Grand Challenges vs Explore vs Honors Program Living Learning Communities

Coloradomama
Tue, 19 Feb 2019 21:52:49 +0000

I’ll take a stab at it, but i am a parent. The Honors program is largely just housing, freshman live in Hefner and Armstrong dorms on the quieter west side of campus, as freshman and have the option of living in Cresine Hall together as a sophomore, junior and senior. But anyone can live in Cresine, on other floors, so there is little to no actual programming or criteria to live in Cresine Hall as an upper classman, except be able to afford the price tag ! Most students cook together in Cresine, as there are kitchens there, but it costs a lot more than the double room you will have as a freshman at GATech. The meal plan can be dropped if you cook, saving some money though. . My son did not get in from high school, as many straight A students go not make it into this Honors cohort, if they are boys especially, but if you want to live in Cresine Hall as a sophomore, you can apply as a freshman at GaTech and then you can live there.

Any student at GaTech can take honors math classes, you do not need to be part of the honors program. Likewise, any student can socialize with honors students, in freshman year, so its not really necessary to make it into the honors dorm as a freshman.

I think there are a few smaller humanities classes for Honors students, but thats just not needed, as all class sizes
are small at GaTech and all students are smart, so there are no advantages that I can see to the honors program, even though my son got into it, to be sure he could live in Cresine Hall, which is newer, quiet, with kitchens and near the swimming pool and recreation center.

There might be a slight advantage for class registration if you do get into honors, but its minimal, I think, but ask
when you are at GaTech.

Grand Challenges is a more organized program, that asks groups of students to work on a SOCIAL SCIENCE or world problem together, in teams of about 6-8 students. I think Grand Challenges seems more social than Honors, they also live together in a standard freshman dorm (Two beds two desks, two closets, every dorm at GaTech is identical, )

I think if you are a Stamps Scholar, there is special housing so I don’t see a reason to apply for this other housing if you are in a scholarship program, check if there is housing associated with your scholarships, chances are there is housing. But again, ALL FRESHMAN HOUSING AT GATECH is identical, so I don’t really understand the obsession
with special housing at Gatech.

GaTech offers a lot of “gimmick programs” to satisfy students and make them feel special. You will get over that special feeling quickly
as your realize the regular GaTech students who never got into honors are besting you in math class
and actually are better than you in Japanese, math, and maybe in chemistry class as well. Not that its competitive actually, but you are unlikely to be the smartest in every class at GaTech.

You get my drift. All students are smart at GaTech, whether they make it into honors really does not matter.