<p>Well, another advantage of being in the honors college is that it sometimes comes with financial awards. I also don’t know if you can take honors classes as a freshman without being admitted to the honors college prior to matriculation to Pitt, although they may make exceptions.</p>
<p>The degree you can get through the honors college is the relatively rare B.Phil (Bachelor of Philosophy) as opposed to the standard B.S. (Bachelor of Science) or B.A. (Bachelor of Art). To get a B.Phil, you need to write and defend (in front of a faculty committee) a senior thesis on your own original research. There is also probably a minimum number of honors courses you need to take, but you’d have to check with the honors college itself.</p>