The Dean's Honor Scholarship

Hey gang! Big week next week with deadlines for both the Dean's Honor Scholarship and the Paul Tulane Award, both due on Saturday. The Paul Tulane Award gives you five pretty interesting questions and you choose two to answer. You can view both scholarship applications here.

The DHS, Tulane's oldest and most prestigious award, always perplexes a few students once they view the scholarship application. If you haven’t seen the scholarship application, I’ll prepare you now – we ask you to do something with a 3”x3” box.  Every year, I get panicked calls and emails around this time about what to do with the box. My advice is always the same – just do something with it!  In other words, don’t over-think the project. I have to admit, it’s great fun reviewing the applications for this scholarship each year. We’ve seen everything from incredibly talented artwork to clever 3-D puzzles to “Mystory flipboxes” to an actual full-size bench (I wouldn't really recommend sending an 80 pound bench to our office, but it certainly has entered our “legends of the DHS” stories!). Yes, we are looking for the top academic students, but many of our applicants already fall into that category. Each year, nearly 1000 students apply for 75 awards.  Think about using the DHS project to showcase who you really are beyond just numbers and letters.  What is important for the admission committee to know about you before we make a decision?  The time and thought and dedication you put into the project will be evident, and we want to see that you put together something that gives us insight into who you are – the way you see the world, your dreams, your talents, etc.  

So take some time to reflect on the things that make you YOU (your love of chemistry, your family, your humor, your creativity, your passions), and just do something with the box! Trust me, there are no wrong answers. 

Good luck!