To Honors or Not, that is the question..

[Med-tallica]

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So I was wondering what SDNers think of doing Honors programs at undergrads. I'm deciding whether or not I should go that route. Sure you have to work harder, but you get smaller class sizes, and at my institution research opportunities(part of the honors program). I was wondering if there are any stats and more importantly discrepencies between honors and regular graduates.
Any discussion is much appreciated.

Much Love,
Rock On,
Med-tallica.

 

[BradenDO]

I don't know how your program works, but at the university I attend to graduate with honors you have to take 3 classes. Within these classes you either have to write a paper, do research, or something along those lines. Anyways, I'm eligible to do this and when I asked my advisor if I should, she told me not to do it unless I have plenty of time. She said the best thing to focus on is grades and having these honors classes don't always help.

So, I don't know if I entirely agree with this because having research on your application is always a good thing, but I would say that if you don't have the extra time to do it--then don't.

Just my 2cents! 🙂

 

[Shredder]

im taking an honors class right now and i dont like it. ive declined to live in honors residence in the past. i think the honors kids are unappealing, bunch of pseudointellectuals. thats even worse than being unintelligent. maybe it depends on where you go. but for me the peers are a big deal. they also tend to be a lot more flaming liberal. dunno what that means to you though.

 

[Rafa]

Take the easiest classes you can find in your school. Treat your GPA with kid gloves - buy a bombproof vest, and never let it out of your sight. Don't do any more work than you have to to receive an A. Complete your pre-reqs and get the hell out of there.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

 

[Med-tallica]

im taking an honors class right now and i dont like it. ive declined to live in honors residence in the past. i think the honors kids are unappealing, bunch of pseudointellectuals. thats even worse than being unintelligent. maybe it depends on where you go. but for me the peers are a big deal. they also tend to be a lot more flaming liberal. dunno what that means to you though.

I'm down south, so where I'm at everyone is a flaming conservative. I just want to know if I were to make it through such a program would it be a positive as far as med-school admissions are concerned. Whether its good for med-school or not isn't a deciding factor, but for me it is something I believe I should consider.

 

[tacrum43]

im taking an honors class right now and i dont like it. ive declined to live in honors residence in the past. i think the honors kids are unappealing, bunch of pseudointellectuals. thats even worse than being unintelligent. maybe it depends on where you go. but for me the peers are a big deal. they also tend to be a lot more flaming liberal. dunno what that means to you though.

Well I was in the Honors program at my school, and I lived in the Honors dorm during my freshman year. I loved it. It was a great way to meet a bunch of smart and interesting people from different majors.

 

[Mr. Tee]

im taking an honors class right now and i dont like it. ive declined to live in honors residence in the past. i think the honors kids are unappealing, bunch of pseudointellectuals. thats even worse than being unintelligent. maybe it depends on where you go. but for me the peers are a big deal. they also tend to be a lot more flaming liberal. dunno what that means to you though.

same at my college.

 

[ddog01]

I'm down south, so where I'm at everyone is a flaming conservative. I just want to know if I were to make it through such a program would it be a positive as far as med-school admissions are concerned. Whether its good for med-school or not isn't a deciding factor, but for me it is something I believe I should consider.

Are you interested in research?

Do you have the time to do research AND get A's in most (or all) of your classes?

Will you be able to continue getting A's in your honors classes?

If you can answer YES to each question above, then do the honors program. Yes, it will look nice on your resume/transcript for medical school applications. Yes, admissions committees will notice that you did the honors program.
No, it will not make up for bad grades.
No, they will not think less of you for not doing it.

I've been to a lot of college, taught college, and advised students. I know whereof I speak. Good luck.

-D

 

[BradenDO]

I'm down south, so where I'm at everyone is a flaming conservative. I just want to know if I were to make it through such a program would it be a positive as far as med-school admissions are concerned. Whether its good for med-school or not isn't a deciding factor, but for me it is something I believe I should consider.

Okay, I'm confused. 😛 Are you wanting to know if it will help get you *in* to med school or prepare you for med school? ...or neither of these...lol

 

[shantster]

Big reason for me going to the school that I currently attend is the honors college that's here. As much as the work sometimes sucks with reading and writing, I could not imagine not doing the honors route since I feel that I'm learning so much more than if I didn't take it.

 

[BradenDO]

Big reason for me going to the school that I currently attend is the honors college that's here. As much as the work sometimes sucks with reading and writing, I could not imagine not doing the honors route since I feel that I'm learning so much more than if I didn't take it.

Is your program a scholarship program, or did you just choose to do it?

 

[Med-tallica]

there is some money tied to it, and I wanted to know if it would make one a more able and appealing candidate.

 

[shantster]

Is your program a scholarship program, or did you just choose to do it?

It is not scholarship based, but it's a full interdisciplanary honors college. It's based in the humanities and so I have been taking all my gen eds from it. Most of the classes are only offered to people within the honor's college. When I graduate, I should be getting a Humanities minor in addtion to my majors.

 

[thedelicatessen]

If there are more tangible perks like priority enrollment or guaranteed on-campus housing, this honors program may be worth considering. If not, be prepared for intense classes. You may get to meet people with the same academic drive, but sometimes these intellectually stimulating people can get annoying too. I guess it's a good learning experience, but after experiencing the whole honors program thing, I now find it a little overrated.

From what I've heard, being in an honors program does not really enhance your resume in regards to med school. On the other hand, my honors program claims that everyone in the program who has applied to med school has gotten in somewhere.

 

[Mr. Tee]

In my experiences at my college, the non-honors classes actually prepare you better in the sciences, lol. For example the teachers actually explain the core material instead of expecting you to read it outside of class on your own merit.

 

[phosphorus pet]

Actually, I kind of disagree with the way this thread is going. The undergrad courses I took were the most rewarding and provocative ones I took. However, out of the 6 honors courses I took six were literature or philosophy - non-science - courses.

I dont know if it will make you more marketable to med schools. But, since the class will be smaller in size, the setting will be more intimate and give you another option for a letter of rec if you need one.

 

[nekrogg]

Take the easiest classes you can find in your school. Treat your GPA with kid gloves - buy a bombproof vest, and never let it out of your sight. Don't do any more work than you have to to receive an A. Complete your pre-reqs and get the hell out of there.

And no, I'm not being sarcastic.

word 👍

 

[JDWflash44]

In my opinion med schools just care about MCAT, BCMP GPA, OA GPA, in that order, as far as getting your foot in the door for an interview. Don't do any of these programs if the classes would bring down your GPA at all. As far as research goes, its really easy to find someone to do research with or get into a summer research program so dont do an honors program for that. In my opinion many of these honors classes are just more work and my advice is that you're going to be doing plenty of that in med school so take the normal classes and go out and have the best 4 years of your life in undergrad. My $.02.

Jim

 

[DrBowtie]

My honors classes are harder but have more lenient grading.
The biggest reason why honors is good at my school is we get priority registration at the same time as grad students. Then again there are lots of people who get it thus it is almost necessary to get into the good lab times.

 

[Endee]

Before I started college I was wondering if I should join the Honors program at my school. I originally decided not to, but then I changed my mind and applied. It ended up working out great. I got a $500 scholarship my Freshman year, the small class sizes have their benefits for certain classes, I get to register before the rest of the school (our main campus has 43,000 students, this is my favorite benefit), and finally, I'm able to participate in funded independent research programs that otherwise I wouldn't be able to.

And so far, the classes aren't any harder.

 

[ahumdinger]

Here's the lesson I've learned from my application process. Med schools care more about a high GPA than anything else. If you do the honors program, you'd better damn well make sure you can get an A in every class. As someone already posted above, "treat your GPA with kid-gloves." Right now, you're still in this high-school mentality of "Go above and beyond" and "challenge" yourself. But the catch is that you've also gotta ace those classes. In high school, I was the go-getter, all AP student, etc, etc. And so my first year in college, I was like, "oh, I got into Honors Calculus? Okay, i'll take that. Oh there's an honors biology class? Okay I'll take that." I ended up with mediocre grades-- I learned a buttload, mind you-- but with the extreme grade deflation, it didn't translate to A's. If I could do it all over again, I would either step down to regular classes, or work 10 times as hard to get an A.

So just keep that in mind-- that you've still got to get A's. Don't try to excuse it with "Oh it's an honors class, so a B is just as good." Not to the Medical Admssions Committees.

On a side note-- I can't give enough praise to small class sizes. That alone might convince me to take the honors route. Also, small class-sizes = more personal attention from profs= better recommendation letters.

Ah, hindsight is always 20/20!!

 

[dajimmers]

I went to my school because of its honors program. Smaller classes, early registration, optional honors housing, elimination of prerequisites, access to graduate classes, more scholarships all convinced me to go to MSU. Most of my honors classes (8 required) were non-science, and I definitely prefer these over honors calc/physics/bio/chem.

But I will agree with the above posters, GPA will matter far more than participation in an honors program.

 

[neovenom]

honors = more work = bad for a pre-med student because we already have so much other crap to do (focus on the science classes, prepare for MCAT, do community service, research, shadowing, etc.). besides, you also want some free time left over to just have fun in college. you won't get another chance in life.

i personally declined to do the honors program at my school, and i'm very glad that i did.

 

[Anastasis]

I did the honors program at my school because we get to register for classes early. Might not sound like much but when you go to a school with 43,000 ugrads that's a big, big deal. I lived in the honors dorm; the freshman one sucked, totally pointless. They made everyone on campus HATE them.

It really depends on the benefits you're going to get, how much work you need to put in, and whether it shows up on your transcript or not.

 

[gary5]

Definitely do it, and get to know your Honors Program director well. Mine wrote me an LOR. You'll be taking classes with smarter students. We also could get honors credit by taking a non-honors course and arranging an honors project with the professor - a great opportunity to build relationships. I put this on all my resumes and applications:
Honors Program, Every Semester
Dean's List, Every Semester

 

[45408]

Haha, yeah, my honors program is pretty liberal as well.

Anyways, I went the honors route at my school because it offered me the chance to register for all my classes before anyone else, so I never had trouble getting into the courses I wanted/needed at the most convenient times for me. So, take that as you will. My program required 21 credits of honors courses (nearly every one was 3 cr), and the topics were in practically every discipline available. You could also do research (which I did) or a project/thesis for one or two semesters. Someone did a set of illustrations for each ring of hell in Dante's Inferno (this was a huge undertaking, IIRC). I took history, economics, psychology, architecture, literature, philosophy, Italian literature and intro to clinical medicine. Med schools like to see a wide range of courses.

Do I think that the honors program helped me get into med school? Not particularly. If the courses were more difficult than they were and had harmed my GPA, I'd have bailed out. As it was, the perks > negatives. I got early registration and a nice scholarship, as well as a few LORs. Your mileage will probably vary, so check into each school's offerings.

 

[45408]

Big reason for me going to the school that I currently attend is the honors college that's here. As much as the work sometimes sucks with reading and writing, I could not imagine not doing the honors route since I feel that I'm learning so much more than if I didn't take it.

That reminds me - my writing ability has improved SO much from the honors program at my school. Not a single course had an exam, and each class required at least three papers, and each course usually had a term paper (the longest I wrote was almost 20 pages). Some profs weren't too harsh with grading, but some were ruthless. I took a regular English class and passed with flying colors, and I attribute that almost entirely to the amount of reading and writing I had to do for Honors.