<p>My daughter is filling out her application and other than the optional personal statement there is no essay requirement? </p>
<p>Karen</p>
<p>Honors College application and essay is a killer, but worth it.</p>
<p>Mark2457 is absolutely correct. Last year, the general USC application had just one essay – an optional personal statement. On the other hand, the Honors College application was ugly. But, if you get in, you will be very glad that you put in the effort. Here are last year’s questions: </p>
<p>1) Please list all books, magazines, e-texts, websites, or other material you have read since the start of your junior year, and place an “X” next to those that were school assignments. Your answer is limited to 4000 characters (approximately 500 words).</p>
<p>2) Of the readings you marked above, please indicate two that were the most significant and explain why. Your answer is limited to 2000 characters (approximately 250 words).</p>
<p>3) List your five most significant academic or personal achievements, including the dates of those activities. This can include class projects or research, independent research efforts or projects, performances, service, etc. Your answer is limited to 2000 characters (approximately 250 words).</p>
<p>4) Which one of your academic or personal achievements is the most significant and why? Your answer is limited to 3000 characters (approximately 375 words).</p>
<p>5) Discuss the depth of your involvement in the extracurricular, community, work, or service activity that is of greatest interest to you. Your answer is limited to 3000 characters (approximately 375 words).</p>
<p>6) Discuss your most significant leadership role. Your answer is limited to 3000 characters (approximately 375 words).</p>
<p>7) Write an essay addressing one of the following topics, being sure to justify your position. Your essay should be from 500 to 1,000 words…Please choose your essay topic from the following:
a. Food raises many ethical, aesthetic, social, practical, and health issues. More expensive food is often seen as superior within the context of the aforementioned categories (for example, more expensive food is often seen as aesthetically superior, and healthier food either costs more or is perceived to cost more). Discuss food, expense, and value in the context of one or two of these categories.
b. Address both what it means to be politically “liberal” and what it means to be politically “conservative.”
c. The current budget for the National Science Foundation is $7,400,000,000; the current budget for the National Endowment for the Arts is $161,300,000. Discuss.
d. Many of the planet’s most urgent crises – and most promising solutions – are tied to a single substance: water. Access to water is critical for agriculture, human consumption, industrial needs, and recharge of ground water. A global water crisis is already underway. Address the water crisis from a global, national or local perspective.</p>
<p>8) If you could do ANYTHING in the next four years EXCEPT go to college, what would you do? How do you intend to pursue these interests while in college? Note: This question brought to you by Courtney Marsh, current 3rd year South Carolina Honors College student majoring in Biological Sciences. Your answer is limited to 3000 characters (approximately 375 words).</p>
<p>9) If you have not already answered the following optional personal statement in your general University application, please complete this prompt: Tell us something that you have not already told us in this application that will help us better understand your potential for success as an Honors College student at the University of South Carolina. Your answer is limited to 3000 characters (approximately 375 words).</p>
<p>Correct. If not applying to honors there is no essay. If you write one, they will read it so if you have some strange or unique circumstances that you feel will show rest of application in different (better) light, then do one. If your scores are high enough you will be prompted to fill out honors app if interested.</p>
<p>I’d recommend writing one. They might take it into consideration when giving out scholarships or something.</p>
<p>I didn’t have the greatest stats (3.43 weighted GPA; 1230 SAT), but I turned in an essay anyways and I ended up receiving a General University Scholarship.</p>
<p>It also helps with getting into Capstone, if you’re not interested in the Honors Program, which, I know a lot of people who really only wanted to do Honors for the scholarship money, but weren’t really interested in the program.</p>
<p>how would you submit an essay if not on the application where it has the optional personal statement? would you email it or send it or something? because I have an essay that I was using for personal statements on other applications that doesn’t quite fit the two options for this personal statement…it’s not way off and could work, but not quite what the two options are.</p>
<p>^Last year, I just chose one of the options that I thought it might go under and submitted it as a personal statement.</p>
<p>But I know that if it’s too long you can directly mail it to the Admissions Office at Carolina.</p>