Honors Requirements & Application Process
Requirements - Academic Year 2023-2024
Current high school student applicants must satisfy at least one of the following criteria:
- Be academically ranked within the top 10% of their graduating class
- Receive a combined American College Test (ACT) score of at least 28 or a Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) score of at least 1300
Continuing AWC student applicants must:
- For students (who are not in high school) who have earned 12 or fewer AWC college (transferrable) credits: Be currently enrolled in ENG 101 or ENG 102 (or have already passed these classes with a grade of B or higher) and be currently enrolled in MAT 142 or higher (or have already passed it with a grade of B or higher)
- For students who have earned 13 or more AWC college (transferrable) credits: have a current grade point average of 3.5 or higher and be currently enrolled in ENG 101 or ENG 102 (or have already passed these classes with a grade of B or higher)
Application Process
Honors Application Portfolio
This application serves two purposes: admission to the Honors Program itself and consideration for the Honors Scholarship. The 2023-2024 deadline will be March 1, 2024, by 5:00 pm Portfolios shall be e-mailed to Honors@azwestern.edu.
To apply, a current or incoming Honors student shall submit:
- Honors Program - Personal Information Sheet
- Letter of Interest
- Essay
- Describe your short-term and long-term goals.
Specifically, begin with your academic goals: in what field(s) do you plan to major?; what college degrees are you planning on earning?; to what universities are you considering transferring?
Next describe your career or professional goals: once you complete your higher education, what do you anticipate doing for the next thirty or forty years (in applying that education)?
- Describe your short-term and long-term goals.
- Unofficial High School and/or College Transcripts (as applicable)
- Two letters of recommendation- academic and character
Once students have been accepted into the Honors program they will be in good standing if they 1) maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and 2) complete at least twelve credits each semester (fall and spring).
Students shall maintain good citizenship while in the program. Serious misbehavior or improprieties can result in immediate dismissal by the Director from the program.
Students whose cumulative grade point average slips below 3.0 and/or complete less than twelve credits in the fall or spring semesters will enter into probationary status for the next semester. At the end of the following semester the student will either be returned to good standing (if her/his cumulative grade point average has risen above 3.0 and complete at least 12 transferrable credits) or she/he will be released from the Honors program.
It is within the purview of the Honors Director to permit students demonstrating extraordinary talent in a particular discipline or area of study to enter the program who otherwise would not meet the admission criteria above. Such approved students who fail to meet the standard admission requirements, however, will enter the program on a provisional basis for a term of one semester. To remain thereafter in the Honors Program the student must meet or exceed all Honors Program requirements detailed above.
Honors Scholarships
This application serves two purposes: admission to the Honors Program itself and consideration for the Honors Scholarship. The 2023-2024 deadline will be March 1, 2024, by 5:00 pm. Portfolios shall be e-mailed to Honors@azwestern.edu.
Honors Scholarships are Institutional Scholarships in the forms of a tuition waiver, book voucher or meal voucher. Scholarship packages may include some or all of the forms of awardment. In addition, scholarship funds may be available for Honors students who enroll in summer courses.New Honors Program members and Honors Scholarship recipients (new and renewed) will be notified on or about the third week of April.
One of the benefits of being an Honors student is eligibility to apply for renewal of current/earned Honors scholarship. It is a competitive process. Students who apply (including both current Honors students and high school seniors applying for fall semester admission to Honors) are evaluated by the Honors Council. These evaluations are compiled, from which a ranked score for each student is generated. The highest ranked applicants receive the scholarship.