Rutgers Honors College
- Thread starter RUKiid
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You will find some threads on the Rutgers issues board. My kid is currently a Freshman in the Honors college and we are absolutely thrilled with the experience. Dorms are excellent, and the resources provided to the Honors College students are outstanding.
If you have specific questions, fire away.
If you have specific questions, fire away.
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Son, currently a senior, is in the Honors College. Dorm, only for freshmen year, was awesome. A lot of extra stuff to do in addition to maintaining a 3.5 minimum. As Knight Shift said, outstanding resources and looks good on your resume.
Can you guys with kids in the HC give some selling points on WHY a top kid should choose the honors college? One of my twins has the academics and has been invited to apply to honors college at several schools, but we’re not really encouraging it. He wants to study engineering and frankly I think living on College Ave, taking the bus to Busch, and adding seminars to his workload would be a disaster.
Is there any merit $ involved with it or anything else that isn’t advertised?
Is there any merit $ involved with it or anything else that isn’t advertised?
I know it helped when he was interviewing for summer internships over the years. He got a few job offers after his junior year, so I guess that’s a relief.
Your concerns are not unfounded but you might consider thinking bigger picture. He may have or develop interests at college as he explores/discovers, meets different people, participates in activities, etc. He could end up changing majors, or ultimately decide to pursue something besides engineering (even if he thinks he's set on it now).
The bus travel from CAC to/from Busch is overblown to some degree. It's not ideal but sometimes it's nice to get a change of scenery and avoid the monotony of one campus by seeing more than one campus day to day.
I always looked at the bus system as another step in preparing one for real life/the eventual work commute.
Definitely consider it and don't rule it out. We thought my son would wind up somewhere else. He had a very high average from Biotech High School and very high SATs. Applied to MIT, Stanford, Columbia, Cornell, Berkeley, Carnegie Mellon, UCLA and Rutgers. Oddly, he was accepted only at UCLA and Rutgers Honors College. RU offered a very generous merit aid package, and it was a no-brainer over UCLA.
My son is majoring in Computer Science, and while he complains a little bit about the buses, he does not mind going between the campuses. Plus the honors college door is only required freshman year.
Another thing that has been nice is that they seem to be flexible about switching roommates at the Honors College. My son was able to make a switch roommates with someone he made friends with.
Definitely agree with what you said. I felt the same way. I thought the buses and navigating the bureaucracy was helpful later in life. There seems to be less bureaucracy than when I went, and the Honors College kids get a lot of resources in working out any kinds of issues they encounter. RU wants to ensure that their Honors College students succeed.
Remember, each year students will be spending less time on a bus as more and more classes are available through telecast viewing.
I spent 4 years on College Ave, I’m well aware of how the bus system works. This is more “honors college” specific than taking the A bus to the Hill Center, or whatever the modern version of that is. What is the value of accepting an honors college offer to “Non-Rutgers State U”?
My preconception is he would be an engineer working on liberal arts type honors that are completely outside of his skill set, all the while worrying about maintaining whatever artificial measure they have in place for the required GPA to remain in the program. The only benefit I see is having a sweet brand new dorm for Freshman year.
My preconception is he would be an engineer working on liberal arts type honors that are completely outside of his skill set, all the while worrying about maintaining whatever artificial measure they have in place for the required GPA to remain in the program. The only benefit I see is having a sweet brand new dorm for Freshman year.
Maybe there is some way of finding out through Rutgers how many engineers are in the Honors College? That might give some indication of whether the college is right for a student like this.
Yeah, but that would require work on the part of a 17 year old (I'm not one of THOSE parents). I'd rather some Dad here just give me an answer.
https://honorscollege.rutgers.edu/academics/curriculum/school-based-requirements
School of Engineering
School of Engineering students at the Honors College must meet the following requirements:
- Completing the 3-credit Honors College Mission Course in the first year.
- Taking one Byrne Seminar in the first year.
- A minimum of one 3- or 4-credit Interdisciplinary Honors Seminars, with a grade of B or better (this is in addition to the HC Capstone, Byrne and Forum).
- Participating in at least 30 hours of Honors College approved service projects by the end of the junior year.
- A Capstone Experience of at least 6 credits, typically completed in the senior year.
- Honors College students at the School of Engineering are expected to maintain a minimum gpa of 3.25 and a grade of B or better in each of the Honors courses.
During the second year, students will register for Honor Calculus (640:251:H), Honors Analytical Physics and Laboratory IIA and IIB (750:227:H/229:H, 750:228:H/230:H), and Honors Mechanics (440:292).
Note: 440:292 is NOT REQUIRED if normal major curriculum does not require 14:440:222
Note: 01:750:228:H/230:H is NOT REQUIRED if normal major curriculum does not require 01:750:228/230
You seem really sour on it with your pre-conceptions. That is unfortunate.
All engineering/science and can lead to a narrow skill set. Part of the benefit of the Honors College is gain exposure to areas outside your major.
It is heavily waited towards STEM majors. I don't have the numbers, but I remember at the orientation for parents, one of the deans lamented this fact.
Hi, I am a freshman in the honors college at engineering.
Your first concern is living on college ave. I love college ave. It is the most social campus and it is also the smallest campus so everything is very convenient. The honors college is next door to the printing lab and a Cafe that takes meal swipes, and quite frankly, the best place that takes meal swipes on college ave. Compared to Busch there is a lot more to do and less walking to do it.
Taking the bus has never made me late to class. I go to the bus stop an hour early and get to class 30-40 minutes early? It requires some planning on your students' parts. There are 2 buses, the A and H that go in different directions to ensure that you are never on the bus for more than 15 minutes to get to your desired destination. (again, you have to plan ahead to not just get on any bus that goes to Busch) But none of my classes have switched to online yet. I could never live on Busch because it is known as the most depressing campus as most of the engineering classes are there, although the dorms are very nice.
This year we have a little less than 100 students from SOE in the honors college. It seems like a little amount but my best friend in the wing (an all girls wing, might I add as girls are a minority in SOE) is actually the same major as I am. We naturally gravitate towards each other in the classes we have together.
Speaking of classes, SOE requires their normal freshmen to take 17/18 credits worth of classes in their first semester including 1 elective. The honors college forum class that is required is considered in that elective. The only extra credit you might need to take is the byrne seminar, which is a pass/fail class, no stress, and only one credit. Sophomore year your student would take an interdisciplinary seminar which fills the elective requirement again.
The forum class that you are required to take deviates from engineering but also enhances it. In the forum class, you create a social innovation. This is a more business oriented class but it also allows your son to create and pitch a product with a team which can show employers that your son is creative and is good at working in groups, as well as communicate effectively and all these other qualities employers look for. So I would say it's not a waste of time for an engineer
Oh and of course, there is a scholarship of at least $10k per year. The lowest I've heard was $13k in soe but in general $10k is the minimum scholarship for someone in the honors college.
The required GPA in SOE is only a 3.25 as well as for scholarships (unless you receive a full scholarship, in that case it is 3.5 and difficult to maintain.)
If you have any other concerns message me and I will do my best to answer. I like Rutgers a lot but it might not be for everyone.
Sounds like an extremely positive experience, and I am glad you are happy at the HC.
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