<p>Bird Rock, sorry if this has gotten a little heated. But when you write stuff like, “I get the idea that Pitt’s honors college isn’t much to talk about” you have to remember that some people have a lot invested in the Honors College. As a winner of the chancellors scholarship I know that the UHC has made a big difference to me. I have benefited enormously from the spectacular advising they offer, which has allowed me to challenge myself with courses that few other colleges would have let me take as a freshman. At every step along the way, they have been supportive of my goals and have made me more excited to go to Pitt than I have ever been at any point in my education so far. In fact, I turned down a good financial aid deal from the University of Chicago to be part of the UHC.</p>
<p>I am glad you are not concerned about prestige and I would like to suggests that if this is the case several of your concerns are unfounded. Your concern with anyone being able to take an honors class clearly suggests that you wish the UHC excluded certain people. There could be two reasons that I can think of why you would desire this. Either you wish the UHC to be more exclusive so that it would seem prestigious OR you are worried that including the wrong type of student would take away from the UHC experience. Since you don’t care about prestige, your motive could only be the later. However, as you state, there is a certain penalty to UHC courses. They require extra effort and offer no reward beyond the enjoyment of gaining a deeper knowledge of a certain subject matter. Therefore while anyone CAN take a UHC class the only people who have a reason to do so are people who enjoy learning enough that it outweighs the penalty of the extra work. I would suggests that ANY Pitt student who enjoys learning this much is EXACTLY the right type of student for a UHC class. </p>
<p>Your other major concern is that you are penalized for taking UHC courses. I would say this depends on your perspective. I can’t speak first hand but from what I have heard UHC courses are in fact more work. There is no reward in terms of future grad school admissions. The reward is purely intangible. If that intangible reward of deeper understanding is NOT enough to outweigh the extra work then there IS a penalty. If that intangible reward IS enough to outweigh the work then there is a REWARD for taking an honors class. It is simply a matter of cost benefit analysis. Also, from what I have heard the grading isn’t harder so much as the expectation is higher. If, as a student, you rise to the occasion i don’t believe that your GPA will suffer. Whether the UHC courses offer a reward or penalty to you son is a question only he can answer. </p>
<p>With that said I would be happy to talk to your son this fall after I have experienced some of this first hand. Perhaps i will find out that the UHC really isn’t worth much. However, from the commitment I have personally seen of the students and faculty who participate in and run it, I doubt this will be the case. If you PM me I would be happy to give you my facebook, phone number, and email so you can contact me. Good luck in the college admissions process. It can be tough but there are a lot of great places out there to find. I certainly believe I have found one.</p>