The Honors Experience

Ignite your future as a scholar | July 14-19, 2024

If you’re a high-achieving high school student looking to challenge yourself, experience life on the Gardner-Webb campus, and explore your faith under the instruction of exceptional Christian scholars, The Honors Experience is for you. You’ll spend a full week living in dorms, traveling to field experiences, and laying the foundation for your success in college. You’ll even qualify to automatically compete for a full-tuition scholarship to Gardner-Webb University! 

About the Program

The Honors Experience at Gardner-Webb is a one-week college immersion for academically gifted and talented students who are currently in the 9th-11th grade. The program is held on Gardner-Webb’s main campus in Boiling Springs, NC each summer.

As a high school student who has already demonstrated excellence in the classroom and community, you will be provided with the opportunity to develop your skills in a hands on setting, under the instruction of our exceptional faculty and staff. You will participate in credit bearing college courses that are designed to help you develop the confidence you need to continue in your pursuit of academic excellence, engage academics with Christian faith, and experience the impact of service learning.

If you are accepted into The Honors Experience, you will be automatically invited to participate in Gardner-Webb’s Ignite Excellence Scholarship competition during your senior year of high school, where you will compete for our most competitive academic scholarships—the highest honor covers full tuition as well as room and board, totaling over $30,000 per year.*

Courses Include:

• Dr. Jennifer Buckner, Professor of English — Mic Drop: Writing with Sound
• Dr. Paula Qualls, Professor of Religious Studies — Lions, & Tigers, & Prayers, Oh My!: Danger and Prayer in the Bible
• Dr. Wilson Hawkins, Assistant Professor of Physics — Atoms to Galaxies: The Physics of Everything
• Jessica Maloney, Assistant Professor of Photography and Design — Delicious Perspectives: Exploring Food Photography
• Dr. Joshua Vadeboncoeur, Assistant Professor of Sport Management — Stock Cars and Society
• Jessica Grant, Assistant Professor of American Sign Language — Voice of Silence: See the World Through Deaf Eyes
• Dr. Iva Naydenova, Professor of Psychology and Counseling — Fatal Attractions: Introduction to the Study of Close Relationships
• Dr. Meredith Rowe, Associate Professor of Biology — Viruses, Vaccines, and You
• Dr. Nicole Waters, Professor of Nursing, and Angel Queen, Instructor of Nursing — Taylor Swift’s Tortured Poets Department Seminar: Exploring the Poetic Depths of Swift’s Eras

Program Requirements

Students must meet the following requirements:

• Currently in 9th -11th grades (graduating seniors are not eligible)
• Unweighted GPA of at least 3.7

*If you do not yet meet the requirements, you may apply with two letters of recommendation. One must be from a teacher, and the other may be from another teacher, counselor, pastor, or youth worker.

Program Cost

The cost for The Honors Experience is $600 per person. A $100 deposit (refunded if you are not accepted) is due with your application, which must be submitted by July 1, 2024. Full payment is due by the July 10, 2024.

Students may be eligible for a $50.00 application discount:

• Children of current faculty, staff, and alumni qualify for a discount
• Bring a friend to apply for a discount for each student
• Returning participants will receive a discount.

Your cost for The Honors Experience includes:

• Room and Board (5 nights lodging and 15 meals)
• Transportation to field experiences
• Course Instruction
• Activity Fees
• Materials

• Honors Experience Application
• Liability Waiver
• Medical Form
• Pay Honors Experience Balance

 *Students who attend The Honors Experience and interview for Ignite Excellence Scholarship automatically receive $2,000 per academic year at GWU!