University Honors Program: Really Worth It?

[james1988]

If I have been accepted into the university honors program at the school I will be attending next semester; is it worth it to partake in that program? I will have to take an honors course every semester till I graduate. Is the extra work worth the gain?

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[doomknight]

i'd say yea
Most honors classes are basically, write one extra paper, do one extra worksheet, and some profs don't even care

 

[Mobius1985]

The biggest advantage to being in the honors program at my school was the ability to register for the next semester's classes weeks ahead of everyone else, as the most interesting subjects filled up fast with upper classmen otherwise. Also, as the honors classes are smaller there was a better chance the instructor would be a professor (not a TA) and that he/she would actually know who you were, enabling generation of better LORs.

 

[Ashers]

The biggest advantage to being in the honors program at my school was the ability to register for the next semester's classes weeks ahead of everyone else, as the most interesting subjects filled up fast with upper classmen otherwise...

We had that too (honors college registered with the juniors), also if you were in the honors college, you could check out library books for 6 months at a time. There were some other things like an honors college only computer lab and advisors.

We could be in the honors college through graduation just by maintaining a certain GPA, but in order to graduate with honors, we needed something like 30credits of honors classes and to write a thesis.

 

[james1988]

for those who are in or have completed an honors program:
do you feel your GPA has suffered due to your choice to be in the honors program?

 

[AUD]

for those who are in or have completed an honors program:
do you feel your GPA has suffered due to your choice to be in the honors program?

Not at all. At my university, in order to graduate with honors we need to take 24 honors credits by the end of our sophomore year; to graduate honors with distinction we need to write a thesis. I'm finishing up my sophomore year right now, and the honors classes have not affected my GPA at all. In fact, because the honors classes are smaller, I am going to have much better LOR's since my professors and I know eachother pretty well.

 

[Ashers]

for those who are in or have completed an honors program:
do you feel your GPA has suffered due to your choice to be in the honors program?

No.

Why the different color?

My GPA suffered because I didn't study for classes I didn't like and got Bs instead of As.

 

[james1988]

No.

Why the different color?

My GPA suffered because I didn't study for classes I didn't like and got Bs instead of As.

interesting.

colourful questions usually elicit colourful responses

 

[Ooglyboogly]

If I have been accepted into the university honors program at the school I will be attending next semester; is it worth it to partake in that program? I will have to take an honors course every semester till I graduate. Is the extra work worth the gain?

Dude...The honors courses are much easier than normal courses. The profs are 400000000 times better and they treat you like a baby. I'm in the honors chem program at my school and the profs and TAs are really easy going. You also get to know people in your class better(classes have less than 40 kids); I made a lot of friends in the class. There's also a hidden rule that nobody likes to talk about-since the class is an honors class, a lot of people get A's-so if the grades are low, the prof curves big time.

 

[james1988]

Dude...The honors courses are much easier than normal courses. The profs are 400000000 times better and they treat you like a baby. I'm in the honors chem program at my school and the profs and TAs are really easy going. You also get to know people in your class better(classes have less than 40 kids); I made a lot of friends in the class. There's also a hidden rule that nobody likes to talk about-since the class is an honors class, a lot of people get A's-so if the grades are low, the prof curves big time.

cool; thanks for this information.
i was waiting for a response as frank as yours.

 

[ChubbyChaser]

THe honors program was useless. It was supposed to challenge me intellectually...but I just wasnt feeling a study of Gothic literature...So I dropped that quick. Everyone else I talked to said it was pointless as well.

 

[RSAgator]

I think it should be pretty clear that honors programs differ from school to school. Do it if you want to, if the classes interest you, if the benefits interest you, but I don't think it's too significant.

 

[kypdurron5]

It depends on your program...but I'm really glad I didn't do it. It's just another one-liner on your application that in reality probably doesn't account for all that much...especially if you already have good grades (by the time you apply). At my school it requires a research thesis with some kind of paper, project, or presentation as a final requirement before graduation (in addition to x hours of honor classes, etc.). I had a higher GPA than a lot of people I knew that were in the honors program...it's not because they're in the honors program, it's just because almost anyone can do it if you do the work and meet minimum grade levels. So anyway, in my book it really doesn't mean anything in the long run, and it's more stress than you need at the undergrad level. PS- no one cares that I have an "honors" diploma from high school either... >).

 

[tiedyeddog]

Yep, honors programs differ widely depending on the school. At my university, the honors classes are the same exact classes as non-honors except they require a huge amount of mind-numbing busy work. (How about a 9 page paper on pill bugs for general biology honors?) Ask some kids in honors at your school. While I would have loved to be honors just for the ability to register early, I dropped it because the classes were easier in the non-honors cirriculum.

 

[bubbylover]

i say go for it. some of my best memories from undergrad were the great discussions we had in honors courses. not to mention a lot of the professors became friends who gave me great recommendations. i still keep in touch with a few. the classes are actually easier, because the profs really get to know you so it's hard to not learn the material better. they see you as more than just another face in the crowd and want you to succeed and truly grow as a student. these professors have most times been chosen for their great teaching ability so you get a lot more for your money than you would in an ordinary, impersonal lecture hall. you make great friends because of the sense of community in your classes. you are meeting people who are not necessarily simply motivated but are offbeat and refreshing. finally, you may get to take some really offbeat classes that are not offered outside of the honors curriculum - classes that, for me, illustrate what the college experience is supposed to offer.

so yeah, i loved my experience with honors .

 

[randomized1df374d41]

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[redlight]

Yep, honors programs differ widely depending on the school. At my university, the honors classes are the same exact classes as non-honors except they require a huge amount of mind-numbing busy work. (How about a 9 page paper on pill bugs for general biology honors?) Ask some kids in honors at your school. While I would have loved to be honors just for the ability to register early, I dropped it because the classes were easier in the non-honors cirriculum.

LOL
thats terrible

 

[Ashers]

Yep, honors programs differ widely depending on the school. At my university, the honors classes are the same exact classes as non-honors except they require a huge amount of mind-numbing busy work. (How about a 9 page paper on pill bugs for general biology honors?) Ask some kids in honors at your school. While I would have loved to be honors just for the ability to register early, I dropped it because the classes were easier in the non-honors cirriculum.

Some of mine were similar with the busy work. I dropped honors intro bio because we had to read novels and write book report type things. Honors gen chem (which I took as a freshman), was the hardest class I had in college. I quickly stopped taking general science courses as honors. I turned humanities courses into honors classes, that usually required 1 additional paper. We could also take grad level classes as an honors class; which I did for immunology (arguably, one of the best science classes I had).

My roommate was in the honors college for her entire time at college too, and she didn't take an honors class at all; she maintained her GPA to register early.

Find out what benefits are at your honors college. Mine was good.

 

[moe_4eva]

Dude...The honors courses are much easier than normal courses. The profs are 400000000 times better and they treat you like a baby. I'm in the honors chem program at my school and the profs and TAs are really easy going. You also get to know people in your class better(classes have less than 40 kids); I made a lot of friends in the class. There's also a hidden rule that nobody likes to talk about-since the class is an honors class, a lot of people get A's-so if the grades are low, the prof curves big time.

Definitely program dependent. Honors students at my UG had to take 20-25 credits a semester, were required to do extra projects for classes that weren't honors, etc. etc. Around half of the people in the program had to quit due to the strain it put on their GPA (most of them were premeds who overextended themselves). Still, 16 credits a semester was definitely a full course load. I can't imagine adding on another 2 full classes a week. That would have been the end of any social life, for sure.

 

[CuyahogaMD2B]

If I have been accepted into the university honors program at the school I will be attending next semester; is it worth it to partake in that program? I will have to take an honors course every semester till I graduate. Is the extra work worth the gain?

This program was definitely worth it for me. I easily completed the honors courses and they were a welcome break from the science courses. They were pretty interesting too. They required some extra reading and writing but they were not a burden at all.

 

[RapplixGmed]

Definitely program dependent. Honors students at my UG had to take 20-25 credits a semester, were required to do extra projects for classes that weren't honors, etc. etc. Around half of the people in the program had to quit due to the strain it put on their GPA (most of them were premeds who overextended themselves). Still, 16 credits a semester was definitely a full course load. I can't imagine adding on another 2 full classes a week. That would have been the end of any social life, for sure.

HOLY CRAP . I'd refuse to do any program that required that many credits. The only exception is if the classes were exceptionally easy... or if your credit count is inflated (ie, a normal lecture course is 4 credits instead of 3) At my school, they will not allow anybody to take more than 21 credits without very special permission from the dean.

 

[kypdurron5]

HOLY CRAP . I'd refuse to do any program that required that many credits. The only exception is if the classes were exceptionally easy... or if your credit count is inflated (ie, a normal lecture course is 4 credits instead of 3) At my school, they will not allow anybody to take more than 21 credits without very special permission from the dean.

I don't think 16 is too high for an honors program, however, it doesn't leave any room for drops. I found 15 hours to be a little on the light side, and never did less than 15. Most schools top out at 21; more for financial reasons than anything else (taking more classes, but paying same amount of money). BUT, it depends what courses you're taking- I had a 17-18 hour semester that almost killed me because I had genetics, immunology, comparative vertebrate zoology (most difficult class in my life), and biogeography all in the same semester (in addition to OChem 1, which wasn't exactly easy). There were times when I had 3 tests on one day. Oh, I was working 20 hours/week too.

 

[tiedyeddog]

You should definitely do it. If you cant handle maintaining a good gpa in an undergrad honors program, what makes you think you can pass medical school classes? Also, with how competitive things are, it would be foolish not to. Do you really want to be opening your final rejection letter and think sh** what if I would have done honors? Plus, if you get to write a thesis (I know it sounds bad) you get an opportunity to show initiative, intellectual curiosity, leadership, and sheer sticktoitiveness. Also, if there are other applicants form your school or if the honors program is otherwise known of, an adcom member may ask why didnt they?

Uh, ok. Based on the apparent huge amount of variance in this thread alone on the idea of how "hard" honors is, I'd guess honor's isn't going to make or break an applicant.

Also, You can do a "thesis" without honors. I'm doing one without it. You just need a PI to help you. If you can join honors and just ride it for early registration, it's worth it. I didn't get in honors until my second quarter (ACT was too low...) but then I still rejected it because of the insane amount of courses you needed to take in order to keep it after your sophmore year(Which meant I'd have to take an honors pre-req...death.) I've never heard of an adcom asking why you didn't honors. Even if they did, I'm sure any response that made decent sense would suffice... Think about it, adcoms let art majors into med school...

Also, I'm a microbiology major. There aren't ANY honor microbiolgy class. So, I'd joined honors to take a bunch of sociology and art history honor classes? I like microbiology.. not art history. If you major has tons of honor classes, go for it. They're smaller and more unique. However, don't use sweeping generlizations to decide to do honors. Maybe you should join honors as an incoming freshman and then scope it out. If it's not worth it, drop it....

 

[futuredrcrawfor]

If honors is something you want do it- if not I don't think it makes a huge difference...

At my school honors kids have special symposium classes for all their free electives and so I opted to take the electives I wanted and not do the honors route. I still graduate with honors and I have other honor cords for special research project and organizational stuff. And I might have a minor too which wouldn't happen if I did honors courses. It is your education make the most of it!

Good luck making the decision!

 

[randomized1df374d41]

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[paranoid_eyes]

just to lay it straight, honors doesn't count for s*** on your medical school application. i would equate it to "dean's list"

if you are truly interested, then do it. if not, the effort you have to put is not worth it...

 

[tiedyeddog]

just to lay it straight, honors doesn't count for s*** on your medical school application. i would equate it to "dean's list"

if you are truly interested, then do it. if not, the effort you have to put is not worth it...

Exactly. Join it and do it because you want to. It won't keep you out of medical school, saying so just puts needless fear into senior high schooler's hearts. I'm not going to get into a pissing contest over my collegiate abilities, but doing honors does not equate to making you more ready for medical school. I'd bet most honor's non-science classes are still half as hard as biochem and o-chem...

Plus, a high non-honors GPA beats a lower honors GPA any day...

 

[riverwoman1040]

for those who are in or have completed an honors program:
do you feel your GPA has suffered due to your choice to be in the honors program?

I actually think our honors program helped my GPA. The classes weren't easier, but they were SO much more interesting and so it was a lot easier to stay motivated in them. Where most of my classes first and second year were huge (bigger than my high school graduating class) my honors classes were tiny. The professors were people who actually wanted to teach, and the other students were more interesting. What I really loved was that the material was more interesting. I ended up with A's in all of my honors classes, and I certainly didn't have a 4.0 overall. I'm sure it depends on the school, but I highly recommend the honors program to everyone going to my alma mater.