SMU Honors Program

<p>Just wondering if anyone has received confirmation of acceptance into the SMU Honors Program? I heard that invitations would be sent in early Feb.
Thanks.</p>

<p>^^ No news as of today (central Texas). My daughter received a letter a couple of weeks ago stating what you wrote: early February decision. Maybe this week. Anybody else heard anything?</p>

<p>Still waiting, also. Which Honors Program(s) are you interested in?</p>

<p>I have been in close contact with the Honors Program director Dr. Doyle. He said the invitations were mailed out last week. If you are going to receive an invitation, it should come in the mail tomorrow (not today, mail doesn’t run) or sometime this week. I’m still anxiously awaiting mine! Does anyone know what exactly the scholarship that comes with the invitation entails?</p>

<p>Thanks for the info. Is there a scholarship associated with the Honors Program?</p>

<p>Unfortunately I did not get in. I am being evaluated for New Century Scholars Program. Basically, I sort of got “deferred” to this program with the possibility of entering the actual Honors Program my sophomore year. I am not sure of the scholarship, I have received different information from both my admissions counselor and the Honors director. Good luck to you all…must be VERY competitive…I have a high test score, i’ve been involved, good grades, 4.2 gpa…so i’m not exactly sure what they are looking for. Good luck!</p>

<p>my son also received letter today for consideration in the New Century Scholars Program too. He is unable to find anything about this program on the SMU website. He is also a NMSF with 2140 SAT, 31 ACT and lots of EC’s. Is this a new program and what are the benefits to the students selected?</p>

<p>I will copy the email I received from the NCSP director. I also just received an email from the Honors Program director saying that they are looking at ACT scores 32 and higher as well as involvement, etc. I’m VERY surprised how selective they are. </p>

<p>The NCS program is a new program, so this explains why you couldn’t find us on the university website. We are currently working on the web information now. NCSP is a branch of the honors program, so you should feel proud to have received your letter.</p>

<p>This program is a residential-based program, where you will live in the same dorm for your first-year as the other NCSP students. This means that you will come to the university with a ready-made community of people like you. We will work on a community service project during your first year, and you will take your English classes (which will be taught by me) together as a group. The program should be a lot of fun, and if you are successful in this program, then you might be able to move into the University Honors Program in your sophomore year. What is exciting about being a member of NCSP in its first year is that your class is really going to set the tone for the rest of the program. You will have a lot of freedom in deciding where the program should go. I think it is a great opportunity for someone who is interested in being a leader on campus.</p>

<p>I then asked her about living situations and additional scholarships. </p>

<p>Sadly, at this time, there are no scholarships available with the New Century Scholars Program. Your english class (which you will take together) will be more advanced, and if do well in the program, then you have a good chance of moving into NCSP during your sophomore year or even after your first semester in NCSP.</p>

<p>The dorm that you will be living in (if you are admitted to NCSP) does not have suites. Instead, the dorm has a large community bathroom on the floor. If you plan on visiting campus sometime, let me know, and I can show you the dorm.</p>

<p>I’m bummed that I didn’t get into the Honors, but SMU is still a great school. Good luck to everyone…</p>

<p>Daughter received her University Honors invitation today. She said the letter was dated Feb 12.</p>

<p>I also received my University Honors invitation today. I am very excited! I have also received BBA Scholars and Pre-law Scholar invitations. I am leaning towards doing the BBA Scholar program along with the University Honors program. SMU is my first choice.</p>

<p>The Honors Program invitation arrived today. Does anyone know how many students are invited into the program each year?</p>

<p>Is this worth it for an engineering major? Or even… is it possible? It says I’ll graduate with honors in liberal arts, but that seems really meaningless for engineering.</p>

<p>Not sure how many people are accepted into the honors program and how many actually accept their invitations. I bet you could email the Honors director.</p>

<p>Oddmonkey: I don’t see how it could hurt to do both. Seems like employers today want more well-rounded students.</p>

<p>I got an invitation to the university honors program today as a cox student. I’ll be stoked if I matriculate to live in Virginia-Snyder.</p>

<p>sorry for the double post, i cant find the edit button.</p>

<p>it said in the letter that spots fill up quickly despite the invitation. do i have to decide on smu now if i want to retain the honors program? or can i wait till my other decisions come in?</p>

Resurrecting an old thread…D has been invited to SMU Honors program (already admitted to Lyle). Not sure how to view the honors program - input from other parents, or current students, would be appreciated.

Does the honors program consist of the direct admittance into Cox? I got a 30 on my ACT and had a 3.8 GPA as well as a strong extracurricular background. Was wondering if I am a viable candidate. Thanks

@AustinFather - I’m currently a senior at SMU. I was invited to the SMU Honors program, but declined bc I wanted to use my hard-earned AP English credits. In joining the program you agree to take 2 English classes with all the other SMU honors kids regardless of any previously earned credit.

Even though I didn’t end up being part of the program, some of my good friends have been in it - the professors are awesome (but really expect a lot from you), classes are smaller than others would be your freshman year, and I believe the program consists of taking 7 courses at the Honors level before you graduate. Some of their classes involve a travel component over spring break (that I believe is completely paid for by SMU) - ex: history class exploring colonial Virginia or art class going to Italy.

Aside from the classes, students are able to use the Scholars Den- a new, nice hang-out/study spot that only students in special scholars groups can access (includes Hunt Scholars, Presidents Scholars, university honors, BBA Scholars, and a few others). Honors students also have a handful of social events planned for them throughout the year.

Hope that helps!

@Lilly119 - Thank you, that was very helpful!

@Auggie2015 - The University Honors Program is separate from any of the academic schools, the classes it has you take are all the basics of SMU curriculum, not major-specific.

Did you apply Early Action or Early Decision to SMU? If so, it sounds like those invites for honors program have already been sent.

Through the Cox School of Business there are 2 special programs that new students might be invited to that involve direct admittance to the business school- The BBA Scholar Program and Business Direct. Students in both of these have exceptional test scores and GPAs - the BBA Scholar group is the higher academic profile of the two and comes with it’s own scholarship.