<p>Could someone please comment on UNC Honors? How are the classes and can you get smaller class sizes of classes that are normally large lecture settings for those who are not in Honors?
Also, do most Honors students live in Cobb? Is this a freshman dorm or upperclassmen too? Do Honors students hang out a lot at the Johnston Center? Are there other social activities planned for the Honors students during the academic year? Any info that you can offer will be helpful as a final college decision must be made soon!</p>
<p>Yes, you do get much smaller class size (typically 20 or less) in UNC honors classes than the comparable non-honors class. By the way, all UNC students can take honors classes if there is space available. Honors Carolina students do have the chance to enroll in honors classes earlier than the general student population (primarily due to their requirement of a minimum of two honors classes per year). While there are a number of Honors Carolina students that do elect to reside in Cobb, many Honors Carolina first years also live on south campus where the majority of first years reside. Cobb is not exclusively Carolina Honors students and has both first years and upperclassmen (more upperclassmen). It is a VERY convenient location for classes (unless you are a business major) and the libraries. It really is a very nice dorm. It is like living in a 1920/30’s style Art Deco hotel. It was fully renovated back in 2006/7. It has an adjacent parking deck which is popular for upperclassmen and is right next to the tennis and basketball courts. Next door is the Center for Dramatic Arts. I wouldn’t say Johnston Ctr is a hang out spot. It is used for many of the Honors Carolina seminars. You receive emails on a weekly basis from Honors Carolina on upcoming events, activities and invitations (many of which also have a social element). BTW, Cobb also has a number of activities and events for Cobbites. If you haven’t done so already, you should look at the Honors Carolina website. It has quite a bit of information.</p>
<p>On a more general basis, UNC is a fantastic environment. It has the perfect balance of strong academics, school spirit, a beautiful campus, incredible athletics and friendly bright students. I would highly recommend attending.</p>
<p>I second everything NewYawk has said. I should mention, however, that honors course offerings are limited. There are only about 50 or so honors classes to choose from every semester. Some are smaller classes that replace large lectures, some are more advanced or in depth variations of higher level classes, and some are truly unique offerings. What is offered really depends on who is willing and able to design and teach a class in a given semester. However, since students need only take two honors courses per year to complete the honors program (and can take no more than 2 per semester), it isn’t too difficult for most students to find and enroll in honors classes that interest or are helpful to them. The quality of honors classes is also very dependent on who teaches them. This, obviously, is not unique to honors course, but since they are generally small (>25 students), discussion-based classes, a teacher’s weaknesses can be magnified over the course of an hour-long discussion. The honors teachers that I have encountered have all been excellent, and typically, I assume, this holds. Also, I should note that while honors classes tend to be more rigorous (or at least as rigorous) as regular courses, they often have better grade distributions. </p>
<p>Overall, my experience with Honors Carolina has been positive. The course offerings have generally been satisfactory, and I have found the classes to be engaging and rewarding. Through the program, I’ve been invited to listen to a number of speakers, participated in community service projects, dined with prominent faculty members, and received access to a tremendous network of highly active and motivated students. There are a number of reasons to come to Carolina, and many of them were listed by NewYawk. Honors Carolina is one of them</p>
<p>Does it go on your transcript, like “I graduated from UNC Chapel Hill with Honors” or does it just show in the form of various Honors classes that you take?</p>
<p>Also, what about study abroad opportunities? Are they better for those in the Honors program?</p>
<p>You only graduate “with honors” if you complete an honors thesis during your senior year. Completing a thesis has nothing to do with being in the honors program, as people who have never been in the program have the same opportunities to do an honors thesis as people in the program have.</p>
<p>UNC also has a “highest distinction/distinction” designation, which is granted at graduation based solely on GPA (I think the cut off for highest distinction is 3.8). </p>
<p>On the honors program, my experience with it was not as positive as that of some other people on this board. The classes I took were generally pretty good, but the offerings are just very limited. I ended up dropping out of the program after my freshman year (as did lots of other people I knew), because there weren’t enough courses that I wanted/needed to take offered as honors sections. </p>
<p>As for honors people hanging out together, that does happen a lot, but I’m not sure it’s the honors program per se that creates those networks. I think it has more to do with people in the honors program tending to be more involved on campus or involved in similar things and thus getting to know each other in those ways. There are a lot of people who hang out in the same crowd as the honors kids who aren’t in the honors program, and it’s usually because they share similar interests/characteristics, even if they aren’t in the program. In my case, a lot of my friends ended up being honors/scholarship kids, but I didn’t actually meet any of them through the honors program. </p>
<p>I also think people overstate how difficult it is to find small classes without the honors program. There are first year seminars (always small) offered to all students, and I found that I still had plenty of classes of 25 people or less after first year, even without still being in the honors program. </p>
<p>You can also often get into honors classes without being in the program.</p>
<p>Basically, I wouldn’t let your decision on whether or not to go to UNC turn on the honors program. I just think it’s not that great or substantive that it should make that kind of difference in your choice.</p>