First-Time, First-Year Students: Incoming Undergraduate ISU Freshmen
This section is for recent or soon-to-be high school graduates and students who have not previously attended ISU or another university/college (excluding Dual Enrollment or Early College courses taken in High School). Includes International students.
- Selection to the University Honors Program (UHP) is competitive with limited seats and scholarships available.
- Applications should be complete (all material submitted) by January 15 for priority consideration for the following Fall semester.
- If all initial seats have been filled, you may be placed on a waitlist.
- Applications are considered holistically. If you do not meet the GPA or test score minimum, address this in your written personal statement.
Priority Admission Deadline: The Priority Admissions application deadline for Fall entry of the 2025/2026 academic year is January 15, 2024.
UHP Admission with Honors Scholarship Package: First-Time, First-Year Students eligible for the Honors Scholarship Package must apply by July 1st. Please note that seats are typically filled with priority applicants by March. If you apply after January 15, UHP seats and scholarships may no longer be available and your application may be placed on a waitlist. We encourage you to apply early!
Once you have completed your application to the University Honors Program, it will be processed and put into the queue to be reviewed by the UHP Director.
The UHP Director will begin to review applications after January 15 and priority applicant decisions will be sent by email no later than the end of March. If accepted to the UHP, you will be notified by email with instructions to confirm your seat in the University Honors Program and accept the Honors Scholarship Package.
Applications after July 1st: Applications to the UHP are accepted after July 1st, however seats may not be available. Email us at honors@isu.edu with any questions.
First-Time, First-Year Admissions Criteria
First-Time, First-Year Applicants to the University Honors Program must:
- have applied to ISU before submitting an application to the University Honors Program
- be pursuing a Bachelor's degree and attending the ISU campus in Pocatello
- have a high school GPA (unweighted) of 3.6 or better from an accredited school -OR- SAT Total Score of 1200 or greater -OR- ACT Composite Score of 25 or greater. No super-scoring.
If you submitted an application and then increased your GPA or received a higher ACT or SAT score at a later date, you MUST contact the Honors Program in order for your application to be updated or reconsidered. Contact us at honors@isu.edu
First-Time, First-Year Application
Read through the entire application before starting to complete it. You will need to be prepared to provide the following materials with your application. Applications missing any materials will be considered incomplete.
- A digital copy of your transcripts (unofficial or official).
- A list of any courses or scores that are not included in your transcripts. Include completed, in progress, and future courses, and scores. For example, Dual Credit/Early College courses, AP Exam, SAT or ACT scores.
- A list of, or paragraph about, your leadership, service, and organizational experiences. For example, membership in clubs, teams, and service events.
- A digital copy of a one-page (single-spaced) personal statement explaining who you are and how the University Honors Program (UHP) fits into your future. Some guiding prompts include: What motivates you to join our program? How does being part of an Honors community appeal to you and why? How will your participation in UHP help you achieve your goals?
We will consider both the content of the statement, and the writing quality and style.
Other notes: If your GPA or test scores are below the stated minimums, please address that in your personal statement.- Name and Email address of the person you are requesting to write a Letter of Recommendation for you. It is your responsibility to inform the letter writer to email the letter to honors@isu.edu with your name in the subject line.
Need Help? If you encounter any issues with the online application, please reach out to us at honors@isu.edu