D20 applied to honors colleges/programs at each public; she liked the idea of the larger college atmosphere but wanted a smaller, close-knit, academically challenging community within the larger school experience. All honors colleges/programs were not created equal. Some programs didn’t have many options for classes or didn’t have many engagement opportunities.
What she looked at when deciding:
- Honors class availability across gen eds and her major; she tried to take honors sections in most classes, including her engineering classes. She knew these opportunities would become less necessary in the higher level engineering classes, but felt it would be most beneficial her first two years.
- Perks: scheduling priority, grants, study/lounge spaces with career and social events. She doesn’t live on campus and wanted a central spot on campus to use as a home base during the day. She also looked for social activities, seminars, educational enrichment opportunities, etc.
- Dedicated academic and career advisors for the honors college
- Good national reputation for the honors college
- Unique opportunities; for example she was chosen and participated in a research program for HC students as an incoming freshman, which gave her a jump start for networking and some great hands-on experience.
- No thesis required. Could she do one, yes; did she want to balance that and MechE, no
Overall, she felt it was very helpful her first two years. Now as a junior it’s less “important” to her, as she’s knee deep in her major with naturally smaller classes, but it definitely helped shrink the campus.