Applicants seek honors status

With limited space available in UNC's Honors Program, some top-tier high-school students are turning to peer institutions for advanced standing. "The biggest weakness is that the Honors Program in its current state is not big enough to accommodate for all the students who are qualified," said Barbara Polk, senior associate director of undergraduate admissions. The University's Honors Program has about 800 members, making up about 5 percent of the student body. James Leloudis, associate dean for honors and director of the Johnston Center, said he wants the Honors Program to encompass 10 percent of the undergraduate student body to remain competitive. And many UNC applicants share similar feelings. For fall 2006 admission, more than 450, or about 16 percent, of students who declined UNC's admission offers selected "Carolina did not offer me an invitation to join the Honors Program" as one of the top three reasons for not attending the University. Last year 19 percent responded the same way. These UNC applicants often accept invitations to attend other institutions, Polk said. Leloudis said key competitors include Ivy League schools and peer institutions such as the University of Georgia and the University of Virginia. About 2,300 undergraduates - or 9.2 percent of the undergraduate student body - participate in the honors program at UGa. About half of the UGa. honors students live in a separate dormitory with a satellite advising office, where honors students can go for in-house academic advising. Don DeMaria, assistant director of the honors program at UGa., said he believes the housing option is especially appealing to students considering the school. "The prospect of living around other honors students is attractive to students because they know they will be living around students who are, on average, more able and more motivated," he said. But UNC's Honors Program intentionally does not have honors housing because the program is intended to be accessible to all students. "I like the openness of the program," Polk said. "It works well for us." Sophomore Abby Irvin, who is in UNC's Honors Program said she also doesn't see the lack of honors residence halls at UNC as a downfall. "I like being able to live wherever you want to live," she said. "It frees you up so that the only people you know aren't honors students. That would be sad if that were the case." At the UVa., the Echols Scholars program admits about 8.4 percent of undergraduates. Unlike the honors programs at UNC and UGa., the Echols Scholars Program doesn't offer any special courses. Separate housing is not provided either. But honors students get the coveted chance to register first each semester and are not required to fulfill some general college credits, giving them more flexibility. William Wilson, association dean for the Echols Scholars Program, said priority registration is helpful because many need to take major- and graduate-level classes as early as freshman year. He said incoming students chosen to be Echols Scholars know how important these privileges can be when selecting a college. "It's a huge advantage to be able to register first," he said. "It's that freedom that will draw students here." Polk said that she likes UNC's program structure and that she hopes to see it grow to prevent students from choosing other institutions' programs. The UNC program accommodates about 200 new students each year, but officials said they want to increase that number by 90 percent to 380 students. To accomplish that goal, officials said the program would need an endowment of $25 million. "I just wish the program were a little larger," she said. "Certainly the University has excellent students and could attract additional excellent students by invitation into the program their freshman year." Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.