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Application Requirements (Due January 26)

• Background. The only minimum requirement to apply to either the Schedler Honors College or the Schedler Honors Program is a 3.75 high school GPA. Standardized test scores are not calculated into the student’s score for admission (see details below). The student’s class rank is a factor in admission. If no class rank is available from the high school, an algorithm will be used to assign scores in the rank category based on the student’s GPA compared to that of the students in the applicant pool.
• Recommendations. The application asks for background information that should take no more than 15 minutes to provide, as well as the name and e-mail contact of two recommenders. For your academic recommendation, be sure to select a teacher or counselor who is familiar with your academic record and who will be able to intelligently evaluate you on all of the following characteristics: intellectual ability, motivation, maturity, oral and written communication skills, analytic ability, and creativity. You will also be asked to provide a personal recommendation. For your personal recommendation, be sure to select a teacher, counselor, or other professional who is familiar with your experience with service and leadership and will be able to evaluate you on the following characteristics: leadership, civic engagement, integrity, empathy, openness, collaboration, and persistence. We will contact your recommender(s) with information about how to complete a recommendation form on our website. To submit your application, you must have entered the names and email addresses of your reference(s), but a short grace period will be granted after the deadline for your references to be completed, so you can submit the application prior to those being completed.  We encourage you to speak with your reference(s) prior to listing them and to follow up with them immediately after initiating the reference form being sent to be sure they are getting the request form. This will help identify if there has been an issue with the automated form getting through the school’s firewall well before the deadline.
• Essays. Applicants to both programs will be asked to provide two essays. In the academic essay, we ask you to read an essay by Peter Elbow and respond to it in 600-800 words based on a prompt we provide, demonstrating your understanding of the essay’s purpose and main parts of the argument. In the personal essay, you will address a topic of great curiosity to you in 500-700 words. For both essays, write them offline. Take your time. Research, write a draft, get reviews, revise it, and carry out that process more than once. When you have the best draft you can produce, paste it to the webform. These writing samples carry a great deal of weight in our admission process.
• Complete Application to UCA. For high school applicants, you should have submitted all items required for university admission to the BT����Office of Admissions no later than the January deadline. Please note that you will use the same login credentials to complete your undergraduate admissions application and your honors college application. We will use records submitted to admissions to verify your GPA and Class Rank for high school applicants. You may work on your application prior to being admitted to UCA, but we will not review the application until all supplemental items are received by the university and your admission to BT����is confirmed.
• Inform and Interview Day (I²  Day). After the initial review of the above materials, 180 applicants will be selected to participate in one of our Inform and Interview Days. If invited, you will choose from one of three dates to be held in February. Activities on this day introduce you to our program and provide an inside look at its operation. You and your parents will learn about the academic, residential, and financial opportunities for those admitted to the Schedler Honors College or Program. You will also have a chance to visit with current students about their experiences in each program. You can view a sample of the schedule here.

Application Review and Scoring

The review of application materials begins in January for incoming freshmen. Once the application, recommendation, admission verification, and transcript data are received, your application will be given consideration by a committee of honors faculty and administrators.

AI and Plagiarism Statement

This application is designed for you to showcase you: what you think, how you understand, and what connects with you based on your interests, experiences, and what you imagine for your future. The application essays are not about having the “right” answer to a prompt or question. Your answer is what is relevant and interesting to us.

Therefore, using AI to compose would work against you, resulting in a weaker, ‘generic’ essay rather than one that tells us what we need to know about your unique perspectives and experiences.

You are encouraged to seek help from those who know you, in brainstorming and revising your responses. However, generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT) may only be used to supplement your writing (for grammar and vocabulary support).

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Step 2. In the second step an honors faculty member will read and score the essay(s) you submitted. Once scored, the faculty member will make a recommendation—based solely on your writing—whether to further consider your application in full. The essay(s) will be scored on the following criteria:

Elbow Essay (10%)

1. Purpose: Shows understanding of purpose
2. Main Argument: Shows understanding and appreciation of main parts of argument
3. Example: Provides and analyzes effective example
4. Originality: Demonstrates clear and original thinking
5. Interdisciplinarity: Creates whole arguments or strategies out of multiple parts

Personal Essay (10%)

1. Curiosity: Student demonstrates drive to engage in academic discourse
2. Self-awareness: Student demonstrates an understanding of self
3. Initiative: Student goes beyond basic mastery of skills and expands one’s own learning 
4. Self-assessment: Student examines their learning processes and critically reflects
5. Perspective-taking: Student considers unfamiliar ideas and evaluates previous assumptions

Mechanics (8%)

1. Grammar: Mechanically and syntactically sound
2. Style: Strong and coherent sentences and paragraphs
3. Details: Use of specific details and examples
4. Organization: Overall flow and organization

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Step 3. In the third step, the Dean and Associate Dean read every essay as well as review the academic record. Taking into account the faculty member’s recommendation as well as the student’s overall score, they reach a consensus about whom to invite to interview for those who applied.

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Step 4. If you are selected for an interview, you will be part of the fourth step by attending one of our I²  Days.

You will listen to a large-group lecture, be asked to complete a quick, on-site writing assignment (6%), and then with three or four other candidates participate in a small-group discussion led by an honors college faculty member (16%). This process is modeled after our freshman seminar course (which meets once per week in large group and twice weekly in small group seminars). We aim to give you a good feel for the experience of being in an Honors class. Your participation in the small group discussion will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. Engagement
2. Interest
3. Enthusiasm
4. Resourcefulness
5. Adventurousness
6. Communication
7. Collaboration
8. Professionalism

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Step 5. Once each I² Day has been held, students will be asked to rank their preference for admission into the Schedler Honors College, Schedler Honors Program, or give both equal weight.

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Step 6. After we have collected your rankings, the faculty will examine the scores of all participants and will select 80 students to invite into the Schedler Honors College. The faculty will select 40 students to invite into the Schedler Honors Program. The selection in both processes will take into account your scores in each of the categories described above as well as the ranking of your preference between programs. The evaluation will also generate a rank-ordered waiting list. You will hear from the Schedler Honors College and the Schedler Honors Program by March 1. That notification will make plain whether you are being offered admission to either program, being put on a waiting list, or are no longer being considered for admission. If you are offered admission, you will be asked to confirm your acceptance to the Schedler Honors College or Schedler Honors Program no later than April 1.