In our experience, I think we are searching more for honors programs that provide mentorship and the obligation to produce original research under the mentorship of a professor in your major. I also have learned that “honors courses” vary widely, and yes, satisfaction with any of these programs is heavily dependent on the preferences of individual kids. Another factor is the size of the program, 60 kids per year is a very different feel than 30% of the entire university.
Research is an important factor for my kid, both individually and ability to work in the faculty led labs, because successful grad school admissions in her field require such demonstrated interest. Honors class versions of classes you have to take anyway, but smaller and more Socratic, may be of use more than some of the honors programs that have course lists that are filled with extensive offerings I would consider fluff. As a humanities kid, she’s also more drawn to offerings in the classics, great texts and philosophy.
I found this podcast episode on the topic pretty interesting: College Admissions with Mark and Anna: Seizing Opportunities at Honors Programs and Colleges on Apple Podcasts