Application Information

Admission to the Honors College is competitive for first-year, transfer, and current student applicants. Simply meeting the academic invitation criteria will not guarantee admission. When crafting each class, the Honors College considers program space and applicants’ fit. Selection criteria may include but are not limited to overall fit within the Honors College to create a well-rounded class, content and quality of the Honors essays, academic achievement, academic program of study, and extracurricular, employment, or leadership activities.

Honors Application Activities and Involvement

Applicants are asked to highlight their involvement in up to four extracurricular, employment, service, or leadership activities. We encourage applicants to select activities demonstrating a depth of involvement, highlighting their contributions to the organization, or connecting the activity to their academic or professional goals.

Honors Application Essays

The Honors College application essays allow you to address the admissions committee in your own voice. We have a deep interest in knowing why you are considering joining the Honors College, and your essays will let us better see you as a future scholar in our community. The essays will also indicate your ability to write critically and effectively, which are key skills for success in the Honors curriculum.

Keep the following in mind:

  • Exceptional responses will go above and beyond answering the prompt. They may include and reflect on personal experiences to support the applicant’s desire for Honors membership and demonstrate a researched understanding of the Honors College benefits, values, or program outcomes.

  • Your essay should closely examine your ideas about your education and the Auburn Honors College experience.

  • Your essay may take creative and intellectual risks but should address and integrate all prompt elements.

  • Your essay should give the admissions committee insight into how you think, how you reason, and what you value.

  • Be succinct, but make sure you thoroughly address the prompt.

  • Proofread your submission. You may want to consider drafting your essays in a Word document first so that you can review and revise if necessary.

2025-2026 Essay Prompts

(completed by all applicants, 600-word limit)

Reflect on your educational goals, values and philosophy. What experiences or accomplishments have shaped your goals and values? What principles guide your learning, and how do you envision your college experience as a continuation of this intellectual and personal growth? In your response, consider how you plan to engage with academic opportunities and pursue meaningful challenges offered by the Honors College. Discuss how the Honors experience could support or enhance these aspirations.

(applicants will select one prompt, 600-word limit)

Prompt A: Tell us who you are, and who you want to become, by describing in detail a material object belonging to you or to someone in your family.

Prompt B: The psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi famously used the word “flow” to describe a state of deep immersion in a task or activity, in which “The ego falls away. Time flies. Every action, movement, and thought follows inevitably from the previous one, like playing jazz. Your whole being is involved, and you’re using your skills to the utmost.” Describe an activity that can put you into a flow state. What is that experience like, and how does that experience match with your educational plans?

Prompt C: Each year, the Honors College selects a quote to exhort the incoming cohort to aspire to the ideals of the College. In 2024, the quotation was from the seventeenth-century mathematician and philosopher René Descartes: “It is not enough to have a good mind. The main thing is to use it well.” What quotation would you propose the Honors College adopt for the incoming honors cohort of 2026, and why? What does this choice tell us about you, your interests and your life goals?

Application Timeline

The Honors College reviews applications and selects a group of first-year students for membership each fall. Students entering the spring and summer semesters are encouraged to apply through the current student pathway. 

Fall 2025 First-Year Class at a Glance

Middle 50% ACT 33-34
Middle 50% SAT 1430-1490
Middle 50% weighted GPA 4.4-4.6

Apply to Auburn University

First-year students interested in the Honors College should apply to Auburn University early. Applicants seeking Fall 2026 membership should first complete their undergraduate admissions application. Interested students should plan to complete their Auburn admissions application three business days before the November 15 Honors application deadline to ensure adequate time to receive their Honors application. Learn more about Auburn University admission deadlines and important dates.

Apply to the Honors College

Incoming first-year students can access the Honors application from the checklist in the Auburn applicant portal beginning mid-August. First-year applicants can begin their Honors application before receiving their Auburn admissions decision.

The Fall 2026 Honors application deadline was November 15, 2025.

This year’s Honors College applicant pool included some of Auburn’s highest-achieving and most engaged applicants, and we could not admit all exceptional students. Students denied in the initial Honors review can request a re-review of their Honors application through the link included in their decision letter.

The deadline to submit an appeal is February 13, 2026, and students can expect a response by March 13.

Explore Honors Housing opportunities

Students wishing to participate in Honors special-interest housing should begin the University Housing application process early, as housing is not required or guaranteed to first-year students. The Honors College has a total of 200 beds in Broun Hall and Matthews Hall, including beds in the Engineered for Success Honors Residential Learning Community. We encourage you to visit the University Housing site for information on the housing application process and timeline.

Acknowledge your Honors offer

Students admitted to the Honors College must acknowledge their Honors acceptance by May 1. Students wishing to participate in Honors Housing should acknowledge their Honors offer by March 1* to have the opportunity to select from the Honors beds during their room selection timeslot.

Accepting your Honors offer is non-binding and is not the same as confirming your admission to Auburn University; students will have until the enrollment deposit deadline to finalize their admission. University Scholarships are not contingent upon Honors participation. A student may receive a Competitive Merit Scholarship and choose not to participate in or not be admitted to the Honors College.

Complete the AUSOM scholarship application

Early Action applicants automatically receive consideration for Competitive Merit Scholarships. Students should complete the Auburn University Scholarship Opportunity Manager, or AUSOM, for General and Departmental award consideration. Learn more about first-year scholarship opportunities.

Confirm your enrollment and register for Camp War Eagle orientation

Welcome to the Auburn Family! Students must submit their $250 enrollment deposit or “Intent to Enroll” form online via the Auburn Admitted Portal.

*The Honors application timeline is subject to change based on changes made to the University’s undergraduate admissions timeline. Applicants should closely monitor our campus partners’ sites for deadlines and updates to their timelines.