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The University of Oklahoma Joe C. and Carole Kerr McClendon Honors College Providing a Supportive and Challenging Community for Intellectually Motivated Undergraduate Students, Professors, and Scholars

David L. Boren Hall

Effective for all Fall 2010 Applicants: Freshmen entering the University of Oklahoma are eligible to apply to the Honors College if a) they have a Composite ACT of 30 or higher or they have a SAT Total of 1330 or higher and b) they rank among the top 10% of graduates in their high school class or have a high school grade point average of 3.75.

Transfer students who enroll at the University of Oklahoma with fifteen or more college credit hours with a cumulative grade point average of 3.40 or higher are eligible to apply.

Students new to OU must be fully admitted to OU before their Honors College Application will be processed.

All OU students who have earned 15 or more hours of OU credit hours with a grade point average of 3.40 or higher are eligible to apply to the OU Honors College.

Final admission into the Honors College is determined by evaluation of this application which includes a written essay of 400-500 words. The essay is an essential component of the admission decision. The Director reserves the right to deny admission to any student who does not exhibit strong writing skills, who seems otherwise unprepared for the Honors College, or who does not exhibit the motivation to pursue an honors degree designation.

The OU Honors College is a curricular program for students who desire access to the small honors courses and who wish to pursue the cum laude degree designation. The Honors College is independent of any talent-based scholarship program at OU such as the National Scholars Program, the OU SCHOLARS Program, or President's Leadership Class. Your decision to apply for the Honors College in no way influences your eligibility for these scholarships.

University Housing will assign students to Honors House who have indicated Honors House as their first choice on the University Housing application only after they are posted as Honors College members on the student database.

Application Form

Last Name:
First Name:
Middle Initial:
Sooner ID Number (When entering the ID number DO NOT include dashes "–". Sooner ID number will be issued once you are admitted to OU):
Mailing Address:
City:
State:
Zip:
E-Mail:

Please note that we will obtain demographic information from the student database, including your high school GPA, graduation date, transfer GPA (if any), transfer transcript (if any), OU GPA (if any), SAT/ACT scores (if any), and other relevant information.

If you are not yet attending OU:

1. Have you filed an admission application?
(You must be accepted into OU before we can process your Honors College application)
2. What is your current choice of major?
3. If you are a direct-from-high school applicant, please list both your weighted and unweighted high school GPAs:
weighted:
unweighted:

If you are currently enrolled at OU:

1. What is your current major(s)?
2. What is your intended semester of graduation?

ESSAY GUIDELINES

Please write on one of the following three questions in an essay that showcases your writing ability at its best.

If you are a National Merit Scholar, please indicate that at the beginning of your essay.

What are we looking for? The answer is deceptively simple: we want to see original thinking, sincere passion, and polished writing. This means you should proofread carefully to remove typos, clichéd phrasing, and unclear ideas. Basically, you should do whatever you can to present your writing at its best. The most impressive essays will be clear and lively and will give us a vivid sense of who you are and what you can bring to the Honors College. Some ground rules: Your essay must be at least 400 words, though it may run longer if necessary. Choose any format with which you are comfortable. Please remember that your writing will be scrutinized carefully for style and content. Graceful prose is as important as intelligent analysis. As you might deduce from this portion of the application process, writing is very important in the Honors College. Indeed, your writing could be the determining factor for admission into the Honors College.

Describe an activity, issue, or idea about which you are passionate and explain why it means so much to you.
Review a book that has special significance for you. It should not be a book that you read for school, but rather something you read on your own. In your review, please explain what attracted you to the book and why you would recommend it to a friend.
Socrates once said, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Explain what you think the Greek philosopher meant by this statement and whether you believe it to be true.

Submit Your Application
WARNING: Once you submit your application you will not be able to edit or update the information provided above. Please review the information above for accuracy before submitting your application.

©The University of Oklahoma Honors College, David L. Boren Hall, 1300 Asp, Norman, OK 73019 (405)325-5291 | Updated June 14, 2010