At the college I attend, there’s an implemented Honor’s Program. Unlike some colleges, only those in the program can take honors courses. Those in the program have prioritized scheduling, research opportunities, study abroad opportunities, and many graduates place into top schools, such as UChicago, Berkeley, and even Harvard. My question is that will me not being in an honor’s program negatively affect my grad school application? I’m qualified to apply to the program, but it has a weird courseload (a 5-credit “core course” per semester) that would interfere with my plans to graduate as a double major with a minor by May 2018. I’m an accounting major, and I’m double majoring in finance, along with a minor in statistics or economics. Would not being a part of such a program affect me negatively? I have a lot of friends in the program who love it, but it’s not feasible for me to join at this point. Any feedback would be appreciated.
No, not being in the honors program won’t negatively impact you. An honors program is a perk that makes it easier to get access to some things that make grad school admissions easier - like rigorous classes and research opportunities. But if you have all of that stuff without being in an honors program, you’ll be fine.
But do consider the option of dropping some of your concentrations - you could maybe major in accounting, minor in finance, and then take some classes in statistics and/or economics rather than trying to complete all the requirements for everything. It gives you more flexibility to build exactly the kind of education that you want, and the honors program might expose you to some opportunities you may not otherwise have.