How to Apply to Schreyer Honors College
To apply to the Schreyer Honors College, you must complete two applications: the Penn State undergraduate application and the Schreyer Honors College application. Both applications open on August 1. The Schreyer application deadline is November 15.
We highly recommend you apply to Penn State by November 1 to ensure you have sufficient time to complete components of the Schreyer application (STARS and letter of recommendation requirements) by the November 15 application deadline.
You can apply through MyPennState or the Common Application. If you apply through the Common Application, we encourage you to indicate your interest in applying to the Schreyer Honors College, which will trigger the platform to display the Schreyer application. If you do not make this indication or decide to apply at a later date, you can access the Schreyer Honors College application through MyPennState.
Your Penn State and Schreyer applications are evaluated separately, and decisions are made independently.
Application Essentials
Application Timeline
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July
Essay and short answer questions posted
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August 1
Schreyer and Penn State applications open
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November 15
Schreyer application deadline
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February
Schreyer admissions decisions released
Submission Checklist
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Penn State and Schreyer applications
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2 recommendation letters
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Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS) record
Your application is not complete until we have everything. Check your application status on our website.
Application Components
Essay Question
First-year applicants answer one essay question, in addition to several shorter prompts. The essay question changes each year and has a maximum word count of 800 words.
There is no right answer to the essay prompt. It’s designed to push you to think, do some research, and apply your knowledge. It’s also your opportunity to present your best self to the review committee—to stand out as an applicant. Be honest, be genuine, and allow your character and personality to shine through your writing.
Reviewers will consider if you answered the full question and how or why you took a specific approach to the question. We are looking for a well-written, well-reasoned, and persuasive response.
2027 Essay Question
Identify an important global or local issue that you believe does not receive sufficient attention. Why is this issue often overlooked or under-addressed? Analyze possible paths forward and propose a realistic strategy to raise awareness and advance solutions. Finally, evaluate your proposal's potential to create meaningful change, considering its feasibility, limitations, trade-offs, implementation challenges, and possible unintended consequences.
Short Answer Questions
First-year applicants answer 8 required and 1 optional short answer questions. These questions have a 200-word limit. Short answer questions may change each year.
The short answer questions are designed to better understand you. We ask about your honors and achievements, leadership positions, activities, and service. We want to know what has shaped you, what drives you, what inspires you. We want to know your why.
2027 Short Answer Questions
- One of the Schreyer Honors College values is Empowered Growth. What values, beliefs or experiences have empowered you to grow intellectually and/or personally?
- If you were able to go anywhere in the world, outside of the country you currently reside in, where would you go and why?
- List your extracurricular activities over the last four years. This can include school and non-school activities. Please include any leadership roles you have had.
- Tell us about your most significant leadership experience and why leadership is important to you. This could include community roles, family contributions, research, clubs and organizations, etc. Describe challenges you've faced and successes you've had in these roles.
- List awards or other recognitions (if any) you have received in or outside of school over the last four years.
- Reflecting on the recognitions listed above, which one stands out as having an impact on your outlook and why?
- Tell us about a book or other media that has made you think about something in a new way.
- Everyone belongs to many different communities and/or groups, including shared geography, faith, ethnicity, income, cuisine, interest, race, or intellectual heritage. Choose one of the communities or groups to which you belong and describe how it has influenced your life over the last four years.
- Please use this space to share information you would like us to consider that has not been discussed elsewhere in your application (this is optional).
Recommendations
We require two letters of recommendation. Recommendations can be from a teacher, a guidance counselor, a coach, or a club adviser. If applying via the Common Application, ensure you have two real recommendations. Sometimes one is a placeholder recommendation from a counselor. Recommendations do not have to be Schreyer-specific, and only two recommendations will be used, even if we receive more.
We have two methods for receiving letters. DO NOT send letters to the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office and DO NOT ask recommenders to use multiple methods, as this will greatly slow down the processing of your application.
Submission Methods
Common Application Recommendations
If your school participates with the Common Application, Naviance, or SCOIR, and you applied to Penn State through the Common Application, any letters of recommendation you submitted through the school's system or via the Common Application will be sent to Schreyer. No further action is necessary.
Email Recommendations
If you are working with a recommender who is not affiliated with your school and they cannot submit a letter of recommendation through your school's system, letters may be sent via email. Download the Letter of Recommendation Cover Sheet and fill it out completely. Then, give the completed cover sheet to your recommender. The recommender should email the completed cover sheet and their letter of recommendation to SchreyerLOR@psu.edu.
It is your responsibility, as the applicant, to ensure that all required documents are received by the final deadline. Please be considerate by giving your recommender ample time to complete and submit recommendations on your behalf. Applications will be marked late/incomplete if recommendations are not received by the deadline.
Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS)
Your Self-Reported Transcript and Academic Record System (STARS) record must be submitted as part of your Penn State application. This process replaces having school counselors send academic transcripts for each applicant. We will review and rate your academic record as it relates to the opportunities offered at your particular high school.
When Completing the STARS record, enter your grades exactly as they appear on your high school transcript. If you are offered admission to Penn State, your final high school transcript will be sent to the University.
How We Evaluate Applicants
Schreyer Honors College evaluates applicants separately from the Penn State Undergraduate Admissions Office. However, your entrance into the Honors College depends on receiving an offer of admission from Penn State.
We do not use standardized test scores in our evaluation as we've found them to be an inaccurate predictor of student success. In our opinion, one of the best predictors of future performance is prior performance; therefore, your course load and academic rigor in high school are very important in our review.
In addition, parts of your application are read and reviewed by Penn State faculty and Schreyer Honors College staff. Readers are randomly assigned to evaluate your essay, short answer responses, and letters of recommendation. We anonymize applications as much as possible. Our readers rate (via a norming process) all of their assigned applications. These ratings, along with reader comments, are used to help determine your admissions decision.
We are looking for students who will thrive in Schreyer. Typically, these are students who not only excel in and out of the classroom, but can demonstrate well-rounded experience, creativity, leadership, a sense of curiosity, and desire to be challenged.