Hutton Honors College

Why Students Come to IU & the Honors College: A Small Sample

At this time last year, Tyler Bond lived in Edmond, Oklahoma, Sara Martin del Campo called Peoria, Illinois home, and Jennifer Hansell attended high school in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Now all three live in Bloomington, attend IU, and are part of the Indiana University Honors College. The three students live in the Honors Residential Community at Forest, thrown together by their mutual choice to trek across state borders in pursuit of their college educations. Regardless of their original motivations, they're all here now, living under the same roof; however, their reasons for coming to IU may be as diverse as the Honors College community.

Bond's decision to attend IU stemmed partially from its academic opportunities and its location. A classical civilization and philosophy major, he says, "IU has one of the best classical studies departments in the nation, so that was probably the most important factor. The second most important factor was that it's not in Oklahoma. And also, my best friend moved to Indiana and spoke favorably of IU."

Martin del Campo was also influenced by the location of IU as well as the beauty of the campus. "I wanted to stay somewhat close to home, but I didn't want to stay in Illinois because everyone I know is there and I wanted to meet new people. And [IU] has an awesome campus." Although she considered attending other schools, IU emerged as her final choice because of the exciting possibilities of the school and its 'far-enough-away' locality.

Like Martin del Campo, Hansell was impressed by the campus and continues to enjoy the setting here at IU. "I was originally going to go into music, and one of my friends who is here now said [IU] was one of the best music schools. I came to visit and liked the campus. I'm not going into music anymore, but I still love the campus," Hansell said.

Bond and many of the Honors students were also swayed by the possibilities opened by the Honors College. Many students have found that being a part of the smaller, more intense school within the university has helped in making their acceptance decision and in maintaining challenging academic and extracurricular activities.

"Admission to the Honors College influenced my decision to go to IU. Since I've gotten here, I've liked living in the Honors Community and I like the honors classes I'm taking, which is why I'm taking two next semester," Bond said.

Another floor mate of Bond's, Deepthi Yelavarthi, also said the Honors College played a substantial role in helping her make the decision to come to Bloomington. "The Honors College at IU makes a huge university seem more personal, where you can get the resources of a larger educational institution and personal attention at the same time." Said Yelavarthi, a biochemistry major from Crown Point, Indiana. She also said she considered smaller schools, but then she "realized they didn't have the same resources."

The size of IU and its educational prospects are two factors that seem to be woven into the choices of many who came to school here.

Sophomore Michael Kraios, a legal studies and math major from Speedway, Indiana said, "I think the real reason why I came to IU is because it's so big and there are so many opportunities. I went to Speedway High School, and my graduating class had only 74 students. Here at IU, there are just so many people with so many different backgrounds."

Freshman Kyle Steinmetz, who also lives in the HRC, agreed with Kraios. "I wanted to go to a big campus, and it just seemed like a place where there were interesting people and fun things to do."

These students, then, came to IU with lofty expectations, and their experiences thus far have not disappointed. "I was surprised at how much I like living in the Honors Residential Community," Yelavarthi said. "The people here are really nice and friendly, and they make the school a more enjoyable place. And it's nice to know people in your classes."

Senior Ross Eidler, a religious studies major from Lafayette, Indiana, came to IU for its academic opportunities. "All it took was five minutes in the office of the chair of religious studies, and that was it," he said. After more than three years here, he said decisively that IU has exceeded his expectations. And the Honors College has contributed to that: HC extracurricular activities have received first priority in Eidler's schedule. "With very little effort, I was able to garner a complete small school experience while being given a plentitude of opportunities not given anywhere else."

Lisa Inks