Honors College

The focus of the Tad Bird Honors College is not on content mastery and high grades; the focus is on skill development, cross-cultural competancy, and student-owned learning. The collaborative projects and round table discussions center on actively engaging complex ideas, devising solution and communicating effectively. Many Honors College students take ‘honors’ level classes during their Upper School experience for the added rigor and positive connotations on transcripts, but this has no relationship to the student's standing in the Honors College.

Traditional lectures and tests are replaced by project-based learning, collaborative endeavors, and roundtable discussions on critical issues facing our local and global communities. Students have significant latitude in developing their own unique processes, and their final products often reflect this same uniqueness.

Honors College admissions is a holistic process that takes into account personal reflective essays, group and individual interviews, teacher recommendations, and traditional ‘data’ like grades and test scores to build a cohesive cohort with the abilities, skills, and mindsets necessary to create a dynamic experience for all students involved in the program.

The typical successful applicant exhibits the following qualities:

• A willingness to use his or her imagination and envision what could be
• A desire to understand the human condition and empathize with others
• A growth mindset about his or her own, and others’, abilities
• A spirit of collaboration inside and outside the classroom
• An ability and desire to tackle complex, long-term projects
• A high character that aligns with All Saints' values

Cohort groups typically are composed of 14 to 16 students, and the average number of applications over the past few years has been 40+.

Not technically, but both the Junior Honors Thesis and subsequent Senior Capstone courses are available to all All Saints' students in good standing. Performing well in these two endeavors shows the ability to complete advanced college-level work.