FAQ about Honors

No – honors courses are not designed to be more difficult or more work than a regular course.  They are designed to simply be a different type of experience that is generally more participatory, exploratory, and creative.  Average final grades in Honors courses are generally higher than non-Honors courses at the College, and Honors students generally have higher GPAs than non-Honors students. 

The Honors Program at RMC is designed not to add extra courses to a student’s load. The three 100-200 level courses that our students take will double count – both for general education requirements at RMC and for an Honors program requirement.  The only other required course is HONR 300, which students can count for Honors and all as an elective, which all RMC students are required to take.    

Absolutely! The proportion of student-athletes in and outside of the Honors Program are similar to one another (approximately 25%). There are student-athletes within the Honors Program from nearly every sports team. Honors students tend to be involved in numerous activities on campus (intramurals, ESports, Show Choir, theater, leadership programs, Greek life, etc.), often engaging in more activities than non-Honors students.

Yes! This is an important question and one prospective students should explore when comparing Honors Programs. At Randolph-Macon, students can complete any major and be a member of the Honors Program. Our curriculum is designed to satisfy part of the General Education requirements required of all students, regardless of major/minor choice.

No, the Honors Program does not offer additional academic scholarships for participation. The RMC Honors Program wants students who are interested in joining a community of learners, rather than students motivated by a financial incentive. All honors students receive merit-based scholarships from the College, regardless of their continued participation in the program.

The wing of Andrews Hall bordering the north side of the football field is reserved for Honors Students.  The first floor of that wing is the Honors Living-Learning Commons, and is entirely composed of Honors freshmen; in order to live on that wing, both students in a room must be in the Honors Program.  Honors students may also be placed in the other wings of Andrews. Students are placed into Andrews Hall by their date of deposit & the date that they indicate their intent to join our program.  For more questions about this, contact the Office of Residence Life. 

You can do either! If you choose a roommate who is not a member of the Honors Program then you will not be eligible to live in the Honors Living-Learning Community in Andrews Hall. Depending on your deposit date, you may be housed in Andrews or across the street in Freshman Village. 

No. Membership in the Honors Program is voluntary, and students may leave the program at any time without penalty.  A student who leaves the Honors Program will need to reapply to the program in order to reenter the program.

Incoming first year students who have a recalculated high school GPA of 3.75 or higher are invited to apply to our program.  Randolph-Macon recalculates applicants’ high school GPAs based on a 5-point grading scale.  Current Randolph-Macon students with a 3.25 GPA (freshmen) or 3.5 GPA (sophomores or juniors) may apply to our program as internal applicants during the open admissions period in January term.

Students who are being considered for a full-tuition scholarship to Randolph-Macon College will not receive their application to the Honors Program until after their Presidential Scholarship has been determined.  If you didn’t receive an application but do not believe you are being considered for a full-tuition scholarship, please contact your admissions officer. 

We try to send out responses to our applications within two weeks of receiving them.  If you don’t hear back from us, please e-mail us at honors@rmc.edu.