honors program...worth it?

[golfboy]

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We have an honors program at uno...basically you have to take a certain amount of honors classes and complete the requirements. You can do a program with a thesis, or without a thesis. For that you graduate and it says you have completed the honors program on your diploma...(not like magna cum laude, etc). Will this ever be worth doing for medical schools? I've already taken a few honors classes, and some of them require more work, and others are simply impossible to get an A in.

anyone else have experiences with a similar program?

 

[abcxyz0123]

We have an honors program at uno...basically you have to take a certain amount of honors classes and complete the requirements. You can do a program with a thesis, or without a thesis. For that you graduate and it says you have completed the honors program on your diploma...(not like magna cum laude, etc). Will this ever be worth doing for medical schools? I've already taken a few honors classes, and some of them require more work, and others are simply impossible to get an A in.

anyone else have experiences with a similar program?

hell no man. stay far, far away from those. You want the easiest and most predictable path to a 4.0 as possible. Honors classes, and harder classes in general won't impress anybody unless you know you will perform at the same level regardless of class level. An outstanding gpa attracts far more attention than a mediocre gpa with honors classes. You won't regret the decision.

 

[Daichi Katase]

We have an honors program at uno...basically you have to take a certain amount of honors classes and complete the requirements. You can do a program with a thesis, or without a thesis. For that you graduate and it says you have completed the honors program on your diploma...(not like magna cum laude, etc). Will this ever be worth doing for medical schools? I've already taken a few honors classes, and some of them require more work, and others are simply impossible to get an A in.

anyone else have experiences with a similar program?

At asu...the honors programs is crap unless you are pre-law or something.

 

[45408]

My honors program is great, but you can bet that adcoms don't care if you were in one or not. They haven't been any more difficult than my other courses, but they're a lot more self-guided, and they've kept me from having all-science semesters. The perks are a few scholarships exclusive to honors students, EARLY REGISTRATION!!! (this has been a godsend when making my schedule before anyone else can), and working with professors - no instructors, TAs, etc.

 

[DrBowtie]

I second the early registration perk.

 

[happydays]

I was actually quite happy to be able to check the "honors" box in the AMCAS application.

 

[allelicia]

I've found my honors program has its ups and downs--and sadly, I think the downs really outweigh everything else. There are many students who have gotten really fed up with some of the requirements and the recent changes that they are not going to complete it for graduation. Granted, our program is relatively new so they are still adjusting some aspects. In the end, I say that if your requirements aren't crazy (like mine) and you feel motivated to do it, then go for it! There are definitely some benefits to such a program. However, if you don't feel like its worth your time, I would just screw it. It's your grades that count and not whether or not you are in an honors program.

 

[gary5]

I did the honors program and enjoyed it. I really like putting this on all my applications: "Honors Program and Dean's List Member - Every Semester". I still love that one, but I'm amused by simple things. I probably did get a B or two in honors classes, though.

 

[Awill86]

I thought about doing an honors program at my school. We have a pretty good program with smaller class sizes and it seems like a good way to get to know your professors well (and eventually get LORs from them). I applied and was accepted, but decided not to do it. I have great grades now, and I figure it will be much more beneficial to invest my energy in other things (work, research, volunteering, etc.) than just dig my nose even further into the books.

 

[tigress]

The honors program was awesome at my school. Sure, we had to go to some stupid "leadership" lectures every semester, but I think it was worth it. We actually got to go to some nice plays, an opera, stuff like that (I went to school in Manhattan). And the honors courses were full of intellectual students who seemed to care more about the material. Discussion was generally better than in other courses. They required more work, particularly writing for humanities courses. Overall I'm very glad I participated. It does say that I graduated from the program on my diploma. I also had to write a senior honors thesis and all that.

 

[Lindyhopper]

I always think it is usually unproductive to try outguess the esteem that adcoms assign to honors versus some ultimate degree difficulty. Therefore, I think its best to maximize your educational opportunity.

 

[TheMightyAngus]

Doing an honors program for a few additional words on your diploma is a stupid reason, considering honors classes usually are more difficult and medical schools would rather see an A in regular Chem than a B in Honors Chem. But if it looks like something you'd enjoy, go for it. Honors programs also differ by school and department.

At my school, the department honors program was reserved for those interested in graduate school in that major and they basically gave everyone in the program A's for all their honors classes. It was fantastic because there were only about 10-15 students in the program, we were all really motivated, and we didn't have to worry about competing with each other. Classes were more like seminars and I learned a ton more than I ever did in my other classes. But, I think this is pretty rare. Some of my friends in honors programs in public schools say their programs just put the "smart" students in the same classes and gave them the same material as the "regular" students. So basically you had to compete with the smarties for the grades.

 

[Iwy Em Hotep]

Doing an honors program for a few additional words on your diploma is a stupid reason, considering honors classes usually are more difficult and medical schools would rather see an A in regular Chem than a B in Honors Chem. But if it looks like something you'd enjoy, go for it. Honors programs also differ by school and department.

At my school, the department honors program was reserved for those interested in graduate school in that major and they basically gave everyone in the program A's for all their honors classes. It was fantastic because there were only about 10-15 students in the program, we were all really motivated, and we didn't have to worry about competing with each other. Classes were more like seminars and I learned a ton more than I ever did in my other classes. But, I think this is pretty rare. Some of my friends in honors programs in public schools say their programs just put the "smart" students in the same classes and gave them the same material as the "regular" students. So basically you had to compete with the smarties for the grades.

At my college, admissions into the honors program is highly competitive (avg HS GPA ~3.8, avg SAT ~1450), and people in the honors program generally do far better than their non-honors peers.

Why is this? I think it's mainly because the honors classes themselves are different classes, not just collections of the smartest students. As such, the classes are *horribly* grade-inflated. The professors will make you work your ass off, and you'll learn so much and feel so bad, but in the end, it's all worth it because the class is curved around a 3.5 or something ridiculous like that.

So yes, I definitely think the honors programs are worth it. You'll learn more, at the very least.

 

[dsh]

If the honors program gets you priority registration, it may be worth it. I'm just not sure how hard it is to get classes at your school. The honors program over here gives you priority registration, and the honors sections are generally easier than the regular ones--you're pretty much guaranteed at least a B since you're an honors kid.

 

[Dr. Starostik]

I'm in the Honors Program at my school. The advantages definitely include being able to register first and hence never having to worry about not getting into one of my classes. Also, there are many special internship, employment, and research opportunities available only to students in the Honors Program. My program requires that everyone complete a second major or minor, an internship or a study abroad, and an honors thesis. Oh, and my favorite are the monthly evenings where you go hang out at a professor's house-really interesting conversations and you have a lot closer relationship with those professors (LOR).

 

[PineappleGirl]

We have an honors program at uno...basically you have to take a certain amount of honors classes and complete the requirements. You can do a program with a thesis, or without a thesis. For that you graduate and it says you have completed the honors program on your diploma...(not like magna cum laude, etc). Will this ever be worth doing for medical schools? I've already taken a few honors classes, and some of them require more work, and others are simply impossible to get an A in.

anyone else have experiences with a similar program?

The classes are way harder, you have to do more work, often there is more class time. I had one honors class where I had to sit ALONE with a prof every week for 2 hours and talk about the books we were reading in the class. IMO, it's not worth it. I took two courses in the honors program and then dropped it. Just take the regular classes everyone else is taking and do well in them. You will still get magna or summa, etc and will not have as much stress. Besides most people think of honors as magna or summa and saying I graduated from whateverU summa cum laude with honors, doesn't really make much sense to them.

 

[Thundrstorm]

Clearly, from the comments, everyone's honors program is different. I think you should look carefully at the requirements at your school and decide if you are interested, though I think the opinion of adcoms should have NO weight in your decision. College is about more than preparing for med school. It's an important experience in and of itself.

I was in the honors program at my college. I applied before I ever decided to become a Dr. I just figured if I had to go there (b/c of financial aid issues) as opposed to more competitive schools that I had gotten into, I might as well do the honors program. The program has changed several times since I was first admitted, but basically, it entailed a half tuition scholarship, and certain requirements for each year: honors freshman english, an interdisciplinary honors course sophomore year, an honors project junior year, a senior honors seminar, and the option of an honors thesis. The major perks: the scholarship obviously, weekly honors teas w/good food and guest speakers, each honors class had a budget for cultural events in the city, New York Times subscriptions, and last year, they added an honors scholarship for studying abroad that only honors program students could apply for. Also, only honors students could take interdisciplinary classes, which were always cool. Stuff like Islam and the West, the Math of Art, Origins of Conscience through biology and philosophy, etc. I took Origins of Conscience and it was one of the best classes I ever took. Mostly, I liked the Honors Program b/c it allowed me to take classes that challenged me, and I like a challenge.

 

[Lindyhopper]

. . . often there is more class time. I had one honors class where I had to sit ALONE with a prof every week for 2 hours and talk about the books we were reading in the class. IMO, it's not worth it.

What's wrong with regular one on ones with your profesor? Everyones different, but it sounds like an extraordinary learning opportunity.

 

[Chris Benoit]

No offense, but what ever happened to challenging yourself? Yeah, med schools might look down on you getting a B in an Honor's class, but so what? What has been ignored is that if you have a 4.0 WITH Honors (which is by no means impossible -- I am speaking generally), you're far ahead of the non-honors 4.0s AND chances are you will have gotten a more fulfilling education (this might vary from school to school, though).

 

[DrHopeless]

Early registration is def a plus and also check into your honor program premed if they have a sort of guaranteed admission to medical school (only some honor program have this). However, just the early registration will save you a lot of pain.

 

[PineappleGirl]

What's wrong with regular one on ones with your profesor? Everyones different, but it sounds like an extraordinary learning opportunity.

It was really awkward. No lie, one time he started talking to me about how chickens copulated.

 

[alejodi]

We have an honors program at uno...basically you have to take a certain amount of honors classes and complete the requirements. You can do a program with a thesis, or without a thesis. For that you graduate and it says you have completed the honors program on your diploma...(not like magna cum laude, etc). Will this ever be worth doing for medical schools? I've already taken a few honors classes, and some of them require more work, and others are simply impossible to get an A in.

anyone else have experiences with a similar program?

I would suggest that you don't stress about doing the honors "program." If you've already taken some classes, great. If you continue to be interested in different honors courses, take them. Don't try to complete the honors "program" just to do it. I speak from experience. At my first university (a large state school) I participated in the honors program. I transferred to a small school and I chose not to participate in that program. It all depends on what your school offers and if you LIKE it. Yes, work hard, but also enjoy yourself. 🙂

 

[MorningGlory]

I would suggest that you don't stress about doing the honors "program." If you've already taken some classes, great. If you continue to be interested in different honors courses, take them. Don't try to complete the honors "program" just to do it. I speak from experience. At my first university (a large state school) I participated in the honors program. I transferred to a small school and I chose not to participate in that program. It all depends on what your school offers and if you LIKE it. Yes, work hard, but also enjoy yourself. 🙂

I gotta say, I did the honors program at my school and thought the honors classes tended to be easier than the "normal" classes. At least they were taught better because the professors actually want to be there instead of being assigned a huge lecture class. You learn more and have a better opportunity to get to know your classmates and professors. I did have to do quite a bit of writing, however.. which I wasn't fond of. And my honors thesis was no piece of cake. Like Iwy said though, the curve was set much higher around 3.5. In any case, I know at least the University of Washington School of Medicine gives a small bonus to applicants who were in the honors program at their respective school. Don't think just because it's "honors" that it will be harder and ruin your 4.0. About half of my few 4.0's in college came from honors classes.

 

[KRiv]

Since I really didnt know Burnett at UCF had a 7 year plan with USF I think if I do still goto Burnett it will help getting into USF or maybe even other Florida schools. I would think doing this would look better at USF then just going to UCF right?

http://www.honors.ucf.edu/usf_medschool.html

 

[45408]

No offense, but what ever happened to challenging yourself? Yeah, med schools might look down on you getting a B in an Honor's class, but so what? What has been ignored is that if you have a 4.0 WITH Honors (which is by no means impossible -- I am speaking generally), you're far ahead of the non-honors 4.0s AND chances are you will have gotten a more fulfilling education (this might vary from school to school, though).

Like you said - because it varies from school to school, it's going to be too hard to gauge whose school actually has a good HP or a slacker HP.