Does taking "Honors" Biology really mean anything

[Fakhter]

By that I mean will it even make a difference in the admission process?

---

Members don't see this ad.

 

[yehhhboiii]

no

 

[gyngyn]

no

 

[487806]

By that I mean will it even make a difference in the admission process?

No

 

[p0l4R17y]

No

C-c-c-c-combo breaker!

 

[IslandStyle808]

C-c-c-c-combo breaker!

Man I really miss Killer Instinct.

@ OP's question: No

 

[ChiDO]

If you get an "A" it will probably give you a little boost during interviews as adcoms will know its a harder class; however, if you don't get an A, then it basically hurts you as your GPA will be lower (primary/secondary screening tool).

 

[darkjedi]

An A in normal Bio will look better than an A- in Honors Bio.

 

[LaughingMan]

Honors won't make a different at all.

Adding to that--Honors College I also feel won't make a difference unless you did an Honors thesis.

I have a few friends whose GPA went down due to the literature classes they were required to take. Some of them even dropped out of the Honors Program.

 

[p0l4R17y]

Man I really miss Killer Instinct.

Cinder still trolls me in my dreams.

 

[Arbor Vitae]

an a in normal bio will look better than an a- in honors bio.

+109364023764983764

 

[rodmichael82]

Honors Bio means absolutely nothing.

 

[TriagePreMed]

If you get an "A" it will probably give you a little boost during interviews as adcoms will know its a harder class; however, if you don't get an A, then it basically hurts you as your GPA will be lower (primary/secondary screening tool).

Based on what? There's no evidence of this. People argue that Electrical Engineering is harder than a Communications major, and while I agree, no evidence exists to say one is prefered. What is to say honors will be prefered over non-honors?

 

[ChiDO]

Based on what? There's no evidence of this. People argue that Electrical Engineering is harder than a Communications major, and while I agree, no evidence exists to say one is prefered. What is to say honors will be prefered over non-honors?

Taking a heavy course load or harder classes and receiving "A's" will be brought up in your interviews and will get noticed. Now if you take those and get B's, then it doesnt matter. This is based on experience, speaking with adcoms, and being involved with the admissions process.

 

[WhittyPsyche]

Taking a heavy course load or harder classes and receiving "A's" will be brought up in your interviews and will get noticed. Now if you take those and get B's, then it doesnt matter. This is based on experience, speaking with adcoms, and being involved with the admissions process.

-honors neuroscience, and honors psych-
What about the thesis associated with the program? Is that looked at favorably?

 

[Ismet]

-honors neuroscience, and honors psych-
What about the thesis associated with the program? Is that looked at favorably?

A thesis would be looked at favorably no matter if it's in the honors program or not. There's a lot of variation between schools and between departments as well, so I'm not sure if you'll find one succinct answer. For example, I was a neuro major in undergrad, and I graduated with departmental honors because I completed a senior thesis. It didn't really have anything to do with the honors college/honors program of the school in general, as each department sets their honors criteria. So to answer your question, I guess it will depend on what the difference is between a thesis associated with an honors program and a thesis that is not associated with an honors program. If the honors one is more rigorous in some way, you can describe that in your applications and interviews.

 

[JBOB]

Nope, I asked an admissions person about this. Honors classes are actually sometimes easier to get good grades in because the professors are more willing to give a large proportion of the class an A. This was definitely the case with the honors classes I took. In some classes more than half the students got an A, and the rest got an A- or B+. The "non-honors" versions of the classes were graded on a traditional bell-curve, with 10-15% of students getting an A. I'm sure not all honors classes are like this, but how are admissions committees going to know?

 

[WhittyPsyche]

A thesis would be looked at favorably no matter if it's in the honors program or not. There's a lot of variation between schools and between departments as well, so I'm not sure if you'll find one succinct answer. For example, I was a neuro major in undergrad, and I graduated with departmental honors because I completed a senior thesis. It didn't really have anything to do with the honors college/honors program of the school in general, as each department sets their honors criteria. So to answer your question, I guess it will depend on what the difference is between a thesis associated with an honors program and a thesis that is not associated with an honors program. If the honors one is more rigorous in some way, you can describe that in your applications and interviews.

Sorry I should have been specific, both are departmental honors. Psych major and neuro minor. Both require senior thesis, among other things.

Edit- I must have misread OP's post to begin with I thought this entire thread was about departmental honors! SO I was shocked that you guys were saying it's not better..

 

[yehhhboiii]

Nope, I asked an admissions person about this. Honors classes are actually sometimes easier to get good grades in because the professors are more willing to give a large proportion of the class an A. This was definitely the case with the honors classes I took. In some classes more than half the students got an A, and the rest got an A- or B+. The "non-honors" versions of the classes were graded on a traditional bell-curve, with 10-15% of students getting an A. I'm sure not all honors classes are like this, but how are admissions committees going to know?

Except that you're taking classes with people who are interested about the subject so the competition is stiffer.

 

[JBOB]

Except that you're taking classes with people who are interested about the subject so the competition is stiffer.

This is true, but I seriously doubt the difference in competition would be enough to offset the grade inflation in those classes when 50-70% of students get A's compared to 10-15%. Honors kids might be more interested and better at taking exams, but they're not THAT much better. For example, I took non-honors physics 1 and honors physics 2. The kids in honors were certainly better at physics on average, but the class was wayyyyy easier to get an A in than physics 1. This is just my experience, of course, but I've heard the same thing from others.

 

[Dr.Forssmann]

no

 

[Omppu27]

Except that you're taking classes with people who are interested about the subject so the competition is stiffer.

Not the case at my school. People are in honors because some think it "looks good" and they get killer scheduling advantages...

 

[neuro nephrons]

more extremely biased opinions.....somethings never change

 

[yehhhboiii]

This is true, but I seriously doubt the difference in competition would be enough to offset the grade inflation in those classes when 50-70% of students get A's compared to 10-15%. Honors kids might be more interested and better at taking exams, but they're not THAT much better. For example, I took non-honors physics 1 and honors physics 2. The kids in honors were certainly better at physics on average, but the class was wayyyyy easier to get an A in than physics 1. This is just my experience, of course, but I've heard the same thing from others.

50-70% is pretty high. When I was doing honors Chem, the pace was much faster. We were doing ozonolysis and benzene chemisty when everyone else was complaining about Fischer projections and drawing chairs.

 

[A7X]

Probably not. Many schools do not offer honors version of their classes, so it's tough to compare.

 

[JBOB]

50-70% is pretty high. When I was doing honors Chem, the pace was much faster. We were doing ozonolysis and benzene chemisty when everyone else was complaining about Fischer projections and drawing chairs.

Yeah like I said it's pretty variable and sometimes I'm sure it actually is harder, but admissions committees really have no way of knowing if that's the case or not. I asked an ADCOM about this once during a Q and A session and she said they don't view honors any differently from non-honors for that reason. If an honors class helps you learn info more in depth and maybe help you with the MCAT or something, great. Outside of that, I doubt it will make any difference in terms of medical school admissions.

 

[gettheleadout]

Taking a heavy course load or harder classes and receiving "A's" will be brought up in your interviews and will get noticed. Now if you take those and get B's, then it doesnt matter. This is based on experience, speaking with adcoms, and being involved with the admissions process.

Sorry, but if adcom members really universally consider "honors" courses to be more difficult than normal courses, they must be living some really sheltered lives with regard to undergrad education. What "honors" means in terms of course rigor, grading methods or scale, or anything else is incredibly variable between schools, departments, and even teachers.

I honestly can't fathom why it would matter at all with the exception of particular schools where the person reviewing the application knows that a specific course is run a certain way "honors" compared to normal.

Considering an "honors" degree to be more rigorous might be a little more plausible if an overall "honors" program at a particular school is known to be rigorous compared to the normal curriculum, but again this would require specific familiarity with the program.

 

[ChiDO]

Don't know why I even bother trying to help; obv you pre-meds have all the answers already.

But for those who are willing to take advice, higher GPA the better; harder classes the better (only if you can maintain a high GPA).

 

[gettheleadout]

Don't know why I even bother trying to help; obv you pre-meds have all the answers already.

But for those who are willing to take advice, higher GPA the better; harder classes the better (only if you can maintain a high GPA).

I'm plainly not contesting that, given a competitive GPA, a more rigorous curriculum is more valuable in an applicant. The question of rigor can often be considered in light of the depth and breadth of coursework a student has pursued (e.g. a student taking a great number of upper level courses in his or her field vs a student who seems to have taken the bare minimum required to earn the degree).

The only thing, and I believe I was quite clear, that I am contesting is the interpretation of the "honors" designation, and if you have specific comments on what I said I would love to hear them. I am quite confident my interpretation of the issue allows for reasonable variability in course quality, structure, and grading methodology both between and within schools, and given the breadth of backgrounds from which applicants come nationally, I find this appropriate. If you can offer reason why I am misinterpreting or misunderstanding the issue, and are willing to explain your position, I of course ask that you do so.

I have no aversion to input from anyone higher up in the process, but if you're going to blow off my response, I can't learn anything from this interaction and neither can any of our readers.

 

[487806]

Don't know why I even bother trying to help; obv you pre-meds have all the answers already.

But for those who are willing to take advice, higher GPA the better; harder classes the better (only if you can maintain a high GPA).

Categorizing honors classes as "hard" is really subjective.

 

[gettheleadout]

Categorizing honors classes as "hard" is really subjective.

Applause for Agent B, in concisely summarizing my lengthy paragraphs in a single sentence!