Tips for Applying to the Chancellor's Honors Program

Admission to the Chancellor’s Honors Program is highly selective.  We offer 5 tips that will help the prospective student maximize the quality of their application.

1. Learn what the Chancellor’s Honors Program is all about. 

• Make sure that you fully understand and appreciate the program’s requirements and opportunities, and that, based on this understanding, you are confident that this is the program for you.  The easiest way to accomplish this is to carefully read the content of this web site, but you may also want to meet us and pose questions in person.  In this regard, please know that UT’s Office of Admissions offers three on-campus “Scholars Invitationals” (by invitation only) during the fall semester as a means for prospective honors students to learn more about honors programs and opportunities at UT.  What’s more, UT’s Office of Alumni Relations sponsors numerous state-wide “Volunteer Alumni Network” (VAN) gatherings (by invitation only) that are designed to bring honors program representatives and high-achieving prospective students together in various regions of the state.  In any case, the more you know about us, the more likely your application will bespeak a good fit with what we’re all about.
  
  

2. Write an original, compelling, and stylistically sophisticated essay.

• The Chancellor’s Honors Program requires that applicants submit an electronic or printed copy of the Fall Entering Freshman Academic Scholarship Application, including the required essay.  Since our applicants have almost always earned excellent grades in demanding high school curricula and achieved outstanding scores on one or more standardized test, the quality of an applicant’s essay is a key determinate in our rigorous and holistic applicant review.  It may also be the case, however, that grades and test scores do not accurately or fairly represent a prospective student’s ability and potential.  That’s what great essays are can do: they can help us understand complicated situations and experiences, and therein, complex and highly motivated people.
  
  

3. Make sure that we have a good understanding of your leadership experience and potential. 

•  Again, while almost all of our applicants have earned top marks in some of the toughest course work and, very often, scored in the stratosphere on standardized tests, we are interested in recruiting people, not GPA’s and test scores.  Please make sure that we have an accurate and complete record of your work with people, in your community, and for the betterment of others.  Make sure we understand not only your narrow academic interests and ambitions, but also your larger concerns, animating values, and higher responsibilities.  What do you want out of your baccalaureate education?  What do you demand of liberal arts-based education?  How will the liberal arts inform professional and career interests?  How will an enriched and enhanced honors education contribute to developing your capacities for citizenship?
  
  

4. Meet all deadlines. 

• Plan ahead and leave nothing to chance.  Do not rush to complete an application at the last minute.  Leave time for multiple drafts, and for proofreading.  Make sure your letters of recommendation have been composed and posted on time.  Consider using registered mail to transmit your completed application.  Make sure all your metaphorical I’s are dotted and T’s are crossed.  When it comes to making application to the Chancellor’s Honors Program, being meticulous is a good thing.

5. Do not hesitate to ask questions. 

• We are here to help.  Drop us a line, give us a ring, or make an appointment.  Whether you are a freshman, sophomore or transfer applicant, we welcome your inquiries, queries, and questions.