Honors Admission for Transfer and Current Boise State Students

Our application consists of three components: your academic record, a resume, and an essay. For current Boise State students or incoming transfer students, we recommend an unweighted cumulative 3.25 college GPA or higher. Your resume and essay serve as opportunities for you to highlight your experience in engaging with the world around you.

Note: Meeting or exceeding our academic performance recommendations does not automatically guarantee admission or a scholarship from the Honors College. Failure to meet them does not automatically disqualify you for admission.

Eligibility

To be admitted to the Honors College in the fall semester, you must have completed at least one semester of college at the time of your application.

To be admitted to the Honors College in the spring semester, you must have completed two semesters of college after high school graduation OR be core-certified (or equivalent, ~60 credits) by the end of the fall semester in which you apply.

Whether you apply for fall or spring, if your application is complete by February 15 you will be considered for honors scholarships for the coming academic year.

Notification Schedule

Our application cycle for spring admission runs from August 1- December 15. You will be notified of your admission decision no later than January 4.

Our application cycle for fall admission will depend on whether you are a transfer student or a current Boise State student.

• For current students, our fall admission runs from January 1 – May 1.
• For transfer students, our fall admission runs from August 1 – May 1.

You will be notified of our admission decision according to this schedule:

• • Apply by October 15 to receive a decision on or before November 15
  • Apply by December 15 to receive a decision on or before January 15
  • Apply by February 15 to receive a decision on or before March 15
  • Apply by May 1 to receive a decision on or before May 15
  • If you apply before February 15 and are placed on our waitlist, you will receive your final Honors admission decision no later than March 31
  • We encourage you to apply by February 15 to be considered for scholarships.

Fall Admission Process

For admission to the Honors College in the fall semester, transfer and current students have different application processes.

Our application cycle for fall admission runs from January 1 – May 1.

Transfer Student Applications

As a transfer student, you can apply to Honors when you submit your Boise State application or anytime afterwards during our application cycle.

• If you have not yet applied to Boise State, you can apply to the Honors College as a part of your Boise State Admissions Application.
• If you have already applied to Boise State, you can apply to the Honors College through your Admissions Status Page, using your myBoiseState login credentials. If you haven’t set up your myBoiseState account, you will find instructions on how to do so in the email you received after submitting your Boise State application.

Your Honors application is complete when your essay and resume are uploaded and you are admitted to the university. We send our Honors admission decisions electronically so if you opt out of receiving messages to your personal email, then you must watch your Boise State email for notifications.

Current Student Applications

As a current Boise State student, please apply through our Current Student Application Form. Be sure to have your essay and resume ready for submission.

Spring Admission Process

For spring admission to the Honors College, transfer and current students follow the same process. Please submit your application materials through our online Honors College Application Form. Transfer students must already be admitted to Boise State before submitting an Honors application. You will use your Boise State login credentials to access the Honors College Application Form.

Our application cycle for spring admission runs from August 1 – December 15.

NOTE: To apply for spring admission, you must have completed at least two semesters of college OR be core-certified by the end of the fall semester in which you are applying.

RESUME:

With as much detail as possible (there is no page limit), please produce a resume detailing your activities and achievements over the last four years. Be sure to include length of your involvement in each activity (dates and number of hours served), explanations of duties, and leadership roles if applicable. You should include the following categories on your resume:

• Prior Honors College membership: Indicate if you were a member of an Honors College at a different university. List any honors courses you have taken at the college level.
• Professional/personal growth: Describe formal training you have received (paid or unpaid employment, internships, workshops attended, etc.) or informal experience you have acquired (such as family caregiving or running a blog) that has shaped your interests or identity.
• Community service: Explain how you have helped others and what you have done to improve your community. Your community may include, but is not limited to: your school, neighborhood, city, religious organization, or a social identity/special interest group that you belong to. Include specific projects you’ve worked on and what your role was.
• Group participation/leadership: Provide examples of group participation or leadership experience in a team, club, organization, community, etc.
• Other activities: List other special skills, talents, hobbies or knowledge you have demonstrated outside the classroom. Consider things that show your creativity, your ability see alternatives or other perspectives, or your willingness to try new things.
• Awards and recognition: Describe awards or recognitions you have received (academics, arts, athletics, community engagement, etc.) and include advanced coursework you have taken.

View an example resume

ESSAY:

Write a one-paragraph response to the following prompt: What is one bold question that you have contemplated and why does it interest you? Please limit your paragraph to 300 words and include the word count at the bottom of the essay.

Boise State and the Honors College recognize that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a powerful and innovative tool that may support student learning and creativity. At times, however, both the university and the Honors College prioritizes student thinking and learning without the assistance of AI. With that in mind, the essay must be written in your own words without the use of artificial intelligence (AI). Failure to comply with this policy may impact your admission to the Honors College.

ADDITIONAL CONTEXT (optional):

Sometimes your resume and essay don’t capture everything you’ve encountered or overcome. If you have a circumstance that you would like the Honors College to take into consideration when reviewing your application, we encourage you to upload a brief statement (no more than 300 words). This is your chance to provide us with additional context as we review your GPA and involvement.

Fall Admission

There are three important dates to consider for fall admission to the Honors College.

February 15 – Honors Admission Priority Date &
Honors General Scholarship Deadline

Apply to the Honors College by February 15 to be given strongest consideration and to be eligible for honors scholarships. If you apply after February 15, you will be considered for honors admission as space allows, but you will not be considered for that year’s honors scholarships.

April 1 – Honors Housing Priority Date

To receive priority consideration for honors housing, submit both your Honors College application by February 15 and your university housing application by April 1. All housing is assigned as space allows, on a first-come-first serve basis. Because it fills quickly, we recommend applying as soon as the housing application opens. You must select Honors College and Sawtooth Hall as your first choice in the application in order to receive priority consideration.

May 1 – Honors Admission Deadline

If you apply after the February 15 priority date, you will be considered for admission to the Honors College as space allows. We do not accept applications after May 1, but if you miss the deadline, we encourage you to apply during the next year’s application cycle beginning in August.

Spring Admission

The Honors College only accepts a small number of students for the spring semester on a first-come, first-served basis as space allows. To be admitted in the spring, you must have completed two semesters of college OR be core-certified by the end of the fall semester in which you are applying.

December 15 – Honors Admission Deadline

If you apply after December 15, or if we are at full capacity when you apply, we will roll your application over into consideration for fall admission.

For Transfer Students

If you were denied admission to the Honors College, you may request another review of your application by following the instructions provided in your denial email. This is your opportunity to share additional information with reviewers that was not clear in your initial application.

You must submit an appeal within 30 days of receipt of your denial email. You will receive a response within three weeks of submitting your appeal.

For Current Boise State Students

If you were denied admission to the Honors College, you may request another review of your application by submitting an email to honorscollege@boisestate.edu with the following information:

• Email Subject Line: Honors Admission Appeal
• Name
• Date of Birth
• Boise State ID
• Upload of appeal video

You must submit an appeal within 30 days of receipt of your denial email. You will receive a response within three weeks of submitting your appeal.

Appeal Video Instructions

Please upload a short video interview (under 3 minutes) answering any of the prompts below:

• Prompt #1: Are there any additional details not included in your original Honors application that we should be aware of? This may include special circumstances or recent changes in your personal, professional, or academic life that form the basis of your appeal.
• Prompt #2: What specifically draws you to our Honors College, and how will you make a positive impact on our program? Additionally, what do you hope to gain from your experience in the Honors College?
• Prompt #3: Is there anything else that you would like the admissions committee to know?

This is your opportunity to share additional information directly with the application reviewers. Please treat this appeal as if you are interviewing for a competitive internship. Be sure to think about aspects of your interview submission such as eye contact, attire, background, sound, lighting, other distractions to the reviewers, etc. You will have unlimited attempts to film your video so we recommend that you rewatch your video prior to submission to ensure that your audio and visual equipment is functioning properly. You must keep your video under 3 minutes.