ASU Barrett Pros and Cons: is it right for you?
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 14 авг 2019
- Here's the different topics covered in the video:
How Barrett works/honors credit- 0:59
Honors contracts- 4:56
What Barrett provides- 10:07
Honors Thesis- 10:50
Advertisements vs reality- 12:02
Is it worth it?- 16:51
If you have any questions about my experience or anything else don't hesitate to ask!
Hello to new viewers! Here's an update four years after dropping out of Barrett and a year and a half after graduating from ASU.
I graduated in four years with a 4.0 GPA. In the three non-Barrett years I had at ASU, I was able to work two on-campus jobs, gain leadership in a club, become the student editor-in-chief of a literary magazine, intern as an assistant writing instructor for a freshman English class, and get a certificate in Teaching English as a second language.
I simply would not have had the bandwidth to do all of this as well as honors contracts and a thesis. A Barrett thesis is a great accomplishment and a super amazing opportunity for those who want to do research! But as an English major, all the things that I did instead were much more beneficial to me personally.
Being enrolled in an honors college isn't about just using the title to look good; it's all about leveraging your opportunities. So if Barrett gives you those opportunities that will help you down the road (smaller classes so you can focus, more seminars because you want to practice your argumentation, a thesis that gives you a chance to get money for your own research) then go for it! But there are also plenty of opportunities to help you thrive outside of the honors college.
After graduating, I will say it took me a while to find a job in my field. But; I didn't become an English major with the expectation of finding a job easily, or getting a job that ways super well. But, I did find an amazing opportunity and now I work as a teacher in Japan. Life is good!
Best of luck to everyone starting their college journey.
Thank you for the updates. Continued luck as you move forward in life!
that’s really cool! thank you for sharing
I love that you had the realization that Barrett wasn't the best option for you early in your college career and more importantly that you had the courage to drop Barrett. I had a very similar experience and also dropped out of Barrett after my freshman year when I realized that I was essentially wasting time doing "honor" busy work that wasn't benefitting my academic/career in any way and was NOT worth the financial burden (I was a first-generation college student from a low-income immigrant family, and despite having gotten the New American University Presidential Scholarship all of the extra fees that come with being an honors student was too much, no way that I could've afforded the required second year on-campus living). As a STEM student, I did research in multiple different labs and formed strong connections with Professors and Graduate students that proved invaluable for my career. None of those things required me to be an honors student. Throughout my 4 years I kept in touch with some friends that I met at Barrett (all whom stayed and graduated as honor students, most of them also STEM students with the same major as me) and I can say that there was barely any difference in our academic experiences. The vast majority of our classes were together (lecture portion) with (some of) the lab components being separate between honors and non-honors students (the honors labs moved a little bit faster but the main difference was that they had fewer students therefore more personalized attention). There were also times when the students in the honor labs had to write lab reports with a bit more intensive requirements.
All in all, I think that the concept and idea of Barrett has a lot of potential to be an incredible opportunity as an academic enhancing experience for honor students at ASU, but currently as it is just doesn't provide any real significant exclusive advantages that are worth the extra busy work and heftier price tag.
@@roberto7425 Roberto, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts here too! It's great to hear from a STEM student as I know that the barrett student experience must vary a lot depending on major and other factors. I'm proud of you!
Hi Madeline, thanks for sharing your thoughts on Barrett, very interesting!
Thank you so much for making this video. It is exactly the information I was looking for. I appreciate your candor and acceptance for other points of view and ideas. I now know that Barrett isn't what I want to do.
You should do your own research than listening to one blogger! @Samuel Welch
As an honor student, that is what you are supposed to do is learn and do your own research on the subject matter, thus, if you do your independent study you will learn more that is an advantage on you!
Hello,I'm a Chinese student from Yunnan university who major in Education,I'm doing my thesis about Barrett to get my master diploma🥺,I need further help to know how Barrett teach,learn and live et,Could u give me a hand,maybe interview 😭 Best wisher😋
Great insights and explanations! TYSM
Hi! I’m applying to ASU and Barrett this upcoming fall. Thanks so much for this video!! I’m hoping to major in Kinesiology or Exercise Science, and dance, so I’m glad you said there’s better honors contracts for STEM majors. I did want to ask, what did you think was the most beneficial part of Barrett? I want to join as I feel it’d be great for scholarships (I’m from out of state so finances will be an issue), as well as the specific honors courses, priority registration, and the better dorms. Hoping to hear from you!
Rebecca D hey Rebecca!! I think that you’re definitely on the right track with your thinking, I agree with you! I think that the most beneficial aspects are the priority registration (honestly so helpful- now that I’ve registered without it I do miss that), the smaller class sizes in the specific honors courses (especially for students taking STEM classes), and The Human Event. When I look back at my freshman year those are the aspects that make me glad that I did spend some time in Barrett! I think you should definitely go for it, I hope application season goes well for you👏🏼
It's all about the money, creating money opportunities for subsets of the ASU staff.
Great video! Do you think the dorms and dining hall are a significant improvement they weren't consideration in choosing Barrett?
weston preecs thank you! they definitely were a big part of choosing Barrett!! I really didn’t like the idea of sharing a bathroom with an entire dorm of students, so I appreciated having a semi private bathroom in the Barrett dorms. But as for the dining hall, it’s more money for the same quality of food, you eventually get tired of it all the same😅 so yes they were definitely part of my decision process but I won’t be sad to let them go.
Any application advice?
Hi Madeline! So since you were an English major, your honors contracts were more essay based. But if I had a business major, would I have honors contracts centered more around my major or would mine also be essays? Thanks so much for the information! :)
It completely depends on your research interests and also the availability of your professor during that semester! I am also an English major in Barrett, so many of my projects have been essay based. However, you can also do presentations, worksheets, etc. I suggest really pushing for a project that you want to do though, especially if you are passionate about your major. In doing that, it will become more of an independent study (rather than just an extra essay of sorts) where you will get a lot more feedback from your professor. It involves being your own advocate a little bit but it’s very much worth it!
Do you have any tips for like how to do the application? thanks and great video!
thank you!! about your application, I don't have any specific tips- if I remember correctly the main parts are the letter of recommendation and the essays. For the letter of recommendation- just make sure to ask a teacher or employer or somebody who you trust to make you look good- don't ask a teacher who has a reason to say anything negative about you! Also, when you ask for a letter of recommendation make sure to provide your resume. About the essays, the only tips I have are to not wait til last minute and make sure to revise them over and over. Conventions mean a lot because even little mistakes can make it look like you don't care. My favorite revision website is Hemingwayapp.com! Also, try to get your application in as soon as possible (without rushing) because near the end they start waitlisting people. Good luck Caleb!
Hi Madeline, could you tell me how the dorms and dining halls were in barret?
Hi! not to self-promo, but I did make a video about the Barrett dorms here: ruclips.net/video/NhoM1rcG6S8/видео.html As for the dining halls, they're just okay! The quality of food isn't better, the thing that makes it stand out is that it has a bit more variety than the other dining halls. I will say, the vegan tamales were so good!
In 2021, out of 89 applicants, only 48 were accepted! Though invited to join, everyone has to go through the process! Requirements are posted in Barrett Website! One’s opinion does not speak 🗣 for the whole academically excellent students!
Hi, THANKS for the insights - it was so valuable to hear your thoughts. I was wondering now that you are out 2 yrs from your decision, are there any things you miss about Barrett? You didn't say too much about the social experience (making friends during 1st yr especially) with the smaller "college within a college" and guaranteed housing - does it make a difference, in your opinion? So glad you shared your thoughts.
hi! to be frank, I don't miss Barrett at all. When I made this video, I hadn't made any friends yet at ASU even though I went to the Barrett events and had roommates and joined a club. Sometimes that just happens, and it isn't of mine or Barrett's fault! But you will understand that the social aspect wouldn't entice me to stay, especially when I saw lots of similar engagement on the wider ASU campus. I've heard that lots of people like the smaller campus "feel" and I think the feeling is really the main thing. If you want to make friends, there are a thousand clubs besides the Barrett ones, and a bunch of other events too. But sure, there is a nice central area in the Barrett compound, and after freshman year you can move to Vista which has its own area with restaurants and stuff, so each of those communities is a bit more secluded. Reflecting on my own experience, I do not think the social aspect would have ever been enough to get me to stay in, but I did really like having a nice dorm for my first year :) otherwise, the only perk I ever missed was getting the earliest class registration date! that was nice, but obvi not worth $1000😅
@@madelinelewis3973 You must have a different expectation when you enter Barrett! Barrett is #1 Honors College in US based from PrepScholars, this is a College for students who achieved academic excellence, thus, an association with like minded people! Having an Honors Credit will give a student a better chance to get their Master’s Degree to the top 3 University in the Nation! A $1k to $15k per year scholarships besides the Study abroad program!
hi madeline! how hard is barrett coursework or how heavy is the workload to, for example, ib or ap high school coursework, if you know what that's like?
Hi anthony dahdal ! So I took 3 honors classes- the human event for two semesters and ENG 105. ENG 105 had a relatively light course load and it was easier than an AP English class in my opinion. For the human event, it is definitely a lot of work with the amount of reading, and I would consider the essays to be difficult because of the new kind of critical thinking and writing you have to use. I would compare it to AP Lit for both coursework and workload, but relatively more difficult.
Would some people be able to look at this as an advantage? Since you are graduating with honours while not having to do too much extra. I've heard that it looks really good on a resume?
yes, there are definitely advantages! I encourage you to think more abstractly about how this looks good on a resume, though; just listing "honors college" won't do much. But you can leverage opportunities within the honors college and highlight those on your resume. For example, you can do independent research for your thesis project; you can lead a club; you can join student leadership; you can work with a professor. All that I'm pointing out, though, is that most of these (not the thesis) are opportunities that you would still have in a non-honors university experience :)
Thanks for the video!! Just in case anyone else is watching in 2021 or later -- the paper for the honors contract credit is actually not that unusual, a lot of schools that offer rigorous coursework give you honors credits for writing a paper, although they often call it an "honors thesis" instead of an "honors contract." Just wanted to add some perspective! :D
still just glorified work for extra credit lmao not an actual “honors” experience
@@mrinaaljangeti6821 It depends on each one’s perspective! Example, Madeline is leaning more in negative thought rather than positivity!
Great info, Madeline, thank you. If you are accepted to ASU into the Construction Management program, is there an advantage to Barrett for this major? Also - can you pls comment on the "ASU Party School" scene vs. Barrett scene? And how do the '2 schools' regard each other?
hi Wendy, i'm glad this was helpful! here are some links for your research. Take a look at the construction management major map here: degrees.apps.asu.edu/major-map/ASU00/ESCONMGTBS/null/ALL/2021?init=false&nopassive=true And here are the Barrett honors classes: catalog.apps.asu.edu/catalog/classes/classlist?term=2227 Look up some more RUclips videos for help reading the major map; but basically, you can use that to search the honors classes to see what options would be available to you. As far as Barrett versus ASU... it isn't really a "versus" situation. It's like ASU is the cafeteria and Barrett is a table in the corner where some people sit. Barrett is very much part of ASU and everything that goes along with it. Parties weren't part of my personal experience, but I'm sure they were happening just as much in the barrett dorms and the other ASU dorms. But it's easy to either get involved or stay away depending on your preference (make sure to talk about that with potential roommates!) So, overall, the schools don't really regard each other because everyone is an ASU student. Barrett is just an extra thing! Even after I left Barrett i had a bunch of friends who were in barrett because we met at work or in class. no big deal at all!
Great video, thank you! Is it difficult to get spots in the honors classes?
thank you! It's really competitive for some classes- I tried signing up for an honors Psychology class but didn't get in. But my honors English class was totally fine. Unfortunately I don't really know anything about any other honors classes🤷🏻♀️
Madeline Lewis Thanks!!
@George Winfield You will know the answer to your question if you look at the requirements and actually applied for it rather that taking in someone’s opinion! Actual experience is much better!
would you recommend barret for incoming nursing students? I am worried about the pre-reqs like chemistry and anatomy to be classes that are packed with students. could I take those for honors credits to get a smaller learning environment?
nursing is a major where I could really see Barrett being beneficial! I would recommend finding a nursing Barrett student or emailing a Barrett academic advisor to ask for more information about the honors sections currently available (the name of those classes that are honors credit, but they don't have the HON prefix). I can't find a current list online. Anyway, if those smaller honors classes are an option then I could see that being a beneficial environment for your major. If it seems like Barrett would be beneficial for your first year of general pre-req classes but not after; you could just do your freshman year since it isn't difficult to withdraw from Barrett. Best of luck to you!
Thank you for the video!
What they mean when saying
“ Humane Events Class is hard”!
And also, are there many students like you dropping out of Barrett?
Human Event is definitely a difficult course because it requires a whole mindset shift to really learn to read and write critically the way your professor wants you to. I'm not sure how many students stick with Barrett, but I do think a substantial number of people drop out like me. Every senior in Barrett has to do a thesis presentation and when I looked at the list of presentations last year, there were less than 1,000 people on the list. Somewhere around a thousand kids are admitted to Barrett Tempe every year, so apparently they aren't all making it to senior year.
Madeline Lewis
Thanks!
From my understanding, Human Events is only for Freshman, what they will take the following years? Normal electives?
Right, Barrett students take Human Event parts 1 and 2 in their freshman year. Those classes are in addition to the required classes for their major. After freshman year, you continue with your major map and either take honors electives or do honors contracts to get the rest of your honors credit.
Madeline Lewis
I think the real challenge will be graduating with 3.25 GPA!otherwise, it will be wasting of time, effort and money!
Madeline Lewis So Are you saying Barrett isn’t worth is?
Please reply
Being in Barrett was the biggest mistake.
Are classes small?
the Human Event classes I took had about 20 students.