Hi! I just stumbled across your blog and I'm incredibly glad that I did! You have so much info on the u of a that I have been trying to get a hold of! I am eligible for the fellowship and am currently waiting to hear if I will receive the chance to interview. Can I ask you a few questions about it? (Fair warning I'm going to anyway) if you don't mind my asking what was your ACT score? What kinds of questions did they ask you in the interview? Do you enjoy the honors college/dorm? Thanks!
Hi! I’m glad you’re able to find useful info on here!
The fellowship is the best thing that possibly could have happened to me in terms of college. It’s how I decided to come to the U of A, and it’s enabling me to get my degree without any debt, so best of luck!
My ACT score was 33; my SAT was 2030 (I think: I didn’t study for it, and I only took it to get the National Merit). The fellowship weekend was probably one of the coolest experiences I had as a high schooler; it was so fun and stressful at the same time. I loved hanging out with other smart and engaged kids; meal times were some of the most awesome conversations I’ve ever had.
The questions they ask are different for everyone, and you’ll hear more about this if you come down to interview. (If you do, you’ll be in a group with some students who have the fellowship; I plan to be there!) The first question they asked me was something along the lines of “what do we not know about you that you think we might want to know?” And that was a hard one, because my whole life was contained in the papers they had in front of them: my test scores, my grades, my favorite books, a very personal essay, and the essays I wrote the night before on oil policy and something I don’t even remember any more. So I told them that I blog, actually. The interview was scarier to think about than it was to do. That’s the only question I remember anymore; I guess it’s been two years since I was in your shoes! I mostly remember that I had a good chat with my interviewers, and I found out a week or so later that I got the fellowship.
The honors dorm I stayed in as a freshman is not the one you’ll live in; the new honors dorm is brand spanking new, and from what I’ve seen, it’s beautiful. I love living on campus, and the honors dorm has such a fantastic sense of community. I still say hi to the girls who lived on my floor when I see them, and you’ll see your dorm-mates again and again as you take honors classes through the years, since the classes are usually under 40 people.
The honors college takes care of its students. I’ve actually decided to be an honors college ambassador, and I serve on the honors college advisory committee. That’s how much I love this school and this honors program!
I hope you choose the University of Arkansas! If you’re coming to interview, let me know, and I’ll see if I know who is in your mentor group (keep an eye out for me). And please message me with any other questions. I’ll do my best to answer them!