常见问题

Q. Why do people join?

A. That's the most frequently asked question. People join for many reasons, but the most common (and the best) reason is because they want to take the seminars. In any two-year period 荣誉 offers 25-30 seminars, each with an enrollment of 15. These discussion-oriented seminars are way off the beaten track, and our students enjoy the opportunity for creative, interdisciplinary learning.

Q. How much work is involved if I join 荣誉? Will it be so much work I'll get bad grades and lose my scholarship?

A. The 荣誉 Program itself offers no scholarships, but nearly all students in 荣誉 have some sort of scholarship from the University – Presidential Scholarships and National Merit Scholarships are most common – and all have a certain grade point average which must be achieved if they are to keep their awards.

Of the roughly 30 first-year students admitted to 荣誉 every year, perhaps one or two lose their scholarships, but the reason for that has nothing to do with their two-credit 荣誉 seminar; rather, it has everything to do with Calculus II or Organic Chemistry or some other bear of a course, or because they're having trouble adjusting to the freedom college offers, or because of personal issues unrelated to academics. Alfred's 荣誉 Program is unique in that 荣誉 seminars do not fulfill any general education requirement – we do not offer 荣誉 英语 or 荣誉 math, for example.

研讨会 on our campus are taken as overloads, 这是, in addition to a student's normal course load, and faculty understand that the purpose of 荣誉 is to add what might be called "intellectual play" to a student's life. Since many 荣誉 students have two majors, or a major and several minors, our faculty try to design 荣誉 seminars which are interesting and challenging without significantly increasing student’s workloads.

Q. How hard are the seminars?

A. The level of difficulty varies; if you join 荣誉 you might think of it as the kind of commitment you would make for another activity, like working on the newspaper or being in a play, except that this is an intellectual activity. 研讨会 meet one night a week for an hour and forty minutes.

Q. If I don't apply to 荣誉 straight out of high school, can I join later? If I don't like it can I drop out?

A. The advantages of joining straight out of high school are powerful – for example, 荣誉 is a great way to meet people and make friends who share your interests right away - that you're much better off applying straight out of high school. 荣誉 is voluntary, and so of course anyone can leave at any time. Just about no one does. We do have on-campus applicants, however, and between 5 and 10 are generally admitted each year.