honors program

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

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Ok so my school is not exactly difficult to get into but our honors program is fairly well respected. anyways to graduate with honors u have to keep a 3.5 and take a bunch of honors classes and modules (plus some disseration at the end with some letters of recommendations). how important is being in the honors program for someone like me who doesn't go to a great undergrad school? will it look good on my transcript that a bunch of my classes will say "honors" or do adcoms not really think much of that and instead just care about the school itself? i want to make sure that the added work i will be putting in (and have put it in) is worth it in the long run.

for those of you in honors programs: did adcoms bring it up in your interviews?

 

[fullefect1]

I am also very interested in the reponses for this post. I am in the same posistion.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

ADCOMS do consider the difficulty of your course work when looking at your GPA. If you're able to maintain a greater than 3.5 GPA with honors courses, then you're better off taking the more challenging coursework.

 

[acab]

It did NOT come up in any of my 12 interviews. On the other hand, my research and clinical volunteering came up in all of them.

 

[dread]

I disagree with the previous posters. My impression is that most of the time, med school adcom's have no idea on when "honors" or advanced vs regular courses are being offered at one's undergrad since they take applicants from so many colleges. Therefore, it's usually easier and safer just to take the reg class and get the higher grade. Don't get me wrong, if you are going to get an A irrespective, then an A in an honors or advanced class looks better. But given the choice between taking a B in an honors or advanced class or an A in a regular class, I would take th A in the regular class.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

ADCOMS may not have ideas about specific courses, but some transcripts come with indications that honors coursework was completed.

Furthermore, if you're in the honors programs then this can be indicated on your application. Thus, while ADCOMS may not sit there and determine which classes are honors vs non-honors courses, a distinction on your application of being in the honors program may be enough to catch the eye of the person reviewing your application.

Considering the high competition to medical school, I encourage applicants who can maintain a 3.5+ GPA in an honors program to take this opportunity.

 

[Ernham]

Honors courses I've seen are easier than regular classes. Ya, instead of learning the material, lets just have a philosophical discussion about it instead. Instead of an exam, let's do an essay! So honorable.

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by Andrew_Doan
ADCOMS do consider the difficulty of your course work when looking at your GPA. If you're able to maintain a greater than 3.5 GPA with honors courses, then you're better off taking the more challenging coursework.

I disagree with this as well, adcoms really have no idea how hard a certain course is, and for the most part they wont have the time to peruse your transcript and count the number of honors classes you have compared to other applicants. Also, most private schools dont have honors classes (mine doesnt, except for a few rare exceptions), so it wouldnt be a fair measure.

Adcoms more or less only look at GPA and MCAT from a stat perspective. They wont know that your prof was 2X harder than the prof for the other section, and they wont have the time to count up how many honors classes youve taken.

That said, honors classes are usually very good courses to take in general, are quite interesting, and you could probably get a great rec out of them since they are smaller.

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

thanks for the replies. i suppose im fortunate because my university does make the distinction "honors" on my transcript for any classes that are honors. i've already completed about 9 credits of honors work so far and so i think im just going to stick with it and hope i do well. a lot of the times the honors classes are not more difficult but rather they just do everything at a much faster speed, which i suppose amounts to higher difficultly.

i was suprised to hear that one of you mentioned having 12 interviews but not being asked about being honors even once. i know we all have lots of great things on our applications but i just felt that i know if i remain in honors (which i plan to) it will be a big part of my college career due to the added course load so i know i would love to talk about it at interviews. we also have to take 3 classes over the 400 level in non-major classes, which i think is pretty damn tough. but oh well. thanks again

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

Originally posted by Ernham
Honors courses I've seen are easier than regular classes. Ya, instead of learning the material, lets just have a philosophical discussion about it instead. Instead of an exam, let's do an essay! So honorable.

that's the way my high school but at my university so far the honors classes move at a much higher rate of speed and we don't get off easy. most times our professors require more from us because we are honors students.

gleevec: i see your point. getting letters of recommendations is definitely one plus to being honors classes at my school since the n umber of people in a class is less than 14 so there's a lot of of professor/student interaction.

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by Gleevec
I disagree with this as well, adcoms really have no idea how hard a certain course is, and for the most part they wont have the time to peruse your transcript and count the number of honors classes you have compared to other applicants. .

Remember, students in an honors program can place this distinction on their applications. This will help when ADCOMS are reviewing applications.

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

also after completion of the 2nd year i've heard that many people with high GPAs are invited to be in various honor societies. is this true? and do these honor societies have any value or are they basically just fluff?

the honor societies that i'm talking about include the national collegiate honors council, golden key nationa honor society, phi kappa phi, etc.

 

[exgatr]

None of my interviewers asked about my honors courses either.

In my experience, it seems to be more important to adcoms that you went to a major university. It doesn't have to be Harvard or Yale, just a school that has a decent rep. (I went to UF, btw)

 

[quideam]

It depends on how you look at it. I'm in the honors program at my school (solid state school, but nothing extraordinary), and it says 'honors program' on my transcript for every semester. The honors courses taken through the program DO say 'honors' and ARE easier than ordinary classes (everyone usually gets As and Bs; the coursework is more geared towards essays/discussion, etc.). So, to that extent, go for honors.

On the other hand, the 'honors' versions of regular classes that they offer at my school do tend to be more difficult (sometimes) and often won't even say that they're honors. For example, we have two versions of orgo: Organic Chemistry and Principles of Organic Chemistry. Which one is honors? Will the schools even think about it?

My advice is this: be in the honors program if possible; it will most likely show up on your transcript. Take a few interesting, easier honors courses (that explicitly say 'honors'). Avoid the other honors courses unless you're certain that you can get an A in them; it's better to have a higher GPA and a few fewer honors.

- Quid

 

[quideam]

As a philosophy major, I can say this:

True, physics and chem, etc., ARE more difficult than your typical humanities course. However, if you're planning to go into med school, you're probably the kind of person who is good at science, and is either mediocre or largely uniterested in humanities (or so goes the stereotype). Furthermore, you don't need to be great at quantum mechanics to succeed in med school, and technical courses aren't really going to make you 'well rounded'. On the other hand, because there ARE so few humanities majors applying to med school, then if there is a humanities major (with a high GPA) who has also taken a good number of science courses (the pre-reqs plus 3-5 extra upper-levels) with mostly As and B+s, then the assumption is that not only can they handle the rigorous med school coursework, but that they are also ''well-rounded" and "different" from their straight-science counterparts.

That's how I see it. So, in short, of course astrophysics is more demanding than english. But if you're going to be studying biology, it doesn't matter if you're good at either- and english is just that much more of an "artsy, interesting, lovey-dovey" major that med schools appreciate.

My 2 cents. Now back to my philosophy of physics class... (interesting coincidence!)

- Quid

 

[Gleevec]

Originally posted by Andrew_Doan
Remember, students in an honors program can place this distinction on their applications. This will help when ADCOMS are reviewing applications.

No doubt this is true, I am merely questioning how important it is since many schools lack such programs all together. I doubt it is a major factor at all, but as I said earlier, honors programs are nice for a variety of other reasons.

 

[CalBeE]

Well if an applicant has a great academic record, honors classes can give an extra boost to the app. But if the academic record is average, I doubt honors do much at all.

At my school (UCLA), many many people do college or departmental honors. Even those who don't do honors may end up taking some honors classes, just because these classes are quite common.

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

does anyone here have any opinions on those national honor societies that i mentioned in my previous post? i know they send out applications after sophmore year but does it really matter at all? i mean all those societies say is that you have a high gpa which med schools already know.

thanks to everyone that has replied so far. helped me figure out a few things.

 

[acab]

Originally posted by Nvr Ending Jrny
does anyone here have any opinions on those national honor societies that i mentioned in my previous post? i know they send out applications after sophmore year but does it really matter at all? i mean all those societies say is that you have a high gpa which med schools already know.

I think it's great to be a member of certain honor societies, but you need to be aware of the ones that try to get your membership fee and don't carry much prestige. I'm happy to be a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key. The former is quite prestigious and the latter offered me an award in my junior year.

Also keep in mind that the AMCAS application allows you to list 10 (if I'm not wrong) activities, publications, conferences and honors. So after listing volunteering, research experiences, conferences, you'll end up with only a couple of slots for honors/honor societies.

Good luck.

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by acab
I think it's great to be a member of certain honor societies, but you need to be aware of the ones that try to get your membership fee and don't carry much prestige. I'm happy to be a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Golden Key. The former is quite prestigious and the latter offered me an award in my junior year.

Also keep in mind that the AMCAS application allows you to list 10 (if I'm not wrong) activities, publications, conferences and honors. So after listing volunteering, research experiences, conferences, you'll end up with only a couple of slots for honors/honor societies.

Good luck.

I believe there are 15 slots for everything. I ended up not putting any honors society cause I don't think they carry much weight. You're better off putting in an award or publication.

 

[acab]

Originally posted by acab

Also keep in mind that the AMCAS application allows you to list 10...

I just checked my AMCAS and counted 13 slots (including work experience).

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

Originally posted by CalBeE
I believe there are 15 slots for everything. I ended up not putting any honors society cause I don't think they carry much weight. You're better off putting in an award or publication.

ok publications i understand but what do u mean why awards? i consider myself to me a fairly well rounded person in college but i don't see myself getting any "awards". i can't even think of any awards that i would even be in the running for. oh well i guess i suck.

 

[Spitting Camel]

Everyone and their mom are in honor societies. They are not special. The bigest joke at my school is AED, or Alpha Epsilon Delta. I did get a couple awards through my volunteer program. Oh, and don't bother listing Dean's Honor List. Everyone gets that too and it looks like you are grasping at straws to fill up every possible slot.

 

[CalBeE]

Originally posted by Nvr Ending Jrny
ok publications i understand but what do u mean why awards? i consider myself to me a fairly well rounded person in college but i don't see myself getting any "awards". i can't even think of any awards that i would even be in the running for. oh well i guess i suck.

Awards can be say Scholarships, or awards you earned at a science conference (For poster or oral presentations), or even awards by your school.

I mean, there are tons of "awards" out there...

 

[Andrew_Doan]

Originally posted by CalBeE


I mean, there are tons of "awards" out there...

It also helps to have something listed rather than just leaving it blank. Empty space on your AMCAS is a bad thing and will not help your application to medical school. 😉

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

Originally posted by CalBeE
Awards can be say Scholarships, or awards you earned at a science conference (For poster or oral presentations), or even awards by your school.

I mean, there are tons of "awards" out there...

so do I need to apply to these various national scholarships or are they invitation only? also, my school gives out various scholariships to exceptional students in the honors program. i applied to a few of those and if by some stroke of luck I am awarded a scholarship should I list it?

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

followup question:
I plan on volunteering at the same hospital over a period of 3 years (including summers). every semester (fall, spring, summer) I plan on volunteering in a different department. On the AMCAS would I have space to list all of the places I volunteered and the number of hours at each department or would I just write the name of the hospital and the total number of hours? any insite would be appreciated.

the reason im asking is cause if working in different departments never comes up then maybe i'd like to work at the same place for a year straight cause of relationships formed with doctors/staff/nurses/patients

 

[exgatr]

If you get into Phi Beta Kappa, you should put it down. Instead of all the other honor societies where you only have to pay, PBK is nomination only.

Usually only the top 5% of the graduating class gets nominated by the faculty advisor.

 

[Nvr Ending Jrny]

so if only 5% of the graduating class gets nominated how could anyone put that on their AMCAS or secondaries since most of us are between junior and senior year when we apply?

thanks for the information.

 

[exgatr]

you get nominated at the end of your junior year

 

[fun8stuff]

Originally posted by Ernham
Honors courses I've seen are easier than regular classes. Ya, instead of learning the material, lets just have a philosophical discussion about it instead. Instead of an exam, let's do an essay! So honorable.

lol... I agree. Most of my so-called "Honors classes" have been quite easy. However, I am in the same situation. In the honors program at a not-that-well-known school with similar GPA, honors classes, cultural events, student organization leadership, and community service requirements. I would hope this type of stuff looks good!

 

[Optimist]

If you want a more challenging environment, better teachers, or some form of extra personal enrichment, then go for it.

But if your main reason is for it to look good on your application, then don't bother. Chances are that you won't have such a high GPA if you take the hard classes.

Adcoms barely consider what undergrad institute you went to and the relative difficulty of the curricula (unless you went to a very prestigious school), so it's unlikely they will care that you were taking honors classes.

But before making a decision, ask around and see if the honors classes are significantly more difficult than the normal ones.