What Is An Honors College Should You Enroll In One
If you have great grades and high test scores, some of your prospective universities may invite you to enroll in their honors college. Generally speaking, honors colleges and honors programs at U.S. universities offer top-tier students rigorous academic programs, special scholarships, and better job prospects.
But of course, theres more to an honors college or program than that! Were going to introduce you to honors colleges and honors programs so you can decide whether enrolling in one is right for you. This article will:
- Answer the question, What is an honors college?
- Discuss what types of students might be a good fit for an honors college
- Explain the difference between an honors college vs honors program
- Take an in-depth look at real honors programs at two U.S. universities
- List five pros and cons for enrolling in an honors college
Are you ready? Lets get started!
Feature Image: slgckgc/Flickr
Is An Honours Degree Better Than A Bachelor
It is because the degree is considered more superior than the normal one. It is believed that the honours degrees offer more adequate higher study options and career opportunities to students not just in India but in abroad. Ordinary degrees are also called bachelors degrees and are much common than the other one.
Best Bang For Your Buck Honors Programs And Colleges
If you’re looking to get the most out of your educational dollars, you might consider enrolling in an honors college or program that offers financial assistance. Here are two honors colleges that can give you a top-tier education without breaking the bank.
Macaulay Honors College, City University of New York
- Location: New York City, New York
Macaulay Honors College is the independent honors college housed within the City University of New York . Macaulay is affiliated with eight senior colleges within the CUNY system and has a presence on the following CUNY campuses: Baruch College, Brooklyn College, City College, Hunter College, John Jay College, Lehman College, Queens College, and the College of Staten Island . And guess what? All of these campuses are located in New York City!
CUNY is pretty selectivethe university’s acceptance rate is about 51%. Macaulay itself is also competitive, offering just 520 seats to incoming students across all eight campuses each year. To apply to Macaulay, prospective students must submit a high school transcript, resume, two letters of recommendation, and two maximum 500 word essay responses.
Macaulay’s excellent academicsthey even have a Nobel Prize winner on faculty and its generous financial aid package makes it an excellent value. High-achieving students who have limited funds should definitely consider CUNY’s Macaulay Honors College.
The University of Alabama Honors College
- Location: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
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Domestic Travel And Global Engagement
The honors colleges domestic travel/study program called Great American Cities takes students to interesting locales including New York City, Washington, D.C., New Orleans, and San Francisco. Global engagement programs include travel opportunities, Barrett Global Classroom, GlobalResolve, Distinguished Global Leaders Lecture Series and Distinguished Global Leader Scholar-In-Residence.
What Is An Honors College
Honors colleges and honors programs are supplemental and/or alternative learning programs that undergraduate students can complete while pursuing a traditional bachelor’s degree.
Honors colleges typically function independently within a larger university system, similar to the college of business or the college of arts and sciences at a big university. Additionally, honors colleges typically come with their own funding, facilities, faculty, course offerings, and perks for their students. In many instances, honors colleges can offer their students more rigorous educational opportunities since they serve fewer students and often have better funding than the bigger colleges within a university system.
College honors programs, on the other hand, function like an academic track. Eligible students can follow honors programs’ guidelines to receive a more rigorous education and an honors distinction at graduation. At many universities, these honors programs are managed by individual departments. While honors programs aren’t usually big enough to constitute a college within the university system, honors programs can still offer students the opportunity to take special courses and participate in extracurricular activities that aren’t open to “regular” students.
If you’re still curious about honors college and want to learn more, check out our introductory guide to honors colleges in the United States.
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Tip : Be Ready For An On
Sometimes honors colleges will narrow their applicant pool by inviting select applicants to visit their university’s campus for an in-person interview. There are some great things about being invited to an on-campus interview: you get to meet faculty and current students, and you’ll get to tour the college’s facilities.
There are also some scary things about an interview: namely, it will help admissions officers determine whether you’ll be invited into the program or not.
Does this sound nerve-wracking? Don’t worry: you can take a lot of the anxiety out of the interview process with a little preparation. Our guide to conquering the college interview is a great place to start!
University Of South Florida Honors College
Like Shreyer at Penn State, the Judy Genshaft Honors College is its own school on the USF campus.
The honors college at USF offers the rigorous academic experience of a top-tier research university with the close-knit community that smaller, private institutions are typically known for. That means youll have more demanding classes, smaller class sizes, one-on-one interaction with your professors, and unique opportunities only available to honors students.
The Admissions Process
To become an honors student at USF, prospective students must apply to the University of South Florida before applying to the Judy Genshaft Honors College. While all interested high school students are encouraged to apply, the honors college does take high school GPA and SAT/ACT scores into account. The Honors College has an automatic admission policy for students who meet the following criteria:
- Score 1400 or higher on the SAT, or score 31 or higher on the ACT
- Have a recalculated USF GPA of 4.0
The recalculated GPA portion of USFs honors college admissions process takes your high school GPA and then adjusts for difficulty. To figure out your recalculated GPA, the honors college does the following:
- Adds one-half point for honors courses
- Adds one point for AP, IB,AICE, or Dual Enrollment courses
- Removes any non-academic courses
Graduation
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Con: The Perks Can Vary
Weve mentioned several perks of being an honors college student, like priority registration, select student housing, smaller class sizes, and special on-campus facilities. But before you decide to apply to an honors college, its important to recognize that the nature of these perks will vary from school to school. Most often, the resources and opportunities available to honors college students depend on how well-funded the honors college or program is.
If you want to know exactly what you can expect your experience to be like as an honors student at a particular school, its important to ask a lot of questions about the program before you make any kind of commitment. One easy way to find out all the things you want to know about a specific honors college or program is to get connected with a current honors student at the university youre interested in. Whether its through email, social media, or an in-person campus visit, talking with a student who knows the ropes of a universitys honors program can give you the perspective youre looking for.
What Is Barrett Honors College Known For
Asked by:Lavina Rutherford
Almost certainly the best-known honors college in the nation, the Barrett Honors College at Arizona State is also among the most effective at achieving honors completion, which means that a very high percentage of its students not only graduate but also finish all of their honors requirements, including
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Do Employers Care About Honors College
yes and no, but mostly no. Employers dont hire the same way colleges admit students. If youre at a school theyll consider hiring from and youve hit a certain gpa then youve passed that screen and theyre on to other things that carry more weight, like what you studied, internships and coop experience.
Tip : Learn How You’re Being Evaluated
You can almost always find out the average SAT/ACT scores and GPA of students who are accepted to a school’s honors college before you apply. Many college honors programs have higher requirements for standardized test scores and GPAs that determine whether an applicant qualifies for admission.
Though you shouldn’t necessarily let your GPA, class rank, or standardized test scores deter you from applying to honors colleges, these numbers can help give you an idea of where you stand going into the application process. If your scores and GPA are a lot lower than the honor program’s stated requirements, then you may have a hard time getting in.
On the other hand, some schools no longer take SAT/ACT scores and GPA into account as a part of their honors college applications. These schools are more interested in learning about who you are through written essays and short answer questions. If you’re applying to these schools, you can’t plan to simply rely on a perfect SAT score or 4.0 GPAyou’ll need to make sure you’re a well-rounded candidate before you decide to apply.
The bottom line? Go into the application process knowing how different honors colleges are going to evaluate you and what qualities they’re looking for. This will help you know which components of the application to focus your energy on.
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How Do I Apply To Barrett The Honors College At Asu
| Barrett Honors College |
| Information |
|---|
If you have not already done so, you should first apply to Arizona State University. Within 2-3 days of submitting your university application, you will receive an ASURITE ID and Password that will allow you to begin the separate, free, Barrett application. As a prospective honors college student, be mindful of when you may be considered for admission. Please review the following before starting a Barrett application:
For more information, please visit the Barrett Admissions webpage. |
Graduating With Honors From An Honors College
Colleges want to reward students who graduate from their honors college, meaning that youll get a special distinction once you graduate. And thats pretty great, especially since completing an honors degree takes a lot of hard work!
While you dont have to be in an honors college to graduate with honors, some universities reserve extra special distinctions for honors college graduates. Students who successfully meet the requirements to graduate from their honors college will usually havethe distinctionon their diploma, which indicates theyve received an honors distinction. Honors college graduates may also receive a special medal or regalia to wear at their universitys commencement ceremony to set them apart from their peers.
At most universities, there are three tiers of honors you can receive depending on your final cumulative GPA. The better your GPA, the higher your distinction. Heres a general range of how the distinctions break down, though your schools honors college may do things slightly differently:
| Honors Distinction |
| 3.9 and above |
Like we mentioned earlier, these distinctions are usually printed on your diploma as a sign of your hard work. For example, if you graduate with a 3.85 GPA with a degree in electrical engineering, your diploma may say you earned a Bachelors of Science in Engineering,
Regardless of the tier, getting any version of on your diplomais a reward the hard work it takes to complete an honors program.
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Celebrating Dia De Los Muertos At Barrett Honors College
PHOENIX It was a day of celebration at Barrett, the Honors College, at Arizona State University’s downtown Phoenix campus.
Folks there are kicking of Day of the Dead with the annual traditional altar display.
Day of the dead, or Día de Los Muertos, is a holiday that reunites the living and the dead. Families create ofrendas and place them on altares to honor loved ones who have passed.
I think its a symbol of what Mexico is, said Andrea Hernandez.
Andrea Hernandez is from Mexico and says this is a holiday full of tradiciones that date back thousands of years to Aztec times. A time where Día de Los Muertos was celebrated as a day of purification.
They would offer the life of somebody in order to have wealthiness and be lucky for the rest of the year, she told ABC15.
Día de Los Muertos then evolved when the Spaniards brought the Catholic influence to Mexico, making it more of an intimate family tradition.
It is now a day to remember those we have lost.
Growing up, it was a very nice experience to celebrate Day of the Dead with my family, said Hernandez.
Hernandez now works as a Program Coordinator at Barrett, the Honors College, at ASU and gets to help build the annual ofrenda.
The altares are filled with ofrendas and flores de cempasúchil .
Their bright yellow petals represent the sun and act as a guide for the souls of the dead to return home.
The rest of the family then crosses over on November 2nd, and we cant forget about the alebrijes Mexicanos.
Meeting With A Peer Advisor
Peer Advisors are ASU students who have participated in various types of programs and who are here to help you get started on a journey of your own! They are prepared to help you understand the different types of programs offered, narrow down your program options, guide you on the application process, discuss program costs, and speak about student life abroad.
No appointments are necessary to meet with a Peer Advisor.
- Stop by the Global Education Office anytime Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.
- Visit an International Coordinator during walk-in hours in Student Services Building, Room 278.
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Is The Honor Society Worth Joining
Are Honor Societies Really Worth It? Honor societies often include many social events for networking, which can be beneficial for the future. Honor societies of course come with no guarantees, and unfortunately are sometimes a scam. Those that join these societies can get as much as they put into it.
Pro: You Can Get An Elite Education At An Affordable Price
Honors colleges are a more equitable alternative to elite colleges and universities. Its no secret that most premier universities in the U.S. come with a hefty price tagone that many hardworking families simply cant afford to pay for.
One of the benefits of an honors college is that most provide funding opportunities for both incoming and current students. For example, the University of Utahs honors college offers scholarships that are only available to honors students, and some of the awards are as high as $10,000. Even better: because there are fewer honors students, you have a better shot at actually winning a scholarship.
Additionally, enrolling in an honors college at a public school gives high achieving students the opportunity to receive an elite education they can actually afford. Honors colleges offer the kind of highly specialized, rigorous academics that are the hallmark of the most selective colleges. That means that at some schools, you can get an Ivy-style education for a fraction of the price.
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Con: Honors Students Do More Work
In general, honors college students are going to be doing more work than their non-honors schoolmates. In general, honors courses require more studying, more homework, and more writing.
For example, an honors history class may require you to read more than just a textbook. Your professor may give you academic articles, history books, or even a novel to complement what youre learning in class. And you can expect for your tests and papers to be graded on a tougher rubric, too. Thats because your professors know that as an honors student, youre the best of the best. Its their job to push you to expand your skills…which can translate to a heavier workload.
Honors students also have to do extra work if they want to graduate with distinction. Both Penn State and USF require students to write a thesis or complete a capstone project. This involves more research and writing, much of which has to be done on your own time. That means youll have to fit the extra work in around your already busy schedule. So if you arent ready to take on a heavier workloador if youre not great at juggling multiple projects at oncean honors program may not be the best fit for you.
Exclusive Access To Honors Seminars
Every semester Barrett students have exclusive access to upper-division Honors seminars on a range of special topics according to faculty areas of research interest and expertise. These popular courses explore important issues in history, literature, philosophy, physics, film, anthropology, law, politics, and much more. Upper-division courses also provide Honors students valuable opportunities to continue working closely with Barrett faculty, in small seminar settings beyond The Human Event of History of Ideas, in areas of intellectual inquiry that resonate creatively and synergistically with their majors, minors, or other areas of passion. Many students strategically enroll in upper-division seminars in topics outside of their majors in order to explore new areas of interest and to conduct research that informs their senior thesis.
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