One of the more popular living and learning villages is the Honors and Scholars Village. Both programs provide many academic opportunities such as offering unique classes, attending special events or being a fellow (similar to a TA) for an honors course.

While many students are capable of joining the Honors and Scholars program, it may not be beneficial for everyone. Due to the various requirements to stay and complete these programs, it can impede a student’s progress from completing their major. Students who find it difficult to comply with these requirements should consider there is no shame in dropping out of it.

One requirement to stay in the Honors and Scholars program is students have to take a certain amount of courses. For Honors students, they have to complete 12 credit hours of honors courses; and the Scholars program requires students to take 12 credit hours of certain coursing including honors and graduate level classes.

This requirement presents a problem. For one, many of the honors courses provided will most likely not count towards a student’s major. For example, I am an English major and none of the honors courses offered will count toward my degree.

While it is true that some majors offer free electives, others may not be so generous. Students who are engineering, computer science, or an agriculture major don’t have a lot of free electives to take. This presents a problem since students are going to prioritize taking classes that fulfill their major rather than an academic program.

University Honors and Scholars have “solved” this problem by offering students an honor’s contract, where they can receive honors credit for regular courses. Most honors contracts usually involve students doing more coursework than usual.

This wouldn’t be a problem if most students weren’t so busy. The National Survey of Student Engagement reports that students spend around 17 hours studying per week. In addition, a study from Georgetown University reported that 70% of students have a job while enrolled in college. Students are working hard enough, and having them do extra course work does not only put more stress on them, but is also not an adequate way to provide academic opportunities to students.

But most importantly, there are other organizations that can help students post-graduation. There is no doubt that the Honors and Scholars program will help students get employed or accepted into graduate school. However, there are other opportunities and activities that will look great on a student’s resume.

Currently, there are 15 Living and Learning Villages and over 700 organizations at NC State. There are plenty of opportunities for students to get involved with their community or to academically challenge themselves that will look great on their resume. While the Honors and Scholars program will look great on a student’s resume, there are other ways for students to showcase their achievements that may not impede their progress of getting their degree.

The Honors and Scholars program is certainly not the worst Living and Learning Village at NC State. That is far from the truth. I have enjoyed my time at the Scholars program so far. I made so many new friends and was able to experience new things because of this program. And as I stated before, it will look good on my resume. Unfortunately, many people don’t feel the same way as me and feel like the Honors and Scholars program is impeding them rather than helping them.

Overall, the Honors and Scholars program is not for everyone. The requirements to stay and complete the program may hinder some students from getting their degree, and there are other ways to boost your resume. Most students are capable to join the program and succeed in honors courses, but it is up to them whether it’s worth it in the end.

The Honors and Scholars program is a wonderful Living and Learning Village, and I encourage students to give it a shot. However, if students are finding it difficult to comply with the program’s standards, they should not feel guilty or ashamed if they need to drop it. After all, a student’s degree comes first, not extracurriculars.