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Fall 2025 Application

Although our February 12 deadline has passed, the Honors application portal remains open and will continue to accept applications for the 2025-2026 school year. Late applications will be considered on a space available basis after all on-time applications have been reviewed. 

Honors College Admissions

Admission to WWU Honors is completed through a supplemental application process. 

Competitive Honors applicants clearly demonstrate a passion for challenging themselves in the classroom. All applications completed by the regular deadline will be thoroughly reviewed, and applications completed by the priority deadline will receive priority consideration.

The Honors College uses rolling admissions to evaluate and admit students as applications are received.  While uncommon, we may fill our cohort prior to the regular admissions deadline, so it is advised to apply early.

Application

The majority of Honors students apply to start Fall Quarter of their first year at Western. We accept applications from high school students (including direct transfer (DTA) Running Start students), transfer students from other colleges and universities, and current WWU students.

Deadlines

Fall 2025

Priority Deadline: December 11, 2024, at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). All on-time, complete applications received by the priority deadline will be reviewed for a final decision or rolled into regular admissions review by early February.
Regular Deadline: February 12, 2025, at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time). All on-time, complete applications will receive a final decision no later than early April.

Winter 2026

Regular Deadline: December 5, 2025, at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).

Spring 2026

Regular Deadline: March 13, 2026, at 11:59 PM (Pacific Time).

Please note: To prevent the Honors College application portal from automatically timing out during your submission process, it is highly encouraged to have all of your application materials prepared prior to opening your application portal.

Application Materials

Submit a sample of your best, analytical academic written work. Honors is interested in a student's ability to analyze issues, books, and so on, to frame and develop an argument. The writing sample should be an academic writing piece that provides an analysis or logical reasoning response for the committee to review. Most commonly these kinds of papers come from English and history classes. Although we do not need to see the graded work, we do ask that you refrain from updating your writing sample and submit your original work for the committee’s review.

Submit a personal essay answering both of the below prompts in a single document. This may be written as a single essay, in which the word count does not exceed 600 words. Or you may answer the prompts separately (but in the same document) keeping to a 300-word limit per prompt.

  • At WWU Honors, our motto is to cultivate community by striving compassionately for knowledge. How do you see yourself upholding these community values while at Western and beyond?
  • The Honors College curriculum is a combination of interdisciplinary study (the First-Year Sequence and Senior Seminars) and disciplinary study (Colloquia). Our courses unite around common conceptual pursuits, such as the nature of justice, power, and love; the processes by which humans make decisions and determine values; and the relationships between individuals and the communities they inhabit. Reflecting on your lived experiences, in what ways will/should these types of discussions contribute to your college experience and your future goals? 

Letter(s) of recommendation from a teacher or counselor are highly recommended but not required.

The Honors admissions team has access and will review all materials you submit to WWU - including letters of recommendation submitted with your general application. With that in mind, it is more beneficial for you to submit different letters of recommendation than the ones you have already sent to WWU.

Letters of recommendation can also be submitted by emailing them to honors@wwu.edu.

Prospective Western Students

PROSPECTIVE Western students are individuals who are not yet enrolled in classes at Western at the time they apply.

  1. Apply to Western. Students can access the Honors College application AFTER they submit their general Western application. The Common App takes 24 hours after submission to appear in our system.
  2. Apply to Honors via the student portal. The login will be the same account you used to submit your WWU application.

Current Western Students

CURRENT Western students are individuals who are actively enrolled in classes at Western at the time they apply

  1. (Recommended) Connect with an Honors Academic Advisor.
  2. Complete the Current Western Student Application.