Hey guys, I’ve recently been accepted into Washington State University’s honors college, and basically would love to know whether people think it is worth it to be a part of the honors college?
Just a little background info: I have a 3.91 gpa unweighted, and have taken 7 AP classes. The other schools I applied to are UW, UNiversity of Portland, Colorado state, Montana state, and creighton. WSU is the only honors college I’ve applied and been accepted to so far.
The main reasons I am looking to join one is that it will give me more scholarships, more research opportunities, good study abroad options, and overall a more academically focused college experience. I plan to major in either chemical, mechanical, or electrical engineering. ( I was initially set on chemical; however, I’ve heard that it’s generally harder to find a ChemE job in a location of your choice, so now I’m leaning towards mechanical or electrical). Anyways, I’ve also heard that many engineering majors don’t prefer to participate in honors college because they already have a difficult enough time in their major.
All in all, I would love to know if you guys think being in an honors college is worth it.
Honors colleges and what they offer varies greatly from school to school so it is important to research what exactly being in the honors college at WSU will provide. Other than doing that research, I’d sit tight and wait to see what your other options are.
My suggestion is to take the honors college since they often come with early enrollment in classes, easier access to counselors, smaller classes. This is going to be important to you down the road when you decide engineering isn’t for you.
It sounds like you’re waving in the breeze here on engineering, with little real investigation of the career. A week ago you were gung-ho on ChemE in post http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1859612-university-of-washington-vs-washington-state-university-p1.html and now its at the bottom because of a rumor you heard. Maybe its true, maybe its not, but do you think EE’s have jobs waiting in lots of locations? Or that once you’re a few years in the career in some branch of engineering (say a sub-field of ME) you can pick up and start on a different sub-field? No, you can’t, because you’ll have no more experience in it than a new grad and they can pick them up cheaper. So after a handful of years you’ll find yourself limited to employers needing those experienced in your area.
The point here is that nationally 1/2 to 2/3rds of those that start in engineering end up dropping the major. Since its hard to get admitted as an engineer, almost everyone accepted could do it. My belief is they drop for 2 reasons: they aren’t having as much fun in college as they see friends in other majors having (expect to work 10 hours or so outside of class on each class), and/or they have no real commitment to the career that drives them to stick it out. I don’t get the sense you have looked into engineering very deeply, and if/when you do I would not be surprised if you decide it isn’t that great a fit after all. At which point you’ll be glad you have the Honors College.
There is a website that lists the differences in the honors colleges. Google it and start comparing. They are definitely NOT equal. You gotta dig for the real deal.
@mikemac , thanks for the reply! While a little discouraging, I appreciate the truth in your response. I feel as though I have looked deeply into engineering careers, and truly do think it is something I will be passionate about. I also understand your perspective, and can see how you pick up on my naivety. That is partly the reason I am here on these forums, to learn more about my career choice and just college in general. I’m still in high school, it’s not like anything I am saying right now is a final choice. My goal is to learn and become as cognizant as I can about the different majors and their career outlooks. I don’t think that me being unsure about the engineering path I want to go down reflects the notion that I wouldn’t do well in the field, but rather implies that I want to gain a complete understanding of my career choice before making any decisions.
I had no idea that such a high number of engineering majors ended up changing to something else. It’s my goal to be in the minority that doesn’t, and who knows maybe you are right in the fact that I will end up switching. In that case, I guess it is a good thing to be in the honors college like you said.
Thanks for the honest response Mike, that is why I am here on this forum; to be advised by people who know more than I do.
As I wrote earlier, I have no doubt that you (and just about all the others) could do well in the classes and earn an engineering degree. However it takes a lot of hard work and dedication. For most kids that drive comes from believing this really is the right choice for them. I suggest you talk to some real-world engineers, perhaps friends of your family or parents of kids you know to learn as much as you can.
@mikemac , those statistics are crazy! I’m pretty surprised, I wonder what all the dropouts end up changing to.
I’ll be sure to talk to some engineers if I get the chance, I think some face to face conversation about what engineering really is would be really helpful for me. I have so many questions… Thanks again for the help, I really do appreciate it
