<p>Most places pay no attention to Honors programs on job application…many don’t even care what your grades were as long as the diploma is legit…some don’t even verify that!) Possible your application to grad/med/law school will go easier with Honors, depending on where you’re headed. Other than that, unless there is a tangible advantage now like super-better dorms or significant scholarship $$$ attached (meaning the Honors $$ would make the difference in college or no college) I would say no way if your kid doesn’t want to do it…3 sons over the last 10 years had Honors programs attached to their scholarship packages, and all the advertised advantages had major downsides including most of those mentioned in previous posts. All 3 boys went to different schools, all 3 schools claimed that “honors” classes did not actually involve more work, just “different, more interesting work.” All 3 sons said that was not true: more work, and mostly boring, too. However, I do know some kids who happily went for Honors programs because it was the only way to get into modern “apartment-style” dorms at one university-they felt the extra work was worth avoiding the 40-60 year old grunge dorms.</p>
<p>My gal was invited into the honors program at a pretty big university - she checked out how it worked and did decide that she would try it out - but… it was the perks that put her into the accepting mode of it LOL - preferred registration - sure helped for freshman year / housing - if she wanted to live in the honors dorm - which she didin’t - she would have had preferred housing - tho she still got priority of choice of any other dorm / smaller classes - which does have its advantaged / free tickets - for special programs offered by the school / 2 advisors - general and honors - who could literally work magic if a problem arose.</p>
<p>After her freshman year tho - she had by this time changed her major and was declaring in a complete different direction - she felt that the extra work would not really be worth it in the final outcome - which she was probably right about.</p>
<p>We were fine with her choice - would have been fine had she not taken the initial invite - but she did benefit from the percs and it did make a big difference in alot of areas for her. </p>
<p>Let your guy make the decision and then respect it for being his choice and don’t be disappointed. If - after his 1st semester he has a change of heart - the opportunity will still be there - unless it is a completely seperate honors college type of thing - then that could be tricky. I think sometimes that freshman have enough on their plates - and adding something they really don’t feel that positive about can literally tip the apple cart. He will still be challanged and will make the college adjustment more on his terms in a way - smile 
and be happy for him.</p>
<p>I second doubleplay’s post.</p>
<p>Does he really have to decide now? Can he go to orientation, look at classes,
talk to some other students/faculty? Does he have an intended major; if not honors classes may help him focus in on what he is interested in. Can he visit and sit in on honors/non-honors classes. My take is that Honors programs make a larger university seam smaller. I wish my DS had been in a more challenging environment as a F. I don’t think he had to work too hard the first year which hurt him in the long run.</p>
<p>As others have pointed out, it really does depend on the student and on the particular program. Also, when we went to an Honors session at our state flagship last year they made a point of stressing that being in the honors program is not the same as graduating with Latin Honors (at that school you do not need to be in the honors program during the first 2 years in order to apply for the upper division honors program that is required in order to graduate with Latin honors). If anything I would expect it is the Latin honors that anybody would pay attention to after college. S was a strong B-B+ student in hs and received a merit scholarship from the school he ended up at that would have been no different had he gone into their honors program but the honors program requires that he maintain a higher GPA than the scholarship does. And as en engineering student where liberal arts courses are not his strongest area, he felt he needed a little more room for an occasional B or - heaven forbid - even a C! I’d rather see him develop a true passion for what he loves more than being challenged in courses he’s not really interested in.</p>
<p>…I’d rather see him develop a true passion for what he loves more than being challenged in courses he’s not really interested in…</p>
<p>^^ I think this the crux of the whole honors thing - totally agree :)</p>
<p>Find out if he really has to take every class as an honors class. At my son’s school, he only has to take a certain number, and like I said before, he’s only taking his math and science classes as honors- because he likes that they’re smaller and the teaching is better. As far as english, humanities, and social science- he AP-ed out of as many of them as possible. Also, you can drop out of the honors program if you don’t like it. Not sure if you can get in after the fact though.</p>
<p>Also, at his school, non-honors students can register for honors classes as well, but only after honors students have had the first shot at them (if there’s room left).</p>
<p>He definitely did not go for the honors program because of diploma issues or employment prospects. That was the furthest thing on his mind.</p>
<p>S got invited to Honors college at his big state u. He never even considered it but not because he is lazy. He has 3 scholarships all with a required gpa to keep them. He also has a major EC that takes a lot of time and requires courses to be taken outside his major. His plate is full and he thought it would be a bad idea to get into classes he wasn’t really interested in that might be more work intensive and risk making lower grades. The honors college dorm at his school is nothing special. So he 's not missing out on anything there. His EC gives him priority registration. I think he made the right decision and never considered forcing him to do otherwise. What leverage would I have had anyway? </p>
<p>Neighbor’s D graduated with IB diploma and ended up going to a small state u. because they gave her the best financial aid package. She was very lukewarm about this school feeling that she was “settling” for less than she had aspired to because of money situation. At orientation, she signed up for all honors classes thinking that it would be a piece of cake for her. It did not turn out to be a piece of cake. Itty Bitty State U gave her way more challenge than she bargained for and she almost lost her scholarship. Luckily, they gave her a semester probation period and she got her gpa back up. She cut down on the honors courses after that scare.</p>
<p>My D was offered honors at the State U. The honor consisted of an honors dorm, pre-registration, and required honors courses - all of which were in the humanities. She ended up going elsewhere but decided even if she went to the State U she would not do honors. She wanted more science courses and fewer humanities. I have no idea why the honors program only included specialized humanities courses.</p>
<p>With every honors program having such varied differences - I would definitely check out exactly how it works at each school one is considering - it can make a difference in deciding if it is right for you.</p>
<p>Depends on the structure and requirements of the honors college or program. Indiana University in Bloomington typically only expects honors students to take one honors course per term. This is a minimal demand/benefit for a lot of advantages. May I ask what school your son is considering? How many courses would he be required to take in the honors curriculum?</p>
<p>I’m a student not a parent but I considered turning down the honors program when I was looking at colleges. I did not and things have worked out so far. I started in the program freshman year to get better housing, more one on one counseling, earlier registration, etc but after the second semester I decided to stop taking honors courses. I am in an engineering program and many of the courses required for the honors degree don’t count AT ALL towards my major(they would for regular students but I came to school with 50 or so credits and had all my electives completed). Because of my advanced standing, my option was to continue with the honors program or graduate early. I chose the second option and will graduate in three years versus the regular 4(or 5, 6, etc that students seem to these days). </p>
<p>I still get all the perks of the honors program but I’m not working towards the degree. I can take honors classes, get the better counseling, and the nicer dorms. My advisor is the dean of my college and he advises AGAINST the honors program for engineering. You focus alot of your time and energy on classes that don’t really matter and in turn, your GPA will probably suffer. Obviously if you’re really exceptional you will be able to do well with engineering AND honors but this normally isn’t the case. It probably depends on your son’s major if it’ll matter for grad school/work prospects/etc…</p>
<p>From other posts, it looks like the OP’s son is attending MSU, which has an enrollment of 35,000undergrad, and requires 1 honors experience per term. At a large school I would think small Honors classes, priority scheduling, and an honor’s advisor would be a huge advantage. My S just had his advisor at another Big Ten school changed this year because she switched to be a honor’s advisor. He said his new advisor is clueless. At a big UNI, not all Profs #1 priority is teaching undergrads. The learning experience is highly dependent on the instructor.</p>
<p>If it is Michigan State U., then try to get your son to enroll in the honors college because it will give him more freedom regarding major design and course requirements. This is an excellent program which requires only one course per semester yet yields housing and distribution (required course) benefits. Also the Honors College at MSU has over 2,600 students.</p>
<p>I agree. If it IS MSU, the honors college is absolutely the way to go! Everyone I know who is in the honors college feels it is the very best way to experience MSU, and they do not feel overwhelmed academically. I am sure this varies by student, but I can’t imagine anyone invited to be in the hc would have trouble. Plus, the advantages of a smaller school within such a large one are great.</p>
<p>If it’s another school, my answer might be different. My own D chose not to apply to the honors college at one of her possible schools. She just doesn’t want to commit to everything that goes along with it until she gets on campus & figures out just what she wants to do. On the other hand, one of her possible schools may ask her to join its hc when it extends admissions offers in April — that one she would do, due to its particular benefits. So, I guess my answer is: depends on the student & the school!</p>
<p>Is it possible to talk to kids at the school who’ve been in Honors program for awhile? That may give a better picture…my kids were at 2 different large public U’s (one 25,000, one 35,000)and one small/medium public U (10,000.) We later learned that one of the schools was known for disconnected faculty (too much time writing the books & articles and too many undergrad classes taught by grad assistants)–he heard this from some of the Honors kids after he’d started…would have helped to have talked to some of them before! Incidentally, it was fairly common there for the Honors students to drop out of that Honors program…seems like it was only about 1/4 that stayed in the program through Senior year. The other large school had a more engaged faculty.</p>
<p>Waaay back in the day, at my Cal State school, they began an honors GE program midway through my time there. I did not have to apply to be a part of the program, maybe there was a GPA minimum or something, no dorm, no perks, but those are the classes I recall the best- my two science GE classes with 6-20 people in them were a blast.</p>
<p>Had my family known then what I know now about college, I would have not lived at home and attended the local four year school, but would have gone away and challanged myself, so most classes were not incredibly challanging for me, they were work and I had to do the work in order to garner As, but it was not difficult to do so. The honors classes were actually engaging and challanging.</p>
<p>That being said, if I were at a top UC, I am not sure I would have felt the same need for a challenge! Find out if he can take H classes even if he is not in the official program.</p>