<p>And what do we know about Hutton at IU? Thank you!</p>
<p>The best honors colleges/programs will be at the best overall universities. Some U’s will offer a “school within a school” approach, but remember that 100% of an education does not take place there. You need to consider the rest of the campus offerings. How will that nonhonors course be? Will the students in those regular classes be of a similar caliber when it comes to peer interactions, discussions?</p>
<p>For example, UW-Madison has an honors program. Students can take honors courses and other courses for honors plus have other extras. There is no special housing. The overall ACT/SAT middle 50% is higher than at some other public U’s that separate honors students from others. Also in the midwest consider the caliber of Michigan. It may be harder to compare ACT schools with SAT ones as most students will take only the ACT at these schools. </p>
<p>When choosing a school consider the whole school and its fit. Also consider what happens when a student is in her/his major. What happens to the courses then? It may be good to take intro courses with other equally smart students, but what is the caliber/competitiveness of the upper division coursework? Is the grad school highly ranked in the likely fields of choice for the student? Many, if not most, students will not finish with the major they start with so the specific major stats may not be critical, but they are likely to stay in sciences or humanities or engineering…</p>
<p>Also consider the cost of the education and the likely courses to be available in this era of budget cuts. Some schools entice students with large merit aid amounts but are cutting back on the academic offerings. In other words, I would pick the overall school, then consider the honors aspects.</p>
<p>I don’t know about IU’s honors college, but I can tell you that I really like The University of Alabama’s Honors College and this is why…</p>
<p>First of all, it has 4 honors programs…</p>
<p>The Honors College - Consists of 4 different programs - each very unique! :)</p>
<p>2 honors programs admit by stats, so interested smart kids are admitted. These are the University Honors Program (UHP) and International Honors Program (IHP).</p>
<p>The other 2 honors programs are very competitive (only admitting 40 students each).<br>
The two highly competitive honors programs are Computer-Based Honors Program (CBHP) and University Fellows Experience (also called UFE or Fellows),</p>
<p>University Honors Program (UHP) and International Honors Program (IHP) - applying students are admitted if they have the stats - Incoming students with a 28 ACT or 1250 SAT will be automatically accepted to the Honors College upon submission of their applications. Students will be notified of their acceptance via mail.</p>
<p>A qualified student can belong to more than one program, but to become a member of Computer-Based Honors Program (CBHP) or Fellows, a student must be selected through an essay and interview process (held in Feb - UA usually pays all expenses - transportation, hotel, food.).</p>
<p>University Honors Program (UHP) - minimum ACT 28 (SAT 1250 M + CR) - UHP classes are limited to 15 students. UHP students have their own computer labs. EZ app - one paragraph essay about yourself. NO BIG DEAL at all! If you have the stats, you’re admitted after app received.</p>
<p>International Honors Program (IHP) - minimum ACT 28 - IHP classes are limited to 15 students. IHP students must also focus on a foreign language and do a study-abroad. If you have the stats, you’re admitted after app received. This program is very popular with students in the Culverhouse School of Business and Commerce and foreign language majors.</p>
<p>Computer-Based Honors Program (CBHP) - only 40 students admitted to CBHP - average ACT 33 (typically includes a couple of “hook” students with ACT 28 - 30, but the others range ACT 31-36). Don’t let the name fool you. This isn’t a program that’s designed only for Comp Sci or Eng’g majors, but it is for super smart kids. The students’ majors range from Engineering to Liberal Arts to Pre-Med to Dance/Theatre to Library Science (and everything in between). Project-oriented research with a prof - fabulous presentations (I’ve been able to sit-in several students’ presentations of their individual research projects.) CBHP is a minor. CBHP students have their own lab and classroom facilities.</p>
<p>Many kids who are in CBHP receive national recognition/awards - for instance, many CBHP students have been named to: <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/793372-ua-once-again-leads-nation-five-students-named-usa-today-s-2009-all-usa-c.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-alabama/793372-ua-once-again-leads-nation-five-students-named-usa-today-s-2009-all-usa-c.html</a></p>
<p>University Fellows Experience - (UFE or “Fellows”) only 40 students admitted to program - average ACT 32/33, but includes kids within the ACT 28 - 36 range.) Project-oriented program. Must be invited to apply. Apps are sent to students with ACT 32+. If your ACT is between 28-31, you can have a GC request an invite.</p>
<p>Students interested in CBHP and/or Fellows, must also apply to UHP first.</p>
<p>The students in the Honors College are kids who score above the 90 percentile. Most of the kids in the CBHP and Fellows Program score in the 99 percentile.</p>
<p>Plus, various department majors have some honors classes. To take such classes, a student must be a member of UHP, too. </p>
<p>Last year, Dr. Halli (the recently retired dean of the honors college) told us that over 20% of the incoming freshmen are now qualified for The Honors College. Therefore, he was concerned that Dr. Witt (the president) would insist that the minimum ACT be raised, since honors classes cost a lot more money (smaller classes). But, Dr. Witt said that UA would keep the 28 ACT minimum because the students were doing so well in those classes.</p>
<p>Belonging to the Honors College has its perks…small college feel, smaller class sizes, priority registration, honors housing, honors computer lab. </p>
<p>Many departments also have some honors classes - such as Honors Calculus, Honors Physics, and such.</p>
<p>Dr. Shane Sharpe (super nice) is the interim dean of the Honors College. He’s also the director of CBHP. Dr. Sharpe has his PhD in MIS, but he’s also a pharmacist.</p>
<p>Honors College - <a href=“http://honors.cbhp.ua.edu/index.php?page=uhp[/url]”>http://honors.cbhp.ua.edu/index.php?page=uhp</a></p>
<p>Honors College application instructions - <a href=“http://honors.cbhp.ua.edu/index.php?page=apply[/url]”>http://honors.cbhp.ua.edu/index.php?page=apply</a></p>
<p>Anyway…since you were asking about honors colleges, I thought I’d let you know about this one with its many opportunities. (I copied this from another post to make it easier 
)</p>
<p>SUNY Geneseo’s Program [SUNY</a> Geneseo | SUNY Geneseo](<a href=“http://www.geneseo.edu/]SUNY”>http://www.geneseo.edu/)</p>
<p>Selection to the Honors Program
The program admits first year students and a small number of second year students. Application to the program is by invitation. Students are invited to apply based on superior grades, S.A.T. scores, and evidence of scholarly excellence. Incoming freshmen must have a high school average of at least 95 and minimum SAT scores of 1350 (English and Math) to be considered for invitation to the program. Students already in attendance at Geneseo must have earned a grade point average of at least 3.5 and present a minimum of 24 credit hours earned at Geneseo. Students are chosen for the Honors Program from the invited applicants based on a competitive essay and further evidence of academic potential.</p>
<p>Honors Courses:
(Each course carries 3 credits except where indicated.) </p>
<p>Requirements: 21 credits </p>
<p>Honr 101 The Nature of Inquiry
Honr 102 Critical Reading
Honr 393 Capstone Experience (6 credits) </p>
<p>And three of the following: </p>
<p>Honr 203 Honors Seminar in the Social Sciences
Honr 204 Honors Seminar in the Fine Arts<br>
Honr 205 Honors Seminar in the Sciences
Honr 206 Honors Seminar (subtitle)<br>
Honr 207 Honors Seminar in Issues of Pluralism</p>
<p>My D is part of the Hutton Honors College (HHC) at IU. This is her first semester. Thus far it’s been a very worthwhile experience for her. We viewed it as a way to make a big school seem smaller, and it’s definitely fulfilled that requirement. Some advantages to being in the HHC include being eligible to apply for the HHC scholarships (they are not automatic), being able to choose the honors floors in dorms (not required), the availability of grant money for special projects and overseas studies, and of course, the honors courses. There are also lectures, dinners with special speakers, and other events available for HHC students. </p>
<p>Based upon the parent orientation session for HHC students about 1000 freshman were admitted to HHC for the fall of 2009. </p>
<p>IU has worked very hard in the last 8 years or so to improve the HHC. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Hutton, last spring a new building was opened up to house the HHC, have a larger facility for programming, a small library, etc. </p>
<p>Another advantage is advising. Most freshman IU students have a “University” division advisor before moving on to a departmental advisor. HHC students have honors advisors their first year. They will also generally move on to a departmental advisor, but they are free to continue seeing the HHC advisor. It’s sort of a home base for them.</p>
<p>There are two types of honors courses: departmental and those offered by the HHC. My D is currently enrolled in two departmental honors courses. These are taught by specially selected faculty and have a maximum size of 25 (some allow fewer students). One of her professors works with the woman that recently won a Noble Prize in Economics (I think D mentioned he’s leaving town to be at the Noble presentation with his associate). Her other professor is one of the top professors in his school, and well known as a great teacher. He takes a very personal interest in each student. D has enjoyed the class so much that she is now considering a major in that subject (not something she considered before). The HHC courses are more seminar like and often focus on a particular theme or topic. Next semester D will take an HHC course that will explore the ideas of justice, a just society, and a just person from a variety of perspectives. Only HHC students are permitted to enroll in both types of Honors courses. (Business majors in particular find this a big advantage for the entry level business classes.) </p>
<p>To graduate with a general honors notation one must complete 21 hours of honors coursework. I believe 6 of those hours must be HHC courses. There are a couple of other minor requirements. Requirements for departmental honors vary.</p>
<p>If you have other questions, feel free to pop over to the IU forum. There are several other HHC parents there and a few HHC students. </p>
<p>I have no basis for comparison with other Honors Colleges, but I can say that this has been a wonderful opportunity for our DD.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention, if your student is admitted to the HHC and is interested in learning more, they now offer overnights with HHC students. I believe they begin in January/Feb. Last year they offered a program for admitted students to email questions to current HHC students. I’m not sure if that was continued. There is also a mentor/mentee program for freshman HHC students and upper level students. (D’s mentor was pretty helpful in answering questions, etc)</p>
<p>Hands down: Schreyer’s College at Penn State (not sure about the spelling).</p>
<p>AzSt also has a very good honors college.</p>
<p>I don’t think that it’s important that every class be an honors class. And, if you’re majoring in one of the more demanding majors, your non-honors classes will be academically challenging, too. :)</p>
<p>BTW…Honors classes aren’t necessarily “harder” nor do they necessarily require more homework. Honors classes are often smaller and more “discussion based”. Imagine a conversation with your brightest friends and colleagues, that’s what many honors classes are like.</p>
<p>At D’s school the honors classes are very definitely harder and do require more work. They are limited to 25 students, and there is an honors dorm (optional). She has really been happy there. It’s along the lines of a small-college-within-the-large-college model. Students take their major classes in the larger university’s major departments, but the honors program and honors seminars is a 4 year program, requiring a senior thesis. The honors college has a dedicated building and faculty. SAT 50% range is 1280-1420. There is no automatic admit. It is about 700 students total across all class levels.</p>
<p>[Clark</a> Honors College](<a href=“http://honors.uoregon.edu/]Clark”>http://honors.uoregon.edu/)</p>
<p>You might want to look at what are called “residential colleges”, which are essentially living/learning units within larger universities. For example, years ago, I graduated from Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University, one of the pioneers of this approach. Although it was not “honors” per se, and LBC students could also be in the Honors College of MSU, in many ways it was better, because you had the advantages of smaller classes in your residence, much better opportunity to get to know faculty, and the resources of the rest of the university. </p>
<p>google the term and you can learn more.</p>
<p>Barrett Honors College at Arizona State is a “residential college”. They’ve just opened a beautiful self-contained campus, with dorms, classrooms, dining hall, etc. The students get the benefit of an honors college community, while still being able to take advantage of the breadth of courses available in a large university. Also, they offer a terrific deal to National Merit students.</p>
<p>[Barrett</a> Honors](<a href=“http://barretthonors.asu.edu/home/]Barrett”>Barrett, The Honors College | Arizona State University)</p>
<p>D had an outstanding experience and a great outcome from being at Barrett Honors at Az State U. She had good mentoring,high acheiving classmates, loved the atmosphere and mix of availabilities both Honors and non Honors (she was a Music major).She loved being in the Arizona desert …originally from NY. She has friends now in law,medicine,dental,music therapy,physical therapy,engineering,teaching,pharmacy.Seems like whoever wanted grad school/professional was able to succeed.She was a National Merit Finalist.ASU’s scholarship covered all but her housing costs.She’s now finishing a PhD at a top 25 Private ,with full funding.
S is a senior at the Honors College at U of South Carolina.He picked the school for his major AND the perks of the Honors Program.He is a recipient of the highest scholrship they give to out of state students,called the McNair, plus USC allows stacking of scholarships so he also has a scholarship there for National Merit Finalists called the Lieber.This is absolutely the best package deal around,and would have been hard to turn down.We have had no extra costs for his schooling except airfare and incidentals,thanks to their generousity.He has taken a mixture of classes (his major doesnt offer honors sections) has a bright cohort,is writing an Honors Thesis.He has had great professors from all over the U.S. There is no provincialism amongst the faculty.He likes being in the South and the more laid back,polite ways…which I thought might be a challenge for a NY kid.
He loves the SEC footballl atmosphere…that was important to him.
I’m a firm believer in the perks an Honors College at a flagship public/research U can provide for a top level kid.</p>
<p>Perhaps the best honors college is one that doesn’t exclude students. St. Mary’s College of Maryland is the public honors college of Maryland. If accepted into the college you are an honors student. This eliminates the ‘us and them’ aspects at other schools.</p>
<p>Texas Plan B and Penn State Schreyer’s are generally regarded as the top honors colleges. Admission is extremely competitive.</p>
<p>Sorry if this is a dumb question, but new to this - In general, are honors collges just automatically considered for high end applicants or must one apply specifically to the honors college? Different at different schools?</p>
<p>thanks.</p>
<p>Usually you have to apply.</p>
<p>“Texas Plan B and Penn State Schreyer’s are generally regarded as the top honors colleges.” </p>
<p>By whom?</p>
<p>This site is filled with people who don’t trust others unless they provide proof.</p>
<p>Very funny. What if they saw it on a website 2 years ago and don’t remember the site? What are you gonna do, tell him he’s WRONG?</p>
<p>I want to add to above…</p>
<p>Some honors colleges admit all who apply to the honors program who have certain stats. Some only accept a certain number - so acceptance is competitive. Some have a mixture of both - 2 or more honors programs with different admitance standards.</p>
<p>Most have you apply as incoming freshmen. Some also allow you to apply as a tranfers, some allow you to apply as a current student who has qualifying stats.</p>
<p>Honors colleges can be funny things, too. </p>
<p>a few years back, my daughter won an Alumni Distinguished Scholarship from Michigan State (full ride for 4 years) even though she did not qualify for automatic honors college membership and a few other bennies because her SAT score was a (single testing) 1490. They wanted 1500. Strange but true.</p>
<p>“This site is filled with people who don’t trust others unless they provide proof.”</p>
<p>Just trying to find out what the criteria were.</p>