<p>How is the OSU Scholars program different from the Residential Learning Communities at alot of other big colleges? At most Universities, you sign up for LC’s with your housing and don’t have to do a seperate app. Why is Scholars a prize?</p>
<p>It is based on grades and ranking, and also comes with a small scholarship ($600 per year).</p>
<p>Take a look:</p>
<p><a href=“http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/[/url]”>http://honors-scholars.osu.edu/</a></p>
<p>Also, you get to register for classes ahead of others in the same college year (i.e., Freshmen, if you’re a first-year) as you (excepting Honor Program students and athletes, if I’m not mistaken…?). When you’re in a class of several thousand people, that can be a handy perk.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of other colleges having LCs, but I don’t know the details about how their LCs work – so I can’t really give a comparison. Beside the $$, registering priority for classes, and the grades/rank mentioned above, the Scholars program really works to immerse you into your field of study. I talked to one of the people working for the LSP (Law, Society, Politics program… I think that’s right) and he explained how Scholars students in that program get a lot of help for learning how to apply for law school when they graduate, get connections, do community service, and so on. Plus, that LC has special classes that only those students are allowed to take, making the class size smaller and more focused on the subject in at hand from a larger perspective (aka English 101 and law) – not sure if other residential learning communities are the same.</p>
<p>Momonthehill, from what my friends in Scholars have told me, you don’t get any scheduling priority, but there are special courses that are reserved only for people in the scholars program.</p>
<p>Saint_Paul is right about immersing you in your field. The Politics, Society and Law (PSL, but close enough) program, for example, not only helps you prepare for law school, but also provides opportunities you can’t get anywhere else. For instance, Wangari Maathai (Nobel Peace Price winner, really awesome, I shouldn’t have to explain) came to speak at OSU (I sat in the front row!!) and the PSL Scholars got invited to her special reception after the speaking engagement, so they could have MET her. In person. I was insanely jealous. They also got to meet the Foreign Press at some exclusive event, and another time they got to speak with a lot of big names in law, like lawyers who argued to the Supreme Court and members of the Ohio SC. Non-Scholars are not invited and don’t hear about it until after the fact, though I don’t think we’re specifically barred from attending.</p>
<p>Anyway, if you are majoring in an area that falls under the Scholars program, I’d say definitely apply. It provides some amazing opportunities, but isn’t worth it if you’re not very interested in that subject. Like, if you don’t really want to be a doctor or biomedical researcher or something, being in the Biological Sciences Scholars program could just be boring. But if you’re passionate about one of the Scholars areas, definitely do it, it’s amazing.</p>
<p>And in response to Saint_Paul again, other residential learning communities are nothing like that. I live in Honors, and we get the priority scheduling, which is awesome, and lots of honors classes are only open to honors students. But it’s not focused on any certain area like Scholars is.</p>
<p>VelaenOscuridad: You’ve been so helpful on these threads, so I don’t want to seem like I’m nitpicking. However, the Scholars program students do get priority class scheduling, at least according to the Honors and Scholars website–this is a quote from the Scholars program site: </p>
<p>“Scholars students also benefit from scheduling for classes at the top of their rank. In the case of a first-year Scholars student, he or she would schedule their classes before most other first years. Likewise, when a Scholars student becomes a sophomore, they would continue to be able to schedule their classes before most of the sophomore class.”</p>
<p>They obviously phrased it better than my own clumsy wording in my previous post. :o And of course the Honors program students and the athletes get a much higher priority scheduling. Still, I imagine that in such a large school it does help.</p>
<p>momonthehill, you are right. Scholars do have scheduling perks. Has your D received her Scholars app or haven’t they come out yet. As per my information, Scholars likes apps who have the ACT requirements of Honors but don’t meet the class rank requirement for Honors.</p>
<p>A dean of engineering told my S and I that the scheduling perks of Scholars are very beneficial.</p>
<p>Deb52: Yes, she started the application online, and will finish up her essay over winter break. And a couple of days ago we received the invitation to Scholars Day. :)</p>
<p>Honors students are directly admitted as freshman to the Business School if that’s their major.
Scholars students, even those accepted to the Business Scholars program are not freshman direct admits. They’re pre-majors and have to apply to a major at Fisher after second year.</p>
<p>Momonthehill, thanks for correcting me. Apparently my friend who’s in Scholars doesn’t know he has priority scheduling! I scheduled almost a month before he did, so I am surprised that most freshmen schedule even later than the freshmen scholars. I scheduled with honors-level sophomores due to AP credits, granted, but I wonder why there is such a big gap between the scheduling sessions.</p>
<p>Do you have to be a business major to be in the business scholars program? Or do you just have to have an interest in business?</p>