The main complaint I have is the need for more honors-only classes. The honors contract, where you take a regular class but get honors credit, is so not worth it. The reason I'm in the honors college now is because I want to be surrounded by people who are invested and interested in their classes. When you're in a regular class, you will get many greatly talented people (even if they're non-honors) but you will also be stuck with kids who don't give a damn and just slow everything down.
The biggest plus is the Human Event, though. That's quite an experience.
As for the dorms: they're run down, but I really have no complaints. They're quiet (sometimes too quiet!) and there are community showers, but I'm in college; I'm not looking for a 5 star hotel experience Some people are though, in which case I would recommend Hassayampa.
worried_momRegistered UserPosts: 2,205Senior Member
Regarding the run-down condition of ASU's Honors dorms --
Don't forget that Barrett Honors College has only one more year (2008-09) in its existing dorm complex. In the fall 0f 2009, BHC will move into a brand new "honors village" that will include not only new dorms, but also new classrooms, dining halls, and recreational facilities just for BHC students. It's under construction now and will be awesome when it's done. President Crow has put a lot of money into BHC.
hi! i'm a high school senior considering barrett on the national merit scholarship and this thread has been immensely helpful in aiding me with my decision..thanks!
i have just a couple of questions right now and i would appreciate if anyone could answer them..
-as an honors student, do you feel like you are constantly being academically challenged. i know that you are mostly surrounded by other honors students but do you feel like your classes are mentally stimulating/as mentally stimulating as what you would experience at a more prestigious private university?
-what's the social atmosphere like among barrett kids?
-what are the differences between the phoenix campus and the tempe campus? if i enrolled at asu i would be entering as a journalism major at the cronkite school..which i think is in phoenix.
csquaredx...
I think that, if you take as many honors courses as you can, your Barrett experience can be every bit as fulfilling as the experience you would get at a prestigious, private university. I actually transferred from Vassar, which is a elite, private liberal arts college on the East Coast. The bottom line: I prefer ASU. Because I'm not paying as much for tuition (less than $5k a semester, vs. Vassar's $48k) my parents are willing to pay for study abroad stuff. With the national merit scholarship, you will be able to take advantage of those opportunities as well! There are great trips (for seven honors credits!) to Greece, France, Russia, and China every summer with Barrett ONLY students...meaning you will be stuck with people who value learning and are as passionate about their classes as you are
Furthermore, I do honestly feel like I'm being academically challenged. The Human Event, a seminar that every honors student has to take, has been a lot of fun... but you also have to work at it. For me, that's definitely positive. Unfortunately, because I transferred, I couldn't take advantage of priority registration and was therefore stuck with a few non-honors classes that are really boring. However, priority reg. is guaranteed for all honors students, so you should have no problem getting the honors classes you want. They are taught by some great professors.
The social aspect of Barrett is a lot of fun as well. It's like this little hub of intelligent, fun people within a huge research university. This isn't to say that non-honors students aren't smart (there are brilliant students who just don't feel like going the honors route) but you will, in general, be surrounded by people who love to learn for the sake of learning.
I think the best way to get the full Barrett experience is to live on the Tempe campus, in the honors complex. That's why I think it's a pity that the journ. school is moving to Phoenix. I was hugely involved in journalism in high school though, and so I'd urge you to consider other majors besides journalism. To be a good journalist, you can always major in something broad and then go on to become a broadcast/print journalist. That way, you could also get hte cool experience of living on the Tempe campus Still, if you have your heart set on journalism, you should go with that.
I live in Phoenix and the truth is that the school is struggling and has had to "dumb down" the curriculum because the quality of students is so poor. Sorry, not trying to start something, but it is general knowledge and often spoken about within the writers circles here in Arizona.
At one time the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism was considered one of the best in the nation, unfortunately, because of Arizona trying to keep it's local students, it's quality has quickly fallen and the professors we know there are very discouraged about the future of the program.
Many of the better professors have been looking elsewhere for new teaching positions because they are so disgusted by the lack of work ethic and quality of student that now attends the university.
From what we know, both U of A and AU are struggling to keep good students. It appears that many of the brighter students transfer out after their first year there because the courses are not challenging enough. (My dad knows most of the Pros there in those departments.)
Hope this helps.
I can't speak for the Cronkite school, but I have not noticed this problem in any other area of the university, especially not in the honors college or the business school.The top students here tend to take advantage of special opportunities such as individualized instruction, research assistantships, and specialized pre-professional programs for business majors (investment banking and consulting).
We live in Flagstaff (appx 3 hrs drive) so ASU is quite appealing for this mom. S will probably major in math, physics or engineering. UA has always had the reputation as a better school for science. Most of the students posting so far seem to be business or english. Any science, math or engineering majors who are in Barrett have any comments?
The son of a good friend majored in a genetics related field and participated in Barrett. I know he really liked the social and academic aspects of the program. He had lots of good internships, but I don't know if those were because of Barrett or if they would have been available to anyone. One advantage for students in Barrett is priority in registering for classes. This should be a benefit to any type of major. Starting this fall, another advantage will be the entirely new housing complex for Barrett students.
D has been accepted to Barrett, and has had quite a few phone calls with the Barrett staff and advisers -- and has been uniformly impressed with their helpfulness and competence. They also very quickly reply to email questions, which is a big plus.
Replies to: Honors College at ASU and U of A
The biggest plus is the Human Event, though. That's quite an experience.
As for the dorms: they're run down, but I really have no complaints. They're quiet (sometimes too quiet!) and there are community showers, but I'm in college; I'm not looking for a 5 star hotel experience
Don't forget that Barrett Honors College has only one more year (2008-09) in its existing dorm complex. In the fall 0f 2009, BHC will move into a brand new "honors village" that will include not only new dorms, but also new classrooms, dining halls, and recreational facilities just for BHC students. It's under construction now and will be awesome when it's done. President Crow has put a lot of money into BHC.
i have just a couple of questions right now and i would appreciate if anyone could answer them..
-as an honors student, do you feel like you are constantly being academically challenged. i know that you are mostly surrounded by other honors students but do you feel like your classes are mentally stimulating/as mentally stimulating as what you would experience at a more prestigious private university?
-what's the social atmosphere like among barrett kids?
-what are the differences between the phoenix campus and the tempe campus? if i enrolled at asu i would be entering as a journalism major at the cronkite school..which i think is in phoenix.
thanks!! any help would be much appreciated
I think that, if you take as many honors courses as you can, your Barrett experience can be every bit as fulfilling as the experience you would get at a prestigious, private university. I actually transferred from Vassar, which is a elite, private liberal arts college on the East Coast. The bottom line: I prefer ASU. Because I'm not paying as much for tuition (less than $5k a semester, vs. Vassar's $48k) my parents are willing to pay for study abroad stuff. With the national merit scholarship, you will be able to take advantage of those opportunities as well! There are great trips (for seven honors credits!) to Greece, France, Russia, and China every summer with Barrett ONLY students...meaning you will be stuck with people who value learning and are as passionate about their classes as you are
Furthermore, I do honestly feel like I'm being academically challenged. The Human Event, a seminar that every honors student has to take, has been a lot of fun... but you also have to work at it. For me, that's definitely positive. Unfortunately, because I transferred, I couldn't take advantage of priority registration and was therefore stuck with a few non-honors classes that are really boring. However, priority reg. is guaranteed for all honors students, so you should have no problem getting the honors classes you want. They are taught by some great professors.
The social aspect of Barrett is a lot of fun as well. It's like this little hub of intelligent, fun people within a huge research university. This isn't to say that non-honors students aren't smart (there are brilliant students who just don't feel like going the honors route) but you will, in general, be surrounded by people who love to learn for the sake of learning.
I think the best way to get the full Barrett experience is to live on the Tempe campus, in the honors complex. That's why I think it's a pity that the journ. school is moving to Phoenix. I was hugely involved in journalism in high school though, and so I'd urge you to consider other majors besides journalism. To be a good journalist, you can always major in something broad and then go on to become a broadcast/print journalist. That way, you could also get hte cool experience of living on the Tempe campus
At one time the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism was considered one of the best in the nation, unfortunately, because of Arizona trying to keep it's local students, it's quality has quickly fallen and the professors we know there are very discouraged about the future of the program.
Many of the better professors have been looking elsewhere for new teaching positions because they are so disgusted by the lack of work ethic and quality of student that now attends the university.
From what we know, both U of A and AU are struggling to keep good students. It appears that many of the brighter students transfer out after their first year there because the courses are not challenging enough. (My dad knows most of the Pros there in those departments.)
Hope this helps.