Honors College

Happy New Year! I hope you’re all off to a good start. I’m so excited to see what this year brings, especially all of the things I have in store to share with you. Thanks for coming along with me in 2024!

While we’re focused on sticking to our resolutions, I want to talk to you about Honors Colleges—what’s the benefit?

Enrolling in an honors college has numerous benefits and, in many cases, can open the door to impressive scholarship offers. I encourage all of my clients with outstanding academic records to consider applying to the honors colleges at the universities they are considering!

• Most honors college students get priority registration, which can mean getting the schedule you want, the best-rated professors, and ensuring that you graduate within 4 years. 

• Honors colleges are pipelines into the most coveted research programs on campus and are incubators for prestigious scholarships and fellowships like the Rhodes Scholarship, Goldwater, and Fulbright. In fact, at many colleges like Clemson University in South Carolina, these scholarship offices are housed within the honors college. (Fun fact: TCU’s John V. Roach Honors College produced 35 Fulbright Scholars in a 12-year span. Incredible!)

• Honors colleges can make large public universities feel smaller and more intimate. They offer an intimate environment where, much like high school, you can foster meaningful relationships with professors. This can be especially meaningful as you approach graduate school or the job market and need referrals, access to networking opportunities, and impactful letters of recommendation. 

• Honors colleges often have special housing or themed learning communities. It can be really advantageous to live in the nicest housing on campus with other like-minded students, and can offer an immediate community to which students can cling as they navigate their way in a new, unfamiliar space.

• Honors colleges offer very cool programming. Think: lecture series with international leaders, mentoring opportunities with notable and famous alumni, or retreats that foster community and inspire innovation! Some programming nurtures students’ quirky side, like The University of Florida’s Honors Program, while other honors programs offer mentored research (greater likelihood of acceptance into med school!), exclusive study abroad programs, or even opportunities to shave a year off of school with competitive 3+3 Law programs like at The University of Oregon.

• Honors College acceptances often come with more scholarship offers. This is not always but very often the case!

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT ADMISSION

Often, you will be considered for honors college admissions simply by applying to the university; however, many have a separate application and/or a priority deadline. Read the policies early and carefully!

Many honors colleges will prioritize high test scores, If you apply test-optional, you are likely limiting your honors college consideration.
You will want to indicate to your recommender that you are applying for honors college consideration - they have a different benchmark of success as well as the applicant!

UNC Chapel Hill shares the suggestions below, and they are indicative of what most honors college admission teams are seeking and what is focused on in the Magnolia Method:

“As we read supplemental essays, we’ll be looking for:

- evidence of a strong intellectual curiosity

- broad interest in interdisciplinary learning

- willingness to explore outside of one’s comfort zone

- critical self-reflection of academic goals

Recommendations from teachers and guidance counselors also tell us a lot about a student. Strong recommendations will address a student’s:

- academic success

- demonstrated ability to face challenges

- sense of discovery

- potential contribution to a community of school”

Before being tempted to recycle essays from another application, please research why the honors college is a great fit for you!

• Read the mission statement and provide supporting anecdotes in the prompt that answer the question AND reveal how you are a good fit. Make sure when the application is read, it is obvious you are referencing the programs and opportunities unique to the university and its honors college. 

• Explore the website early in your search process, and register for any virtual information session. Additionally, see if you can schedule a tour of the honors college when you visit in person. For example, The University of Alabama will curate a special schedule just for you when you register for a visit to their honors colleges. While not officially “tracking interest,” these efforts to learn more about the program can mean the difference between an acceptance and not.

• If you do not get in, ask for reconsideration after you pay your enrollment deposit! Sometimes, honors colleges miss the mark on who enrolls and don’t meet their yield. An eager student invested in the program's mission might be surprised when requesting a second look. Additionally, write a persuasive “love letter” highlighting exactly what you will contribute to the honors college community and exactly how you will benefit from it. End the letter by thanking them for a thoughtful and careful reconsideration. The fortune is in the follow-up! (Please note: You need to follow directions first and foremost. If an honors college clearly states that decisions are FINAL, I suggest passing and following my next piece of advice instead.)

• Reapply once enrolled as a freshman or sophomore (policies vary by institution). Being admitted as a current student can sometimes be easier than being a prospective student!

  
  Good luck!

Whether you’re a student, parent, teacher, or advisor—you recognize the tremendous benefit of higher education and its impact on shaping one’s future. And no matter your role within this incredibly defining decision-making process, it can be a stressful time for you.

I’m here to be your advisor, organizer, tutor, cheerleader, friend, and compass through this journey. I’ve helped over 2,000 students locate and gain acceptance to the college of their dreams, and I’m so excited to help you, too.

Let’s get to work!

-Allie Pierson, Founder