1. Read the directions closely. They might seem routine and unnecessary, but if you don't read them and make a careless mistake, we may never consider your application. The directions are there to give you the best possible chance of being admitted to the Honors Program.

2. Read the essay topics carefully. Students who write wonderful essays that do not directly address the topic are less impressive than students who write wonderful essays that do. Read the question, write your essay, and then read back over the question and your essay to make sure you have written appropriately.

3. Proofread! When you make typos and grammatical errors, it is a clear give-away that you did not spend much time on the task at hand. Our ideal Honors students are people who work to make their applications impeccable. While we would not exclude you solely because you had a typo, we do notice. Please adhere to page limit instructions.

4. Please be courteous in asking faculty for recommendations. Be sure to ask the faculty member in plenty of time to meet the deadline. You should supply a stamped envelope, addressed to:

The PEL Honors Program
c/o Pam Buchanan
Eckerd College
4200 54th Ave South
St. Petersburg, FL 33711

5. Please send one packet containing your Honors essay, along with the application, directly to the Honors Program, c/o Pam Buchanan, by or before the deadline of July 31st. Please respect the deadline. The sooner we have your material, the sooner we can evaluate you application.