When I was in my senior year of high school, I was asked if I wanted to be an honors student at Grand Canyon University, since I had good grades and automatically qualified for the honors college. After hearing some of the opportunities, I decided to go for it. Now, going into my senior year, I can confidently say that honors was worth it for me.
Being an honors student has its pros and cons and is not always for everyone. I found it to be very worth it for me and loved all of the opportunities I’ve had. Here are some reasons why I think The Honors College at GCU is worth it.
I can only speak for the GCU Honors college, but some of these reasons could apply to other colleges.
ClassesÂ
Let’s get the hard and most obvious part out of the way. At GCU, you are required to take a few honors classes to graduate with honors. A few of your classes may have an honors addendum for select assignments too. From my experience, I never felt like I was doing any “extra” work for honors. Those honors classes just replaced other classes I would have taken as a regular student. The classes themselves were alright; I didn’t hate them but they weren’t my favorite either. I was very fortunate to have an amazing professor for my honors courses. The addendums were never too hard either. Of course it can be a little tedious, but I found it to be worth it for the rest of the honors benefits.
Professional Development
I have had a lot of professional development opportunities at GCU through the honors college. The ones that I saw the most were the clubs that honors students could join. There were many options, including specific clubs for professional development. The Young Athena program is a great example for professional development for females. The club teaches many leadership skills and professional development skills to be used in the workforce. There are also many more honors clubs that tailor to developing professional skills.
Events
The events with honors are always top notch. The Honors College at GCU hosts a conference once a year with panels and breakout sessions. I went to one this past year and absolutely loved it. I got a free headshot, free food, and tons of networking opportunities. Honors also hosts many speaker events and networking opportunities throughout the year.
There are also fun events, such as social events and my personal favorite, the Honors Banquet. The banquet is where you get to dress up all fancy and watch an award show for the honors students. Did I mention there’s usually free food at all of these events?
Travel Opportunities
The main thing I love about the Honors College at GCU is the travel opportunities exclusively for honors students. My freshman year, I got to go to Europe with other honors students and have the time of my life! Every year there is always a new excursion opportunity to embark on. There are also awesome mission trip opportunities as well.
Not a Huge Time Commitment
I can’t speak for other colleges, but what is really cool about The Honors College at GCU is it’s not a large time commitment, unless you want it to be. You get out of the honors college what you put into it. If you just want to take honors courses and graduate with honors, you can certainly do that. If you want to do a bunch of clubs, participate in the showcase, and do all of the events, you can do that too. It all depends on your schedule and what you want to get out of your honors experience.
Amazing People
I have met some of the sweetest and most amazing people through the honors college. In fact, I met my main group of friends through an honors class during freshman year. We are all still friends to this day! Not only can you meet lifelong friends through honors, but you can also find many networking opportunities for your future.Â
In the end, deciding if honors is worth it is up to you. Personally, I have loved every bit of my experience with GCU Honors and highly encourage people to take advantage of these opportunities while they can. It can be a great way to boost your resume and meet some awesome friends along the way.