Admission and Essays
Thank you for your interest in the Lewis Honors College. We are excited that you are considering applying! When determining an applicant’s strengths the Lewis Honors College considers the following:
- strength of application essays
- unweighted GPA
- academic rigor of high school courses
- level of involvement
To best support students, the Lewis Honors College does not require applicants to submit standardized test scores. Test scores are optional such that students applying have the flexibility to decide whether or not they wish to offer test scores as a component of their application. In reviewing applications, the Lewis Honors College selection committee considers the following: strength of application essays, academic rigor of high school courses, unweighted GPA and level of involvement in curricular and extracurricular activities. Any student with a strong academic record should apply.
The mission of the Lewis Honors College is “to better the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the world by helping students to explore their purpose, develop intellectually, and lead with integrity.” As such, students in the Honors College strive to increase their depth of thought, think critically, cultivate ideas and successfully articulate their opinions in an organized and coherent manner. The selection committee looks to see that Honors applicants have begun honing such skills, and therefore the essay responses carry a large amount of weight in the admission process.
The Honors College Application is part of the UK Admissions Application, and also part of the Common Application - you can use either to apply to the Honors College. By completing the additional Honors essay included in the UK Admissions Application or the Common Application, we will receive and review your application for admission to the Lewis Honors College.
The essay prompt to be addressed in 500-550 words is "Kentucky is one of four states that is a Commonwealth. The term means the state is for the common good. What do you consider to be for “the common good” and how do you hope to use your life experiences, challenges, uniqueness, and intellect to contribute to the common good in your community, as you define it?"
The deadline to apply to the Lewis Honors College is midnight (EST) on December 1, 2023. We anticipate releasing Honors admission decisions in mid-February.