How to apply to the Honors College

Admission to Honors is based on an evaluation of the student from a multitude of perspectives. We do take test scores and HS Core GPA into consideration for new freshmen (minimum transfer college or current NAU GPA required) if submitted, but that criteria is not exclusively used to admit to Honors. Honors applicants for Fall 2024 average 27 on the ACT and 1189 on the Math and Reading portions of the SAT, and a 3.81 HS Core GPA. Honors College applicants must have a 3.0 Core HS GPA.

Please note that if you started an application for 2025 PRIOR to August 15, you will need to start an entirely new application as the 2024 applications that were noted as “started” in our system will be deleted.Please check with our office at honors@nau.edu if your Honors application does not indicate 2025 terms.

We accept applications to the Honors College all year (Sept 1 ->August 15), but we strongly encourage you be admitted to Honors prior to February 1 if you would like to live on campus and in the Honors Campus Living Community (this date allows you to ensure room placement in the Honors College); and April 1 is our priority date to ensure enrollment in our first year Honors seminar. Admission to Honors will continue through the Summer on a space available basis. Our application closes each year on Aug 15 for maintenance.

The Honors CLC is available on a space-available basis. Students who secure Honors College Admission will live in the Honors College Campus Living Community(CLC) until space is filled.  Also note that application to Honors does not guarantee admission to Honors, nor is application to Honors considered for hall placement in the Honors CLC.

Admission to Honors does not guarantee placement in Honors College CLC, so please plan your campus living application submission accordingly. Applications are prioritized by date of application as space is limited.

See our Applying for Honors housing page for details. Any questions about the Honors College Campus Living Community should be directed to Campus Living.

Learn how to apply for Honors CLC

Submitting an application for Honors on or before November 15, will consider you for one of our limited Honors Merit Scholarships for the following Spring or Fall enrollment term. Notification of this award will be made in late December. We will consider applications after this date on a “funds available” basis.

DO NOT START YOUR HONORS ONLINE APPLICATION until 9/1/2024, when the 2025 application becomes available.

Essay 1 instructions:

This essay is a chance to see how you think through a problem in writing. Like many problems you will encounter in college classes, this one has no single or simple right answer. Your response should have a  main point that you support through a discussion of examples and other kinds of evidence. A successful essay may also recognize the value of different views on the subject. Finally, we will look at your command of basic academic writing conventions, including organization and paragraph structure, spelling, usage, style, and mechanics. Your response should be at least 500 and no more than 800 words in length.

In developing your response, you may want to discuss examples with which you are familiar. Try and think of two to three examples, but please note that this is not a personal essay, so please do not rely heavily on “I” statements.

Prompt:

Community engagement is the act of making an impact at the local level, often through volunteer work, but also through other efforts and activities. Write an essay in which you consider the nature and impact of community engagement. What is it designed to accomplish or, perhaps, prevent? How do you see community engagement providing solutions beyond more traditional civic acts such as voting or running for political office?

“Essay” 2 instructions and prompt:
Please write five sentences describing yourself, your life, and your experiences that, taken together, form an accurate view of who you are. Be creative! List more than 5 and we will only read and consider the first 5.Do not list information provided in your résumé.  This is not a rehash of what you’ve already submitted telling us about yourself. These five sentences should be “little nuggets” of information that give us insight into who you are.  It’s information that you couldn’t work/sneak into an essay or onto your résumé, but information you feel is really important in showing us just who you are, “where you come from.”  The sentences should not simply reiterate information from your résumé, but they may enhance information mentioned on your résumé.  Smart applicants will make good use of this opportunity and make each of the five sentences about something different.  Think of these sentences as showing us aspects of who you are, including what you do, what you love, your favorite things, your deepest desires, your most grandiose dreams…..  These are snapshots, not short stories, that give us a view of you and your unique perspective.

Incoming students to the Honors College are considered “transfer students” when they are transferring 24 or more semester credit hours (earned post-HS graduation) into NAU and have a cumulative grade point average of 3.3 or above. Transfer students must submit an application, resume, and essay for consideration. Transfer transcripts must be on file at NAU for consideration.

If you are not admitted for new or transfer admission, you may apply for the Honors College after completing 12 credit hours of letter-graded coursework at Northern Arizona University. Current NAU students must submit an application, resume, and essay for consideration. The coursework to be considered for admission must count toward liberal studies and/or toward major or minor requirements.

Reminder: to be eligible for admission as a current NAU student, you must have a cumulative Northern Arizona University grade point average of 3.30 or above.