Pitt Honors vs. Rutgers Honors College

Pre- PT. What would be your choice?

If you plan on grad school I would go with whoever is cheaper. However if money is not a factor and your basing your decision fully on academics, choos pitt(my username has no affiliation to the school lol)… They are both very good schools with many opportunities but choose whoever you like better. The pitt honors college isn’t to helpful as many others can live in the honors dorm and take honors classes. Overall, just choose which ever you like more and will be cheaper. Good luck

What’s in-state for you? What’s your net price at each and what’s your parents’ budget?

RU is in state. Because of scholarship dollars, Pitt is about 10K more than RU. We can swing Pitt, but it would be much nicer to pay RU’s tuition.

Honors colleges re often oversold with glossy pamphlets implying a small LAC has been set up inside the larger university giving ann elite private education at the public school price.

Depending on the program offerings may range from separate honors classes to taking just one honors seminar per semester. And some of the “honors” offerings may just be a special discussion section of the regular class (at many U’s you meet 2-3x a week in a large class with the prof, then everyone meets weekly in a discussion section with a TA). You really need to spend some time on their websites to find each of these offers.

Pit Honors is excellent; Rutgers Honors is new but they went all out to try and keep top students instate. First, investigate the number of actual honors classes at freshman and sophomore level, both for gen eds and beginning entrance-to-major courses. Second, check if there is priority registration. Third, check out the Honors Dorm (in particular, if it’s Honors-only and how nice it is). Fourth, ask about personal advising, fellowship/grant advising, etc. Finally check the requirements to stay in Honors. Perks are always nice, too (special lounge with free printing, field trips, special honors study abroad…)
(After the first 2 years, Honors may no longer be necessary as your child will have made friends, will be engaged on her own, will know the campus, will have “favorite” professors, but it can be essential to the first two years when it’s done well.)

PrePT - you need to get shadowing hours to get admission to PT grad schools and I would think Pitt would have alot of options with multiple hospitals on or near campus. That being said - PT school is another expensive 2-3 yrs post undergrad so maybe saving your $ for that makes sense? Are there guarantee admission perks for either?

What other interests does your kid have if they decide against PT somewhere along the way? Will one of these places serve those interests better and/or will the savings at Rutgers make other options more possible?

$40k is a big chunk toward that first year of PT school, toward living expenses during an unpaid internship, or toward a good vehicle to get your kid to and from wherever the kid needs to be. Talk those ideas over with your kid too.