Over the weekend, I attended an end-of-year event for an EC my kid has been involved in throughout HS. Each senior was invited on stage and asked: “What are your plans for next year?” Most kids said something simple like, “I’m majoring in Biology at Drexel,” or “I’m going to U Mass for Music Performance.” But one senior said, “I’m going to Penn State (big pause), Schreyer Honors College (big pause), for Engineering.” A number of these students (mine among them) are headed to Honors Colleges (or honors programs within their schools), yet no one mentioned it except this one boy. He seems to be a very nice kid and his mom had previously told me that he was crushed that he hadn’t been admitted to either of his (Ivy) reaches; but I have to admit that I thought it was braggy.
So, is it pretentious to mention the Honors College in addition to the overall school? Does it depend on who’s asking? Does it depend on the school?
My D does not generally mention it, nor do her dad or I. I think that most people who ask her plans are mildly interested and being polite, so I name the school and possibly her intended major. If someone has detailed questions (e.g., if someone has a junior who’s actively looking for more school ideas, and if I suspect the kid has the stats to be considered), I might mention the Honors College. When a friend came right out and asked, “Would you mind telling me what that’s costing you?” I explained that D’s costs were lower because of merit money and that the Honors College played a big role in her decision.
I did insist that D mention it in her thank you notes to the teachers who wrote her LORs because they had to follow a special format for her HC application, so I wanted them to know that their extra effort was worth it. Plus that is an academic setting so I thought it was appropriate. But for casual social interactions? Not so much. Opinions welcome. . .
Put it on the resume. Otherwise just pretentious.
Anybody can mention anything they wish, there is nothing wrong with bragging either, I loove to brag myself. I do not care much if others thinks that it is pretentious, it looks like that boy did not care either. Good for him!
It doesn’t strike me as braggy; when i hear it it usually comes across as kind of defensive, like “I know you probably think this school is beneath ds, but he did make it in the honors college so it’s not as bad as you think.”
Depends. Some Big State Us have well known honors programs and so naming them is a part of the experience and may have driven the choice----a kid who got into Plan II at UT, for example. After the first year and the initial excitement, though, I think it is time to just say “I go to Big State U.” If the conversation continues on to what the kid is studying or details, then it would be okay to offer up that he is a 40 Acres Scholar or on a full athletic scholarship or whatever.
At an honors assembly, I think it is fine to list all the honors. Now when this kid meets someone next year, he can just say he goes to Penn State.
I know many people who constantly say their kids are in AP Chem, or Honors band, and yes of course in the honors college or program at the university. When one is bragging in front of a roomful of other high achieving teens and their parents, you need to be extra special to impress them and this kid was just trying too hard. I was so tired of hearing ‘AP’ that I never said my kids were in a class, I’d just say chemistry.
A friend (and she really is a friend because I’ve learned to ignore her put downs) is always trying to let it be known to me how much things cost, how rare something is her children have achieved, how much smarter her kids are than mine. Her daughter did get into a ‘top tier’ school, and I know this because she said ‘top tier’ as many times as she could in any conversation (after giving the sad sigh when I said where my child is attending). Now her daughter couldn’t return to the ‘top tier’ school because of medical reasons, and is doing fine at the local college, but they won’t let go of ‘top tier’ and hope to return to it. Both of my kids are doing just fine at their regular colleges.
My daughter did have perfect attendance in Kindergarten. Can I still brag about that?
At this sort of ceremony I think it’s perfectly appropriate to mention the honors college. I also think as an educational thing it’s not a bad idea for parents to put it out there to parents of rising seniors - who may not even realize that this is a very viable option for kids who can’t afford or don’t get into more selective schools.
I think it would less braggy for twoinanddone’s friend to just say her daughter is going to what over the school name is than having to continually describe it as a top tier school.
Why is this braggy? And why would it never be appropriate to mention this, either to people who ask or any way that the kids or parents want to? I don’t see why it should matter so much to the OP. No one is forcing her or anyone in her family to say more than they want to.
And yes, @twoinanddone, it’s perfectly fine to keep bragging about perfect attendance in Kindergarten!
I don’t view it as bragging - the student was asked to say what he/she doing next year. Schreyer has components that make it a different academic package. When my daughter was applying, students from around here (and under the circumstances the OP mentioned, where a student was asked) would have gone so far as to say that they were going to Penn State main campus to differentiate themselves from students going to one of the satellite campuses. That may have been pushing it a bit but I heard it numerous times.
I go to Penn State Schreyer and that’s exactly what I say when I’m talking to someone in depth. I don’t feel the need to shoehorn it into every conversation, but if we’re talking about college, why not say precisely what I’m doing? It’s like “Penn State, main campus” in a way. People say that. It’s specifying.
ETA: Haha, elleneast already mentioned the “main campus” similarity. Pretend I just said “I agree.” 
I thought the whole purpose of end-of-the-year events was to celebrate the accomplishments of the students. Who, in their right mind, would be ready to jump on them for mentioning something like this?
Exactly. The kids around here generally mention “honors college” as applicable when they announce where they will be going to school. They will also mention special merit-based scholarships, whether a student is admitted to Penn State main campus, and specialty schools within large state universities.
I mention it every chance I get. Not because I am trying to brag, but because so many people when we tell them where DD is going act stunned and wonder why she would go there instead of our top ranked “Public Ivy”. One friend went so far as to tell her that her choice was a joke. By adding in the Honors College and Engineering major I hope to blunt some of that.
Often, I think kids just don’t know what to say when they are suddenly thrust on stage, so they often follow the script of the kid preceding them. If the first student just said, “I’m going to X college and I’m going to major in 123” (let’s say this child did NOT get into an Honors college), then chances are the following student will say “I’m going to Z college and I’m majoring in ABC”. Now, when a child who is going to an honors college comes to the stage, it may just not occur to him or her to say “I’ll be attending ABC University, Honors College, majoring in 123”.
It sounds like that one child thought through what he wanted to say (and it may have taken him a while), ignoring what was said before him. I’m not going to put him down for that. Applaud and smile.
TV4caster is an example of what I’m talking about in my post no. 3.
I don’t see what’s possibly braggy about this. The kid was asked his plans, he said his plans.
I don’t see the big deal. I wasn’t in our HC but I certainly said which residential college I was in. This doesn’t seem any different.
Smile, congratulate (if appropriate), and move on.
Agree with @TV4caster - around here, people might raise eyebrows and ask questions if a student who is a NMF or commended student (these are announced) and/or has gotten one or more significant awards (these are also announced) is attending a school where stats of admitted students are, on the whole, significantly lower. Announcing an honors college admit, a specialty school, and/or a major scholarship generally heads off most of the questions.
Besides, our community likes to celebrate these sorts of things, just as we celebrate elite school admits. Students admitted to Harvard do not say they will be attending school “in Cambridge” either. Btw, these events are not mandatory.
No matter what the kid says, I’d applaud. Community College? Yay! Princeton? Yay! Big/Little State U? Yay! Flagship Honors College in 123 major? Yay! LAC you’ve never heard of? Yay!
OP back, and I appreciate the various viewpoints. Despite my best efforts, I can be judgmental, and I couldn’t quite pinpoint why I found this annoying. Upon reflection, I agree with the comment from @Youdon’tsay that it was a defensive answer by this student. This isn’t a kid who’s delighted with his Schreyer’s acceptance and was just bursting with pride; it is, at best, a consolation prize because he didn’t get into the schools he really wanted to attend. I think now that the reason his answer dismayed me is because I knew the backstory. Hopefully others were just happy for him.
To clarify, this was NOT an academic assembly; it was an end-of-year dinner related to a music EC with kids from a number of different area high schools. Certainly my D’s high school awards assembly will highlight HC acceptances as well as merit and athletic scholarships; they even list them in the graduation program (not all scholarships awarded, just those from the school each student is attending). But that, to me, is an appropriate setting to celebrate academic achievement, and I will be proud to see that designation after her name in that forum.
Also appreciate the suggestion from @mathmom about letting people know in case their child might be interested down the road. I have mentioned the program to a few specific people if I thought their kid might benefit from the info, and I have suggested the school on a few CC posts where students are looking for more options. I am so grateful that she found this school (from a CC thread, no less) and so maybe I could be more active in talking it up.
Finally, perhaps I am (and definitely my D is) too sensitive to potentially slighting other kids. Although my D chose her school because she got into its Honors College, there are many other kids (several from her HS) who are very happy to have been admitted at all. I would never want to make it sound like the school was not good enough for my kid without that HC acceptance.