The University Honors Program at CSULB is known for the benefits it offers to students. From preparing students for graduate level programs, to giving smaller class sizes, and offering leadership and professional opportunities - all the exclusive challenges and opportunities are found here. However, the opportunity is definitely inclusive to all students.
Every student who applies to the program comes with a different story, goal, and inspiration, but we all share the same mentality: we acknowledge and accept the challenge. Therefore, a primary expectation most of us likely have when applying to the Honors Program is having challenging and heavy courses, similar to Advanced Placement classes in high school. Nonetheless, recalling from what I heard during our New Students’ Orientation of the program, the students on the Q&A panel shared that the professors are excellent and understanding, and the workload is actually light.
Personally, I applied to the program not for its title, but for the opportunity to exert critical thinking when it comes to real world problems. Hence, its description appealed to me as it elevated “education” as enriching scholars with knowledge, not solely memorizing. As a Freshman, so far I only have one course from the Honors Program. The experience is great as the peers in my class are friendly, the class size is similar to high school’s, and the curriculum of the course meets my criteria - to explore the corporate world’s problems.
Regardless, it may not be accurate to evaluate Honors courses and the program per se with my one class, therefore, I have asked a few of my classmates to share their thoughts on the courses - how they feel, what they like or dislike, their expectations versus the current reality, and if they would recommend their friends to apply to UHP.
To my surprise, a few of the students shared that classmates can also alter the experience. It definitely varies from each person’s experience, but the Freshmen I asked shared that they have supportive and friendly classmates unlike their previous experience with AP classes where students were more self-focused. Here, it seems like the students are all supportive, friendly, and competitive as well, but their competence helps to lift their classmates up and to encourage them to further challenge themselves.
Additionally, the resources and opportunities offered to students in the program are exceptional. The first resource would definitely be the mentoring program; mentees get paired up with mentors, it can be one-on-one or a small group depending on the amount of mentees who applied. As a mentee myself I feel like having a mentor is necessary, my mentor shares her experience and takeaways from the program, and always answers any questions she receives. My mentor has also recommended interesting Honors courses to take and shared useful study tips.
Recently, the program also sent out an email on the McClaire recruiting scholars for their mentored Undergraduate Research Program. Although I am not part of it, I find it extremely beneficial and supportive of underrepresented students who are pursuing a PhD. Furthermore, study abroad and special President’s Scholarships are offered. The program also has graduate school visits where guest speakers from other universities such as Purdue, University of California, San Francisco, and Harvard, come to present a specific topic that can be resourceful to students from different majors with different pursuits.
From my personal experience, I find that following UHP’s Instagram page @csulb_honors is extremely convenient and resourceful. The page has up-to-date announcements that are not limited to Honors contents, but other school events as well. My ultimate favorite content is definitely “Honors Tips.” I cannot express how much I love it - It is everything any student would want! The tip contents include: study techniques, organization hacks, efficient study space, and many more.
Credit: UHP’s Instagram page
Coming to an end, I cannot exclude priority registration. When I was in high school, I did not see the importance of registration; I would always register and get the classes I needed and wanted. Honestly, I did not understand why other students experience issues with registration and classes. Now in college, with a larger demographic, and more interesting courses available, I DO! Requirements do come with priority registration depending on the Plan you are assigned with, as long as you manage to maintain a 3.0 GPA and take an Honors course each semester, priority registration is given. Likewise, this is extremely beneficial if you have a dedicated major, priority registration gives you the ability to personalize your class schedule to a greater degree, and to explore the electives you hope for.
My peers and I would definitely recommend friends to apply to the programs. Yes, it is challenging and does ask students to be prepared with advanced reading and writing skills, but the advisors of Honors are understandable and make the opportunity inclusive to all students. Likewise, the professors are excellent and are dedicated to provide support and help students.
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