don’t know how many do actually join Also, people can get into UHC after they go to Pitt. It’s not some elitist group that is very exclusive. Anyone, with a decent GPA can eventually get into UHC classes. So, I apologize for vaguely stating my previous post.</p>
<p>Those are only incoming freshman eligibility rules. After that it is just a 3.25 GPA at Pitt. Plus the honors advisors will let anyone who acts interested take a honors class unless they actually seem incapable of the work by their record. </p>
<p>Everyone and their mom can be in the UHC and it doesn’t matter. All these arguments seem to be based on a premise that the value something is always equivalent to its exclusivity. That might be true in most college admissions related things but it isn’t true in life.</p>
<p>The point of life isn’t to seem impressive. The point of life is to have a good time and do something meaningful. I agree that for someone seeking the first goal the UHC is not organized in the way it should be. But that is because it caters to people seeking the second goal. </p>
<p>The UHC is a great place. That is not the same thing as saying it is prestigious by any sane outlook on life.</p>
<p>^ That’s a good way to put it.</p>