Greetings to you amidst this busy college application season! I am the Dean of the Honors College at The University of Southern Mississippi, and I am writing in hopes that you will encourage high-ability students who have been admitted to Southern Miss to consider applying to our Honors College.
The Honors College is made up of 450 curious, engaged students who strive to deepen their education and develop as citizens and scholars. We offer an innovative curriculum, academic and social support, a living-learning community for first-year students, and experiences that take learning out of the classroom and into the world. Additionally, and importantly, all students admitted to the Honors College as freshmen will receive our Honors Scholar Award, which provides $2,000 per year (for four years) and is stackable with other scholarships on campus.* Students with ACT scores of 30 or above are also eligible to compete for our highly prestigious Presidential and Discovery Scholarships.**
Students in the Honors College gain important credentials that make them desirable candidates for jobs, internships, or graduate and professional school. But the Honors experience is about more than credentials. First-year students tell us that the Honors College eased their transition into university life by providing peer and faculty mentoring, close contact with their Honors faculty and staff, and a ready-made community both in the dorm and in the classroom. We help our scholars find their paths - each one unique, each one individual - and support and challenge them along their way.
While a typical applicant for the Honors College has a minimum 27 ACT and 3.5 core GPA, our application review process is holistic and emphasizes a great deal more than numbers. Indeed, the application is available to students with ACT scores of 24 or above. Our primary focus is to identify students who are passionate about learning, intellectually curious, ambitious, and dedicated. As a counselor, you know who such students might be, and we hope you will send them our way.
The Honors College application is due on January 15. Please encourage your students to apply by logging into the Golden Opportunities System (GO System) and getting started. If you or your students have questions about the Honors College or our application process, please write honors@usm.edu. We'll be glad to assist!
I look forward to reading your students' Honors College applications. In the meantime, I wish you a happy holiday season!
WIth warm regards,
Ellen Weinauer, Ph.D., Dean
* Awarded in addition to the Academic Excellence Scholarship
** Awarded through a competitive process
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