January 2,

2019

Ashlyn

Congratulations! I am delighted to report that you have been accepted into the Honors
College at Westminster. Your record suggests not only that you have the intellectual capability
and motivation to thrive in Honors, but also that your presence in classes and extracurricular
events will enrich the experience of other students.

I enjoyed reading your essay and learning more about you. You should be very proud of
your accomplishments and know that you will be joining a group of students who share similar
aspirations for their college and professional careers. I look forward to drawing on the varied
talents, backgrounds, and curiosity of the students in the incoming class to make your Honors
experience a meaningful one.

Because the Honors College is a lively community of professors and students, its success
depends on the active participation of students like you in its wide range of activities. I hope you

will ​arrive on campus next year ready to help us continue to make Honors one of Westminster’s

most distinctive
​ and successful academic programs, one that is known not only regionally but
that “has risen to even greater national and international recognition,” according to one national
higher ed leader, “as one of the best in the United States.”

We specialize in offering a robust program-wide learning community experience that is

truly transformative, one that positions students to thrive at Westminster ​and i​ n their
post-collegiate lives. Recent Honors graduates have

• started M.D. training at the Mayo Clinic, typically the country’s most selective
medical school;
• begun work with the Peace Corps, our country’s most prominent global service
program; and
• won a Marshall Scholarship for graduate study in the United Kingdom, which is
typically awarded to 3-4% of applicants from around the US.

While you are probably very familiar with much of our programming, let me remind you
that Honors at Westminster emphasizes a number of features, among many others, that enhance
a student’s college experience, including:
 • Small, team-taught, interdisciplinary courses focused on challenging,
student-centered learning
• Special emphasis on the development of writing and communication
skills
• Mentoring and financial support for research and attendance at academic
conferences
• Leadership development opportunities in a variety of different forms
• Access to special study abroad opportunities.

If you have not yet had a chance to sit in on an Honors seminar and experience the
unique learning environment of Honors at Westminster, please make every effort to do that
before making a decision about your offer of admission. ​We strongly encourage all students to

participate in such a class visit, ​if possible, and meet with the dean. ​You can set that up through

your admissions counselor.

In addition to the many resources listed above, we have a popular peer mentoring
program that matches experienced, upper-class Honors students with incoming students, as well
as a full-day mandatory Honors orientation session, which will be held next year on Friday,
August 16, 2019 immediately before Westminster’s standard orientation programming begins.
Early move-in to the residence halls occurs for Honors students on Thursday afternoon, August
15, from 4:00-6:00 p.m.

Please consider carefully your decision to join Honors and then return the enclosed
response sheet once you have made up your mind. There are a limited number of spaces in each
year’s entering Honors class, so the earlier you decide the sooner you will secure a place. You
must, however, let us know one way or the other by ​May 1, 2019 ​at the latest. If we do not hear
from you by then or you decline our offer, your place will be given to a student on the waiting
list. Honors spaces are at a premium at Westminster, as each year there are many more students
who want to join the Honors College who are unable to be admitted—so please consider your
decision carefully.

Once you have returned your enclosed honors acceptance notification, make sure to pay
Westminster’s $250.00 tuition deposit online. We will contact you in the spring about
registering for fall courses at one of our Griffin GearUp sessions. If you have advising questions
before then, please contact Stephanie Santarosa, Asst. Director of Honors and Fellowship
Advising, at 801-832- 2462 or ssantarosa@westminstercollege.edu.
 Honors applicants who have also applied for the Honors Academic Excellence
Scholarship should know finalists for that award will be invited for interviews soon after the
February 1 deadline.

Congratulations again on your acceptance to Westminster College’s premier program

for high-achieving students who want to challenge themselves. I am excited about working
with you during the next four years to make your college experience meaningful, memorable,
and rewarding.

Sincerel
y,

Dr. Richard Badenhausen,

Dean ​The Honors College

rjb@westminstercollege.e
du