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Texas A&M is a great school, and offers students a lot of options. One of those, notably, are their honors programs. These are increasingly appealing to students; as the cost of college rises, more students look for affordable options, and attending a college in state is a great way to save money, especially when they have an honors program with additional scholarship opportunities.Ìý In this article, we’re going to give a full rundown of the honors programs offered by Texas A&M. We’ll cover what they are, who they’re for, what they offer, and how you can take part in them. Honors programs are a way to get the elite liberal arts experience while attending a much more reasonably priced public university. While these programs may not be exactly right for you, the more you know, the better able you’ll be to find the perfect fit for you. Let’s jump right in!

The Honors Academy is Texas A&M’s university-wide honors program. This is a classic honors college, where students have their own housing, advising program, and coursework. While most of the courses you take for the program are non-honors, students in the program either take or an ; in both students take additional honors-level coursework, and receive additional recognition at graduation.

Honors students get additional mentorship and networking opportunities with professors, and honors classes tend to be smaller and more discussion based. While they are more challenging, they allow for a deeper level of exploration of the material at hand. Honors students are encouraged to complete , but these are not required. 

The Honors Academy is open to students in any major. Students may participate in both this program and department or major specific honors programs; indeed, this is often encouraged. Students are also encouraged to join honors societies on campus, though this is not compulsory. 

The Honors Academy does not provide any additional scholarships of its own. Many students in the academy do receive scholarships from A&M, but this is correlation, and getting into the Honors Academy does not guarantee additional scholarship funding. Honors housing has the same costs as any other university housing. 

Applying to the Honors Academy

Applications to this program are available both to incoming freshmen, and to current students at Texas A&M. This program requires a separate application; you can indicate interest on the Common App, and once you apply, you will be sent an email with a link to the Honors application. 

Of note is that there are no set minimum eligibility requirements to apply to the honors academy. While academic excellence is expected, they don’t set a firm bar for where that is; instead they admit the best students in each incoming class of applicants to the honors program.

Now, Texas A&M unfortunately doesn’t make their full honors application available online to view. We don’t know in full what it contains, but much like other honors applications, the goal is to assess whether or not you’re prepared academically and socially to be part of their program, by analyzing your grades, extracurriculars, and essay submissions. For advice on answering honors program essays generally, see our article here. 

This program is specifically for engineering students, and offers them access to a small and supportive community within the broader Engineering College. The primary benefit is access to honors courses; these tend to be smaller than regular courses, and are presented at a higher level, letting students get a better overall grasp of the material and explore it in more depth. Unlike the general Honors Academy, engineering honors students do not automatically get access to honors housing.

All honors students take part in a research experience, and have an advisor for the program specifically to help connect them with research projects aligned with their interests. In addition to this, students have access to additional networking events and opportunities, and more chances to connect with those in industry and graduate programs.

The final benefit is priority registration for courses. This is a small thing, but in a field of study as popular as engineering, does make getting all of your required coursework done just a little bit easier. This program is ideal for students who want to push themselves in their engineering coursework.

Both incoming freshmen and current students may apply to the honors program. There are no hard eligibility requirements, but a high GPA is expected. The application for incoming freshmen is open November 3 to January 15, and may be completed fully . 

Once you are in the engineering honors program, you must meet certain requirements to maintain your status. These vary by , but generally involve maintaining a certain GPA (generally 3.5 or above), attending honors events during the year, and participating in honors coursework. They want to be sure that students in the program are actively partaking in the program. 

Business honors is a specific major within Mays Business School. Like, the primary benefit of this is the advanced coursework provided to honors students, which generally features smaller class sizes and more access to professors. Honors classes are taught at a slightly higher level as well. Like the engineering honors program, business honors does not provide specific honors housing to its students. 

While business honors is itself a major, most students in the program choose to take on an additional major within Mays; the program is designed to facilitate exactly this. In addition to coursework, the business honors program has a significant focus on networking and career placement opportunities, over and above those already hosted by Mays. 

The program admits 100 students each year; these cohorts generally form a close-knit group within the larger business school, and are supported by a range of specific advisors and program supports. Applications to the program are competitive, though both incoming freshmen and current students are eligible to apply. 

The program does have strict academic eligibility requirements, namely that you must be in the top 25% of your high school class. They do note that academic standards are simply there as a benchmark; they are something you must surpass, but students aren’t admitted to the program on the basis of academic excellence alone. In order to apply, you must select Business Administration as your first choice major, and select YES on the honors program application question. You will then be invited to apply once your A&M application is processed.

Your base Common App and Texas A&M supplementals are available to the Business Honors admissions team. In addition they recommend (but do not require) submitting standardized test scores and a letter of recommendation from an academic source. This application is reviewed and processed separately from your admission to A&M and the business program as a whole. 

Departmental Honors Programs at Texas A&M

In addition to the university-wide and college-wide programs, some academic departments have their own honors programs as well, solely open to students in those departments. What these offer specifically varies, but it tends to be increased resources, access to professors, and networking opportunities, along with recognition at graduation. We won’t go through each of these in detail, but here’s an overview of them: 

Note that none of the departmental honors programs allow you to live in honors housing, though many students who are in the honors college also pursue departmental honors; indeed, this is highly encouraged. 

Are Texas A&M Honors a Good Option for You?

Honors colleges can offer a lot of benefits to college students, and A&M is no exception. We will note, however, that one of the primary benefits offered by many schools isn’t offered here, as there are no honors-specific scholarships. While many honors students do also earn merit scholarships, there are no specific funding options for honors students. 

So what does Texas A&M honors offer? Each program has its own unique suite of options, but they all have some commonalities; we’ll go through each of them, and how they may or may not benefit you. 

Honors Classes

This is the big appeal of honors programs, and the main thing mentioned. These courses are smaller, offered at a higher level, and tend to take a more in-depth approach to content. These do give you better access to professors, and can help you better master content. On the other hand, taking honors courses or graduating with honors alone doesn’t necessarily lead to better career outcomes. These courses do tend to be more demanding in terms of the work required, and can make maintaining a high GPA difficult. These courses can be a great resource, but there are tradeoffs when taking them. College isn’t high school, and honors courses are neither expected or required. 

Research Opportunities

Texas A&M is a big school, with a lot of students. While there are plenty of professors doing research, there are far more students who want to be involved than there are spots. While all students who want research can generally find something, students in honors programs get to build closer relationships with professors, and have set pathways to participate in research. 

If you are interested in pursuing research, especially with an eye towards graduate school or medical school, then honors programs are an excellent way to do this. In addition to increased research opportunities, these programs often let you build much closer relationships with professors, which helps greatly when getting letters of recommendation.

Networking

How much of a focus networking has varies a great deal by program; it is most prominent in business, but is offered in all of them. Again, networking and recruiting events are something offered and open to all students at A&M, but honors programs offer unique opportunities that aren’t open to all students. 

Many companies do like recruiting students from honors programs specifically. There is a sense that these students are more motivated, and more likely to succeed at a high level. In many ways, this is akin to how students from more prestigious universities are viewed, which is part of what honors programs are trying to emulate. It is unclear how advantageous these extra opportunities are, but finding a career is always easier with more networking opportunities. 

Honors Housing

This is one of the smaller benefits provided by the honors program, and is indeed only available through the campus-wide honors program, rather than the college or departmental offerings. The honors dorm is nice, and being in a community of similarly high-achieving scholars can be beneficial, both socially and from a networking perspective. 

This is more of a minor perk however, and you don’t lose very much if you choose not to live in honors housing. While this is worth considering, it should not be the deciding factor on whether you want to take part in the honors program. 

The Honors Community

This is the most nebulous benefit of taking part in honors programs, the community they afford you access to. College is a time to make new friends and meet new people, through your dorm, classes, clubs, campus activities, or even happenstance. The honors program at Texas A&M proposes that you will become part of a broader community through participation in it. 

This is often the case, and you can make excellent friendships through an honors program. This is quite good for students who need peer motivation in their school work, or who work best in groups. Being constantly surrounded by and hanging out with smart and motivated people can rub off on you, and give you the motivation to go farther and do more than you would on your own. This may be one of the best benefits of joining an honors program, and if this kind of community would materially help you, we highly recommend it. 

Final Thoughts

Texas A&M is a great college, one many students from Texas attend and enjoy. Like all large colleges, it has a lot of programs and options for students, enough to feel somewhat overwhelming to grasp or explore. We hope that this article gave you a good sense of one such program, and what it can offer to prospective students interested in a higher level of academic achievement and commitment. 

Applying to honors programs can be quite competitive, intentionally of course, a means to winnow the field of candidates to only those best able to make use of the resources the program provides. If you are looking for advice on your own honors applications for Texas A&M, or want help finding the right program to match your needs and interests, then ³Ô¹Ï¹ÙÍø can help. Schedule a free consultation today to learn how our mentors can make your college applications journey an easier and more enjoyable experience; we’re always happy to hear from you.