An Overview of Honors Colleges

Many universities around the world are offering students who meet certain academic requirements the opportunity to join their special "honors program." For some universities this includes the opportunity to live in specially designated honors dormitories, places where academically inclined students could possibly find quieter study environments and make friends with other like-minded pupils. Although these honors programs come along with some scholarships, other colleges are marketing their honors programs solely on the basis of its "academic exclusiveness" alone. If you are considering joining the honors program at any university you may be interested in, here are a few issues to be aware of before making your final college decision.

Know the program entry requirements in comparison to the actual admission requirements for that specific university. If the average college admission test scores are and high school grade point averages are fairly low, then simply adding the word "honors" to the front of your description of the program from which you attain your college diploma may have little to no significance at all. However, if the university has fairly decent admission requirements and even more noticeably challenging honors college standards, then graduating from the university's honors program may actually hold more clout. People are more apt to notice what university you receive your degree from and not whether or not you were a part of an honors program or not. If the university is not very academically inclined, then their honors program could possibly mean very little in comparison to a non-honors degree from another university.

Know the university's honors program requirements. Most college's honors program requires members to maintain a certain grade point average throughout all of their years at the college. In addition to this, there are usually certain "honors courses" that students have to take a certain number of hours of; these courses are supposed to offer more intellectually challenging work and less simple busy work than regular courses. However, be careful when evaluating what these classes really can offer you as an honors students. Be wary of honors courses that just require their students to do a certain amount of "volunteer" hours for the program over the course of a semester or courses that require you, the student, to fulfill your honors requirements by tutoring other students in non-honors classes. While volunteering your time and tutoring others is definitely a good way to spend some of your time, they are not activities that you should be required to do simply because you are a part of an honors program. You are most likely paying a good sum of money to attend your university, and you really shouldn't be paying just to do work for the university, whether it will help you graduate with an honors designation or not.

Finally, know what the program can offer you. If a scholarship is available, special dorms, early registration options, or even other options then the program may be specially catering to you, the student. Such offers are generally a sign of a more promising honors program.

As you continue your hunt for a college, remember that not all honors programs are created equally. Know what the program can offer you and what it requires.