Ockenga Honors Guild Application Form

Application Deadline: January 1

Interviews: February 2024

• Be accepted as a full-time student at Taylor University
• Have a high school GPA of at least 3.7
• Have an SAT score of 1280 or ACT score of 28 (Recommended)
• Be serious about intellectual engagement and passionate about intentional community with other like-minded students and faculty.
• Demonstrate depth of thought and clarity of communication in compelling, well-written answers to the essay questions below.
• Submit a reference from an AP-level instructor. Please email this link to your AP-level teacher.
• If invited, interviews will take place in a group setting in February.

Application Process

1. Apply to Taylor University by December 1.
2. Complete and submit the Honors Guild application by January 1. 
3. Invitations for the next step will be sent by the middle of January.
4. If invited, participate in group interview which will take place in February.
5. Have AP-level instructor complete reference form.

Essays to complete:

Essay 1: In a few paragraphs, please explain why you are interested in joining the Honors Guild.

Essay 2: Tell us about a time you changed your mind. Maybe your view of a political, scientific, ethical, or theological issue changed. Maybe you reconsidered a belief about God, an interpretation of scripture, or another aspect of your faith. Be specific and detailed. Please respond to this prompt in approximately 300-500 words.

Essay 3: Taylor is a liberal arts university, which means that students are required to take a variety of courses in topic areas such as Bible, history, literature, and science, alongside the pursuit of a major field of study. Jay Kesler, President Emeritus of Taylor, used to emphasize the view that "All truth is God’s truth." In fact, he encouraged students to pursue truth from a diversity of perspectives without fear because "Nothing is going to jump out from under a rock and eat God." Tell us about a time that you noticed the connectedness between two or more disciplines. Perhaps your faith or theology were shaped by learning in another field of knowledge. Perhaps your understanding of human relationships was impacted by knowledge from the social sciences. Perhaps learning about something in history altered your understanding of another topic, or sent you on a path to learning more on a particular topic. Please respond to this prompt in approximately 300-500 words.