barrett honors college essay

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A Great Arizona State Essay Example

What’s covered:, honors college essay example , where to get feedback on your essay .

Arizona State University Barrett Honors College provides a smaller community within the large research university with increased access to benefits like faculty mentorships and unique research and internship opportunities. In this post, we’ll go over an essay a real student submitted to Barrett Honors College, and we’ll discuss the strengths and areas of improvement. (Names and identifying information have been changed, but all other details are preserved)

Alexandra Johnson , an expert advisor on CollegeVine, provided commentary on this post. Advisors offer one-on-one guidance on everything from essays to test prep to financial aid. If you want help writing your essays or feedback on drafts, book a consultation with Alexandra Johnson or another skilled advisor. 

Please note: Looking at examples of real essays students have submitted to colleges can be very beneficial to get inspiration for your essays. You should never copy or plagiarize from these examples when writing your own essays. Colleges can tell when an essay isn’t genuine and will not view students favorably if they plagiarized.

Prompt: Discuss how a piece of art (painting, literature, photograph, etc.) or popular culture (song, comic book, etc.) helped you realize something new about yourself or the world. What was that realization, and how did the piece of art or pop culture bring about this change in your thinking? Do not simply describe the piece of art or pop culture; instead, focus on its effect on you. (300-500 words)

Perching up from my lounging position in the recliner, I watched intensely as Bruce Willis dreadfully observed his wife drop his wedding band, revealing that his character had been dead for the entirety of the film, unbeknownst to the audience and himself. Instinctively, I reached for my phone, as I often did after movies, to discover what had just happened on the screen before me. I was met with videos, articles, and all forms of media dissecting the film. As it explained, the director, M. Knight Shyamalan, hinted at the character’s supernatural status throughout the entire film. In fact, Bruce Willis’s character is not acknowledged by any characters in the film other than the little boy who can “see dead people”, and I never thought twice about it. To put it simply, I was fooled. In what may have been the most well-executed plot twist of all time, The Sixth Sense revealed that sometimes the simplest answers are the hardest to uncover.

Everyone has experienced it before, the “aha” moment in which they make a significant realization. For me, this instance was never more prevalent than after watching The Sixth Sense. The entire film, the director was providing me with the clues and information necessary to uncover the answer, but I, along with virtually all other viewers of the film, missed it. As I look to begin a career in business after completing my education, I find that reading between the lines and uncovering these answers is paramount. Take for example, Mark Zuckerberg starting Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg had no insider information or knowledge that was kept from the rest of the world. Everyone knew that computers and technology were the way of the future; everyone knew that kids loved their cell phones and social interaction. The difference is that Mark Zuckerberg recognized these needs and started one of the largest enterprises in the world. The concepts seem simple once they are presented, but the ability to discover them is what is important.

Information is something that is available to everyone, they just have to seek it out. With the significant research funding provided by Barrett through The Bidstrup and Barrett Research Fellowship and other programs, I know that I will have the ability to uncover this information. One specific project I would like to get involved with is the fight against the climate crisis. Just like The Sixth Sense, the writing is on the wall. The evidence is clear and the need to combat this crisis is evident. As an aspiring marketing major, I hope to utilize the information gained through my research to discover the most effective way to persuade citizens to act with environmental integrity. The unique close-knit nature of the Barrett students and faculty will aid me in my effort to achieve this goal. For me, it is not about “seeing dead people” but about seeing the answers to complex problems in business.

What the Essay Did Well

This essay does a wonderful job of answering the prompt. The writer shares a piece of popular culture, The Sixth Sense , and focuses their analysis on the part of the film relevant to their realization. They then expand on this realization before tying it to their life. This personal connection to their life and the Honors College is key to the success of this essay. 

The writer starts with great imagery and instead of just talking about the film, they discuss their reaction to it. From the first sentence, the writer is a part of the story when they say, “Perching up from my lounging position in the recliner, I watch intensely…” They continue by writing about their “aha” moment and how they came to it. The end of the first paragraph leaves the reader with an idea of the essay’s message: “sometimes the simplest answers are the hardest to uncover.” Having a sentence like this at the end of your first paragraph serves both to excite the reader about the rest of the essay and ensure that the realization part of the prompt is clearly answered. 

An example about Mark Zuckerberg serves as a transition from how the writer’s realization played out in a movie to why it’s relevant in everyday life. This flows well into the last paragraph where the writer talks about how they want to use Barrett Honors College’s resources to achieve their goals. 

The last paragraph is strong because of how personal it is to the writer. The reader learns that the writer wants to major in marketing and conduct research about environmental issues. The essay comes full circle by relating the writer’s research goals with the movie. Doing this gives the reader closure and shows that all the information in the essay was significant. 

What Could Be Improved 

While writing about Mark Zuckerberg in the second paragraph does connect the film to real life, it doesn’t provide any insight about the writer. This space would be better served by elaborating on ideas in the third paragraph about what the writer wants to research, or by providing an example of a time that the writer discovered a simple answer. 

The last paragraph could also benefit from even more specific details. These could include what the writer wants to research with the school funding, what professors the writers want to work with, and how the “unique close-knit nature of the Barrett students and faculty” will help the writer with their research. As a general rule, the more details you can provide when talking about why you want to go to a school, the better! 

Want feedback like this on your Arizona State University essay before you submit? We offer expert essay review by advisors who have helped students get into their dream schools. You can book a review with an expert to receive notes on your topic, grammar, and essay structure to make your essay stand out to admissions officers.

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Hello! I'm looking to apply to Arizona State University's Barrett Honors College, and I'm wondering about the essay prompts for their application. Can anyone share their experience or any tips for preparing for the Barrett essay prompts? Thanks!

Hey there! Congratulations on deciding to apply to ASU's Barrett Honors College! While the essay prompts can change from year to year, you can generally expect them to focus on topics that showcase your intellectual curiosity, critical thinking, and engagement with a specific issue or broader concept.

The prompts are designed to give applicants an opportunity to express their unique perspective and demonstrate how they would benefit from the Honors College experience. So, when preparing to write your Barrett essays, focus on genuine personal experiences, moments that have shaped your worldview, or issues you are particularly passionate about, to demonstrate why your perspective would be a valuable one for ASU to have in their honors college.

Use a narrative style to make your essay engaging, but avoid being too casual or using cliches. The admissions committee will be looking for a well-written essay that highlights what makes you an exceptional candidate for the Honors College, so take the time to revise and polish your work.

Finally, be sure to directly connect your experiences and ideas directly to the values and opportunities offered at Barrett. You want to show not only why you're a great match for Barrett, but also why Barrett is the right place for you to continue the academic and personal journey you've been on so far.

You can find an example of a strong Barrett essay on CollegeVine's blog, which should give you a more concrete sense of what admissions officers are looking for: https://blog.collegevine.com/arizona-state-essay-examples. Also remember that CollegeVine offers both free peer essay reviews and paid reviews by expert college admissions advisors, if you want to get a second set of eyes on your writing.

Good luck with your application, and I hope you find this information helpful in preparing for the Barrett essay prompts!

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Demystifying Barrett: The past, present and future of The Honors College

An exploration into the history of the honors college and what it brings to the student experience.

To many Sun Devils and future students, Barrett, The Honors College may seem like just an advertisement in a pamphlet — a mysterious ASU gimmick only really understood by the select students enrolled in it. 

On its website , Barrett touts itself as a “community of scholars at all four of ASU’s metropolitan Phoenix area campuses” that is “designed to complement your overall ASU experience by providing additional opportunities within your major or the university at large.” 

But what The Honors College actually is may still be unclear to those outside Barrett. 

According to its website, Barrett offers its students access to over 600 “honors academic experiences” each semester — including the yearlong set of foundational courses called The Human Event — special topics courses on subjects in which Barrett faculty specialize and exclusive study abroad opportunities.

While some students have embraced Barrett’s curricula, not all students have had the same experiences. For the students in Barrett who enjoy the variety of courses and experiences offered by The Honors College, there are also students who dislike the price they must pay for these exclusive offerings — from a more demanding workload to higher expectations and weightier responsibilities. 

Barrett’s history

According to faculty who have worked at Barrett for decades, The Honors College hailed from relatively humble beginnings — given that it’s now an academic behemoth encompassing thousands of students and dozens of faculty. 

“When I first came here in 1992, I became the third...of a three-person faculty,” said Michael Stanford, an Honors Faculty Fellow and professor at Barrett. “The student body couldn’t have been more than six or seven hundred.” 

“We were tiny,” said Jacquie Lynch, another Honors Faculty Fellow and Barrett professor. “When I started in 2001, we had under 2,000 students, as opposed to our almost 8,000 now. (Among) the faculty, when I joined it, there (were) maybe seven of us.”

Established in 1988, Barrett has now grown to house over 7,200 students and a community of more than 20,000 alumni. It employs 135 faculty and staff members, with nearly 60% of them working full time.

Although the college came from simple beginnings, it was then that much of the foundation of the core Barrett experience was developed.

“In some ways, it’s very much like it is now,” Stanford said. “We had a course called The Human Event, which was required of all freshmen, and it was basically a Great Ideas course modeled on the kind of similar courses at some of the best private universities — Chicago, Stanford, Columbia.”

But Barrett still needed to grow to better fulfill its own and the University’s missions, according to Lynch.

“(Growth) went hand in hand with ASU’s charter for inclusivity , and so we wanted to make (Barrett) available to a lot more students,” she said.

Despite Barrett requiring its students to take The Human Event sequence, some faculty members still felt its curriculum lacked educational depth for an honors college. But change would come — in the form of a mandate from ASU President Michael Crow.

Barrett grows

“When Michael Crow gave us a mandate to grow The Honors College to 10% of the undergraduate class, we hired a lot more people and got a lot more resources that way,” Lynch said. “It was an explosion of growth.”

The order — which sought to have 1,600 incoming first-year students enrolled in Barrett on the Tempe campus by fall 2015, according to Nicole Greason, director of marketing and public relations for Barrett — led to a variety of impactful changes.

One involved the creation of a faculty mentoring program, which is in place to this day. In the program, Honors College faculty participate in a two-year training period, during which they visit other Barrett professors’ classes and give each other feedback, according to Lynch. 

“It’s why I can be teaching some of the same classes 22 years later with the same enthusiasm,” she said. “(Class curricula are) always changing, and we’re always learning from each other.”

In addition, Barrett grew and diversified its student base. Initially, the college was mostly filled with English and philosophy students, according to Lynch.

“Now the pendulum has swung to the point where we have very high percentages of STEM and business students who wouldn’t necessarily otherwise get the kind of interdisciplinary studies that the honors curriculum offers,” she said. 

Course curricula also became more diverse once many Barrett professors introduced non-Western texts to their classes in an effort to teach students about key ideas from civilizations worldwide, as opposed to just Western civilizations.

“It’s more stimulating to me because I get to read more widely in a lot of different cultures, rather than restrict myself and my students to reading (Western books),” Stanford said. “I would say that we’ve advanced, we moved on, we’ve progressed.”

Recently, Barrett has focused its expansion efforts on online education. In fall 2021, Barrett launched its online program, which welcomed its first student cohort.

Benjamin Fong, a Barrett professor teaching online sections, said the program has since “gone swimmingly.” The level of student engagement he observed in his online classes surprised him, given the time zone differences that divided his students. Currently, he teaches a class from 6–8:45 p.m. MST, and some students in the class live on the East Coast.

“One would expect the kind of situation that by the end of the seminar, students are kind of checked out a little bit...It’s extremely late on the East Coast,” Fong said. “But I just haven’t experienced that at all — my students stay engaged throughout the seminar until the very end, and oftentimes, they want to go over.”

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Barrett, The Honors College (@barretthonors)

Honorable devils

Barrett’s unique curriculum has elicited mixed reactions from students enrolled in the college — from wholehearted enthusiasm to lukewarm ambivalence to outright opposition.

Some students, like Hannah Lennon, a sophomore majoring in global studies, have thrived as a result of the courses, experiences and academic environments offered by Barrett. 

“It’s been incredible — to be surrounded by such a motivated and inspiring group of students has really impacted my college career,” she said. “Every day I go to class, and I see my fellow peers in Barrett, and they just inspire me in so many ways because they’re so dedicated to their studies and really wanting to make a difference in this world.”

For Lennon, Barrett’s approach to learning helped her develop important academic and professional skills. The Human Event, which was one of her favorite classes she’s taken, was invaluable to her educational experience at the University.

“We read literature that involves science and philosophy and history and culture and religion,” Lennon said. “And you’re presenting that information to a group of students coming from various majors — you synthesize that information, you come to conclusions, you make arguments. I ultimately feel like that embodies what...Barrett inspires out of their students.”

With aspirations to one day work in health care, she found Barrett’s interdisciplinary studies have primed her to be a more understanding and flexible provider. 

“I recognize the importance of the learning process and considering other perspectives — challenging what I know to be true — in order to make myself a better health care provider,” Lennon said.

For other students, like Sarah Brown, a junior majoring in film, being a part of Barrett has harmed their educational experiences more than it’s enriched them.

Brown said she dropped out of Barrett at the end of her freshman year due to stress from classes and anxiety about the required honors thesis . According to Brown, she struggled as a freshman to keep up with the additional workload Barrett brings to students’ plates.

“We had to do three rough drafts and three argumentative essays...that were between five to seven pages each,” Brown said. “I felt like that was just a lot to introduce everyone in The Honors College to. 

“I probably would have stayed if that was something I could do more later on in my college experience, rather than just the beginning of my freshman year.”

In addition, she felt daunted by the expectations she felt were set for her as a Barrett student and the way faculty responded to a situation in which she was reprimanded. Brown and her friends had gotten in trouble in Gordon Commons during her freshman year, and when meeting with Barrett faculty about the incident, she said she felt “intimidated.”

“(T)hey said something along the lines of how being in (B)arrett meant we had to uphold more reputation and we had more to lose in a sense,” Brown wrote in a message.

Despite these negative experiences, she said she does regret leaving Barrett. 

“I know it would be better for my resume to say that I was in The Honors College for more than a year,” Brown said. “It’d be better for me careerwise and academically.”

Furthermore, Brown recommended that new students stressed with the heavier workload Barrett brings should work to push through it as best they can, rather than leave the college entirely.

“Once you get past the hard parts in the beginning, it should go more smoothly from there,” she said. “I wish I had stuck through it and just tried to get all my work done then because now, I do have regrets about it.”

Other students, like Jace Clark, a senior majoring in computer information systems and supply chain management, harbor mixed feelings about their time in Barrett. While Clark has had doubts about Barrett, ultimately, he said he is thankful he decided to remain in the program.

“There was a time for a while where I was like, ‘The thesis is gonna be too much for me. I might drop it,’” Clark said. “But I figured it was probably worthwhile to just stick it out regardless, and the thesis wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought.”

Through all his doubts, what he said kept him in Barrett was his experiences with the honors faculty.

“I think (the) Barrett faculty are all really nice — they’ve helped me when I’ve had issues,” he said.

Through the years, Barrett has undergone dramatic change, and it’s certain to evolve even more in the future. But through it all, what Barrett itself means has also shifted from student to student — the Barrett experience is fluid, amorphous and in constant flux, defined by the students themselves.

Edited by Camila Pedrosa, Savannah Dagupion and Madeline Nguyen

This story is part of The Element Issue, which was released on Nov. 1, 2023. See the entire publication here .

Reach the reporter at [email protected] and follow @swmcgeemedia on X.

Like State Press Magazine on Facebook, follow @statepressmag on X and Instagram and read our releases on Issuu .

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Barrett Honors College Essay (What do You Think?)

• Thread starter Reyalsfeihc
• Start date Feb 13, 2012
• General Forums

Reyalsfeihc

Hi, I'm applying to the Barrett Honors College at ASU in Tempe, AZ and had to write an essay for my application and was wondering what some of you here at the Escapist thought. Any feedback would be great! And I'll be sure to include the writing prompt. Thanks in Advance! 1.Discuss how a particular work of music, literature, or art has inspired your educational path. 1) Ten years ago, no one could have believed that a video game would change the outcome of my life as drastically as Starcraft did. A title released in 1998 by Blizzard Entertainment, Starcraft encompassed how far video games had come since the days of Pong and the Atari 2600, featuring three distinct races, economic management systems, and real-time strategy across diverse battlefields of snow, dirt, and fire. Who knew that my neighbor from the other end of Hesperedies Ave. would introduce me to a game that would leave such a meaningful impact on my childhood. Starcraft is what first perked my interest in personal computers, how they ran, and the gamut of software that these little tan boxes could power. I can still remember the day I walked in the doors of Best Buy, and with twenty dollars in hand grabbed that Battlechest off the shelf; the glossed cardboard depicting massive battles and mysterious characters. Naturally, as I spent more time on the computer playing the game, I became more familiar with how they worked. My father, a biomedical engineer, began to take me to the homes of friends and family to help him troubleshoot system errors, teaching me the basics of computer hardware and operating systems along the way. By the time I was nine I was able to do basic hardware and system repairs on my own, making me a useful second opinion to my father when it came to repairs. As time transpired my interest in video games grew, with Starcraft still being a longtime favorite, but as the video game industry grew, so did other interests. My parents, both past musicians, stuck me in Band where I not only thrived, but fell in love with music. From elementary school to my freshman year of high school my interest in computers slowly dwindled, and my desire to pursue music education as a career grew. I had determined by the end of my first year in high school that I would become a band director, just as my director Mrs. Campbell had, to share my love of music with a future generation of students. However, the video game industry had something else in mind, as Blizzard had announced something so spectacular that if the name of what was to come barely parted one's lips, my heart would skip a beat; Starcraft II. At the time of the game's announcement, I already was in possession of my own personal computer, as consoles were a thing of the past in my mind. I decided it was time for an upgrade, and that the construction of an elite gaming rig was in demand. After saving money for a year, my father and I traveled to Frys Electronics, where I would rekindle my love for computers. After carefully selecting compatible hardware, assembling my machine, and slapping on Windows, I realized that I had given birth to something truly special; from that day forward I decided to major in Computer Science.  

I think the essay itself is well written and personal, but at the same time I have a concern with the subject of your essay. These committees that review entrance applications and essays tend to be composed of middle-aged administrators and professors, and a lot of people their age view video games dismissively or even derisively. I may be wrong, but I don't think they will relate to your story.  

Brawndo said: I think the essay itself is well written and personal, but at the same time I have a concern with the subject of your essay. These committees that review entrance applications and essays tend to be composed of middle-aged administrators and professors, and a lot of people their age view video games dismissively or even derisively. I may be wrong, but I don't think they will relate to your story. Click to expand...

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Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection

Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.

Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.

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Barrett Application Portal

Welcome to the barrett, the honors college application portal.

This portal is used for online admission and scholarship applications at Barrett, The Honors College.

Barrett, The Honors College offers various funding opportunities to support a student’s education in the form of scholarships, research, and fellowship programs.  These opportunities both support incoming and current Barrett undergraduate students which are made possible by the gracious gifts of donors to Barrett, The Honors College and Arizona State University.

Click below or click "Log in" in the top right corner and then select "ASU Single Sign-On" to log into the system and submit applications.

Honors courses

Barrett's signature courses constitute the foundation of intellectual life at The Honors College.

In these small, student-centered seminars, students explore some of the world's greatest texts and think through urgent questions of our times with faculty who are skilled and committed teachers and respected scholars in their areas of expertise. In this intellectually rich atmosphere, students bond both in and outside of the classroom, forming an energized and energizing Honors cohort set to transform society, culture, government, medicine, business—and the world.

Begin your intellectual journey

All Barrett students begin their intellectual journey at Barrett in one of our signature first-year seminars. Lower-division students—freshman and sophomores—entering the Honors College complete The Human Event (HON 171 and HON 272) over the course of their first year at Barrett. Upper-division students—juniors and seniors—entering the Honors College complete the one-semester course, History of Ideas (HON 370). These courses are taught exclusively by the Honors Faculty Fellows : an interdisciplinary faculty whose primary academic home is Barrett, The Honors College.

The Human Event is a year-long course that forms the foundation of the first-year honors experience. A small, intensive, interdisciplinary, discussion-based seminar for all first-year Barrett students, The Human Event focuses on key social and intellectual currents in the history of human thought from the earliest written texts to the present. While united by a shared set of learning objects aimed at cultivating communications skills and critical thinking, each section of The Human Event explores a unique set of texts, according to each professor’s passions and areas of expertise. History of Ideas works toward the same goals and shares the same ethos as The Human Event but is a more intensely focused, one-semester course exclusively for upper-division students who transfer into the Honors College. The readings in each section of History of Ideas are generally organized around a theme determined by the professor.

Exclusive access to honors seminars

Every semester Barrett students have exclusive access to upper-division Honors seminars (HON 394) on a range of special topics according to faculty areas of research interest and expertise. These popular courses explore important issues in history, literature, philosophy, physics, film, anthropology, law, politics, and much more. Upper-division courses also provide Honors students valuable opportunities to continue working closely with Barrett faculty, in small seminar settings beyond The Human Event of History of Ideas, in areas of intellectual inquiry that resonate creatively and synergistically with their majors, minors, or other areas of passion. Many students strategically enroll in upper-division seminars in topics outside of their majors in order to explore new areas of interest and to conduct research that informs their honors thesis.

Honors Courses

Honors courses can now be found easily by using the ASU Course Catalog . You can access the ASU Course Catalog by visiting MyASU or clicking the link below:

ASU Course Catalog- Honors Courses

To find upcoming Honors courses, click  Advanced Options and then select the  Honors checkbox. From there, you can see all Honors courses. It is recommended that you limit your search by College or the 3 letter  Course Subject .

Courses that list  Honors Enrichment Contracts , will be listed at the bottom of the page.

Once you find a course you are interested in, you can view the number of  Reserved Honors Only Seats by expanding the course information. If you would like to add the course, click the  Add button on the far right.

About Honors Courses

Honors courses are mindfully designed to accomplish the following learning objectives:

• Improve the student’s ability to reason critically and communicate clearly
• Cultivate the student’s ability to engage in intellectual discourse through reading, writing, and discussion
• Broaden the student’s historical and cultural awareness and understanding
• Deepen awareness of the diversity of human societies and cultures
• Instill intellectual breadth and academic discipline in preparation for more advanced study

Each honors class features the following core components:

• Chronologically Expansive - We cover some of the earliest recorded texts (e.g. The Epic of Gilgamesh or the Maxims of Good Discourse) to current works (e.g. Kwame Appiah’s The Honor Code).
• Extensive Geographical Coverage - We select texts that highlight key issues in human thought, which means the texts we cover are from all over the world (e.g. Tao Te Ching, Plato’s Republic, Kalidasa’s The Recognition of Sakuntala, and Chinua Achebe’s No Longer at Ease).
• Focused on Human Cultural Diversity - Every effort is made to incorporate cross-cultural perspectives, non-Western texts and texts composed by women and racial/ethnic minorities (e.g. texts by early female Sufists or American slave narratives).
• Student Centered - We encourage students to take the lead in these small, discussion based classes

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Y'all are really sleeping on ASU's Honors College

I just finished visiting Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University and holy shit, that place is amazing. I'm from South Carolina and never would've had the chance to visit except for the fact that they'll straight up fly out National Merit kids and other top scholars to visit.

Some highlights I noticed during my overnight and day there:

Very tight yet large community at Barrett (~7000 kids, the size of Harvard). They have entire section of campus dedicated to the honors college.

The school (and city as a whole) rolls out the VIP treatment if you're an honors kid. Priority registration for classes, given priority for any research positions and internships, several hospitals around Phoenix specifically take kids for an intensive doctor shadowing programs, and all sorts of exclusive pipelines to jobs, study abroad, and grad schools reserved just for Barrett kids.

Best dining hall on campus.

God-tier upperclassmen housing (if you want it)

Discussion-based classes without any "intellectual arrogance"; basically the kids get really involved in discussion and don't care about whether they'll "sounds dumb" or say something incorrect. They're fearless. It's really something that's hard to describe unless you've seen it in action.

Consistently send kids to top grad/med/law schools every single year (not like, "oh we sent someone to Johns Hopkins 6 years ago, let's include it on the list"). Every single year there's at least some kid going to UCSF med or Harvard law.

Gorgeous girls, warm weather, palm trees, lit parties, big sports teams, all that good shit - but it doesn't dominate the school (especially at Barrett) so you can find whichever niche you'd like.

You can take intro classes (like bio 101 or Econ 101) in honors sections capped at 25 kids instead of 400 person lecture halls. Also hundreds of interesting, honors-only classes.

You can get honors credit for research and study abroad.

They take a lot of AP/IB credits (it's super nice).

Full tuition scholarship for NMF with plenty other scholarships you can apply to on their portal - the dean said something like $25 million alone goes into giving Barrett kids money (he compared it to Swarthmore, where that amount of money was a third of their operating budget which they spent on stupid emails).

Applications are still open, so seniors, if you've had a rough application process so far and want a solid option that you'll love and won't cost much, definitely check em out. And for the juniors, definitely consider it as a great safety option you'd enjoy going to, especially if you're a National Merit kid.

I was denied admission into Barrett with these stats

<p>3.93 UW GPA Top 8% class rank (43/504) 29 ACT</p>

<p>Not to mention, I’m an in-state resident. I have already enrolled at DePaul University, but I was a bit surprised at this. I knew someone with less than stellar stats who got in, leaving me befuddled.</p>

<p>Im new to this so I dont know if this is possible but maybe they saw you were already enrolled at another college. Also did you have an extra curriculars, did you write a good essay, or take challenging courses</p>

<p>I have taken 9 honors classes, 1 AP course, and no AP exams. That could be why I wasn’t admitted, but I believe it was because I didn’t apply last year. It makes it that much harder when you apply after the priority deadline. Oh well, it doesn’t bother me too much because I have already enrolled into DePaul. I was accepted into their honors college and honors accounting program so I’m happy. Not to mention that DePaul’s undergrad business program was ranked 40th in the country by Businessweek, compared to ASU at 77th. Anyhow, good luck to anyone who chooses to attend ASU, namely Barrett.</p>

<p>Glad everything worked out for you in the end. I’m hoping to apply to Barrett next year so this kinda shocked me but it probably was due to the priority deadline thing. I plan to apply as early as possible. Good luck to you at Depaul.</p>

<p>Thank you. Good luck to you when applying to Barrett. Make sure you apply before the priority deadline!</p>

<p>Don’t worry about it! They only enroll about 700 freshman. I just had my orientation this past Saturday and they said our class was about 720 for Barrett. They got about over 2000 applications last year and the Dean of Admissions said they expected more this year. I wouldn’t take it hard because they filled up pretty fast and getting more competitive. I am pretty sure you would have made it if you applied early. But it seems you will do great wherever you go! Good luck! :)</p>

<p>I’m sure applying last year would have helped. To be honest, I had my eyes set on DePaul for a while now. I don’t think it ever crossed my mind that I MIGHT go to ASU. In reality, I only applied because I had a waiver on the application fee. I’m sure applying BEFORE even being accepted into ASU didn’t help either. I would not be surprised if the admissions board took that as an insult.</p>

<p>I got denied too. 32 ACT Top 2% of class about a dozen Honors/AP classes Instate resident applied before the priority deadline Historical fencing and democracy groups as ECs Decent essay, letters of rec.</p>

<p>I am quite frankly unable to figure out why.</p>

<p>confusedrobot, when did you apply to Barrett? </p>

<p>Historically, we have been told that it is O.K. to send applications before ASU admissions arrive - that they check against admits and review once admission is granted but I suppose there is always room for error in this matching up that could put you in a later pool for consideration.</p>

<p>I sent it off about a week before the priority deadline. Had already gotten my acceptance letter from ASU.</p>

<p>A thought had occurred to me that such a clerical error could have occurred because I was accepted in as an academic sophomore (I took a lot of college classes in HS).</p>

<p>Did you do poorly in those college classes?</p>

<p>We toured Barrett yesterday and the person who led the info session said that they got 680 (I’m pretty sure that was the number) applications in the last two weeks of February, when they only had about 100 slots left. She also seemed to indicate that extra-curriculars, and activities that show “leadership” are important.</p>

<p>inspiredbymusic, yeah I wouldn’t doubt that they got that many! I had talked to the Dean of Admissions and he said that they were getting record number applications this year. He figured that it was because all the publicity that Barrett has now because of their new dorms and being named one of the best honors colleges a while back. Also the economy… he said he figured that “people were starting to figure out that they can get the same education attending somewhere like Barrett as Ivy Leagues.” Barrett seems to be getting a lot more competitive!</p>

<p>Nope, I had a 4.0 in my college courses. I guess competition would’ve been strong, but still…</p>

<p>I don’t know if this will cheer you up or not - but I have known students in the past who got into Barrett but left because the extra honors work conflicted with other things they wanted/needed to do (like work). Didn’t seem that this turned out badly for friends daughter - she was accepted to prestigious school for Phd program - full ride w/stipend. </p>

<p>If all these high performing people are being turned down you all make one heck of a strong ASU cohort should you decide to enroll there. You are the kind of students who are successful no matter where they go to school.</p>

<p>bchan1, I agree with you too. The two who got denied seem very high performing and it doesn’t really matter where they go, they will do great! </p>

<p>also, bchan1, so your friend’s daughter graduated from Barrett and went to a prestigious grad. school after that? Did she get one of the National Scholarships for grad school?</p>

<p>I am attracted to Barrett because of their help with getting National scholarships for future grad. students. When I went on their tour they said that last year of the 18 who got fullbright scholarships, 12 were Barrett students. I am hoping to build up a nice profile at Barrett so I can <em>hopefully</em> attend a prestigious med. school. That’s my dream anyway :/</p>

<p>Get involved in research early, especially in a lab that has produced national scholars in the past.</p>

<p>Friend’s daughter majored in classics at ASU. Started out in Barrett but didn’t follow through because of work conflicts so she graduated without the Barrett distinction. She was an outstanding student and went on to grad school at Vanderbilt - all expenses paid and decent stipend. </p>

<p>It was interesting to me that classics was a relatively new dept. at ASU at the time, but - as I said, she is a great student and really followed her heart.</p>

<p>I think Barrett would be very helpful for med school admissions and the scholarship assistance would be most helpful. But most of all - doing what you love to the best of your ability will bring rewards that last a lifetime.</p>

<p>Today I was offered the Presidential Scholarship ($9,000 per year, renewable for up to four years for $36,000). In other words, I received the best possible scholarship that an in-state resident can receive, I was placed in the WP Carey Elite Program, but I was rejected from Barrett. Makes no sense to me.</p>

<p>Jubobo – you can apply to Barrett after you’re already attending ASU. Timing may have been such that they simply had no spaces available.</p>

<p>Also, at least last year, there were enough spaces in Barrett housing that non-Barrett students could choose to live in the Barrett housing and select a Barrett meal plan.</p>