Benefits of Being A Part of the Honors College

For students applying to colleges currently or planning to do so soon, it’s important to know about Honors Colleges and their benefits!

At my university, I am part of the Honors College, which has helped me tremendously throughout the semesters.

Now, what exactly is the Honors College?

Most, if not all, colleges have Honors Colleges students can apply to during their college applications or their freshman year. I ended up applying to the Honors College at the same time as my college applications, and I got in then!

The Honors College is a school within your college or university that you are a part of. Similar to how you might be a part of the College of Business or the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, there is the Honors College. It has its own set of classes, advisors, scholarship opportunities, and more. Moreover, it has its own set of requirements and perks.

As the name suggests, Honors Colleges are more academically rigorous. A lot of them may have minimum GPA requirements, as well as certain classes or seminars they make students take. This may also include a project or capstone you may have to complete towards the end of your college years. All of this varies from college to college.

I would note that you don’t have to be in a certain major to apply. Students typically come from diverse academic backgrounds in terms of what they are studying and their career goals.

The Benefits of Honors Colleges

Smaller Classes

One perk is that students get smaller classroom sizes for required classes. This is a huge benefit because you can have more meaningful lectures and discussions. This also allows you to get to know your professor more, which can help with networking and letters of recommendation for graduate programs.

In big lecture classes, this becomes harder to do.

You also get to connect more with classmates and create meaningful relationships.

Access to Exclusive Resources

This perk is one of my favorites.

Being a part of the Honors College allows you to gain access to resources that are not available to other students. They are essentially exclusive to the Honors College.

Some of these resources include extra tutoring resources, internships, and networking opportunities.

Faculty

Every college within your university has its own set of advisors and faculty.

The Honors College I am a part of is very welcoming, and the Dean and Associate Dean are easy to reach out to.

The faculty is not only specifically for the Honors curriculum, but they can help you with other aspects of college that you are struggling with. Furthermore, they are usually excellent about getting you the help you need and giving you resources you may not have known about.

They have advisors there to also help you with Honors classes and seminars, so if you are struggling with coursework or anything else, they are an extra set of faculty to go to.

Financial Aid

The Honors College offers its own financial aid, including scholarships and grants. This is a massive bonus for many students since these are not available to the rest of the students at your university.

It always gives students more opportunities for financial aid than the traditional student20

Networking

I am a big advocate for networking in college. Networking is not only for business majors but for everyone.

In the Honors College, many exclusive resources allow students to network with each other, faculty, and professionals.

Networking as an Honors student will allow you to get internship and career opportunities that you may not have otherwise gotten.

Diploma Distinction

After working hard for all those semesters, you get the Honors Distinction on your diploma when you graduate!

This is something that each Honors College does differently, but the central concept is the same.

You deserve that after all the years of hard work you put in!

That sums up most of the benefits of being part of your university’s Honors College! Let me know any other questions you may have regarding this and whether or not you may want to apply in the comments down below!