What does the Office of Admission look for to determine Echols Scholar selection?
In brief, the Office of Admission looks for academic excellence, intellectual leadership, and evidence of the ability to grapple with complex topics. Unlike other honors programs Echols is not “quantitative” in nature. There is no magic SAT score or rank in class that will automatically let you in or keep you out. Some students with high SAT scores may not be offered Echols, while students with lower scores may be. The reason for this is that The Office of Admission attempts to be as qualitative and holistic in their evaluation of applicants as possible. There is no sure-fire mathematical formula or combination of raw data which alone guarantees a place in the Echols class; everyone who applies to the College of Arts and Sciences is given the same review. Our students come from a diversity of backgrounds and schools with various programs and opportunities: public and private, urban and rural, wealthy and not so wealthy. Some schools weight their grades for certain courses; others don’t
