Eagle Scholars Honors Program

Application Instructions for Students

Entering Program 2024-2025

Deadline
To receive fullest consideration for membership in the Eagle Scholars Honors Program, application materials must
be received by the priority deadline of 11:59 p.m CST. on Monday, November 6, 2023. Applications will continue
to be accepted until 11:59 p.m CST. on Friday, December 1, 2023, for consideration on a space-available basis.

Applicants will be notified by email by December 20, 2023, about whether or not they have been selected for the
Eagle Scholars Program. Only complete applications will be considered.

Eligibility
To be eligible to apply for the Eagle Scholars Honors Program, you must:
• Submit your completed application to the University of Northwestern – St. Paul;
• Be at least 15 years old;
• Have an ACT composite score of 27 or higher, an SAT score of 1330 or higher, a CLT score of 88 or higher,
OR an unweighted high school GPA of at least 3.75 with evidence of advanced study (e.g., college
preparatory curriculum, Honors or AP coursework, early college/concurrent enrollment/Post-Secondary
Enrollment Option, etc.).

Application Overview
The application consists of three parts:
I. Application Questionnaire. This brief online questionnaire requests basic contact information (name,
Northwestern ID) and information about advanced coursework you have taken such as Advanced
Placement (AP), College in the Schools (CIS), International Baccalaureate (IB), Early College, Post-
Secondary Enrollment Option (PSEO), concurrent enrollment, college preparatory curriculum, etc. Please
indicate the institution(s) where you took the courses and whether the courses were taken online or on
campus. You can complete the questionnaire at the submission site linked below before uploading your
application materials.
II. Eagle Scholar Application Information Sheet. In one page you will answer the questions listed below.
III. Current Event Essay. You will summarize and respond to a news article about a recent event. Your
document will be evaluated on both content and presentation.
IV. Two Supporting Scholarly Works. You will submit two documents that provide samples of your individual
scholarly or creative work.

See below for detailed instructions.

Please do not include your name or Northwestern ID on application materials III or IV. Application materials are
reviewed by a panel of faculty evaluators using a blind process, with identifying information removed.

After completing your application materials, click on the Honors Application Submission link to complete the
Application Questionnaire and submit your documents.

If you have any questions about the application process, please contact [email protected].

EAGLE SCHOLARS HONORS PROGRAM | UNIVERSITY OF NORTHWESTERN – St. Paul | UNWSP.EDU

GUIDELINES FOR EAGLE SCHOLAR APPLICATION INFORMATION SHEET
Overview: You will answer the following questions in a one-page document.

Purpose: This part of the application allows you to explain your personal calling to UNW, your vocation, and
Christian Scholarship.

Instructions: In a one-page document, answer the following questions. You may use essay or list format, but you
should write clearly and without grammatical or spelling errors and use full-sentences. You may identify yourself in
this document.

Questions:
1. What have been the most formative academic experiences of your life so far?
2. If you have declared a major, why did you choose that major? If not, what vocational topics are you
excited to explore at UNW?
3. In your opinion and experience, how does the Christian faith relate to the world of academics and
education?

GUIDELINES FOR CURRENT EVENT ESSAY

Overview: You will summarize and respond to a news article about a recent event. Your document will be
evaluated on both content and presentation.
Purpose: This part of the application provides a recent sample of your written critical thinking abilities. The aim is
to have all applicants complete a similar task.
Instructions:
1. Article Selection. Select a news article about an event that happened within the last month of your
submission date. The article can be in any category of your choice but should be a piece that focuses on
reporting rather than on commentary (do not select an editorial or opinion column, for instance). Please
attach a copy of the article (not merely a link to it) with your essay.
2. Summary. Start your paper by summarizing the article in 300 words or fewer. Write in your own words; avoid
using quotations or phrases from the article. Aim to be as objective as possible; do not interject your own
opinions or biases here. Please label this section of your document with the heading Summary.
3. Response. For the rest of your essay, analyze and respond to the event in 500-750 words. This section will
provide your own commentary on the issue at hand. You may wish to consider moral or spiritual implications,
examine assumptions or ramifications, or discuss other matters of interest to you. Aim to show original
analysis and critical thinking in your response. Again, write in your own words. Please label this section of your
document with the heading Response.
Tips:
• Select an article on a topic that interests you and allows you to demonstrate your ability to think through
an issue well. It may be wise to avoid topics on which your strong feelings may tend to make your
discussion too strident, antagonistic, partisan, or preachy.
• Explain your thinking well and provide relevant examples where appropriate.
• Make the most of your limited space (you may want to condense a longer draft, for instance).
• Do not include any information that identifies you (such as your name, ID number, etc.) on your
document.
• Edit your document carefully, following the editing guidelines listed below.
• Acceptable document file formats for upload are Word (.docx) or PDF.
GUIDELINES FOR TWO SAMPLES OF SCHOLARLY WORK
Overview: You will submit two documents that provide samples of your individual scholarly or creative work.
Purpose: This part of the application allows you to highlight work that you think represents you well.
Instructions: Please follow the guidelines listed below for completing each of your two samples of scholarly work.
Scholarly Work #1: An essay, research paper, or scholarly report
• A document of 1,000-3,000 words (not counting the title or bibliography/reference pages) is
recommended.
• Acceptable document file formats are Word (.docx) and PDF.
• Please provide information about the context of your work:
o What was the assignment?
o Under what circumstances did you complete the assignment?
o How long were you given to complete the assignment?
o Did anyone help you on this assignment? If so, what help was given?
• Please note the following:
o We are looking for evidence of both distinctive, higher-level thinking and strong communication
abilities. Your document will be evaluated on both content and presentation.
o If you wrote the paper for a class, consider revising it, perhaps based upon feedback from your
instructor. You certainly may improve it before you send it to us. Please edit your document
carefully, following the editing guidelines listed below.
Scholarly Work #2: Another sample of scholarly work
• This second sample of scholarly work may be another paper; if you send another paper, follow the
instructions above for an essay, research paper, or scholarly report. However, this second sample of
scholarly work does not have to be written text.
• Acceptable document file formats for direct upload of papers or images are Word (.docx), PDF, JPEG, or
PNG. For video, audio, or other file types, we request that you upload these file types to a personal cloud
storage site (Google Drive, OneDrive, Apple Storage, etc.) and creating a sharable link. Another option for
video/audio is to upload your file to a personal Youtube channel (or other reputable video hosting service)
and then create a shareable link. You can paste your shareable link at the submission site.
• This sample can be your individual work in any discipline (no group projects). For example, you could
include an art portfolio, a science project with a lab report, a creative writing project (a complete work of
no more than 10 pages), a speech, an individual musical or theatrical performance, etc.
• Please provide information about the context of your work:
o What was the assignment?
o Under what circumstances did you do this work?
o Did you get any help? If so, what help was given?
• A university faculty member in the appropriate academic field will judge your second scholarship sample
(for example, a professor of piano will judge piano submissions and a professor of math will judge math
submissions).
Tips:
• Select works that you feel represent your abilities and potential well. The works you select do not need to
be in your intended major.
• Make sure any website links will work properly.
• Do not include any information that identifies you (such as your name, ID number, etc.) on your
submissions.
• Recordings of musical performances may include accompaniment but should showcase individual talent.
• Mathematical and computer programming submissions should demonstrate abilities beyond what might
be expected in a typical mathematics or computer course: simply submitting a homework assignment or a
link to computer code may not result in a high score.
 • Creative pieces may benefit from inclusion of an artist’s/writer’s/creator’s statement to explain the
intended aims or techniques of the piece.

RECOMMENDED EDITING GUIDELINES

For every piece of writing you send us, we strongly recommend adhering to the following editing guidelines:
• Double space your document.
• Use more than one paragraph.
• Use standard academic language; avoid slang, colloquial, or excessively informal language.
• Use complete sentences. Avoid fragments and run-ons.
• Minimize the use of rhetorical questions.
• Avoid addressing your audience directly as “you.”
• Make sure any “this” references have clear, specific antecedents.
• If your document includes a thesis, make sure your thesis is clearly stated and supported with sufficient
explanation and examples.
• If your document includes citations, make sure they are correctly and consistently formatted. Any
commonly used citation style (e.g., Chicago, APA, MLA) is acceptable.
• Proofread carefully to eliminate errors. Careful proofreading shows your attention to detail and is
essential for a strong score.