Welcome to the somewhat wonkish, entirely independent Public University Honors site! This is the only site on the web that is devoted entirely to the evaluation and discussion of public university honors programs and public honors colleges. Please visit the menu pages or put in a school name or other topic, such as “rankings,” in the Search box above the and go directly to relevant posts. In all, there are 400 posts and pages on this site. For short, more frequent posts, please go to Honors News. (Photo of French House, Ogden Honors College, Louisiana State University, courtesy LSU.)
Another new category will eventually have at least 30 different posts from honors students and faculty, commenting on their experiences in honors. Please go to the “Categories” list and select Honors Testimonials.
Many people start out with the “Top Honors Programs” page, above, or “Rankings,Academic Departments,” or “College Value–Public Honors vs. Private Elites,” or the UPDATED post Rankings, Academic Departments: Private Elites vs Publics. Another helpful page, especially in the summer and fall, is Choosing an Honors Program: 20 Questions to Ask.
Top Honors Programs–Updated September 13, 2016!
NEW: Average U.S. News Rankings for 126 Universities: 2010: 2017
Best Universities for National Merit Scholar Funding, Updated!
Honors Testimonials: UNC Chapel Hill, Honors Carolina
Update No. 2: It’s Complicated–the 2016 Edition of Honors Ratings and Reviews
Update: 2016 Edition of Honors Ratings and Reviews
Inside Honors: Class Sizes, Classes by Discipline, Sections Per Student
Universities of Alabama and Arkansas Each Have Two Truman Scholars for 2016
Inside Honors: What 9,000 Class Sections Can Tell You
Best Major Universities for National Merit Scholarship Funding–Part Two
Goldwater Scholars 2016: CUNY, Maryland, Wisconsin, and Univ of North Texas Shine
University of Houston-Downtown Campus Introduces Honors Program
Gates Cambridge Scholars 2016: 13 Are from Public Universities
Florida, Maryland, Washington Will Soon Use Only the New Coalition App
Never Mistake an Elite [Honors] Education for Elitism
Most UT Austin Forty Acres Scholars Major in Plan II or Business Honors
Virginia Tech Will Move from Honors Program to New Honors College
Univ of Arkansas Honors Student and Prof Publish Paper on Proteins Related to Alzheimer’s
UT System Chancellor Opposes Top 10 Percent Admission Rule
New: Estimated PSAT Qualifying Scores 2017
Honors Colleges, Honors Programs: Differences Revisited
Updated: Fall Application Deadlines for 80 Public University Honors Programs
Pitt Honors College Offers Maximum Flexibility and High Quality
Poets & Quants Composite MBA Rankings 2015 List 24 Public Programs in Top 50
Iowa Student, with Honors Mentoring, Wins Rhodes, Truman, Boren, and Udall Awards
UGA Honors Student: Honors Mentoring, Research Lead to 2016 Marshall Scholarship
Rhodes Scholars 2016: Mostly Ivy, Plus Iowa, MSU, Ohio St, UVA, Wisconsin, Y oungstown St
Just Updated: Alternative U.S. News Rankings 2016
Purdue Honors Student and Rhodes Finalist: “I have lived the immigrant experience.”
Do Elite Colleges Really Offer Better Courses? Probably Yes, in Some Ways
See the 75 Programs We Are Tracking Now!
We Vote for the U.S. News Global Rankings vs the Times Higher Ed World Rankings
Kentucky to Open New Lewis Honors College with Gift of $23 Million
Estimated Class Sizes: More than 90 National Universities
Ah, the Choices: Private Elite, Liberal Arts, Public Honors–One Family’s Story
New Coalition for Access and Affordability: A Revolution in Admissions?
Best Colleges for Pell Grant Support and High Grad Rates for Recipients
UT Austin Business Honors Program: A Great Launching Pad
Why Don’t Some Well-Known Honors Programs Appear in our Book?
The National Merit Journey: What You Need to Know, Part One
The National Merit Journey Part Two: The Parent’s Role
The UC Universities and U.S. News
NEW! National Merit Qualifying Scores Class of 2016
Honors Education: An Antidote to the “Neo-liberal,” Vocational Trends in Higher Ed
William and Mary Creates an Inclusive Path to “Highest Honors”
The Issue of “Elitism” in Honors Colleges and Programs
The New Yorker on the Real Value of a College Education
Paysale 2015-2016: Early Career Salaries, by University, Grad and Professional Degrees
Thoughts on NY Times Letters about Honors Colleges
Texas A&M BBA Honors Program: Selective and Rigorous
Here’s a List of Business Honors Programs
Is Class Rank a “Disappearing Metric” for College Admissions?
Texas A&M Is All-in When It Comes to Engineering
Forbes Best College Rankings 2015: Still Unfriendly to Public Universities
New: Honors and Career Success
Here Are the Public Universities That Award the Most Non-need-based Aid
How Much Should Public Universities Spend on Merit Aid?
Is It True that 80% of Elite Students Are Accepted by Elite Colleges?
U.S. News National University Rankings, 2008–Present
Archive of U.S. News Rankings 1983–2007
Accepted to All Ivies and Stanford–Chooses Alabama Honors
The Top Ten Percent Rule in Texas: Highly Questionable Results
Here Are 23 Reasons for College Choice–and a Note on Honors Options
Times Higher Ed World Rankings 2014-2015: Top Engineering and Tech Universities
U.S. News Rankings at Odds with Quality of Academic Departments
Once Again, The New Republic Weighs in on the Ivies, and Here’s our Response
UW-Eau Claire Rhodes Scholar: Personal Attention for Honors Student Made the Difference
Here’s The Business Journals’ Top 100 Public Colleges–and our Analysis
Note to Parents: Changes in Major, Uncertainty about Careers Are Common
Gallup and Purdue Study: Well-Being for Grads Requires More than Income
Based on Academic Reputation Alone, Publics Would Be Higher in U.S. News Rankings
The Academic Reputation Ranking in U.S. News: What It Means for Honors Students
Meet Robert Fisher–Rhodes Scholar 2015, UT Chattanooga
Marshall Scholars 2015: Eleven Public University Winners
Meet Tayo Sanders–Rhodes Scholar 2015, UW-Eau Claire
Rhodes Scholars 2015: Ivies Dominate, but Publics Earn Seven
Honors Programs with Lots of Honors Courses–and Small Classes
Best Value-Added Honors Programs 2014
U.S. News Rankings 2015: Another Down Year for Many Public Universities
Honors College, Honors Program: What’s the Difference
Don’t Send Your Kid to the Ivy League–from The New Republic
“Don’t Send Your Kid to the Ivy League”–Our Response
New! Best Honors Residence Halls 2014
NEW! Our second edition is now available in digital and hard-copy versions. Please go to Yes, We Have a Book if you’re interested. If not, you have almost 300 posts to choose from on this site–and we appreciate your interest.
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