What Is the Honors Living-Learning Community Like at App State?

Updated

First-year Honors students at Appalachian State live together in Cone Hall, and continuing Honors students can choose to live in Summit Hall. The point of the arrangement is to let the same group of students share classes, activities, and everyday life, so friendships and a sense of community form around the Honors experience rather than in isolated pockets. The student-led Appalachian Honors Association (AHA!) adds a steady calendar of events across the year.

How the housing piece works

The Honors College describes its living-learning community as a place to "learn, live, and grow alongside other Honors students." Two residence halls carry that role:

Student group Housing option What it means in practice
First-year Honors students Cone Hall Entering students live together, so the cohort shares a floor and a first-year experience
Continuing Honors students Summit Hall (optional) Students past their first year can choose to stay in Honors housing

Two details are worth noting for planning. First, Cone Hall is presented as where first-year Honors students live, not as an optional arrangement. Second, Summit Hall is described as a choice for continuing students, so upper-year Honors students who prefer other housing are not required to stay in the community.

Why living together matters here

The Honors College frames the community as more than a set of courses. Its stated aims for students are to collaborate in a community that challenges and supports them, build relationships with mentors and peers, and connect learning across "the classroom, residence hall, and broader community." The residence hall is named explicitly in that list, which is why housing is treated as part of the academic program rather than a separate amenity.

The academic side reinforces the same idea. Honors seminars are small and discussion-based, enrolling 12–18 students, and they bring together students from across majors to explore big questions. When the people in your seminar are also the people in your hall, the discussion can continue after class. That overlap is the mechanism the living-learning community is built on.

What the community looks like day to day

Beyond housing, three structures shape the Honors student experience:

  • Honors Academic Mentors. Every Honors student is paired with a mentor who helps connect interests to research, leadership, internships, global learning, graduate school, and other opportunities. After declaring a major, students keep the Honors mentor and add a major advisor to the mentoring team.
  • Interdisciplinary seminars. First-, second-, and third-year seminars are designed and taught by faculty around topics that matter to them, and they often fulfill general education requirements.
  • The Appalachian Honors Association (AHA!). This student-led organization hosts regular events throughout the year, giving students a social and programming layer that is run by peers.

A concrete example of how it fits together

Imagine a first-year student interested in environmental policy who is placed in Cone Hall. Her Honors seminar—one of the 12–18 student discussion courses—includes students from biology, political science, and business. Because they live in the same hall, the seminar conversation about a reading carries into the evening. Her Honors Academic Mentor helps her identify a research opportunity and a study abroad seminar, and AHA! events give her a low-pressure way to meet Honors students outside her seminar. By her second year, she can choose Summit Hall if she wants to keep that environment.

What to check before you decide

  • Housing is not the whole program. The living-learning community sits alongside seminars, mentoring, global learning, and undergraduate research and creative work. Evaluate the full package, not just the hall.
  • Summit Hall is a choice, not a requirement. If you are a continuing student with other housing priorities, the Honors College presents Summit Hall as an option.
  • Details can change. Residence hall assignments, seminar offerings, and event schedules are set by the university and the Honors College. Confirm current housing arrangements and seminar listings directly with the Honors College before making plans.

For current seminar topics, housing details, and how to connect with the community, start at honors.appstate.edu and use its "Connect and Learn More" section.