The College has begun a new program to encourage outstanding scholarship-the Union Scholars Program-and this fall seventeen first-year students accepted an invitation to join.
The program has been designed to provide an enriched intellectual experience during the first two years of college and an international experience or off-campus internship during the junior year.
Students selected for the program will work closely with faculty mentors, explore a wider variety of courses throughout the curriculum, and more easily complete a double major or minor.
Honors freshmen, for example, are participating in a special two-term Freshman Preceptorial that will include such special events as lectures, theater, special exhibits, and dinners with faculty who teach in the various areas explored by preceptorial readings. The seminar is in addition to the normal nine-course schedule for the year.
Next year, each student will select a faculty member to work closely with on a two-term independent study project that will culminate in a major paper.
To be considered for the program, applicants must be in the top five percent of their secondary school class, have combined SAT scores above 1250 or scores above 30 on the ACT exams, or have demonstrated extraordinary talent in an academic or creative area.