Regional colleges and universities starting honors colleges

Parents Forum
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<p><a href=“http://www.heraldbanner.com/local/local_story_145000810[/url]”>http://www.heraldbanner.com/local/local_story_145000810&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>A&M-C program gains top three GHS students</p>

<p>By Mary Lou Hazal and Lorraine Pace</p>

<p>A&M-Commerce News Service</p>

<p>COMMERCE – The top three students at Greenville High School are among the first 50 students entering the new Texas A&M University-Commerce Honors College this fall. This is the first time that all three of the top achievers in the graduating class at the Greenville school will be attending A&M-Commerce.</p>

<p>Valedictorian Valerie Peckham, salutatorian Kendra Camblin, and Caroline Boshart, who will receive their high school diplomas on Saturday are all receiving paid tuition, fees, room and board to A&M-Commerce, as well as $1,000 for books each year as part of the Honors College award.</p>

<p>…</p>

<p>All of the students in the Honors College will be living in the same apartment complex for their freshman year.</p>

<p>A drill team officer for two years and editor of the GHS yearbook, Camblin considered going to other universities in Texas but decided to join the first group of students in the Honors College.</p>

<p>Taking the same courses with a group of students, having an opportunity to study with them, and living together appealed to Camblin.</p>

<p>“The fact it’s paid for just adds to it. This was just one of those things you can’t pass up, plus it’s close to home,” said the GHS salutatorian whose sister, Kalina Collier, earned her degree in psychology from A&M-Commerce earlier this month.</p>

<p>Dr. Raymond Green, who heads up the Honors College at A&M-Commerce, is excited by the overwhelming interest that has been shown throughout Texas and beyond. He has rolled out the red carpet for the Honors College students.</p>

<p>“I could talk to these students every day of my life,” he said. “These are top-caliber kids who are incredibly bright and motivated. They say, ‘I don’t want to take that course because it’s too easy, I want to be in calculus.’”</p>

<p>Green encourages high school students who are among the top students in Texas to join the Honors College.</p>

<p>“While it will be academic and intellectually challenging, it will also include field trips to places like the Dallas Museum of Art, and we will encourage our students to join outdoor adventure excursions sponsored by the Morris Recreation Center to places like the Grand Canyon,” he added. “We are going to do everything we can to see that our students succeed.”</p>

<p>The ultimate goal of the A&M-Commerce Honors College expects to have about 200 students participating each year. As part of the Honors College, students will all be housed together in accommodation offering a swimming pool, 24-hour coffee bar and computer room, gym, game room, and big-screen lounge area. </p>

<p>Each apartment is fully equipped with a kitchen and washer and dryer hookups. The Honors College Office will be housed in the same apartment block.</p>

<p>“The school counselor at Greenville High School has done an amazing job,” Green said. "Their students have come ready to interview for the Honors College in a mature and professional way.</p>

<p>“Overall, we are delighted with the caliber of the students who have applied for the A&M-Commerce Honors College. These are the very best students.,” he added.</p>

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<p>This seems to be the big trend among state universities. They used to get a lot of top students by default, because in-state students and their families considered only list price, but now that people are more aware of what discounts on list price some colleges are willing to offer, the state universities have to add more features to entice top students.</p>

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<p>Wow! A&M-Commerce with an HONORS college! Wow!</p>

<p>You’ve got to hand it to the school. This is probably a great marketing move for them. USN&WR list A&M-Commerce as a Tier 4 school, meaning its in the bottom quartile of all U.S. colleges…plus it’s out in the middle of nowhere in Northeast Texas, near Sulphur Springs. To be able to attract top high school students, especially Valedictorians, is incredible.</p>

<p>You have to wonder about these students’ decisions though. In-state tuition at Texas public universities ($4600 at A&M-Commerce) compares well natiionally, so it’s not like they’re saving hundreds of thousands of dollars. Plus, as graduates in the top 10% of their class, they were guaranteed, by law, entry at the main campuses for the University of Texas at Austin or Texas A&M in College Station (or any other public college in Texas), and they would have certainly received finanical aid there, as well. Maybe living close to home was a really big deal for these kids, but it doesn’t seem that going to a much, much better school just a couple of hours further away would have been that big a deal. According to the article, they aren’t even going to live at home anyway.</p>

<p>I wonder what kind of career opportunities these students are foregoing by choosing A&M-Commerce. I don’t mean to be harsh, but as a parent, seeing a kid work hard enough in high school to graduate at or near the very top of the class, guaranteeing them a spot at any of the very best public universities in Texas, and then to see them choosing a school like A&M-Commerce… it just makes me cringe.</p>

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<p>Well, Darius your post makes me cringe. There are many families here looking for just such a program who you have just insulted. Good job. </p>

<p>Additionally your statement that these kids certainly would have received “financial aid” at the better Texas publics shows a total lack of understanding about the Texas higher education system. There is very little merit aid in Texas public schools (the val gets a 1 year tuition exemption) and very little of that is based on rank. (For example my D’s school has sent 100 top 10 ranked kids to A+M and Texas in the past few years and there have been a mere handful of scholarships) Texas Tech for example allowed $4K a year (Presidential Endowed) for my D who had a 35 ACT and was val. For my D UT-Dallas (McDermott Scholarship) would have been $10-14k a year cheaper in years 2,3, and 4 and a few thousand cheaper in year 1 than Tech, A+M, and Texas. That’s serious coin to many families. Maybe not to yours but $30-50K gets most people’s attention.</p>

<p>Additionally, there are some kids who just don’t like A+M or Texas. Graduating debt free from college means a lot to some kids, and a free ride means a lot to others. Your value judgments aren’t real important to them . This site is for them also. </p>

<p>I know nothing about this school or this program but I do know that our sal two years ago went to UT-D on a McDermott (Full-ride + research + summer travel ++++++) and last I heard is loving it and getting a great education. </p>

<p>Try to be a little more understanding.</p>

<p>And as for middle of nowhere, it’s about 2 hours from 4-5 million people. Take a look at Cornell or Grinnell or Colgate or Hamilton or Bates or …well, you get it I’m sure.</p>

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<p>We must have something in the air. All these posts trashing kids with SAT’s only 250 points above the norm and trashing kids who take full-rides at lesser known state schools. We used to do a better job of self-policing this kind of thing. Not every kid here is elite. Not every school discussed needs to be elite, either. Not every family can afford their EFC as calculated. And we certainly don’t need to be insulting. Sheesh. This is not our best side.</p>

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<p>I agree w/curmudgeon. After peeking at this site over the last few months I have come to the conclusion we are ALL fretting a little too much on some rankings that in the grand scheme of things don’t matter. My spouse and I are professionals, educated in the Texas state school system. We are living the “American dream” that so many are striving for… courtesy of state schools. We look at our fellow professionals in our practice. There are 1 or 2 Ivy leaguers, but the vast majority are state school grads before the professional schools–and some are from the lower tier schools. The big difference between the folks who went to the more prestigious schools and us is about $150 k in debt–in our favor. We have friends who have the same expensive toys and hobbies as us, some courtesy of such lower ranked schools as the University of Houston-Clear Lake and Sam Houston State. The truth that the magazines don’t say is that by your second job, the college shouldn’t matter, anymore than your class rank and SAT scores should be discussed after June of your high school senior year. My kid is about to depart to the BIG old Texas school. I hope that they make the transition well because I know it can be big and impersonal. I have faith in them and their ability to do well, so we stand by our decision to go to Austin. But for these kids at A&M Commerce–it might be the perfect fit. Lets not second guess some other parents decision, but instead wish them all the best…</p>

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<p>It costs roughly $25K a year to send a kid to UT with all housing and fees. Most of my friends send kids there. A&M Commerce maybe a 4th tier school, but graduates get good jobs in a nice rural environment which suites many of them. My company, a top 10 defense contractor, highers a large number of their graduates.</p>

<p>To a large portion of the population, $5-10K a year is a big deal.</p>

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<p>bandit, btw thanks for posting the story/release and the link. We both know that there are folks on the board who will use this info to their advantage. Even those who are striving for a different (and more selective) level of school may need that “my efc gave me a heart attack” or “primary wage-earner loses job” or “I’m still taking care of granny and there ain’t any money for you” financial safety and for a well credentialled kid, this could be just the ticket. Thanks again. I’ll be mentioning it to our GC today.</p>