I’ll take a stab at answering your questions but I hope others will correct me if I’m I wrong!
- you have to apply to the honors college, it’s not automatic but I think all NMF that apply are accepted
- here are the requirements to graduate with honors
http://www.ou.edu/content/honors/apply.html
there are honor classes offered in a variety of majors. My D is a meteorology major so she plans to take METR 2013: Introduction to Meteorology I (3) (Honors) this satisfies both a required class for her major and and honors requirement. She also plans to take MUNM 1113, Understanding Music (Honors) (3) this satisfies a requirement for a core course, an honors course and a required course for her minor. Picking honors class is a bit like putting together a jigsaw puzzle! - There is an Honors dorm but anyone can sign up for it and it’s not just for freshmen.
- Historically many upperclassmen move off campus after freshman year (it’s much cheaper!) The residential colleges they are building is an effort to keep more upperclassmen on campus. You do not have to live in the honors college dorm to be in the honors college. My D will be on the NM floor of Walker tower for a dorm freshman year. She plans to look into a job as an RA as an upperclassman but if that fall through I will strongly encourage her to look into the new Residential College dorms as I think they are a great idea.