INCOMING FRESHMAN

Applications for Fall 2025 enrollment will not require the ACT/SAT for entry into the Honors College. Applicants will be reviewed holistically to include a completed application, essays, transcript evaluation, extracurricular involvement, letters of recommendation, and interview (if applicable). Applicants should consider the following characteristics when choosing to apply:

• Minimum (weighted) cumulative GPA of 3.75 or higher.
• Earned mostly "A"s in core courses and will have chosen a challenging and/or meaningful course of study as allowed by their high school's curriculum.
• Significant details given to essay prompts and extracurricular activities.
• Letters of recommendation highlighting distinctive character, profound leadership, and impactful service.
• Interest in challenging course work, undergraduate research, or international experiences is strongly encouraged.

Applicants must submit an Undergraduate Admissions application and all required supplemental documents for consideration into the Honors College. Applicants are not required to be admitted to the university to apply to the Honors College, BUT must have at least applied to the university.

The Honors College oversees three (3) independent merit scholarship programs: the Cheatham-White Scholars Program, Dowdy Scholars Enrichment Program, and the February One Scholars Program. Criteria for each scholarship can be found on our website. Upon submission of a completed Honors College application received by November 15, applicants will automatically be considered for each scholarship.

Please ensure all documents submitted via this application are in PDF format only. If your document cannot be opened, your application will be considered incomplete. Please name all files using the format below:

YourLastName_YourFirstName_DocumentType.FileExtension (Example: Smith_Jane_HSTranscripts.pdf)

Applicants are required to upload an unofficial copy of your high school transcript. Official documents are sent to the NC A&T Office of Undergraduate Admissions and we do not have access to those files.

Two letters of recommendation are required with this application. Please prepare to list your reference person’s name and email address. Upon submission of this application, a separate notification will be sent directly to your recommenders. One letter should speak to your academic or leadership ability, and one letter should speak to your character or service involvement. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted from family members or peers.

The Honors College is following the guidance of the UNC System Policy for Undergraduate Admissions and will therefore be test-optional for scholarship selection in the Fall 2025 freshmen class. Applicants who are unable or choose not to submit testing will not be penalized in our selection process.

The Honors College reserves the right to withdraw your application at any time should it be determined that an applicant submits false documents, engages in plagiarism, or provides misleading information during any phase of the application process.

Application materials received via email or any other format other than this application will not be accepted.

CURRENT/TRANSFER STUDENT

Applicants will be reviewed holistically to include a completed application, essays, transcript evaluation, leadership, and service. Applicants should consider the following characteristics when choosing to apply:

• Have a minimum 3.5 GPA at NC A&T or the institution transferring from.
• Be in at least their second semester at NC A&T
  • It is important to be able to demonstrate a full year of academic success at the college level. Thus, we are not allowing first-semester freshmen to apply at this time. Current freshmen (students in their second full semester of college) should apply by the deadline and would enter the Honors College the following fall semester.
• Have at least four semesters remaining at the undergraduate level upon entrance into the Honors College. This is to ensure adequate time to complete Honors requirements.
• An applicant's responses to the essay prompt will play a very important role in the selection.
• Application should highlight distinctive character, profound leadership, and/or impactful service.
• Interest in challenging course work, undergraduate research, or international experiences is encourage.

Although the Honors College does not oversee scholarship awards to support current and transfer students directly, we do provide resources and information regularly for opportunities to apply for scholarships and fellowships. Students are encouraged to also contact the Office of Financial Aid & Scholarships as well as their academic department.

Two letters of recommendation are required with this application. Please prepare to list your reference person’s name and email address. Upon submission of this application, a separate notification will be sent directly to your recommenders. One letter should speak to your academic or leadership ability, and one letter should speak to your character or service involvement. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted from family members or peers.

The Honors College reserves the right to withdraw your application at any time should it be determined that an applicant submits false documents, engages in plagiarism, or provides misleading information during any phase of the application process.

Application materials received via email or any other format other than this application will not be accepted.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

When should I apply?

• Incoming freshmen should apply by the priority deadline November 15 to be considered for the Honors College and Honors Distinguished Scholarships. Additional applications will be considered for the Honors College only until December 15.
• Currently enrolled students at NC A&T and transfer students should apply between January 15 – March 15.
• Submitting your application early will not increase your chances of acceptance. It is however, strongly encouraged to not wait until the last minute. A number of circumstances should be considered including but not limited to, Eastern Standard Time Zone, recommendation submission, internet glitches, etc.
• Applicants do not have to be admitted to the university prior to applying to the Honors College, but should at least have an undergraduate admissions application on file with supplemental documents.

Will I automatically be considered for Honors Scholarships when I apply to the University?

• No. Applicants must apply for admissions to the university and the Honors College separately. All applicants should first apply for Undergraduate Admissions to North Carolina A&T State University. Incoming freshmen applicants should then apply to the Honors College by November 15 for scholarship consideration. Currently enrolled and transfer students should seek scholarship opportunities through your academic department.

Is the Honors application and scholarship applications separate?

• No. For incoming freshmen, when you apply to the Honors College, you are also applying for our three scholarship programs as well. Priority consideration for scholarships are applied to applications received by November 15.

Can I be considered for all three scholarship programs?

• Yes. For incoming freshmen, when you submit your application, you will be considered for all three programs. Eligibility is based upon meeting individual program criteria. Recipients will only be selected for one program.

Is a nomination required?

• Yes. For incoming freshmen applicants, a nomination from a high school official or self-nomination is required. There is no added value between a school endorsement or self-nomination.
• For purposes of this section, a high school official includes guidance counselors, principal, assistant principal, head of school or designee. Applicants should request permission from the high school official prior to including their information on the application. A separate email will be sent to the representative to complete endorsement. Applicants are encouraged to self-nominate if the student meet one of the following scenarios:
  • The student is home-schooled but believes she or he is highly qualified based on scholarship, leadership, service, and character.
  • The student did not receive a school endorsement, but believes himself or herself to be as competitive as school-endorsed candidates.
  • The student meets the minimum qualifications and shows characteristics of scholarly excellence in leadership and service.

How many students can a high school official nominate?

• The number of nominees from each school is determined by the size of the senior class:

How can my high school counselor submit a school endorsed nomination?

• Applicants must first register an account through the Honors College Portal. Within the application, applicants will have the option to select the school endorsed option and list the counselor name and email address. Upon initiating the request, the counselor will receive a separate notification to submit their nomination.
Does the school endorsed nomination hold more weight than self-nomination?
• No. The school endorsed nomination does not bear more weight, but does give additional insight into a student academically.

Am I required to upload my high school transcript?

• Yes. You must have an unofficial transcript in PDF format that you will upload into the honors application.
• Do not have your high school send a transcript on your behalf for the purposes of the honors application. If a transcript has already been sent to the university for other purposes, we still need you to upload a PDF version into the honors application.
• Obtain a copy of your high school transcript at least two to three weeks before the application deadline.

How should I complete the Honors & Activities section?

• Don't limit yourself to school-sanctioned organizations if that isn't where you spend all your time. Think carefully about what you would like to highlight.
• Are you employed? Do you have a time-consuming hobby? Maybe you have significant caregiving responsibilities at home or volunteer your time in ways that don't give you a traditional label of "volunteer". Think carefully about how you spend your time, and then tell us about the meaningful (to you) stuff, no matter where, when, or how it happens.
• Use acronyms and abbreviations carefully. We can probably figure out what it means if you said you were the VP of a group, but other acronyms and abbreviations can be locally or regionally specific. You might want to spell things out.
• List the name of the actual group, employer, etc. in the first line of the activity, when applicable. We sometimes see more of a category here instead of the name of the activity (e.g. "Athletics" instead of "Baseball" or "Employment" instead of "Hooper's Store").
• 10 is an upper limit, not a requirement (not even a suggestion). We do want you to fill this section out to the best of your ability, but we have seen great activities lists with fewer than 10 activities present.
• There is an option to submit additional information. This space is intended for students to be able to expand on additional involvement they feel warrants an explanation. Do not repeat information already listed.

What information are you looking for in my essay?

• Be sure to answer the actual question. This may seem like an obvious one, but we receive a lot of thoughtful, well-written responses to questions we have not asked.
• While we see successful essays at a variety of lengths, students who reach less than half of the page typically have not engaged with the essay prompt in a way that helps us get to know them.
• Take time to be impactful, meaningful, and reflect on what makes you unique. Try not to answer what you think we want to here, but what is truly authentic. This can take time to cultivate which is why it’s best to revise your essay’s multiple times.

Who should I select to write my letter of recommendation?

• Two letters of recommendation are required. One letter should speak to your academic or leadership ability, and one letter should speak to your character or service involvement. Letters of recommendation will not be accepted from family members or peers.
• Consider a recommender who really know you well and have witnessed what it is your asking them to write the letter for (i.e., leadership, service, etc.). Just because you took their class does not mean that they should write you a letter.

How will my recommender submit their letter on my behalf?

• Applicants should reach out to person’s they feel can provide a strong letter of recommendation. Once they agree to write your letter you will add their name and email to your application and recommenders will receive a separate notification.
• Be sure to provide any materials they may need to assist in drafting a thoughtful and detailed letter.

My recommender has not received the email request to submit my recommendation letter via the online application system. What should I do?

• It’s in your best interest to request your letter 2-3 weeks prior to the priority deadline to allow sufficient time for any technical complications.
• Recommenders should check their junk or spam folder as important information can sometimes be sent there indirectly.
• Check your application to be sure you have typed their correct email address. If everything appears to be correct, please email honors@ncat.edu and include your name, recommender’s name and email address, and describe the issue at hand.

The recommender I listed is not responding. How can I change the recommender?

• Login to your portal, delete the current name and email of the recommender, and initiate the request.
• Please notify the prior recommender. If they attempt to complete your recommendation form at a later date the system will not recognize their information.

Process

1. Register

Click on the "Register" link and complete and submit the registration form.

2. Login

Login to the award with your email and password.

3. Create

Create your online application from My Dashboard page.

4. Save

During the Call for Applications period, your application can be saved as DRAFT until all the required information is completed and attachments uploaded. As each section is complete, you will see a appear in the category tab when the application is saved. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section.

5. Submit

On completion, save your Nomination as FINAL. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section in the right column. Note: If an update is required prior to the Call for Applications period, you can make the update and resave as FINAL.

If you require assistance or additional information, please contact the administrator.