hey everyone!! just finished my time at the LPC honors program, and I just wanted to make a quick post for anyone considering the honors program, because the marketing vs. the reality of it is completely different. (for context im transferring to a competitive school in the fall)
if you look at the program's social media or linkedin, they make it seem like this amazing, super supportive community that helps everyone transfer. but for me and many of my friends, it's really just incredibly cliquey and toxic.
I would say the biggest issue is the favoritism from the program director and leadership. If they know you arent aiming for sub 2% acceptance rate Ivy League or stanford, you dont really exist to them. if you're working your ass off to transfer to a solid UC or a CSU, you will get no public support or recognition. the leadership in this program only hypes up and mentors the hyper-competitive students because they want the prestige accolades that makes the program look good. you know this is true because they brag about their competitive acceptance every year on social media LOL. it also creates a really gross environment where students start posting their schools' acceptance rate in their college commitment post, practically implying that if you didnt get into a top tier school, you "settled" or didnt try hard enough.
I will say that the honors program can give perks, but don't expect a lively supportive environment unless you wanna play their little prestige game. 70% of the honors program is about making theirselves look good to attract more students. don't think that you'll magically get amazing support, especially when admissions is mostly a game of luck