university honors essays

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 .

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Contact us:
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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.

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?

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.

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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How to Write the University at Buffalo Honors Essay 2023-2024

The State University of New York at Buffalo (University at Buffalo) is a public university located in Buffalo, New York. It boasts a large, suburban campus and consistently ranks in the top 100 national universities.

When it comes to admissions, UB is moderately competitive. While there’s no supplement for all applicants, there is one for the Honors College. Here’s how to write a standout response to their prompt.

Want to know your chances at UB? Calculate your chances for free right now .

UB Honors Supplemental Essay Prompt

Ub honors scholars are characterized by intellectual curiosity, a broad range of interests, and a commitment to a diverse and inclusive society. what experiences have helped to broaden your perspectives academically, socially and culturally what experiences do you hope to have that will enlarge your understanding of the cultural richness of america and the world please be as specific as possible in your answer. (650 words), understanding the prompt.

This prompt allows the admissions committee to get a sense of your values–and what you will contribute to the UB community. A prompt like this has no one “right answer”; your aim should be to find detailed, compelling examples that show :

Your understanding and appreciation of intellectual curiosity, diversity, and inclusivity
What you will contribute to the UB Honors college community’s intellectually curious, diverse, and inclusive community

This means that the only “wrong” answer would be one that shows a lack of understanding of the values that the UB Honors College expressly prioritizes.

With this in mind, let’s take a minute to understand what each of these values means:

1. Intellectual curiosity

Most basically, intellectual curiosity means a desire to ask and answer questions—to learn. “Intellectual curiosity” is a broad enough term that it can fit many different kinds of people. For example:

You can be intellectually curious by always having questions about everything you encounter in the world around you. Maybe you’re the person who is always eager to ask “why,” whether at a theater performance or in biology class.
Or you can be intellectually curious by being passionate about a particular set of issues or questions. Maybe you care deeply about how humans can improve the standard of living of the poorest among us, and you are passionate about asking questions in many disciplines—economics, politics, agricultural sciences, sociology—to begin to solve this problem.

2. A broad range of interests

Though many programs encourage specialization (academically and professionally), the UB Honors College is not one such program. The honors college sees itself as a small liberal arts college within the large UB university. A liberal arts education fundamentally is centered on the idea of giving students a varied educational experience, exposing them to different areas of knowledge and inquiry. “A broad range of interests” does not have to mean that you’re interested in everything; it should, however, involve interests that go beyond one set professional or academic path. Consider these two cases:

Narrow interests: Imagine that you are passionate about math and want to take as many math courses as possible and do as many math-related activities as possible, with the long-term goal of being an academic mathematician. If this is the case, you might not be a good fit for the Honors Program’s “broad range of interests.”
Broad interests: Imagine that you are passionate about math (and plan to become a mathematician) but also want to understand history, economics, and the arts in order to be a more informed citizen. If you have these interests—and, ideally, a track record of participating in and exploring these non-math areas—then you might be a great fit for the Honors Program.

3. A diverse and inclusive society

Diversity and inclusivity have become buzzwords; we all think that we know what they mean—and, to an extent, your understanding of these terms is probably right. Fundamentally, diversity and inclusivity have to do with valuing and celebrating the different backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences that come with being part of a multicultural, multi-religious, multiethnic society. Inclusivity places particular emphasis on finding ways to draw in and celebrate those who have historically been excluded from or oppressed by society.

However, keep in mind that diversity and inclusivity can also have to do with:

Economic diversity: Including students from different economic backgrounds in an intellectual community.
Intellectual diversity: Including students with varied political or ideological beliefs in an intellectual community.
Geographic diversity within the US: Though international students provide the most vibrant and obvious diversity at many US Universities, students from under-represented areas of the US can also contribute to a school’s diversity.

Choosing Past Experiences to Write About

The key part of the prompt asks:

What experiences have helped to broaden your perspectives academically, socially and culturally?

In an essay like this, it can be tempting to go for quantity over quantity—if you have many experiences that seem to fit the prompt, including as many of them as possible can seem like the right way to go. However, the strongest responses to a prompt like this will focus on just one or two (three at the most) related experience to weave a detailed, compelling picture of how your values fit with those of UB.

When writing about your experiences, your aim should be to show not tell . This means picking specific “moments” from each experience to bring the experience to life. Here’s a mini example:

Telling: During my exchange trip to Italy, I spent as much time as I could talking with the locals and learning about their cultural practices.

Note that this is a very general summary of the writer’s experience; vivid details do not shine through, and the reader does not get much of a sense of what the writer saw, felt, or did.

Showing: One morning, I looked up from my customary espresso to find a friendly, wrinkled face across the table from me. My new friend, patient with my imperfect Italian comprehension, told me stories about her farm where she had lived as a child, before poor economic conditions forced her family to sell their land and move to the city.

This little anecdote puts the reader “in the moment”; it clearly conveys that the writer spoke with locals and learned their stories, but it does so through one engaging story, rather than through general summary.

With this point in mind (about “showing not telling”), consider these examples of experiences someone might write about. They demonstrate the variety of experiences that could fit this part of the essay prompt:

A student who did an exchange trip to Japan and also worked at a Mexican restaurant could write about these two very different experiences.

The student could pick a “moment” from their experience in Japan that shows how they encountered different academic and social norms in Japan.
Then, they could describe different specific aspects of their work in a Mexican restaurant, showing what they learned about food and culture.
Zooming out, the student could give examples of how these experiences have helped them connect with those who are different from them in their daily life.

A student whose parents got divorced while she was in middle school could write about this experience and about how, around the same time, she began volunteering at a nursing home in her community.

Using vivid, detailed “moments” (for example, a specific moment when she could not focus), the student could explain how her parents’ divorce was socially and academically difficult for her, since it distracted her from friends and school.
Then, she could show how this experience motivated her to develop specific new study habits and social skills, and to volunteer at the local nursing home.
Next, the student could describe how this volunteering experience exposed her to elderly people of varied cultural and economic backgrounds, allowing her to put aside her own personal turmoil and focus on listening and learning. The writer could pick one or two specific friends from the nursing home to write about in detail.

Choosing Future Experience to Write About

The second part of the prompt asks:

What experiences do you hope to have that will enlarge your understanding of the cultural richness of America and the world?

This is what we call a “forward-looking” question. By asking both this question and one about your past experiences, the admissions committee is trying to understand not only who you are now, but how your past experiences have shaped your future goals.

This part of the prompt is a key place to pivot to think specifically about the Honors College and your goals for college. In other words, college is a great time to enlarge your understanding of the country or world’s cultural richness. Here, your goal should be to still stay specific and to create continuity between the past- and forward-looking parts of your essay.

What to Avoid

Writing about very vague or generic experiences (meeting other students, talking with your peers)

Engaging with other students in college is a critical and fruitful part of the college experience; however, you should do your best to identify a forum for engagement that will show the specificity and sincerity of your hopes. This could mean extracurriculars, discussion groups, or even just shared, informal activities like cooking or game nights.

Writing about the exact same experiences that you’ve already had

If you’ve done an exchange in Japan in high school, writing that you want to go back through a similar program in college will likely not show growth or a desire to push your understanding further.

However, you could instead write about how you want to pursue an internship in Japan or go there for research or another experience that is meaningfully different (presumably more in-depth) than the experiences you’ve already had.

Writing about experiences just because they seem “impressive”

Many college applicants feel pressure to express interest in activities that are competitive or come with high prestige. However, a prompt like this one is all about understanding your values and how you connect with other people. This means your priority should be authenticity.

For example, you have not demonstrated any interest in Model UN or international relations more generally, it would not feel cohesive if you wrote about how you plan to broaden your cultural perspective by joining Model UN in college (unless you are able to come up with a compelling, personal reason for branching out into this entirely new field).

Aside from these common pitfalls, there is, again, no one “right” way to answer this prompt. However, here are two ways that the examples above could answer the second question in the prompt:

The student who wrote about his experiences in Japan and working in a Mexican restaurant could write about how he hopes to get involved in the UB Honors College’s international cafe, which exposes students to food and practice from different cultures.
He could also write about how he hopes to travel back to Japan to learn more about Japanese culinary traditions, which were not his focus during his first (academically-focused) visit.
The student who wrote about her parents’ divorce and her work in a nursing home could write about how she hopes to study different models for caring for the aging in different cultures.
The writer could explain how her experiences have showed her that how a society treats its oldest citizens offers key insight into social and cultural values and norms.
She could cite specific UB courses and resources opportunities that would allow her to study this topic, such as the Gerontology minor, which focuses on the study of aging.

Where to Get Your UB Essay Edited

Do you want feedback on your UB essay? After rereading your essays countless times, it can be difficult to evaluate your writing objectively. That’s why we created our free Peer Essay Review tool , where you can get a free review of your essay from another student. You can also improve your own writing skills by reviewing other students’ essays.

If you want a college admissions expert to review your essay, advisors on CollegeVine have helped students refine their writing and submit successful applications to top schools. Find the right advisor for you to improve your chances of getting into your dream school!