Application Instructions
Before You Apply
- Review whether you are eligible for the honors program you're interested in.
- Know the deadlines for applying.
- Priority consideration deadline for all honors programs: November 15
- The Raikes School and CBA Honors Academy may reach capacity following the November 15 application review period. We recommended you contact these programs for more information about program admission.
- See our application tips for completing the short answer, resume and essay questions.
- Be prepared with a list of courses you plan to take your senior year of high school and any courses you've taken for college credit.
- Keep in mind, there are a limited number of spaces available in each program.
Apply For Admission
- Fill out Application
- Within five working days, you will receive an email with your NU ID number & your temporary TrueYou password.
Log into TrueYou
- Log in to TrueYou and set your MyRed Password.
Apply for the Honors Program
- Log into MyRed to apply for the Honors Program.
Receive Notification
- Notifications regarding honors program status will be sent to the email address provided on the application for admission. Please ensure that the address provided is current and is the best way to reach you.
Transfer Application Instructions
Before you Apply
- Review whether you are eligible for the honors program you're interested in.
- See our application tips for completing the short answer, resume and essay questions.
- Keep in mind, there are a limited number of spaces available in each program.
Apply for Admission
Complete a Transfer/Upper-class Honors Application
Submit your 250-word essay
- Part of the transfer/upper-class honors application.
Provide 1 Letter of Recommendation
- Should be from a person familiar with your academic performance.
Submit Supporting Admission Materials by the due dates:
- Fall semester: March 1
- Spring semester: October 1
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis after the initial deadline.
Application Tips
Resume
Your resume is how you provide faculty and staff reviewers information about your academic interests, skills, and other relevant experiences that make you an appealing candidate for the honors programs.
For the purpose of this application process, your resume should be comprehensive but brief. It's not necessary to spend a lot of time describing experiences unrelated to academics.
Be sure to include:
- Leadership experiences with details about your role in the activity.
- Volunteer and extracurricular activities.
- Relevant work experience.
- Awards, honors, and scholarships.
Formatting Tips
- Resumes should be 1 page in length (samples are provided below for reference).
- Be aware that the application form removes all formatting, so it's important to keep your text layout as simple as possible.
- To see how it will appear for faculty and staff reviewers, copy and paste your resume into a plain text editor (e.g., Notepad for Windows users, TextEdit in plain-text mode for Mac users).
- You can use simplified bullets, all caps, and line breaks to indicate headings or to draw attention to important information.
Short Answer
The short answer section consists of several questions—one optional.
Required for all applicants:
- Select one of your service or extra-curricular activities and describe what the experience meant to you in 250 words or less.
- Indicate your professional goals. Please be specific and limit your response to 25 words or less.
Required for Raikes School and CBA Honors Academy applicants:
- Describe your computer science and business experience, including course-related experience, work experience and extra-curricular activities in 250 words or less.
Optional:
- If there is anything else you would like to include in your application, such as an unusual circumstance or special information about yourself that would be relevant, please describe it.
- The optional short answer question is an opportunity for you to share anything unique about yourself or your experiences that would help faculty and staff to get to know you better. You may also use this space if there is something that needs further explanation not addressed in the other application questions, such as an academic deficiency.
The short answer responses should be prepared in advance. Be aware that the application form removes all formatting, so it's important to keep your text layout as simple as possible. To see how it will appear for faculty and staff reviewers, copy and paste your response into a plain text editor (e.g., Notepad for Windows users, TextEdit in plain-text mode for Mac users).
Essay
The essay section asks for an answer to 1 of 5 Common Application* questions. It's recommended that you choose the essay prompt that best allows you to tell faculty and staff reviewers something about you that they won't get from your high school transcripts and test scores. The word limit is 650 words.
- Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
- The lessons we take from failure can be fundamental to later success. Recount an incident or time when you experienced failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
- Reflect on a time when you challenged a belief or idea. What prompted you to act? Would you make the same decision again?
- Describe a problem you've solved or a problem you'd like to solve. It can be an intellectual challenge, a research query, an ethical dilemma-anything that is of personal importance, no matter the scale. Explain its significance to you and what steps you took or could be taken to identify a solution.
- Discuss an accomplishment or event, formal or informal, that marked your transition from childhood to adulthood within your culture, community, or family.
The essay response should be prepared in advance. Be aware that the application form removes all formatting, so it's important to keep your text layout as simple as possible. To see how it will appear for faculty and staff reviewers, copy and paste your response into a plain text editor (e.g., Notepad for Windows users, TextEdit in plain-text mode for Mac users).
*Reprinted with permission of the Common Application.
Education
- Included the full name of your high school, city, state and years attended.
- Include your GPA, rank, and your scores for the PSAT and SAT/ACT.
Leadership
- Include specific activities where your leadership has been demonstrated.
- Activities may be from coursework, community service, work/internships, athletics, etc.
- Activities may be ongoing engagements or one-time instances.
- Describe your activities and involvement in specific organizations or groups.
- Include the year (9, 10, 11, 12) in which the activity took place.
Extra-Curricular Activities
- Consider using categories to group activities if you have multiple years and events (e.g. athletics, community service).
- Include the year in which you participated in the activity and list the most recent activities first.
Work Experience/Internships
- Use only if applicable.
- Include the year (9, 10, 11, 12) and the number or hours worked per week.
Awards/Honors/Scholarships
- Use only if applicable.
- Include the year (9, 10, 11, 12) and the number or hours worked per week.
Sample Resumes