The best of the brightest?

Only distinguished with asterisks and the acronym "GH," General Honors courses are mixed amongst the listings of yearly class offerings. The tiny notation, however, is part of something larger, which spans across the University and encompasses more than 30 classes and over 600 students -- the honors program. In an Ivy League university which accepts only about one in five applicants, many wonder why a honors program is necessary -- and what sets the selected students apart from the rest. The General Honors program was founded in 1962, and 11 years later, the Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program was established at Penn. In 1976, the two combined to form the largest of the honors programs at the University. According to Director of Admissions Eric Kaplan, BFS and the General Honors program offer positions to students who either demonstrate advancement in one area of study or show "evidence or potential for doing scholarly research" in the future. Also included within the distinction of "undergraduate honors programs" at Penn are the University Scholars Program -- a research-based academic program -- and the Joseph Wharton Scholars Program, which is exclusively for undergraduate students in the Wharton School. While students must apply for admission to University Scholars and JWS after arriving at Penn, all students applying for University admission are simultaneously evaluated for BFS membership. • According to Kaplan, the pool of "high achievers" can sometimes make selection for BFS difficult. Its design, however, allows students to apply until the end of their sophomore year at Penn -- a feature Kaplan explains prevents the program from being a "one-shot deal." Though academics are of central importance, an honors program that spans an entire university is not commonplace among higher level institutions. "I think that Penn is perhaps the only Ivy that has an honors program," Kaplan explained. Typically, such universities base honors programs within departments and majors only. According to Hank Dobin, associate dean of the college at Princeton University, his institution provides all of its honors awards and programs in the more traditional manner. Such "honors are based on departmental work, including courses, junior papers and a senior thesis and a comprehensive exam or thesis defense," he explained. According to Dobin, creating such a widespread program "has not come up" during his seven years working at Princeton. • Though non-department based honors programs are rare among the Ivies, Associate Director of BFS and General Honors Linda Wiedmann explained that she believes they are "important for a strong liberal arts program." Wiedmann noted that the program allows undergraduate students to "explore an [academic] area in-depth," as well as provide them with opportunities to perform research alongside a faculty member. Additionally, Wiedmann said that GH courses tend to be small and discussion-based -- a setting she said "students tend to do well in." Among undergraduates, such courses have received a reputation less for their student enrollment numbers and more for their increased workload and student involvement. Sociology Professor Robin Leidner has taught "Women and Political Activism" as both an honors and non-honors course at Penn. She explained that between her courses, the assigned work and readings do not vary greatly. Yet, Leidner noted that there is a noticeable difference in the level of student achievement. Although "high performance [in honors courses] is more uniform," she attributes the discrepancy to "self-selection" and "group dynamics." Explaining that "students expect honors classes to be demanding and don't sign up if they're not up for that," Leidner noted that the resulting atmosphere of the course "motivate[s] everyone to do their best." • Opinions on the matter are not uniform, however. College junior and BFS student Matthew Whipple had a different take on honors versus non-honors students and classes, explaining that during his years in the program, he has not noticed any "huge difference" between the performance of the two groups. Though he notes that the "kids tend to be a little more pretentious" in honors courses, the only variation he has observed is that in "a number of [honors courses], the quality of professors tends to be better." College freshman and BFS member Rachel Mills agreed in her observations concerning student performance, explaining that if there is a discrepancy in such achievement, it is most likely because students are "matched with the class better." Mills did note a difference regarding class size. Citing her experience in "Introduction to Experimental Psychology," Mills explained that in the honors course she was able to interact with 28 of her peers in a "hands-on" environment and ask any questions she might have regarding the course materials. This varies from the typical Psychology 001 course, which consists of an enrollment above 300 students per section. In addition to class size differences, Mills praised the advising provided through BFS -- which differs in procedure from that offered in other areas of the University. "The advising is one of the best aspects of it," Mills said, adding that she liked the fact that she will not be transferred to another adviser after declaring her major in later years. Typically, after declaring a major, students begin working with a new adviser to plan out future course loads. According to Wiedmann, this different approach in advising BFS members, "regardless of how often they change their majors," allows students to be more "in touch with University resources and faculty."

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