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Honors College Essay: Tips, Prompt Examples and How to Write

Writing honors college essay

An honors college essay is an academic paper that students typically complete to establish entrance into an honors college, program, or division. An honors paper seeks to test students’ research skills and focus their analytical abilities on a subject of academic interest. 

Due to the specialized focus of the paper, students benefit from serious attention to the college essay topics, which are vital in developing the essay.

An Honors College essay is unique in terms of its requirements, structure, and background. The purpose of this article is to provide advice on writing and structuring an Honors College essay.

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Which Universities do Ask for Honors College Essay

1. uci (university of california irvine) .

The UCI has two programs, the Academic Honors Program and the Honors Program. Both are popular with many members. They are not mutually exclusive, but they have different requirements and different goals.

The Academic Honors Program is for students who want to get recognized by their professors for academic achievement. It does not require an essay but several letters of recommendation from faculty members.

You should not apply to either program if you are only interested in one or the other because there is no guarantee that either program will accept your application or that you will gain acceptance into either program.

2. VCU (Virginia Commonwealth University)

The applicants must complete the 500-word Essay on Honors. The essay should address the following topics:

• Your interests and goals, especially as they pertain to your intended major(s) and career path(s). How do you feel about being a lifelong learner?
• Your ideas about leadership, including h
• How you would define leadership, what your leadership style is, how you would use your abilities as a leader to positively impact your community in and out of college, and how you would lead if given the opportunity.

3. NJT (New Jersey Institute of Technology)

NJT requires you to write an essay and submit it along with your application.

These honors college essays usually focus on your intellectual interests and experiences, using specific examples to illustrate your points. It’s essential to select an area you are interested in and know about. 

You should also pick something that you can write about easily; it will be evident if you are writing a research paper or other academic work instead of an honors college essay, so don’t try to fake it!

4. Purdue University

Purdue University’s Honors College focuses on scholarship, leadership, research, and engagement by integrating residential and co-curricular learning opportunities with academic classroom experiences.

Your college application essay needs to breathe life into your application. It should capture your genuine personality, explaining who you are beyond a series of grades, test scores, and after-school activities. 

Take a minute and think about the college or university admission officers who will be reading your essay.

5. Stony Brook University

The Stony Brook Honors College provides an exceptional opportunity for students who want to pursue a challenging course of study in the company of talented peers. Your essay should be no longer than three double-spaced pages and should address certain questions.

It is an opportunity to explain an event that took place on any day in history; what would that event be? Discuss why you chose this particular day. Also, as this question, what do you hope to learn/experience by being present?

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How to Write a Good Honors College Essay

Honors college essays follow a formal style with a clear structure. To get your honors college essay, follow these tips:

• Think about the prompt and what you want to say.
• Brainstorm.
• Organize your thoughts into a logical outline.
• Write your introduction.
• End with a conclusion that sums up the main points of your argument and connects those points back to the prompt.

Technically, the honors college essay can be a five-paragraph essay, but it should be more than that.

It should be closer to a 10-paragraph essay, with an introduction and conclusion paragraph that are each about four or five sentences long.

The introduction and conclusion paragraphs should be about the same size. The middle of the essay should be about three paragraphs long, and each of them should be about four to five sentences long.

1. Introduction 

The introduction should have a hook which is a catchy sentence or two that gets the reader interested in reading your essay. Furthermore, it should have an explanation of why you want to go to Honors College: This is usually possible in one sentence. 

Also, there should be a thesis statement. This is usually evident in one sentence at the end of the paragraph. The thesis statement tells the reader what you plan to write about in your essay. For example: “I want to attend honors college because of their strong pre-med program.”

Write the body of your paper using transition words to connect your ideas and explain the connections between them.

The middle paragraphs should include an explanation of why you have chosen your career path and why you are interested. 

3. Conclusion

End with a strong conclusion that ties together everything you discussed within your paper, providing important takeaways for readers as well as leaving them feeling satisfied with what they just read.

Takeaways 

• You are writing an essay, not a text message. In other words, please use complete sentences and correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation. If proper English is not your strong suit, enlist someone proficient at it to help edit your essay.
• Be specific about what you want to study and why. Do not just say that you want an education; tell the reader what kind of education you want and why. This is particularly important if you plan to study something that you did not find at your high school. 
• The readers do not expect you to know everything about the field you plan to enter. They expect that you give serious consideration to it and explain why you want to pursue it beyond the fact that “it sounds interesting” or “it pays well.”
• Proofread your essays before sending them in. Errors will distract from whatever else is in those essays and may give us a negative impression of your abilities.

Things to Remember about Honor Essays

The honors essay is one of your best chances to stand out in a meaningful way from other applicants, so be sure to invest time in crafting a great response.

The admission office is looking for the following:

• The office wants to know that you understand what makes the honors program special. We have a diverse group of students and faculty who are passionate about learning and interacting across disciplines.
• What do you think this will mean for you? How will you take advantage of being in an environment that values interdisciplinary thinking?
• Your accomplishments. Let the audience know your talents. Have you excelled academically? What leadership roles have you taken on, or awards have you won? They want to discover what drives your passion for learning, leadership, and service.
• Your plans for the future. The honors program will prepare you for success beyond your skills, whether that’s graduate school or medical school, or a career in a completely different field. 

People Also Read: NJHS Essay: How to Write a Winning Piece from Ideas to end

Examples of Honors College Essay Topics

• Considering your lifetime goals, explain how your present and future academic activities will assist you in achieving your goals. 
• Settle for an issue of importance to you, whether it is political, personal, local, or international related. Then, craft an essay to explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your community, and your generation. 

When not handling complex essays and academic writing tasks, Josh is busy advising students on how to pass assignments. In spare time, he loves playing football or walking with his dog around the park.

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Albert Dorman Honors College

Tips for Writing an Honors College Essay

Writing an Honors College Essay (Max. 400 words)

A college essay is a chance for you to tell us what all your records cannot: who you really are, how you think, and how well you write. It is not an invitation to tell a story, write a novel, or write about other people's experiences. The main point of your essay is to tell us what you have to offer and how you will take advantage of what we have to offer .

• Write an essay that addresses the topic specified  on the application form. A general essay about yourself or an experience you had is not acceptable.
• Do not write your essay as if it were a novel. "The baby cried until it had to be comforted by its mother;" "I could not believe as I walked into my first class that this was the beginning of my engineering career." These tell us nothing about yourself. Regardless of what you may have been told in school, write a straightforward descriptive essay that directly addresses the question asked.
• Avoid clichéd, generic, and predictable writing, such as "I want to help people." This is particularly applicable to essays for accelerated program candidates.
• Do not quote our own description of our program. We know what we have to offer; we are interested in knowing what you have to offer and how you will use what we offer . Tell us about your interests and why the Albert Dorman Honors College is the right place for you.

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Your chance of acceptance, your chancing factors, extracurriculars, honors program application essay advice.

Hey guys, I'm trying to write my essay for an honors program application. Can anyone give me advice on what kind of topics and structure I should focus on to stand out? I'd really appreciate it, thanks!

Hey there! Writing an essay for an honors program can be a great opportunity to showcase your achievements, ambitions, and individuality. Here are some tips to help you craft a compelling essay:

1. Read the prompt and requirements carefully: Before writing, make sure you understand what the honors program is looking for in their applicants. Align your response with their expectations, whether it's academic achievement, leadership, or community involvement.

2. Be authentic: Choose a topic that genuinely reflects your interests and experiences. This can help you tell a more engaging story that reveals who you are as a person. Honors programs appreciate applicants who can show authenticity and passion in their essays.

3. Focus on your unique qualities: Discuss what makes you an ideal candidate for the honors program. This can include your achievements, skills, or personal qualities that set you apart from other applicants. Don't be shy to showcase your accomplishments, but be mindful of sounding too boastful.

4. Tell a story: Use narrative techniques to share your experiences or accomplishments in a way that engages the reader. For instance, if you took on a leadership role in a project that positively impacted your community, describe the challenges you faced, the decisions you made, and the ultimate outcome in a concise and compelling manner.

5. Be clear and concise: Make sure your essay is well-organized, with a clear introduction, body, and conclusion. Avoid going off on tangents, and make sure each paragraph flows logically into the next.

6. Revise and refine: Don't be afraid to revise your essay multiple times. Seek feedback from others, such as your teachers, family members, or friends, to polish your essay further. Pay close attention to grammar, punctuation, and spelling to ensure your writing is clear and concise.

As an example, let's say you decide to focus on your volunteer experience at a local food bank. You could start by discussing how you got involved and what motivated you to volunteer. Then, you might describe the different responsibilities you took on, the challenges you overcame, and the impact your work had on the food bank and the people it serves. Finally, you could tie this experience back to the honors program by explaining how it demonstrates your dedication to community service and empathetic leadership.

Don't forget: Proofread your essay multiple times and ask for feedback from others to ensure your writing is polished and error-free. Good luck!

About CollegeVine’s Expert FAQ

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Honors at Iowa

Essay writing tips.

Answer the question.

This may seem like an obvious one, but we sometimes receive responses to questions we have not asked. This should be a new essay you have written about your self specifically in response to our prompt.

Do not reuse common application or scholarship essays you have already written - it should be evident that you wrote a new essay in response to the question we have asked.

Use the space you are given.

We ask for a maximum of 750 words, but have not specified a minimum. While we see great essays at a variety of lengths, students who reach less than two thirds of the maximum words typically have not engaged with the essay prompt in a way that helps us get to know them (or that answers the question ). 

Remember that we want to get to know you.

Most of our applicants will have good grades and scores, so we rely on your essay to get a sense of who you are. This is how you stand out. In reviewing your essay before submission, ask yourself 'could this essay be written only by myself or could it have been written by anyone?' We are not looking for anything in particular when we read your application except getting to know you as a person. Be genuine. The essay should reflect what you want to write, not what you think we want to hear.

No really, what makes this essay unique is you.

Self-reflection is a large component of the Honors Program. We will be looking for some reflection in your essay. This has the dual benefit of making the essay truly, uniquely yours. Another cannot author your self-reflection. 

Stay away from absolutes.

Avoid words like "always", "never", and "no one/everyone." They can kill an otherwise sound argument and potentially divert the reader’s focus from the topic at hand to finding the exceptions, often weakening important and well-informed points.

Do not conclude by pandering.

Your conclusion does not need an explicit statement along the lines of "And this is why I'm looking forward to all the opportunities in the honors program" or "And that's why I'm excited to be a Hawkeye". It's great that you're excited to join our community, but we take your engagement with the application, as it's written (i.e. follow the instructions), as your statement of interest.

Enjoy it! (No, really!)

Believe it or not, we do not ask for an essay just to make you write. We hope the essay can be an outlet for you to explore your own mind. Don't worry about proving anything to us, other than the fact that you are human - There is no right answer! Dig deep and have fun.

Lastly, proofread!

Revise! When you think you are done, revise once more!

First-Year Admission

Applying as a first-year to the Honors Program

The application for first-year admission to Interdisciplinary Honors is integrated into the  UW First-year Application , with additional required essays and a separate evaluation process. You must complete and submit all of the regular UW Admissions and all of the Honors application materials to be considered for Interdisciplinary Honors admission.

Before applying to Honors, we recommend you explore the following:

Who are Honors students?

The honors curriculum, tips for applying, honors student leaders, scholarships, admissions faq.

Interested in applying for admissions for autumn 2024? Register for an information session!

RSVP HERE FOR AUTUMN 2023 SESSIONS

NOTE: We are unable to offer individual admissions appointments for prospective first-year applicants. Please attend an information, review our presentation slides,browse our website, and reach out to our Honors Student Leaders if you still have questions. Thank you for your understanding!

Important Dates

Application process.

To access and submit the Honors application questions:

• Follow the University of Washington Office of Admissions’ instructions on how to apply ;
• If you no longer wish to apply to Honors at any point, you must change your selection to “No.”
• Complete the UW application AND the Honors section of the UW application .
• You will receive separate confirmation emails from UW and the Honors Program.
• Check your email. UW Honors uses the email address in your UW application as our primary method of contact, including our decision letters and scholarship offers. If you set up an “@uw.edu” address, it will take priority. If you have not received any confirmation emails, please check your spam/trash folders first, then contact us at uwhonors@uw.edu .

Honors Essay

The heart of the Honors application is the Honors Essay. This essay, separate from the UW Writing section, requires an essay specific to Interdisciplinary Honors. Your response will be evaluated on content as well as form (spelling, grammar, and punctuation).

Your essay should be original, thoughtful, and concise. Do not copy previous essays from your UW application or materials found on the UW Honors Program web site. Draw on your best qualities as a writer and thinker; academic risk-taking is a core value of the Honors Program, so take some risks and be honest. Tell us who you are and why you want an interdisciplinary undergraduate education. Work on the essays early. Have someone proofread your writing but don’t let a proofreader erase your unique voice.

Essay Prompt for Autumn 2024

Respond to the essay prompt using no more than 450 words.

We want to understand your desire to learn new things and to push your education outside of the areas of learning that you are most familiar with. 

Tell us why this type of learning interests you and which subjects you’re excited to explore in college.

• Be yourself and be specific! This is your opportunity to introduce yourself to us. Demonstrate why you are interested in our curriculum and what qualities you would contribute to the Interdisciplinary Honors Program.
• Remember your audience. The UW is a large and diverse public institution. The people evaluating your application may not have the same beliefs or perspective you do. Diverse viewpoints are desired in the academic world. Consider this as you frame your essays.
• Proofread! Have someone who knows you proofread your responses, but don’t let your voice and perspective be erased.
• Do not send transcripts or supplemental materials (recommendations, news articles, resumes, digital media, etc.). These will be discarded upon receipt.

Read our Tips for Applying for more detailed advice.

The Honors Holistic Review & Test Scores

The University of Washington’s Office of Admissions has moved to a test optional policy for Autumn 2021 and beyond. Accordingly, the University Honors Program admissions evaluators will not consider test scores, which have historically been a small factor in our evaluation process. The Honors Program admissions evaluation focuses on many factors, including :

• Demonstrated knowledge of and interest in our specific interdisciplinary curriculum and values;
• Demonstrated cultural awareness or unique perspectives or experiences;
• Demonstrated academic preparation; and 
• Demonstrated commitment to community engagement.

To be considered for admission to the University Honors Program first-year applicants must first be admitted to the University of Washington. Please refer to the University of Washington’s Office of Admissions to further understand their review process.

Read our admissions FAQs

FROM THE DIRECTOR

As we enter a new freshman admissions season, the Director of Honors invites students and the communities around them to learn more about the UW Honors curriculum.

Connect with UW Honors:

Mary Gates Hall 211, Box 352800 Seattle, WA 98195-2800 Contact Us Office Hours: Mon-Thur, 10am-4pm, Friday by Online Appointment Only. For details click here .

© 2024 University of Washington | Seattle, WA

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Extracurriculars.

How to Master the ‘Honors’ Section of the Common App

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What’s Covered:

What to include in the honors section, examples of honors, how to organize and describe honors.

The “Honors” section of the Common Application is every ambitious student’s dream: a space made specifically for you to list the fruits of your hard work and effort in high school. The awards and honors you select to populate the five spaces need to demonstrate your talents and accomplishments, all while fitting into a brief 100 characters. Choosing which honors to include — and how to describe them — can be tricky business. Thankfully, we’re here to help. Read on for tips on how to best utilize the Honors section of your Common Application.

Looking for more advice on how to master the Common App? Check out our blog post How to Write the Common Application Essays 2021-2022 .

The Honors section asks for the name of the honor, the type of honor, and the grade(s) in which you received this honor.

It can be difficult to think of things you’ve done that are worth mentioning in the Honors section. However, just because you haven’t won any national cello performance competitions or been named a National Merit Scholar doesn’t mean you don’t have activities that belong in this section. 

There’s a common misconception that only the most prestigious or impressive awards should be listed on your application. In reality, any recognition of academic accomplishment can and should be included in this section. In fact, the Common App even breaks down the various honors into three sections: school-wide/local, state, and national awards. 

While the Honors section is intended for “academic” honors, you can include extracurricular honors such as an art award or debate team ranking. Just save your athletic awards for the Activities Section , unless the award is related to your academics or character (i.e. “Scholar Athlete” or “Integrity Award”). 

School-Wide/Local Awards 

These include being a member of your school’s chapter of the National Honor Society, honor roll or principal’s list, or a “Biology Student of the Year” award. In addition, extracurricular awards from competitions held at a local level, such as Mock Trial county champion or 1st place in your area’s Academic Decathlon, can all be listed on your application.

State Awards

These include awards for best oboe performance in the state of California or top Science Olympiad score in Massachusetts. State awards are usually considered more prestigious than local awards, since they are selected from a larger group.

National Awards 

These are considered more prestigious than the previous two. Titles like National Hispanic Scholar, AP Scholar (and AP Scholar with Honors, AP Scholar with Distinction, etc.) are all national honors. 

International Awards

These are the most prestigious awards because the scope of competition is so much broader than the other three. Awards in this category include any competition in which you’re up against international competitors, such as any of the International Academic Competitions.

• National Honor Society; 11, 12
• Honor Roll; 10, 11, 12

State/Regional:

• Debate team state champions; 10, 11
• Siemens Competition, 2nd Place

International: 

• Finalist in CFGL International Essay Contest; 11

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Many of the strategies for describing activities on the Common Application also apply to the honors section. Just as activities should be ranked according to their prestige and your degree of involvement, honors should be listed with the most competitive and well-recognized awards first. Generally, national awards should be listed first, followed by state awards, followed by local awards.

Using Numbers

The 100 character limit can make describing awards difficult. In order for these brief descriptions to be as impactful as possible, we recommend quantifying the value of the award to the greatest degree possible. Include the technical qualifications for the honor or award (if any), the numbers of students in the group from which the honorees were selected, and the number of honorees. This is especially helpful for local awards with which admissions committees will be less familiar, but can also emphasize the competitiveness of certain large-scale awards.

Thoughts on Acronyms?

Though acronyms seem like a perfect solution to constricting character limits, their use should be avoided if possible: No admissions committee knows that MHSBPACA is the Montgomery High School Band Parents Association Community Award. Your job is to balance the need for a brief character count with clear, effective descriptions of each award.

To Be (Picky) or Not to Be (Picky)

Finally, don’t be picky about what you choose to include. There are 5 slots available, and you should try and fill all of them if possible, even if you may initially think you have nothing to include. Honor roll, membership in an honors society, AP Scholar — such awards are fairly common and can all serve to add another dimension to your application.

If you have the opposite problem and feel as though you don’t have enough space to list all your honors and awards, begin by listing those which are most selective or competitive, and then those most relevant to your potential major or desired career path. Leftover awards can be strategically placed in the descriptions of the Extracurricular Activities section or in the Additional Info section .

Each section of the Common App, big or small, presents a valuable opportunity to demonstrate your accomplishments, personality, and passion to admissions committees. The Honors section is no different — though you only have space for five 100-character descriptions, you can seize the opportunity to show admissions committees that you are not only talented and accomplished in your academic and extracurricular pursuits, but you also have the evidence to back it up.

Follow our tips for making the most of your Honors section, and you’ll be one step closer to making your Common App the best it can be!

If you’re wondering how your application stacks up, use our free chancing engine to see your chances of getting into your dream schools. This will help you build a balanced school list and increase your odds of being accepted to at least one of your choices.

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College applications are all about showing off to the admissions committee, and what better way to do so than to lead with your most impressive academic awards.   What are the best academic honors and awards to put on a college application?

In this guide, we give you 7 0+ academic honors examples to give you an idea of what types of achievements colleges like to see most on applications.   In addition, we explain what counts as an academic honor or award, go over different impressive academic honors and awards examples you can get, and give you useful tips for effectively talking about awards on your application.

What Is an Academic Honor or Award?

First things first, what counts as an academic honor or award?

Generally speaking, an academic honor or award is any major achievement you’ve made and been recognized for in some way.   The form of recognition can range from an actual object, such as a trophy or plaque, to prize money, a title, or verbal recognition.

Typically, an academic honor will fall into one of the following categories:

• Distinction, honor, or honorable mention  for which you won’t usually receive a physical object or award—just the title
• A diploma or certificate indicating the completion of a program or recognizing an accomplishment in a program or other activity
• Prize or award won from a contest, competition, or tournament
• Scholarship given in recognition of an outstanding (academic) accomplishment
• Membership in a highly selective and competitive group or society

If you’ve won any awards for specific activities such as a sport you play or a club you’re part of, it’s better to list these in the extracurricular activities section of your application instead of in a separate awards section.

So what are some honors and awards to put on a college application? Up next, we'll take a look at more than 70 academic honors examples.

Academic Honors and Awards Examples

Here, we give you a list of 70+ academic honors and awards examples you could include on your own college application, from prizes won in national and international contests to school-based distinctions and awards.

All the academic honors examples below are grouped by category and listed alphabetically.

Note that this is not an exhaustive list of all academic honors and awards you could possibly have, so if you have an achievement that doesn’t exactly match one of the examples below, don’t worry—you can still put it on your college application!

Advanced Placement (AP) Awards

• AP International Diploma (APID)
• AP Scholar with Distinction
• AP Scholar with Honor
• DoDEA AP Scholar
• International AP Scholar
• National AP Scholar
• State AP Scholar
• IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) Certificate

National Awards

• Governor’s Volunteer Award
• National Student Volunteer Award
• President’s Award for Educational Achievement
• President’s Award for Educational Excellence
• President’s National Service Award

PSAT Awards

• National Hispanic Scholar
• National Merit Commended Student
• National Merit Finalist
• National Merit Scholar
• National Merit Semifinalist
• School-based National Merit Scholarship winner

School-Based Awards

• Foreign language award
• High class rank (e.g., top 10%)
• Honor roll/GPA award
• National Honor Society membership
• Perfect Attendance Award
• School-specific award
• School subject-specific award
• Student of the Month/Term/Year
• Subject-specific Honor Society membership (e.g., Science Honor Society)

Competitions and Contests

• AAN Neuroscience Research Prize
• Academic Decathlon
• Academic Triathlon
• American Regions Mathematics League (ARML)
• B.E.S.T. Robotics Design contest
• Conrad Spirit of Innovation Challenge
• Davidson Fellows Scholarship
• Doodle 4 Google
• Google Science Fair
• Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF)
• International BioGENEius Challenge
• International Chemistry Olympiad
• International Mathematical Olympiad
• International Photography Awards (IPA)
• Kids Philosophy Slam
• Microsoft Imagine Cup
• MIT INSPIRE
• MIT THINK Scholars Program
• National Academic League
• National Academic Quiz Tournament
• National Economics Challenge by CEE
• National Geographic Bee
• National Geographic Student Photo Contest
• National High School Mock Trial Championship
• National Science Bowl
• National Science Olympiad
• PhysicsBowl
• Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS)
• Regional/National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium
• Scholastic Art & Writing Awards
• Toshiba/NSTA ExploraVision Awards
• University Interscholastic League (UIL)

Miscellaneous Awards

• Boy Scouts/Eagle Scouts awards
• Employee of the Month
• Girl Scouts awards
• Merit scholarships for college
• Musical performance award
• National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) winner
• National Poetry Writing Month (NaPoWriMo) winner
• Publications (such as short stories, art pieces, essays, etc.)
• Volunteer award
• Work award or promotion

The Best Honors and Awards to Put on a College Application

Of the dozens of academic honors examples above, which ones will look the most impressive on a college application?  Here, we explain the top four qualities a truly impressive academic honor will have. 

Note that an honor doesn’t need to have all  these qualities, though if it does, then it is definitely an excellent one to put on your application!

#1: It’s Highly Selective

One quality you want to highlight on your application is the selectivity of the award or honor you’ve won.  In other words, the academic award will be one that a lot of students try to win, making it difficult to achieve.

For example, because national and international contests and competitions draw so many student competitors, winning an award like these would certainly impress the admissions committee.

The more selective an academic honor or award is, the more impressive it’ll look on your college application.

Academic Honors Examples of Highly Selective Awards

• Google Science Fair winner

#2: It’s Unique

Admissions committees see a lot of honor roll and National Society honors on college applications (not that these are bad — they’re just fairly common). So if you've won a particularly unique or rare award, definitely include it on your application, as this will  help you stand out from the crowd.

A unique award can be highly selective; it can also be one that is less well known or that highlights something creative, surprising, or impressive about you.

For instance, maybe you won the Most Innovative Employee award at your part-time job after you pitched the idea to create and manage a social media page for the company.

Academic Honors Examples of Unique Awards

• Specific school-based awards (e.g., Most Confident Speaker in Chinese Class)
• Local or community-based awards 

#3: It’s Relevant to Your Academic Interests and Strengths

Another academic award or honor that's  great to include on your college application is one that’s relevant to your academic interests and strengths.  These are typically subject- or field-specific awards, such as English or writing awards, math awards, etc.

For example, if you’re planning to major in engineering, you'd want to detail any awards you might have won in science, math, or engineering contests.

Relevant awards indicate to the admissions committee not only that you’re truly committed to the field you want to study, but also that you’re one of the most promising students in your field.

Academic Honors Examples of Relevant Awards

• Writing award or publication (if you’re an English or creative writing major, for example)
• STEM award (if you’re a STEM major)
• Model UN (if you’re a political science or IR major, for example)

#4: It Highlights Your Leadership Potential

An impressive academic honor or award will also emphasize your leadership potential.  These are typically   awards that involve group or collaborative work.  S o if you ever led others to success — as a captain or president, for instance — this kind of honor would look great to potential colleges.

Just make sure that you explain on your application what kind of role you had and how your leadership specifically led your team to success.

Academic Honors Examples of Leadership/Group Awards

• Volunteer awards
• Girl Scouts or Eagle Scouts awards

How to Talk About Honors on Your College Application: 4 Tips

Since you likely won’t have a lot of room to write about academic honors and awards on your application, it's important that   you present your academic achievements in an effective, impressive way.  Here are some tips on how to talk about the awards you've won.

Tip 1: Open With Your Most Impressive Awards

Admissions officers don’t usually spend a lot of time with each application they get, so you want to make sure that you’re catching their eyes right away by starting with your most impressive honors and awards.  These will generally be awards that are highly competitive and required a lot of work and commitment on your end.

Tip 2: Focus on Your Spike

A "spike" is a particular academic passion you have.   For example, if you’re a science buff who plans to major in chemistry, you'd want to emphasize your spike on your application by focusing primarily on your chemistry- and science-related activities and awards.

Having a spike will ultimately help you stand out from other applicants.  To learn more about how you can develop a spike, check out our guide on how to get into Harvard and the Ivy League .

Tip 3: Describe Awards That Are Vague or Unclear

Not all academic awards and honors are well known or obvious, especially if they’re unique to your school or area. Therefore, m ake sure that you’re using the space you have in the awards section of your application to describe any academic honors that the admissions committee is probably unfamiliar with.

The last thing you want an award to do is confuse admissions officers, so be clear about what it is, how you won it, and what makes it impressive.

Tip 4: Explain the Competitiveness of the Award

For each academic award or honor you’ve won, you want to clarify its level of competitiveness by explaining the scope of the competition.  For example, was the science tournament you won a national one? A local one? A school-based one?

Note that if the award has the word "national" or "international" in it, you shouldn’t have to add much explanation to its description since it'll be obvious that the award is fairly selective.

The overall point here is to show off!

Recap: Honors and Awards to Put on a College Application

As you can see, there's a huge variety in the types of academic honors and awards examples you can put on your college application. The 70+ academic honors examples listed above are just some of the possible honors you could include.

In general, the best academic honors to include on your application will have some or all of the following qualities:

• They’re highly selective/competitive
• They’re unique
• They highlight your academic interests and strengths (your "spike," that is)
• They emphasize your leadership skills/potential

You won’t have a ton of space on your application to explain the academic awards you’ve won, so it’s important to use the room you have wisely. To reiterate, h ere are our four best tips for how to talk about your academic awards and honors on your application:

• Open with your most impressive awards and honors
• Focus on your spike —i.e.,  your biggest academic passion and commitment
• Describe any vague, unclear, or lesser-known awards/honors you've received
• Explain the competitiveness of the award

Now get out there and win some awards!

What’s Next?

Lots of colleges use the Common App . If you're going to be using this platform to apply to college, make sure you know what to expect with the Common App honors section .

Planning to take AP tests in the spring? If you're hoping to snag a distinguished AP award , read our guide to get tips on how you can do this.

Honors can prove that you're a serious and ambitious college applicant.  Check out our expert guide to learn what high school honors is and how you can achieve honors status at your own high school.

Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Honors Program Guide

Introduction.

Opportunities for Independent Critical and Scholarly Work 

Completing the English major with honors allows students to do independent study on a topic they choose, to work closely with a faculty advisor, and to write a researched critical paper of about 50 pages. Students almost always find the Honors Program an incalculably satisfying project and a memorable achievement. Here and elsewhere, many graduate school applicants submit part of their honors thesis as a sample of their critical, scholarly work and their future promise as scholars. Students preparing for other career paths also write theses in their senior year.

When combined with the opportunity to study one-on-one with a scholar in a field of particular interest, to get a real taste of the pleasures of advanced work, to discuss work with other honors students, work on the honors thesis places students in an intellectual community, the memories of which they may well carry into future work and into other intellectual and professional endeavors.

Successfully completing an honors thesis requires sustained interest, ability, diligence, and enthusiasm—all qualities in large supply among Cornell English Majors.

Admission to the Honors Program

How to apply.

• Calculate your GPA for courses that qualify for the English major. A minimum English GPA of 3.7 is required to be eligible for the Honors Program.
• Confer with the Director of Honors and receive preliminary acceptance to the Honors Program. The Director of Honors is listed on the faculty page . 
• Complete the online  Honors Program Application . The Director of Honors will record their approval of your application with the department.
• Ask an English professor to be your honors thesis advisor and obtain email confirmation that they have agreed. Send your thesis advisor’s confirmation as an attachment (or have them email directly) to the Director of Honors and the Undergraduate Program Coordinator ( Aurora Ricardo, [email protected] ).

Requirements and Courses

The Honors Program is a three-course commitment in which students must complete:

ENGL 4910 (Pre-1800) or ENGL 4920 (Post-1800): Honors Seminar The purpose of the Honors Seminar is to acquaint students with methods of study and research to help them write their thesis.

• The seminar requires a substantial essay that incorporates evidence and critical material effectively, and develops an argument. Students need not take an Honors Seminar that applies directly to the subject of their honors thesis work.
• Plan to take the Honors Seminar in your junior year. If you plan to study abroad one semester of the junior year, you should take the Honors Seminar in the semester you are studying at Cornell. If you are spending the academic year abroad, you will need to take the Honors Seminar either in the first semester of your senior year—keeping in mind that you will also be enrolled in ENGL 4930 Honors Essay Tutorial I—or as a sophomore, with permission of the instructor.

ENGL 4930 (Fall) and ENGL 4940 (Spring): Honors Essay Tutorial I & II Students work one-on-one with their thesis advisor, meeting regularly on a mutually agreed upon schedule between the professor and the student. Students will also attend larger meetings of all honors candidates held by the Director of Honors.

• These semesters must be consecutive during the senior year . The Honors Essay Tutorial is a full-year independent study course taken for a letter grade (S/U grades are not an option for Honors Tutorials I and II).
• To enroll in your thesis advisor’s section of ENGL 4930/4940, you must have their approval and the Director of Honors' approval of your application on record with the department. 

While applying to the program and writing a thesis is not a guarantee that you will be awarded honors in English, most of our candidates who complete an honors thesis have been successful.

Stages of the Program

The semester-by-semester schedule below should give interested students an idea of the usual way honors candidates move through the program. Other patterns are possible, though. Some students know at the time they declare the English major that they wish to pursue honors, while others may discover later in their English studies a riveting interest they desire to pursue in-depth, and only then consider writing an honors thesis.

Early planning usually makes it easier to fulfill the Honors Program’s three-course commitment (Honors Seminar, Honors Essay Tutorial I, Honors Essay Tutorial II). But any English major with a strong record in literary studies and curiosity about a topic is welcome to talk to the Director of Honors, at any stage, about the possibility of becoming a candidate for English honors.

Sophomore year

• If you have a strong record, apply to the Honors Program in your second semester. Occasionally, students with especially strong motivation or a defined thesis plan whose major GPA is somewhat lower than the minimum will apply. The Director of Honors will then review their junior-year English grades to assess their eligibility to continue in the program.

Junior year

• Complete ENGL 4910/4920, the Honors Seminar. 
• Start to identify your thesis topic. 
• Confirm your thesis advisor. 
• Pre-enroll in your thesis advisor's section of ENGL 4930: Honors Essay Tutorial I.
• Ask for some suggestions for preparatory reading. Spend some time in the summer months reading primary texts and thinking about your topic, approach, and argument. If possible, be in occasional email contact with your advisor.

Senior year

First semester.

• As soon as your first semester senior year begins, consult with your thesis advisor about your topic, discuss requirements and procedures, and set up a schedule for regular meetings. If you did not pre-­enroll for ENGL 4930 you will need to do so.
• Peruse past submissions in the honors thesis archive .  
• a short prospectus or essay proposal
• a bibliography of available and relevant secondary or conceptual work on your topic
• an annotated bibliography of the work you wish to use, critique, and apply to your research
• about 20–30 pages of writing

Second Semester

• While enrolled in ENGL 4940, you will write the final draft of your honors thesis. Your advisor should read a few drafts of the final version, drafts which you should be submitting and revising under your advisor’s engaged supervision.
• Allow yourself the last two weeks to edit and proofread your thesis. Do not complicate your own project by trying to do too much at the last minute and not allowing time for the refinement of ideas and execution.
• Submit your thesis by the deadline in mid-April (or early November for those graduating in January).
• Enjoy the remainder of your final semester and graduate with Distinction in English!

Developing a Thesis Topic

Look over the papers you have written in your English courses. Some of the most successful honors theses have come out of coursework—including work completed for the Honors Seminar—that sparked curiosity and made a student want to go further and revisit and revise previous work.

Identify your interests; think about work you have done well in the past and about what work you would enjoy pursuing.

Brainstorm freely, dream, identify your intellectual interests and passions.  

Ask yourself: What project will nurture and sustain my interest for two semesters of independent study?  These suggestions should help you identify your topic for the honors thesis and should help you think about the advisor with whom you would enjoy working.

Honors Thesis Advisor

When choosing your honors thesis advisor, speak to faculty members who would be suitable for your project, keeping in mind that your thesis advisor should be in residence both semesters. The thesis advisor does not have to be the major advisor. You can consult the Director of Honors about appropriate advisors.

Most working relationships between honors candidates and their thesis advisors go well, and the learning is genial, exciting, and mutual. Many students recall their tutorial as a highlight of their Cornell experience, and professors, too, typically enjoy working with intellectually engaged students on a developing thesis. But if you realize that the shape your topic is taking calls on a different kind of expertise from the one represented by your thesis advisor, it is possible to change your advisors. Consult the Director of Honors for advice.

Thesis Grade and Honors Designation

Honors thesis grade.

The thesis writing process is determined in two parts:

• The entire course (Honors Essay Tutorial I in the Fall and Honors Essay Tutorial II in the Spring) will give you 8 credits. Your work for each semester will be graded by your thesis advisor.
• The completed honors thesis is read and assessed by two readers. One reader is the thesis advisor. The other is often a faculty member whose academic interests correspond to your topic. Readers write a report and assign a letter grade to the thesis. You will receive both your advisor's and second reader's reports.

Honors Level Designation

The Honors Committee, selected by the department Chair, assists the Director of Honors in determining the level of honors (Honors, High Honors, Highest Honors). They average the English GPA and the two thesis grades for each honors candidate and rank them. The Honors Committee assesses the theses as a whole. They may also consider the student’s performance in the English major and the student’s overall transcript.

Effective Spring 2026: Any level of honors in English will translate to a degree of Bachelor of Arts with Distinction in English. The English honors designation is not equivalent to Latin honors levels.

Honors Thesis Format

• Approximately 50 pages of text (not including endnotes and bibliography), double-spaced, 12-point type.
• Use either the MLA or Chicago manuals of style for footnotes or endnotes, quotations, internal citations, bibliographical entries, etc. Handbooks are accessible online as well as in printed form which can be purchased or used in libraries. 
• There are no predetermined formats for the title page, dedication page, or table of contents.

Honors Thesis Archive

Copies of past theses are available to view in the English office (250 GSH, M-F 9AM-4PM). The previous year’s submissions are kept for one year. Winners of the M.H. Abrams Thesis Prize are kept for five years. Theses cannot be removed from the office.

Students explore the archive in order to see how previous theses were formatted and titled, or to see a sampling of past topics.

Humanities Scholars Program

The departmental honors thesis may be used as Conference Presentation for the Humanities Scholars Program  (HSP). Students present their projects at the annual Humanities Scholars Conference in May.

HSP is an undergraduate program of the Cornell University College of Arts & Sciences that fosters independent, interdisciplinary undergraduate research in the humanities, and provides a supportive community, through a series of curated courses, structured mentorship, special programming, and research opportunities and funding. The program is housed in the historic Andrew Dickson White House on central campus.

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Students admitted to the UW now have until June 1 to commit, a result of FAFSA delays. We anticipate that financial aid offers will be sent in late April or early May.

Expand your experience 

The UW Honors Program is a curriculum, a community, and much more! Our students are enthusiastic learners from all backgrounds and majors seeking to expand and deepen their education.

Honors options

Learn more about UW Honors

Who are Honors students?

Quick facts

• There are three Honors options to choose from: Interdisciplinary, College, and Departmental Honors.
• Honors courses fulfill the UW general education requirements.
• The Honors curriculum integrates research, leadership, community service and reflection.
• $1.2 million annually in resident and non-resident scholarships.
• Honors floors in the residence halls.
• Students take ~one Honors class per quarter.
• There is no one type of Honors student. Honors student majors range from English to computer science, psychology to biochemistry, engineering to public health.

How to join Honors

Freshman admission.

Second Year Admission

2nd Year Apply

Transfer Admission

Transfer Apply

Departmental Honors

Interdisciplinary Honors Freshman admissions

If applying to the UW as a freshman, you will find the Honors application — consisting of an additional Honors-specific essay — within the UW application. 

The 2024 Honors application essay prompt

Respond to the prompt using no more than 450 words .

We want to understand your desire to learn new things and to push your education outside of the areas of learning that you are most familiar with. Tell us why this type of learning interests you and which subjects you’re excited to explore in college.

Tips for applying

Scholarships, freshman admissions process and timeline:.

• Apply via the UW application by the UW application deadline.
• The Honors Program reviews applications separately from UW Admissions.
• You must be admitted to UW to be admitted to the Honors Program.
• In recent years Honors has received 5,000-7,000 applications per year, admitted approximately 1,100 applicants and enrolled approximately 230 students.
• Honors holistically evaluates applications.
• The Honors admission decision has no bearing on the UW decision.
• The Honors Program sends a separate decision email after you are officially admitted to the UW. Expect to receive a decision email from Honors between March 15 and April 15.

Plan II Essay Info

Guidelines and prompts for freshman applicants.

Plan II must often deny applicants with excellent grades and test scores who submit mediocre essays.  A great essay can sweep us off our feet and perhaps make up for somewhat lower scores or relatively lackluster grades. These are the writing samples you will submit for the ApplyTexas (or Common Application) portion of the application and your Plan II Honors short answer response.  Instructions on how to submit your essays can be found on the Texas Admissions page

What NOT to Do

• Choose a very complicated and involved topic that you think will impress us
• Choose a very safe subject
• Make the essay brief and superficial
• Fill it with clichés
• Make unsubstantiated assertitions
• Throw in broad generalizations
• (Over)use a thesaurus.

To write a good essay for Plan II: Express yourself

• Use your own voice
• Write about something you know or something that is truly important to you (as much as possible within the confines of the prompts)
• Give us a clear impression of who you are, providing your admission evaluators a view of an interesting individual is what gets applicants admitted
• Appeal to the senses when you write:  show us what is beautiful, sad, impressive, scary, confusing, frustrating or comforting.  Don't just tell us that it was so.
• To make your story resonate employ detail, description and precision rather than pretense and melodrama.
• Don't simply tell us what you think or what you feel in abstract terms. Describe it. Make it real.

What do we want?

• Sophistication
• Strong command of language
• Good variety in sentence structure
• Clarity of development and thought
• Flow from sentence to sentence, paragraph to paragraph and idea to idea
• Introduce the topic, develop the topic, and move on to a clear conclusion
• Great essays may be quite creative or they may exhibit very straight-forward narrative/expository writing

Take your time, but beware over-editing

Spend plenty of time writing and fine-tuning your essays. Ask for feedback from people you trust before submitting your essays.  But be careful.  Don't allow helpful editors to edit you out of your own essay .  Stay true to your original idea.  Stay true to your voice.  If your essay sounds as though your father, your AP English teacher or your older sister wrote it, it's not likely to earn you admission to Plan II Honors. 

Honors Program Applicant Requirements

Undergraduate Admission

Eligibility & Requirements for First-Year Students

Eligibility & deadlines for second-year students, honors essay topic.

The Honors Program is an intellectual and creative community that provides a four-year, interdisciplinary, collaborative learning experience for academically motivated incoming students from all communities. The Honors Program supplements study in a student’s chosen major with a challenging liberal arts curriculum composed of interdisciplinary seminars, collaborative research projects, and faculty-directed independent study.

Each year, Emerson invites 50 applicants of exceptional ability and promise to join the Honors Program. Students are selected based on their past academic achievements, creative accomplishments, and demonstrated leadership in academic or community spaces. To be considered for the Honors Program, students must apply as they enter Emerson College as first-year students or as rising sophomores.

Eligibility 

Admission to the Honors Program is competitive and only first-year students applying for September Admission are eligible. Students applying to one of our global partnership programs (e.g., Global BFA or Global BA programs) are not eligible for Honors Program consideration. Each fall, approximately 50 first-year applicants enroll in the Honors Program. Beginning in Fall 2023, each Honors Program Scholar is also awarded a $30,000 Trustees Scholarship, which is renewable for up to four years at the College.

All eligible first-year students, regardless of major, are invited to apply to the Honors Program. Your Honors Program application decision has no bearing on your admission decision to the College. Students can be accepted to the College without being invited to the Honors Program.

First-year admission into the Honors Program is determined by the  Honors Program Director  and the  Office of Undergraduate Admission .

The Honors Program selection process is competitive and only those first-year students  applying  for September Admission are eligible. Selection is based on personal and academic qualities and potential, such as:

• Strong analytical and writing skills, as demonstrated by the supplemental essay
• Excellent academic performance in a challenging high school curriculum
• Commitment to community and service
• Creative accomplishments
• Demonstrated leadership

To remain in the Honors Program, students must maintain a 3.3 (B+) cumulative quality point average and a 3.0 (B) average in Honors courses. 

Application Requirements

To be considered for the Honors Program, incoming first-year students must complete the following:

• Complete all  general requirements for undergraduate admission  by the appropriate deadlines.
• Complete and submit a 400 to 600 word Honors Program essay by November 15 (for Early Decision I and Early Action candidates), January 16 (for Early Decision II candidates) or February 1 (for Regular Admission candidates). This essay is in addition to the Common Application and Application Supplements required by the Office of Undergraduate Admission. The essay may either be uploaded with the Common Application at the time of submission or may be uploaded within the Admission Portal after submitting your Undergraduate application.

Contact the Office of Admission  at 617-824-8600 or admission [at] emerson.edu (admission[at]emerson[dot]edu) to learn more about applying.

Selection into the Honors Program for rising sophomores is determined by the Honors Program Director. Because the program adheres to strict enrollment numbers, the number of open spaces is very limited. A select number of sophomore applicants are admitted into the Honors Program each fall. Rising sophomore students chosen for the Honors Program are recognized for their intellectual and creative achievements at Emerson.

Students are notified of their admission to the Honors Program by early to mid-June. Sophomore admits will take the Sophomore Honors Seminars during the Fall and Spring of their sophomore year (HS 201/2). Though students admitted into the program as rising sophomores will not take the First-Year Honors Seminars (HS101 and HS102/103), they must fulfill their Literary Perspective and US Diversity general education requirements.

Each rising sophomore student admitted to the Honors Program is awarded a Trustees Scholarship, which is renewable annually up to a maximum of six semesters, as long as the student remains in the Honors Program and is enrolled as a full-time Emerson student. Students needing to attend fewer than six semesters to complete their degree will only receive the scholarship for those semesters. The scholarship can only be applied to undergraduate level courses in fall and spring semesters, not winter or summer term. The Trustees Scholarship supersedes any previous scholarship offer that may have been made by the institution.

All materials must be submitted to the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts via the online application system by * May 1 . The application system will be available beginning April 1 .

This includes:

• Completed Application Form, available via the online application system
• Letter of application (1–2 pages, double-spaced) stating your reasons for applying, detailing what you can contribute to the Honors Program’s community of scholars, and why you want to write an honors thesis. 
• A short essay addressing the topic of the Honors Admission essay found on application form.
• An academic writing sample from a class at Emerson (critical or expository essay).
• Two letters of recommendation from Emerson faculty members. Applicants will select the names of their professors directly via the online application, and faculty will be notified to upload their letter. (One letter should be from your first-year IN seminar instructor, the second from either a professor in one of your liberal arts classes or a professor in one of your major courses.) 
• Unofficial transcripts of courses taken at Emerson College and elsewhere

Contact Honors Program Director Jon Honea at jon_honea [at] emerson.edu (jon_honea[at]emerson[dot]edu) or Associate Director in the Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts Nicole Martignetti at Nicole_Martignetti [at] emerson.edu (nicole_martignetti[at]emerson[dot]edu) to learn more about applying.

Please respond to the following in 400–600 words: We often use metaphors to help us understand our world and persuade others. Write about a metaphor that you think is powerful, and explore its potential to be helpful and/or harmful in your thinking.

Our Honors Program allows you to take advantage of individual advising, special lectures, interdisciplinary fulfillment of Emerson’s general education requirements, collaborative research projects, and special extracurricular activities. You will also receive mentoring and interact with peers from across all years of the Honors Program. Through social events and community service projects, you become an integral part of the Honors Program’s “community of learners.”

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Most Searched

Common questions, honors program.

Our  Honors Program  attracts students who are driven to go above and beyond an ordinary course of study. This four-year program for academically ambitious students in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA) is the best known of the  Michigan Learning Communities  for good reason — every aspect of the program is designed to offer a more intense level of intellectual challenge.

How to Apply

Once you have been accepted into LSA, you are eligible to apply for the Honors Program. This involves writing one supplemental Honors essay, which will be considered alongside your Common Application. Only students who have been admitted to LSA can access the application. To review the essay question and submit your application, please refer to the Honors Program website .

Join Us First-Year Students

Thank you for your interest in the Schreyer Honors College at Penn State!

The Honors College promotes achieving academic excellence with integrity, building a global perspective, and creating opportunities for leadership and civic engagement. Our student body is dynamic, diverse, and driven to change the world for the better.

We offer highly motivated high school students a rigorous undergraduate academic experience that combines all of the resources of one of the country's largest research institutions with all the benefits of a small liberal arts college.

More Than A Test Score Application Components

Application.

• Short Answers

Recommendations

• Academic Record
• Alumni Interview

To apply to the Schreyer Honors College, you'll need to complete two separate applications: the Penn State undergraduate application and the Schreyer Honors College application. We suggest you work on both applications at the same time, submitting the Penn State application first, and the Schreyer Honors College application second.

Application Platforms

The link to the Schreyer Honors College application will be displayed in the application portal once you indicate your interest in the Honors College.

Your Penn State and Schreyer applications are evaluated separately; decisions are made independently on the two applications.

Use whichever application platform you prefer, just remember to leave enough time to submit by the deadline!

Essay Questions

The Schreyer Honors College first-year application will have two essay questions, in addition to several shorter prompts. These questions change on a yearly basis and are meant to elicit well-written, comprehensive responses. Each essay response has a maximum word count of 800 words.

The essay questions are an opportunity to present your best self to the review committee, and there is no right answer to the prompts. Rather, reviewers will consider how or why you take a specific approach to each question looking for well-reasoned, consistent, and persuasive responses.

2024 Essay Questions

• Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma - anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could take to identify a solution.
• Isaac Asimov wrote: “Any book worth banning is a book worth reading.” Do you agree? Is such censorship ever justified? If not, explain why. If so, who or what should determine which books are read and which books are forbidden.

Get started on your essays early — they are released on our website in July.

There is no right or wrong essay answer — just answer the question to the best of your ability. Our questions are designed to push you to think, do some research, and apply your knowledge. Be honest, be genuine, and allow your character and personality shine through your writing.

Short Answer Questions

The Schreyer Honors College asks a handful of short answer questions to obtain information regarding honors and achievements, leadership positions, activities and service. These questions have a 200 word limit and may change without notice, so please be sure to check back before starting your application.

2024 Short Answer Questions

• What do you hope to get at Penn State as a Schreyer Scholar to help you accomplish your future goals and aspirations?
• If you were able to go anywhere in the world, outside of the country you currently reside, where would you go and why?
• Tell us about your leadership experiences (community roles, family contributions, research, clubs, organizations, etc.) and why leadership is important to you. Describe the challenges and/or successes you’ve faced in these roles.
• List awards or other recognitions you have received in or outside of school over the last 4 years. Which award or recognition means the most to you and why.
• Tell us about a book or other media that has made you think about something in a new way.
• Consider a time when you had to collaborate with individuals from diverse backgrounds or with different perspectives. How did this experience contribute to your personal growth and understanding of others?
• Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups, including: shared geography, faith, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities or groups to which you belong and describe how it has influenced your life over the last four years.
• Please use this space to share information you would like us to consider that has not been discussed elsewhere in your Schreyer Honors College application. This could include obstacles you’ve overcome, something you’re proud of that is not discussed elsewhere, or anything else you choose.

Want to share your creative talents and accomplishments? You're welcome to submit this information electronically via the last short answer question.

As with the essay questions, we want to get to know who you really are. Let the true you shine through.

As part of the Schreyer Honors College application process, potential Scholars are required to submit a minimum of two and a maximum of 4 letters of recommendation. Recommendations can be from a teacher, a guidance counselor, a coach, or club advisor.

Common Application

If your school uses a system that connects to the Common App and you applied to Penn State through the Common App, your letters of recommendation that you submitted through your school's system or via the Common App will be sent to the Honors College. No further action is necessary.

If you are working with a recommender who is not affiliated with your school and they cannot submit a letter of recommendation through your school's system, please follow the directions below.

Alternate Instructions

If one of your recommenders is unable to submit their letter of recommendation via the Common App, Naviance or SCOIR, please follow the instructions below.

• Print the Letter of Recommendation Cover Sheet
• Fill out the cover sheet completely
• Give the cover sheet to your recommender.
• The recommender should include both the completed cover sheet and their letter of recommendation in an e-mail to [email protected]

Please be considerate by giving your recommender ample time to complete and submit recommendations on your behalf. Also, please do not ask recommenders to upload recommendations via multiple methods as this will greatly slow down the processing of your application.

The methods outline above are the only methods through which letters of recommendation will be received. Please do not send recommendations to the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office as doing so will delay processing of the documents.

Note: It is solely the applicant's responsibility to ensure that all required documents are received by the final deadline of December 4 at 11:59 PM EST.

Schools that participate with Naviance or use The Common Application may upload recommendations to Penn State through these portals.

Alternatively, letters may be sent via e-mail to [email protected] .

Self-Reported Academic Record

Your Self-Reported Academic Record (SRAR) must be submitted as part of your Penn State application. This process replaces having school counselors send academic transcripts for each applicant.

The Schreyer Honors College will review and rate your academic record as it relates to the opportunities offered at your particular high school.

We do not use standardized test scores in our evaluation as we've found them to be an inaccurate predictor of student success. In our opinion, one of the best predictors of future performance is prior performance; therefore, your course load and academic rigor in high school are the most important pieces of information we review.

Make sure to enter your grades exactly as they appear on your high school transcript.

If you are offered admission to Penn State, your final high school transcript will be sent to the University.

Optional Alumni Interview

If we receive your application by November 1, you will be invited to participate in an optional interview as part of the selection process.

The goal of this interview is to have a comfortable conversation with one of our alumni volunteers. They are eager to meet you, learn more about your interest in the Schreyer Honors College and share with you some of their Penn State experiences.

Please note that as this is an optional interview, your application will not be negatively impacted if you are not able to participate.

Our admissions interview is not intended to make you nervous or afraid — our alumni just want to have a conversation with you and get to know you better.

Interviews usually last half an hour, keep that in mind and use this time wisely.

Stay on Track First-Year Admission Checklist

Use this at-a-glance checklist to keep your Schreyer application on track.

June & July

October & november, march & april, visit penn state & the schreyer honors college.

There is no better way to see if a college is right for you than by setting foot on campus and getting a feel for the place. Not able to visit in the summer? Don't worry — Penn State has visitations year-round!

Begin Working on Your Essays

The Schreyer Honors College essay questions are posted in mid-July to give you plenty of time to craft well-written, comprehensive responses by our application deadlines.

Create a MyPennState Account

Create a MyPennState account, and explore the Penn State University undergraduate application website. Learn about application requirements, academics, student life, and costs. Plus, you can chat with a current Penn State student.

Schreyer and Penn State Applications Open

The Penn State undergraduate admissions application and the Schreyer Honors College application open on August 1. There are two portals available through which you can apply to both Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College — MyPennState and the Common Application. Students are encouraged to indicate their interest in applying to the Schreyer Honors College on the Common Application. If a student indicates they are not interested in applying or would like to apply at a later date and have submitted their Penn State undergraduate admissions application they can still access the Schreyer Honors College application through MyPennState.

Attend Scholars Day

This annual fall open house gives you a comprehensive look at what Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College have to offer.

Penn State Early Action & Optional Interview Deadline

The early application deadline for Penn State is November 1. Students who apply by this date will receive a decision from the University by December 24.

If you submit your application by 11:59 PM EST on November 1, you will be eligible to schedule an optional alumni interview. Please note that only your application is due by this date; your letters of recommendation may come later.

Note: All the materials for the Schreyer Honors College application must be submitted online. If you wish to submit applications that are audio or visual representations of your work, publish them online and include links in the appropriate section of the Honors College application. No offline material will be accepted or reviewed.

Admissions Interview Signup Opens

The Admissions Interview portal will open for students who have submitted their Honors College application. Interview spaces are limited and assigned on a first-come, first-served basis. All interviews must be scheduled and completed between November 10 and January 16.

Final Application Submission Deadline

If you weren't able to finish the application by the priority deadline in November, our final submission deadline is December 4. In order to meet this deadline, you must have submitted an application for both Penn State and the Schreyer Honors College and have submitted all of the required documentation for both applications by December 4 at 11:59 PM EST .

Recommendation Letters

All letters of recommendation must be submitted online by December 4 at 11:59 PM EST .

Admissions Decision

Look for your Schreyer Honors College admission decision online in mid February to early March . We'll notify you in advance by e-mail of the date and time our admissions decisions go live. Good luck!

If you have been accepted to Penn State, consider waiting until you have your Schreyer decision to schedule your accepted student visit.

Accepted Student Receptions

If you have been accepted to the Schreyer Honors College, consider attending one of our many Accepted Student Receptions held in March and April. Information regarding these events will be posted online.

Offer Acceptance and Housing Selection Deadlines

The deadline for accepting a Penn State and Schreyer Honors College offer is May 15 at 11:59 PM EST . Incoming Scholars also need to select their on-campus housing option by May 20.

New Student Orientation

Information about New Student Orientation (NSO) for incoming first-year Scholars will be posted soon.

What We Look For Application Review Process

While the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office will evaluate your credentials for admission to the University, the Schreyer Honors College will conduct its own evaluation. These evaluations are conducted completely independently of each other, however, your entrance into the Honors College depends on receiving an offer from Penn State.

Schreyer is ultimately looking for well-rounded students that excel both inside and outside of the classroom. We pride ourselves on fostering a diverse community of difference makers here in the Honors College and keep that in mind as we review applications.

Selection Committee

As part of your evaluation, your application will be read by at least two members of our Selection Committee. Applications are assigned to these readers randomly and are anonymized as much as possible. Selection Committee members will read and rate (via a norming process) all of their assigned applications. These ratings, along with reader comments, are used to help determine your admissions decision.

Optional Admissions Interview

If you apply by the optional interview date (November 1), you will have the opportunity to request an optional admissions interview with a Scholar alumnus/alumna. Interview availability is offered on a first-come, first-served basis, so please register as soon as possible if you are interested. Every attempt will be made to match alumni volunteers with applicants, but due to alumni availability, the College cannot guarantee that every request will be honored.

Alumni interviewers are asked to submit ratings and comments based on the conversation they have with you. Just be yourself and let your passion shine through. The interview is also an opportunity for applicants to learn more about life as a Scholar at Penn State.

Please note that alumni interviews are completely optional. The applications of students who do not select or were unable to participate in the optional alumni interview are not negatively impacted. Final admissions decisions are based on the material submitted as part of the student application.

Being in Schreyer has pushed me further than I ever thought an undergraduate education could. I knew coming to Penn State that I would receive an amazing education with access to a multitude of state-of-the-art resources, but being a Scholar has allowed me to use this environment to maximize my potential and place my education in an ever-changing global community. Connor Cassady ' 18 Mathematics

The Honors Experience

University of Michigan

The application process for fall 2024 is now closed. Please note that you must be admitted to LSA as an incoming first-year student (not transfer) in order to access the application.

Having trouble logging in or uploading your essays?

You MUST create AND authenticate a U-M Friend account (which is NOT your Enrollment Connect account) in order to apply.  Scroll down to “Troubleshooting” at the bottom of this page for information on creating a Friend account and for authentication instructions.  

For Honors Application dates/deadlines, link  HERE .

Apply Here!

You must be admitted to lsa as an incoming first-year student in order to access the application. unless you have already paid your enrollment deposit, you must create and authenticate a u-m “friend” account to apply to honors. friend account instructions below..

Grades and test scores are a small part of what goes into our admissions decision-making. That’s why we are asking you to write an additional essay as part of your application to Honors. 

Approach this essay with an open mind. We want to know how you think, how your mind works—so show us!

The 2024 LSA Honors Essay Question

If you are using outside sources, you MUST cite them. Any citation style is acceptable—just be consistent. NOTE: Citations are not included in the essay word limit.

To submit your essay, click the button on the left to log into Wolverine Access. Problems applying? Scroll down for troubleshooting.

2024 Essay Question

Utilize an AI text generator to write an essay on the topic “How does the LSA Honors Program satisfy your desire for a particular kind of living learning community in your first two years of college?”

Provide us with that essay and then write your own essay discussing whether or not that AI-generated essay accurately captures your desire to participate in the lower-division Honors Program in your first two years of college. Reflect on your personal goals and meaningfully discuss how/why the AI-generated essay captures or doesn’t capture that. Please limit your essay to 1000 words. The word count does not include the AI-generated essay. Some generative AI tools are located here:  https://genai.umich.edu/resources/tools

CREATING A FRIEND ACCOUNT

Don’t have a U-M Friend Account? Please follow these two steps to create and authenticate your Friend Account:

Create Your Friend Account

You will need a non-university email address (one that does not end in “umich.edu”) to set up a Friend account. You will receive email at that address as part of the account creation setup. This is done to verify that you own that email address.

• Go to  Request a Friend Account .
• Enter your non-university email address, then click  Request .
• You will see a  Message Sent  screen letting you know that a message has been sent to the email address you provided with further instructions.
• Open your email and look for a message from  [email protected] . If you don’t see the message, check your spam or junk mail folder.
• In that message, click the  Create Friend Account  link.
• Enter your email address, the same one you used in Step 2 above.
• Enter and re-enter the password you want to use for your Friend account.
• Click  Set Password .
• A confirmation screen lets you know that your Friend account has been created.
• You will also receive an email message confirming the creation of your Friend account and providing you with information about it. If you don’t see the message, check your spam or junk mail folder.

Verify Your Friend Account 

You must go into Wolverine Access and verify your Friend account to connect it to your student record before you can check your financial aid notice. 

• Go to  Wolverine Access . This is a different system that has a different look and feel from the Friend account creation application. 
• At the top of the page, click the  Students  tab.
• On the Student page, click the  New and Prospective Student Business  tile.
• Log in with your Friend ID (the email address you used to create your Friend account) and password.
• Verify your personal information, including your eight-digit  UMID , which was emailed to you and can also be found on your Enrollment Connect portal, as well as your birth date.

Now you’re ready to apply to Honors!

TROUBLESHOOTING

If you receive an error message after clicking the “Upload Your Essay” button on the left and attempting to log in with your U-M Friend account, you may  not have completed all of the required steps  to authenticate your U-M Friend account. Use this  LINK  to access information on troubleshooting your Friend account.​

We suggest using either Chrome or Internet Explorer to access the submission site. Firefox has been linked to problems while uploading for many students.

Your Best College Essay

Maybe you love to write, or maybe you don’t. Either way, there’s a chance that the thought of writing your college essay is making you sweat. No need for nerves! We’re here to give you the important details on how to make the process as anxiety-free as possible.

What's the College Essay?

When we say “The College Essay” (capitalization for emphasis – say it out loud with the capitals and you’ll know what we mean) we’re talking about the 550-650 word essay required by most colleges and universities. Prompts for this essay can be found on the college’s website, the Common Application, or the Coalition Application. We’re not talking about the many smaller supplemental essays you might need to write in order to apply to college. Not all institutions require the essay, but most colleges and universities that are at least semi-selective do.

How do I get started?

Look for the prompts on whatever application you’re using to apply to schools (almost all of the time – with a few notable exceptions – this is the Common Application). If one of them calls out to you, awesome! You can jump right in and start to brainstorm. If none of them are giving you the right vibes, don’t worry. They’re so broad that almost anything you write can fit into one of the prompts after you’re done. Working backwards like this is totally fine and can be really useful!

What if I have writer's block?

You aren’t alone. Staring at a blank Google Doc and thinking about how this is the one chance to tell an admissions officer your story can make you freeze. Thinking about some of these questions might help you find the right topic:

• What is something about you that people have pointed out as distinctive?
• If you had to pick three words to describe yourself, what would they be? What are things you’ve done that demonstrate these qualities?
• What’s something about you that has changed over your years in high school? How or why did it change?
• What’s something you like most about yourself?
• What’s something you love so much that you lose track of the rest of the world while you do it?

If you’re still stuck on a topic, ask your family members, friends, or other trusted adults: what’s something they always think about when they think about you? What’s something they think you should be proud of? They might help you find something about yourself that you wouldn’t have surfaced on your own.  

How do I grab my reader's attention?

It’s no secret that admissions officers are reading dozens – and sometimes hundreds – of essays every day. That can feel like a lot of pressure to stand out. But if you try to write the most unique essay in the world, it might end up seeming forced if it’s not genuinely you. So, what’s there to do? Our advice: start your essay with a story. Tell the reader about something you’ve done, complete with sensory details, and maybe even dialogue. Then, in the second paragraph, back up and tell us why this story is important and what it tells them about you and the theme of the essay.

THE WORD LIMIT IS SO LIMITING. HOW DO I TELL A COLLEGE MY WHOLE LIFE STORY IN 650 WORDS?

Don’t! Don’t try to tell an admissions officer about everything you’ve loved and done since you were a child. Instead, pick one or two things about yourself that you’re hoping to get across and stick to those. They’ll see the rest on the activities section of your application.

I'M STUCK ON THE CONCLUSION. HELP?

If you can’t think of another way to end the essay, talk about how the qualities you’ve discussed in your essays have prepared you for college. Try to wrap up with a sentence that refers back to the story you told in your first paragraph, if you took that route.

SHOULD I PROOFREAD MY ESSAY?

YES, proofread the essay, and have a trusted adult proofread it as well. Know that any suggestions they give you are coming from a good place, but make sure they aren’t writing your essay for you or putting it into their own voice. Admissions officers want to hear the voice of you, the applicant. Before you submit your essay anywhere, our number one advice is to read it out loud to yourself. When you read out loud you’ll catch small errors you may not have noticed before, and hear sentences that aren’t quite right.

ANY OTHER ADVICE?

Be yourself. If you’re not a naturally serious person, don’t force formality. If you’re the comedian in your friend group, go ahead and be funny. But ultimately, write as your authentic (and grammatically correct) self and trust the process.

And remember, thousands of other students your age are faced with this same essay writing task, right now. You can do it!

Search this site

Clark honors college menu, clark honors college, chc faculty profile: casey shoop.

Turning the page

Coffee or tea: Coffee — do you even have to ask?  A must-read book for students: Moby Dick. Or something by Thomas Pynchon. I don’t know, that’s an extremely hard question.  Favorite song right now: I’ve been playing R.E.M.’s “Cuyahoga” a lot recently. For whatever reason, I’m going back to my late high school playlist. 

In May, the ground is thawed, and Casey Shoop plants a bag of sweet pea seeds in the front yard of the Portland home he shares with his partner, Gabrielle.

The seeds are his mother’s, who passed away in the spring of 2023, and Shoop – a Clark Honors College senior instructor of literature – hopes to continue the tradition of planting them every year. “My mother’s great abiding passion was gardening,” he says, reminiscing about his childhood memories growing up in Long Beach, Calif. “Every year in the front of the house, she would plant these beds of sweet peas, and they would just explode in these riots of color.”

The vines would spread down the block, he recalls, in the sandy soil. Shoop visited his childhood home last spring and gathered seeds right before his father had to sell the house.

At the CHC, Shoop’s love of books began with his mother, who was a first-grade teacher. “My mom taught people to read, so that was a deep love transfer,” he says, wistfully. Whenever they visited a bookstore together, she always bought him a book, another tradition he carries on today.

Shoop has been a core faculty member since he arrived at the Honors College in 2014, making him one of the “old guard,” as he describes his role. Students love him for his wit and endless questions, readily signing up for his courses on literature, film, and philosophy.

Outside the steady rhythm of teaching, Shoop’s personal life has changed profoundly within the past year. When his mother died, he moved his father temporarily to Oregon, and his partner developed serious health issues. He’s been working with her during her recovery process, and through his own grieving process. “I don’t think I’ll ever get out of the denial stage of grieving,” he says. “People say there are phases, but, you know…” he trails off. “My mother was a teacher, and that helps me carry on.” 

A childhood for the books 

Shoop remembers Long Beach fondly. His father ran an auto parts distribution business, while his mother taught. Shoop always looked up to his older brother, Joseph, especially when it came to reading. “I read all the beatniks because of Joe,” he said. “I got a rucksack and wrote poetry because of him.”

He remembers hungering for the wider world and reaching for Jack Kerouac’s “The Dharma Bums” at just the right time, or nabbing contraband books from his brother’s room.

Joe Shoop remembers the first time he read Kerouac. “I was reading all these terrible, kind of John Wick, serialized killing books,” Joe Shoop says, “and one day when we were at a bookstore, and my mom said: ‘You should try ‘On the Road.’’ I never went back to the ultraviolence after that.”

Grieving has strengthened the brothers' bond. “We talk about a lot more stuff now that we’re older,” Joe Shoop says. “We’re kind of working through grief together. It’s difficult not to be closer after something like that.”

The brothers recently promised each other to visit a new city together every year. This year, they decided on Minneapolis. Joe Shoop says it was a perfect weekend with his brother, watching basketball, popping into bookstores, attempting to have a séance with the spirit of Prince, and enjoying the Midwestern sun.

Joe Shoop also planted sweet peas in the spring. He walks a long commute to work in Berkeley and has been dropping seed pods along the way. “He’s going to Johnny Appleseed the joint,” Casey says. 

Casey Shoop attended college at the University of California - Berkeley. He remembers traveling up the coast to San Francisco with his family as his father belted out lines from the pop song, “San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Flowers in Your Hair).”

Even at a young age, Shoop thought the Berkeley campus was special. “I had some inkling of the radical history of the place that was important to me,” he says. “It mattered to me in some precognizant way. It was all there, percolating in the air.”

Highlights from his undergraduate degree include a year-long course where Shoop read the complete works of Shakespeare; taking Thom Gunn’s poetry class; and playing frisbee golf on campus late into the night.

The Shakespeare course, which was taught through a feminist psychoanalytic lens, changed how Shoop saw literature. “In college, I was so desperate to know things,” he says. “You want something to stand on, and what I wanted to stand on was all of Shakespeare. That felt really good to me. It was very important to have my eyes on every word.”

He finished with a degree in English and comparative literature. After a brief stint working for the U.S. Census Bureau to save up money, he moved to the East Coast, taking up residence in New York City as a graduate student at Columbia University.

Shoop says he struggled in graduate school—his brain wasn’t wired for endless hours at the library researching one topic. But he loved the city. “The city got in my blood immediately,” he says, and he stayed for nearly 10 years.

His days at Columbia were filled with long academic discussions and noir movie marathons. The hyperfixation and pre-professional performances of graduate school rubbed Shoop the wrong way. He grew restless. “I eventually decided I would move to South America and figure out what I wanted to do instead,” he recalls. 

He set off for Argentina, books in tow, and wandered around reading until his money ran out. “Then I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m getting paid to read books at Columbia University, what am I doing?’” he remembers. “I went down to Patagonia and looked off the end of the world, looked at huge ice, and I thought ‘maybe I should go back and finish this thing.’”

A second chapter

He finished his studies at Columbia and moved back West after being accepted into a post-doctorate program at the University of Southern California. “I think I’d probably still be in New York, reading and stringing TA jobs together if I hadn’t gotten that,” he says now.

Shoop was happy to be back near his family. “When you get to the West Coast, you’ve arrived at something of the narrative fulfillment of the United States,” he says. “Joan Didion says this, famously, and I was interested in what that was about.”

He focused on that idea in his post-doctorate work, but when he finished at USC, he was ready to leave California. “I knew a few friends from graduate school who ended up living” in Eugene, he says. “I’ve always loved the big, whispering trees.”

Shoop arrived at the Honors College in the fall of 2014 at the same time as Professor of Practice Barbara Mossberg.

Mossberg recalls that at the time, the Honors College was a loose federation of different academics. She and Shoop would meet up regularly for long, literary discussions. “We would talk about our teaching, and really got to be very close colleagues,” she says. “Casey is an incredible colleague. He grows with the knowledge he consumes.”

Shoop’s days are long. He gets up at 6 a.m. and makes a pot of coffee, and then settles into work. “My brain is best in the morning, so I try to do my most important work then,” he says.

Grading, planning classes, and searching for course material are the focus – he makes sure to keep quiet, not wanting to wake Gabrielle and her 10-year-old child. His dog, Winnie, nudges him around 9 a.m., reminding him that it’s time for her walk.

They take a few laps at a nearby park and Shoop calls his dad, then his brother. He’s been talking to his family every day after losing his mother, trying to figure out how to keep them together without the woman who served as their glue.

“I’m just gonna be in denial forever about it,” he says. “At least I have good people to talk to about that denial.”

A day in the life

On the days that Shoop is teaching, he commutes down to Eugene. He fills the nearly two-hour drive by listening to music that his students recommend, like Phoebe Bridgers or Taylor Swift. “I like to think it helps me understand them more,” he says with a laugh.

This spring, Shoop is teaching a 6 p.m. course called “How the West Was Spun: Myth and History in the American West.” The campus is nearly empty by class time, with some stragglers shuffling out of the library toward the dining hall. Despite the late hour, students sit up straight in their seats in Ansett 192, ready to discuss the most recent film they watched: “Shane.”

The late class start isn’t a problem for Robert Hawes, a CHC senior. He finds himself energized by Shoop’s classroom persona. “I don’t know many professors like this, but he’s very animated,” Hawes says. “He is very good at making the material easy to engage with, he breaks it down really well.”

“How the West Was Spun” is structured so students lead in-class discussions on the films they watch at home. Hawes enjoys hearing how his fellow classmates interpret the material. As a history major, he says he often has different takeaways than his STEM or philosophy-focused classmates.

After Shoop shows a scene to the class, they break into small discussion groups. Shoop squats down next to a table of four students, bobbing his head to their conversation. The class reconvenes, and every point that a student makes, Shoop adds to it. The lid of his Stanley thermos, filled to the brim with black coffee, rests precariously in one hand. Shoop gestures wildly with the other, trying to convey his endless passion for the movie.

“Little Joey reminds me of my father when he was young, so this film really does something for me,” he explains.

Each question that a student raises he sends right back to the class, asking what they think about it. When a student in the first row asks Shoop a pointed question, he rocks back and forth on his heels, a smile creeping onto his face. “What do you think?” he asks.

keep reading the chc post

Albuquerque Academy

May 24, 2024

Sophomore Selected as Finalist in Profile in Courage Essay Contest

The John F. Kennedy Library Foundation announced that Aarush Tutiki ’26 was named a finalist in the national John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Essay Contest for High School Students. In his essay, Aarush profiled Leonidas Dyer, former U.S. Representative of Missouri.

For this year’s contest, 2,313 essays were submitted from students in 50 states and Washington, D.C., and from U.S. citizens in Canada, Ecuador, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Namibia, Nigeria, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, and Vietnam. The foundation selected one winner, a runner-up, five finalists, ten semifinalists, and eight honorable mentions.

The annual Profile in Courage Essay Contest invites high school students from across the nation to write an essay on an act of political courage by a U.S. elected official. The contest is a companion program of the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award™, named for Kennedy’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book Profiles in Courage , which recounts the stories of eight U.S. senators who risked their careers by embracing unpopular decisions for the greater good.

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LAFCU essay winners: How my environment molded me into the person I am today

Here are the four winners of LAFCU's Write to Educate essay contest. The students were tasked with answering this question: How has the place you have grown up molded you into the person you are today and impacted your life?

The winners each received a $5,000 college scholarship and another $500 was donated to each winner's designated charity.

My community shaped and expanded my worldview

Nature vs Nurture. How much does the environment a person is placed into have an effect on their character versus how they were born?

I have contemplated this question many times when it comes to myself and how much I have allowed myself to be changed by the people around me. From a young age I have always had a strong sense of self. I have known who I am and what I need to do to accomplish my goals of becoming smarter and stronger. I have had little care for the judgments from my peers.

This has been an asset because it has allowed me to reach heights beyond what I thought was possible but that does not mean I always know my path forward. That doesn’t mean I have not changed. As much as I, and every other human on the planet, resists change, it is impossible to grow without changing.

Becoming older means expanding one’s view of the world from a simplified version to a messy one. A world full of complexity and inconsistency which each and every one of us must navigate and find our own path through the shroud known as our future. The community that I have grown up with are my paddles allowing me to navigate the treacherous river, giving me advice and a wider world view of things I never thought existed.

My morality is the first thing that was shaped by my community. Every person has the basics of morality sewn into them from birth but when it comes to more complicated situations, my community has changed my view.

My younger self was much more cut and dry where I would label something as wrong no matter what, with no exception. My community has taught me to view these situations with more context to make more informed decisions.

For example, a kid beats another kid because he was being bullied by him. My old self would say the kid who got into the fight should be punished because he laid his hands on another person and should have taken other outlets to resolve the problem. The way I see it now is that even though his decision was wrong to hurt the other kid, no one was able to stop the bully from bullying him and the system itself has failed the kid by allowing the bullying to happen. I have no wish for anyone to get hurt, but I see that situation as much more nuanced than I once did.

These ideas have been shaped by my own experiences and by the people around me who have been put into tough situations. I have learned from the diverse community around me that the choices people make are rarely simple ones.

My political views have also been shaped by my community. I am growing up in a community that largely has different political views from my own. Having different people to communicate with that have grown up in ways different from my own, has allowed me to find where I stand on certain issues.

Within my community I have been able to find people that I respect, and I take note of the things they believe and challenge their ideas versus my own. Even if in the end our ideas of how the world should be run may differ, I have been able to find common ground with tons of people and I have been able to refine my views into a more well-rounded, multi-faceted, diverse view of the world.

My community is full of people from all different races and cultures, and by combining perspectives from all those different people, we can find a way to have a more united world with the basic necessity of finding common ground and understanding which can unite us all. Where I have grown up has shaped the way I think and how I act. Even though I have always had a strong sense of self, there are parts of my personality that have been changed and molded by my experiences, and my community has influenced the way that I view different situations. Without my community I would not be as accepting and open-minded as I am today.

— Antonio Rojas of East Lansing High School is headed to the University of Michigan. Chosen charity: Cristo Rey Community Center

Lansing Hmong community encouraged my success

Many things in life are taken for granted. During my childhood, I was very active in the Hmong Lansing community. The community would occasionally hold multiple annual events for gatherings. I would meet many new people there and hear their stories, advice or opinions on life. The younger me at the time didn’t know what to take from these experiences and failed to appreciate these moments.

As I matured, I understood what these opportunities meant when I grew around the community. It was the experience of learning from others. The learning experiences growing up in the Hmong Lansing community have molded me to become a person of ambitions, someone who gives back, and the love of cooking for others.

In the Hmong community, the place has molded me into a person of ambitions. I am a first-generation Asian American coming from Hmong immigrants. My parents came to America for a better opportunity. Within my community, most do not have a college education. People from the Hmong community had to adjust to the culture, language, and way of life in America. Born in America, I adjusted to the culture there easily compared to my community.

I felt the need to carry their dreams of being successful. I wanted to take the opportunity that wasn’t given to my community and achieve greater heights. I want to strive for success within the Hmong community.I have grown into a person who gives back to their community. I can always remember the events that brought the community together all over Michigan. It was a yearly cultural event called the Lansing Hmong New Year. It was an event of celebration, bonding, and opportunity to connect with others. I wanted to help continue thisongoing tradition. I started doing community service to involve myself.

Even though it may not have been much, I felt a sense of accomplishment in giving back to the community. Seeing the joy of others is what truly motivates me to give back to my community.

The place I had grown up in created a love for cooking. I vividly remember the times when my parents would have a barbecue for various occasions for the community. I would always ask my dad to teach me how to grill. It was until one particular day that pestering led my dad to teach me how to grill. It was my brother’s graduation event.

Graduation from high school was important in the Hmong community; it was the time for people to gather for the success of one’s education. My dad guided me in the process of grilling until he thought I was ready by myself. I took my first step in grilling, and it was a success. People in the community for my brother’s graduation thought my cooking was delicious. I was filled with joy and pride. I liked having that feeling and having others enjoy what I make. Learning that skill gave me a passion for cooking for others.

Throughout my life in the Hmong Lansing community, it has taught me many valuable lessons in life. Whether it was basic knowledge or insights, these life lessons were appreciated. Without the love, guidance, and support from the community, I wouldn’t have grown into the person I am now. The Hmong Lansing community holds a special place in my heart.

— Elvis Vue of Waverly High School will attend Ferris State University. Chosen charity: Hmong Family Association

Rural upbringing influenced my career choice

Did you know that rural students are now officially recognized as an under-represented group in colleges?

For decades, rural students have faced unique barriers in getting into the best colleges, but in recent years, people have started to realize that the lack of rural representation in academia is a problem. From my own experiences growing up in a small, rural town, I have gained skills vital to my future career as a plasma physicist, allowing me to collaborate with my peers in the scientific community to better the world.

One of the key things that Napoleon has offered me is a close-knit community, which has given me social skills that I would not otherwise have, allowing me to effectively collaborate with others when the time comes to work as a group. These skills will serve me well in my future career, where I will be collaborating with scientists both in my own field and related disciplines.

As a smaller, rural school district, Napoleon had not always had the resources of larger schools. Despite this, my teachers have helped me to develop creative ways to solve problems when not all the tools are available, allowing me to effectively function in situations where I do not have the same opportunities as other students.

For instance, though my school doesn’t offer advanced physics education, I was able to seek out opportunities like the Academically Talented Youth Program at Western Michigan University or Physicists Inspiring the Next Generation (PING) at Michigan State University, which allowed me to gain knowledge I would not otherwise have, and I was supported in this endeavor by my school.

As a student in ATYP, I had to leave school early once a week in order to gain an accelerated honors education in English − not only was my school able to accommodate my periodic absences, they were also willing to accept my ATYP credits in lieu of the school’s English classes. This flexibility let me have more time at school to pursue other modes of education such as dual enrollment.

Similarly, my upbringing in a more rural area has given me a perspective on the world and how it works that is beyond what my more urban peers are familiar with. Growing up in a forest, I have always been surrounded by nature, and I have a deep love for the woods around my home. This has spurred my intention to enter the field of plasma physics, where I can make a difference by working towards the end goal of nuclear fusion energy, a clean and safe source of electricity that will keep the woodlands I have loved safe for centuries to come.

Already, I am able to apply this perspective to the community around me. In my role for the Jackson Community Foundation’s Youth Advisory Committee, I have had an incredible opportunity to serve as a mediator, helping to resolve issues that occur in my group of students working towards a better future for the youth of Jackson County.

— Thomas Hays of Napolean High School will attend Michigan State University. Chosen charity: Jackson Community Foundation

Success comes from overcoming rural limitations

Livingston County has always been my home. Despite continuing development, the area where I live remains rural. Growing up in a rural area is equal parts wonderful and frustrating. Rural means fewer people per square mile with smaller communities and less diversity.

My school is not known in the area for its diversity. There is not much variety when it comes to everything from what grocery store your family shops at to what school you attend.

My education has been limited by my rural community because my school has fewer class selections and availability. For example, both last year and this year I signed up to take classes (AP English Literature and Pre-Calculus) my school offers but I was unable to attend these classes because the only availability conflicted with my other classes. To combat this struggle, I committed to learning these classes online through a virtual education platform with whom my school partners.

One of my other choices, AP biology, did not have enough student interest to schedule the class and I had to change selections. This has been a limiting challenge for me as well as other students in my district. To broaden options, many students participate in dual enrollment classes with community colleges in the area. Limited variety and availability has encouraged me to stretch my idea of traditional school to take the classes that will help shape my future.

Activities like archery and horseback riding are local to me. I attended horse camp at age 6 and have been involved with horses ever since. Currently I am a member of my school’s equestrian team and own my own horse, Gingersnap. Horsemanship has taught me selflessness, hard work, responsibility, and perseverance. Without access to local barns and camps I would have missed out on developing important life skills.

My school’s archery team was started by another student in my grade who had a passion for archery, the outdoors, and hunting. I joined immediately. In addition to memories and friendships, archery has taught me how to set and achieve realistic goals, that practice makes progress, and teamwork. I am grateful for my community being in an area that supports and fosters growth in clubs such as these.

Despite the lack of variety, I strive for excellence in every opportunity to reach my full potential. My classmates and l help encourage each other in many areas from academics to sports and clubs. A friend of mine created the Environmental Club, of which I was a member, to help promote recycling and decrease wastefulness. She also created Students for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI). Our club not only recognizes diversity but we find solutions to problems in our community every day. We spread awareness at school through bulletin boards displaying achievements by a variety of groups in hopes to foster change and inspire others in our community and the world beyond.

With a smaller school population, there is less diversity but we do have an inclusive program called Peer to Peer. Neurotypical students are paired with neurodivergent students (called “links”) to assist them with participation and making friends. These “links” are often the only friendships these students have at school. I helped encourage my “link” to communicate with me by starting conversations, asking questions, and playing games.

Our school is small enough that our Peer to Peer class was able to meet and play Braille Uno during lunch. The more intimate setting including our whole group may not be possible in a larger district. While we may not have the diversity of a larger school, I embrace any available opportunities to learn about others.

I would not trade growing up in a rural area as I feel I made the most of my opportunities and developed skills that will support my transition to a larger college community and beyond.

— Vivian Hansen of Pinckney High School will attend Eastern Michigan University. Chosen charity: Bountiful Harvest Pantry