Admission to the Honors Program

The Honors Program is highly selective, admitting fewer than 10 percent of the entering first year class for participation. The program recruits and admits students whose scholastic performance demonstrates an enthusiastic and curious approach to learning. We look not only for students who have high grade point averages and test scores, but also for students who have sought out the most challenging high school courses, are leaders in their school and community, and give back to the larger community through service. All prospective students must begin by applying to UNF.

Any individual interested in applying to the Honors Program must first be accepted into UNF by the Office of Admissions. Once you have received confirmation that you have been accepted into the university, you can begin.

Incoming Freshmen

There are two ways by which you may enter the Honors Program: 1) By invitation (for Presidential Scholarship recipients only); or 2) By application.

Invitation: If you are awarded the UNF Presidential Scholarship through the Office of Admissions, you will be invited to join the Honors Program. No essay or resume is required.

If you are certain you want to join the Honors Program, simply return your Intent Form to the Honors office and register for Honors Preview Day.
If you are still deciding whether you want to join the Honors Program, we encourage you to attend Honors Preview Day.

** Please note: Honors is a limited access program. Intent Forms are due May 1st. However, once we have met our cap, we will no longer be accepting Intent Forms regardless of the deadline. **

Application: If you are not a Presidential Scholarship recipient and you would like to apply for admission into the Honors Program, please complete an application and submit it with your resume and your essay. Click on the “Apply Now” tab under “Admissions.”

We are looking for students who are able to balance high engagement and academic success and so we use multiple factors for admission decisions: GPA, test scores, resume and essay. The average Honors student has a UNF recalculated GPA of 4.09, an SAT of 1243, or an ACT of 27.9. The resume should have your principal activities and honors in high school, including prizes, scholarships, professional or academic offices held, athletic pursuits, extracurricular interests and activities. The essay should be no more than one typed page (11 pt font, 1 inch margins) and should address ONE of the two essay prompts below:

Honors students typically are intellectually curious, are internally motivated, have broad horizons, are leaders who are interested in helping others, and possess integrity. Please select one of the five terms below and describe why it is personally meaningful to you: intellectual curiosity, internal motivation, broad horizons, service-leadership, integrity.
Define what success in college means to you.

Next Steps:

After you submit your application, you will receive a decision from the Honors Program within 3 weeks.
If you are accepted or waitlisted, you must register here for Honors Preview Day on April 20, 2013.

** Please note: Honors Preview Day is not a substitution for UNF Orientation. All freshmen must attend an Orientation session. **