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Application Process

First-Year Applicants

We invite everyone who has been accepted to LMU to consider whether the University Honors Program is right for you. Because it’s a four year program, First-Year applicants are only eligible to apply before attending LMU.

You are eligible to apply to the University Honors Program as soon as you are accepted to LMU. If you are accepted to LMU in the Early Decision round, submit your Honors application by January 15, 2025 for priority consideration.  If you are accepted to LMU in the Regular Decision round, submit your Honors application by March 21, 2025 for priority consideration.  Late applicants are accepted in both rounds up to July 15, 2024 for any remaining spots.

If your application is successful, you will be asked to sign the Honors Compact to reserve your place in the Program.  Signing the Honors Compact does not commit you to accepting the University’s admission offer. If you have any questions at all about the application process please reach out to our Assistant Director, Dr. Alex Esposito at Alex.Esposito@lmu.edu.

Transfer Applicants

If you are transferring to LMU from another 2-year or 4-year college or university, please consult the Director at Jeffrey.Wilson@lmu.edu for guidance about whether and how to apply to the University Honors Program.

Advice for Completing Your Application

The Honors Leadership Team has compiled the following list to help maximize the effectiveness of your Honors application.

In addition to reading carefully through the following list, please make sure to read through these essential sections of the Honors Program website - Community, Academics, and About -  in order to understand whether you are a good candidate and to help think through what you want to write in your application. You’ll find the link to the Honors Application at the bottom of this page once the application is live. 

  • Honors students are those who love to take on difficult tasks in order to develop their abilities and their character, regardless of whether these tasks will benefit their academic record or their careers.
    • Students who succeed in Honors are intrinsically  motivated by the kinds of things we expect from our community: deep curiosity, academic discipline, and community engagement. If your primary goal is to excel in college through high grades and other high-profile distinctions, you can do those things without being in Honors. 
  • The most important qualification for an applicant to the LMU University Honors Program is to welcome intellectual, moral, and social challenges that go beyond what is strictly required.
    • The best evidence you can give that you are this type of student is to describe and document a time when you have either excelled in the face of adversity, or freely chosen to go to a higher level at something (inside or outside school) than your teachers, parents, coaches, etc., required you to do.  Presenting information that convinces those who read your application that this is one of your qualities is more important than your GPA, which high school you attended, your standardized test scores, or any other single aspect of your application. 
  • Having an excellent academic record is not the only measure of whether you would thrive in the Honors Program.
    •  Honors challenges students through extra requirements beyond the general LMU core curriculum and beyond the curricula of any specific major or minor.  Our requirements for second language proficiency, student research, and community engagement push students to develop all their abilities (not just those applicable to your major or future career) in the interest of thriving in both their school work and in life. Honors is only one of the many ways you can get a great LMU education and distinguish yourself in the process for future opportunities.  
  • We understand that your GPA does not always give a complete picture of your academic potential. 
    • While your GPA is an important consideration, there are incoming LMU students with lower GPAs or a mixed high-school transcript that does not necessarily reflect their potential to succeed in the Honors Program. You may be a very talented and dedicated student who was not served very well by the educational system you have previously experienced.  Circumstances beyond your control may have prevented you up to now from reaching the level of development you are capable of.  If this is you, tell us the story of those circumstances in your application, and tell us how you want your story to continue while at LMU.
  • Use the application materials to demonstrate what kind of student you are, what kind of person you are, and how you will both benefit from and contribute to our curious community. 
    • Avoid generalities and be as specific as you can about your own experiences and aspirations. The questions on the Honors Application are different from what is typically asked for in college applications, so recycling essays or materials from other applications is unlikely to showcase why you belong in our unique community.  Also, Honors will not take into account your Common App Essays when making our decision. 
  • Plan ahead!
    • As you can tell, the Honors application will take some time. Everything we ask for has been carefully designed to try and cut to the core of who an applicant is, and whether you are a good fit with Honors. You will need to write fresh materials, which means you will need time to prepare and edit several drafts of these materials. Although the application is short, carefully editing your answers to make sure they communicate exactly what you want to communicate in a few words is very important. Submitting your application on time gives you your best chance to secure a spot in the limited incoming cohort.
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