Honors Program 101: Here's All You Need to Know

As admission offers come rolling in, it is normal to be overwhelmed by the various considerations that need to be made before enrolling at a university. Among the sea of information being looked at, honors programs seem like a small detail to be looked at later. However, how truly important is this aspect of admissions? An honors program usually offers students the opportunity to explore their field of interest beyond the general prescribed curriculum everyone follows. This may happen through classes that are exclusive to the honors college enrolled students, early registration to classes, additional scholarship considerations, individualized support through honors mentors, individual research and creative experiences, and a host of other opportunities depending on the school you choose. Students' employment prospects also increase and the types of employment offers received will generally be more desirable.

The selection for each honors program depends on the college. Some colleges require an additional essay in your main application, or a supplemental application to be submitted after the main application, whereas some others automatically send students invitations to join their honors program based on their academic achievements. Some colleges do not offer separate courses to their honors students but rather have them complete an honors project during their last year of their coursework allowing for the decision to receive honors approval to be based purely on their academic success in college. However, as implied by the higher employment prospects and the general definition, being a part of an honors program makes the college experience more rigorous.

A typical day for an honors student varies based on the type of honors program your college of choice offers. Honors colleges, generally seen in larger universities, provide exclusive, challenging coursework that is more discussion oriented, encouraging higher level engagement about the topics than seen in a general college level course. This could be beyond the courses required to graduate or may substitute those requirements. Honors colleges, like other honors programs, generally require a research or creative project to complement the classes taken during your time at the college. Depending on the college, these projects may be in the major the student is pursuing or even be interdisciplinary. Because of this variety in honors programs offerings it is important to consider what various programs have to offer and if that is in line with your academic goals.

Some popular honors collegesl include the Barrett College at Arizona State University, Rutgers University Honors College, and the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State universities. On the other hand, some popular honors programs without stand-alone honors schools are the program at the University of Texas at Austin, the Echols Scholars Program at the University of Virginia, the University Honors Program at the University of Kansas, and the Honors College at the University of South Carolina.

One program that I'd like to talk about is one that we offer at Texas Christian University's John V. Roach Honors College. At this time students of 106 majors have participated in TCU's selective and enriching honors programs and these students have come from 15 countries around the world. Our honors program is divided into two phases- Lower-Division honors and Upper-Division Honors. During the first two years, students focus on completing two cultural visions courses and three honors electives, some of which can also help complete general academic requirements such as the TCU core courses and major or minor requirements. During the last two years at TCU, students will pursue either an undergraduate research project or departmental honors, a discussion-based seminar or university honors, or they can choose to complete both.

There are two ways to be accepted to the John V. Roach Honors college. The first is to submit a supplemental application after you submit your main TCU application. This admission decision is made based on your application materials. Our 2024 Honors enrolled students had an average high school GPA of 3.9 and SAT scores ranging from about 1370-1460, when students chose to submit them. TCU is, however, test-optional and students who choose not to submit their SAT scores are still eligible to apply with no disadvantage. The second is to apply during the student's second or third year at TCU during which they are only required to have a minimum GPA of 3.5 to apply.

Being a part of TCU's Honors College affords a challenging academic experience with rewarding opportunities such as an Honors-based Living and Learning Community where you live with other honors students, unique study abroad opportunities, faculty advising, and wonderful career outcomes. Additionally, one cannot replace the bragging rights achieved by walking the stage at the end of four years as a Horned Frog wearing that coveted honors sash to complement their graduation gown!