Top Honors Programs
Honors colleges can be a cost-effective and highly rewarding undergraduate experience for top-notch students. In the best-case scenario, you can enjoy all the benefits of a large university (research opportunities, athletics, and a diverse student body) while still benefiting from an intimate, rigorous, and individualized experience usually reserved for students attending elite liberal arts colleges.
Below, we have compiled a list of the nation’s top honors colleges/programs. Selection was based on the following indicators of program quality.
- Selectivity of the college/university (overall)
- Selectivity of the honors program
- Average honors class size
- Number of honors classes
- Availability of honors housing
- Whether priority registration is offered to honors students
Schools marked with an asterisk (*) rated especially high on several indicators and were ranked among the top 20 honors programs according to our methodology.
| Institution | ACT | SAT | GPA/Class Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arizona State University (Barrett)* | 29 (Average) | 1360 (Average) | 3.77 (Unweighted Average) |
| Auburn University | 29 (Minimum) | 1350 (Minimum) | 3.85 (Unweighted Minimum) |
| City University of New York (Macaulay)* | 30 (Average) | 1400 (Average) | 94.4 (Unweighted Average) |
| Clemson University (Calhoun)* | 33 (Average) | 1480 (Average) | Top 3% (Average) |
| Colorado State University | 30 (Average) | 1400 (Average) | 3.9 (Unweighted Average) |
| Florida State University | 32 (Average) | 1470 (Average) | 4.2 (Weighted Average) |
| Indiana University | 31-33 | 1440 (Average) | Top 5-10% |
| Louisiana State University | 31 (Average) | 1430 (Average) | 3.5 (Unweighted Minimum) |
| New Jersey Institute of Technology (Dorman)* | 30 (Minimum) | 1370 (Minimum) | Top 10% |
| Ohio State University | 32 (Average) | 1470 (Average) | Top 5-10% |
| Ohio University (Honors Tutorial College)* | 30 (Minimum) | 1400 (Minimum) | Top 10% |
| Oklahoma State University | 27 (Minimum) | 1290 (Minimum) | 3.75 (Weighted Minimum) |
| Oregon State University | 31 (Average) | 1430 (Average) | 3.94 (Unweighted Average) |
| Penn State University (Schreyer)* | 30-33 | 1400-1510 | 3.98-4.33 (Weighted) |
| Purdue University* | 32 (Average) | 1450 (Average) | 3.9 (Unweighted Average) |
| Rutgers University | 33 (Average) | 1500 (Average) | Top 5-10% |
| Temple University* | 32 (Average) | 1460 | 3.9 (Unweighted Average) |
| Texas A&M University | 31 (Average) | 1430 (Average) | Top 10% |
| Texas Tech University | 29 (Minimum) | 1360 (Minimum) | Top 10% |
| University of Alabama | 28-33 | 1310-1450 | 3.8 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Arizona | 29.7 (Average) | 1338 (Average) | 3.86 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Arkansas | 28 (Minimum) | 1310 (Minimum) | 3.5 (Unweighted Minimum) |
| University of California, Irvine (Campuswide Honors)* | 32 (Average) | 1470 (Average) | 4.2 (Weighted Average) |
| University of Central Florida | 32 (Average) | 1470 (Average) | Top 10% |
| University of Connecticut* | 32 (Average) | 1470 (Average) | Top 5% (Average) |
| University of Delaware* | 30-33 | 1400-1510 | 3.95 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Georgia* | 33 (Average) | 1400-1510 | 4.15 (Weighted Average) |
| University of Houston | 30 (Average) | 1410 (Average) | Top 10-20% (Average) |
| University of Illinois (Campus Honors)* | 34 (Average) | 1540 (Average) | Top 3% (Average) |
| University of Iowa | 30 (Minimum) | 1400 (Minimum) | 3.8 (Minimum) |
| University of Kansas* | 32.4 (Average) | 1480 (Average) | 3.95 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Kentucky | 32 (Average) | 1460 (Average) | 3.89 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Maryland* | 33 (Average) | 1490 (Average) | 4.5 (Weighted Average) |
| University of Massachusetts | 32 (Average) | 1450 (Average) | 4.3 (Weighted Average) |
| University of Michigan | 33-34 | 1500-1540 | 3.9 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Minnesota | 32-33 | 1450-1500 | Top 5% (Average) |
| University of New Mexico | 29-30 | 1360-1400 | 3.93 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill* | 33 (Average) | 1500 (Average) | Top 3% (Average) |
| University of Oklahoma | 30 (Minimum) | 1400 (Minimum) | Top 10% (Minimum) |
| University of Oregon (Clark)* | 31 (Average) | 1430 (Average) | 3.91 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Pittsburgh | 32 (Average) | 1450 (Average) | Top 5-10% |
| University of South Carolina* | 31-33 | 1440-1510 | 4.65 (Weighted Average) |
| University of Tennessee | 31 (Average) | 1430 (Average) | 4.0 (Weighted Average) |
| University of Texas (Plan II)* | 31-34 | 1430-1540 | Top 5% (Average) |
| University of Utah | 30 (Average) | 1390 (Average) | 3.9 (Unweighted Average) |
| University of Vermont | 31 (Average) | 1450 (Average) | Top 10% (Average) |
| University of Virginia (Echols)* | 34 (Average) | 1540 (Average) | Top 3% (Average) |
| University of Washington | 31-34 | 1430-1540 | Top 5% (Average) |
| University of Wisconsin (L&S Honors) | Not Considered | Not Considered | Top 5-10% |
| Washington State University | 28 (Average) | 1310 (Average) | 3.85 (Unweighted Average) |