Eligibility and Admissions
After admission to the University of St. Thomas, students must complete a separate application for the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program. The application consists of the student's academic record and a short essay.
Admission decisions are made jointly by the faculty director of the program and an admissions committee based on two factors:
High School Seniors
- High school GPA (3.8 or higher)
- Written essay (high-quality work following the written guidelines)
Current St. Thomas Students or Transfer Students
- College GPA (3.6 or higher)
- For current St. Thomas students, the overall GPA is calculated from both institutional St. Thomas courses and from transfer courses combined.
- For transfer students who do not yet have a college GPA available, high school GPA (3.8 or higher) is used instead.
- Written essay (high-quality work following the written guidelines)
The most important qualifications for success in the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program are intellectual curiosity, openness to new ideas, eagerness and ability to participate actively in class discussions, strong self-motivation and commitment to both active and collaborative learning.
Application Process and Deadlines
To begin the application process, incoming first-year students will need their St. Thomas acceptance/welcome materials, 9-digit St. Thomas ID and the email address they used to apply to St. Thomas. If you need assistance finding this information, please contact the St. Thomas Admissions Office.
Incoming first-year who meet application thresholds will find a link to apply via their admissions portal.
Decisions and Deadlines
The decision will be made on the basis of the thoughtfulness and clarity of the responses to the prompts in conjunction with your GPA.
We begin reviewing applications after December 1 and continue to review them on a rolling basis through Friday, March 15, 2024. The sooner an application is received, the sooner a decision can be made. The earlier you send in thoughtful responses, the better.
The application review process typically takes four to six weeks.
Current St. Thomas students with an Overall GPA of 3.60 or above may apply to the honors program. Because honors requirements can take some time to complete, it is recommended that current students apply either in the second semester of their first year or early in their second year.
First-year students who earn a 3.60 GPA or above during their first semester at St. Thomas will receive an invitation (via their St. Thomas e-mail address) to apply to the honors program early in their second semester. Application instructions are included in that invitation.
Qualifying upper-level students who are interested in applying to the program should contact the honors program director.
Decisions and Deadlines
The decision will be made on the basis of the thoughtfulness and clarity of the responses to the prompts in conjunction with your GPA.
The deadline for receipt of your application is Friday, March 1, 2024. This will give us time to review your application and notify you of our decision before registration for fall semester begins in April.
Students hoping to enroll in honors sections during spring semester should apply before mid-January. If you are accepted into the program, you will want to register for Aquinas Scholars sections of core courses.
Dougherty Family College graduates who transition to the four-year program at St. Thomas with an Overall GPA of 3.60 or above may apply to the honors program.
Qualifying students will receive an invitation (via their St. Thomas e-mail address) to apply to the honors program in early summer after their DFC graduation. Application instructions are included in that invitation.
Decisions and Deadlines
The decision will be made on the basis of the thoughtfulness and clarity of the responses to the prompts in conjunction with your GPA.
The deadline for receipt of your application is Friday, August 2, 2024. This will give us time to review your application and notify you of our decision before fall semester begins.
Students hoping to enroll in honors sections during fall semester should apply as early as possible. If you are accepted into the program, you will want to consult with your academic advisor and register for Aquinas Scholars sections of core courses.
Students who transfer to St. Thomas with an Overall GPA of 3.60 or above may apply to the honors program. If you have a college GPA, that is the one that will be considered; if you do not yet have a college GPA, your high school GPA will be considered.
Decisions and Deadlines
The decision will be made on the basis of the thoughtfulness and clarity of the responses to the prompts in conjunction with your GPA.
We review transfer applications each year on a rolling basis. The sooner an application is received, the sooner a decision can be made. The earlier you send in thoughtful responses, the better.
The review process during the academic year may take four to six weeks. During the summer months it is typically two weeks.
Written Essay Requirements
To prepare to write your responses to the application prompts:
- Reflect on a recent transformative learning experience. The learning experience can be something directly related to classes you have taken or to experiences from other parts of your life. The experience does not need to be academic in nature, but it should demonstrate how you were transformed in the process. Past examples of learning experiences have included:
- working on a class project that introduced you to new ideas and concepts
- interacting with a culture different from your own that broadened your worldview
- participating in a service activity that helped you understand more about your community
- Carefully look through the information about the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program. Read about our purpose and benefits and expectations of Aquinas Scholars, along with information about the honors courses and seminars.
Application Prompts
Drawing connections between your learning experience and aspects of the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program, write your responses to the following two prompts:
Prompt 1: Personal and Intellectual Growth
The Aquinas Scholars Honors Program is a place where you will encounter challenging and rewarding opportunities to grow intellectually and interact with a diversity of viewpoints and perspectives. Write a paragraph (about 200 words) about a time where you were challenged to grow and self-reflect because you were confronted with new viewpoints or perspectives. Please describe in specific detail what challenged you and what you learned.
Prompt 2: Dedication to Community
As an Aquinas Honors student, you would be part of a vibrant scholarly community. Please familiarize yourself with some of the student activities. Write a paragraph (about 200 words) about how you would seek to engage with the Aquinas Scholars community through your academic or extracurricular activities. What are some skills, experiences, academic and/or personal interests that you would bring to the community and what do you hope to gain? Please give specific detailed examples.
The application prompts for the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program will be judged on the following criteria
Written Essay Criteria
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Form
The organization of the prompts.
The clarity of the ideas presented in the prompts.
The clarity of the expression of the prompts.
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Content
Clearly describes the learning experience and what they learned from it.
Reflects on how the learning experience could relate to the Aquinas Scholars Honors Program.
Describes how they will contribute to and gain from Aquinas Scholars Honors Program membership.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Aquinas Scholars is a selective program. Written essays are carefully judged by a panel of faculty and by the faculty director for evidence of academic skill in the areas of written expression, critical thinking and creativity. Not everyone who meets the GPA guidelines is admitted to the program. The quality of the written essay is the final determining factor.
For incoming freshmen, the honors program currently requires a high school GPA of 3.8 or higher for application. If you do not meet this requirement, we recommend that you wait until after your first semester at St. Thomas to apply to the honors program. Any St. Thomas student with an Overall GPA of 3.6 or higher is eligible to apply. The written essay will still be required as assessed for admission.
If you enter the program as a current St. Thomas student, you need to take three honors sections and three honors seminars to graduate as an Aquinas Scholar. Seminars are usually taken as overloads or as J-term courses during the junior and senior years. Honors sections, on the other hand, involve general requirements, some of which you will have completed by the end of the current semester.
To determine if you have enough opportunities to take honors sections with your remaining general education requirements, complete the checklist here: Aquinas Honors Section Checklist
Incoming first-year applications are reviewed starting December 1. For applications received between then and the submission deadline, applicants can expect a decision within 4-5 weeks. If it has been more than 4 weeks since you submitted your application, please e-mail the program for assistance.