Applicants to Honors Program for Early Decision Increases Threefold May 12, 2010 -- Choosing a college can be a daunting task, but thanks to Yeshiva University’s rigorous academic offerings, the number of top students that are committed to earning a YU undergraduate degree is surging. In just one year, applicants to the Honors Program for Early Decision, for students who commit to YU as their top college choice, increased by more than threefold. While 31 students applied for early decision in the 2008-09 academic year, 99 students applied in the 2009-10 academic year. “Students recognize that our program is academically compelling, that our placement—whether for employment or graduate school—is high and that our reputation is strong,” said Murray Sragow, associate director of undergraduate admissions. “But then there are elements that YU offers that you can’t get anywhere else, like our vibrant Jewish environment.” Rabbi Yisroel Kaminetsky and his son, Binyamin, a senior at DRS Yeshiva High School for Boys, agree. Binyamin applied and was admitted to the early decision honors program. “YU is certainly the address for a very high-quality Torah study program and an extremely strong general studies program,” said Rabbi Kaminetsky ‘89YC, menahel [principal] at DRS. The 2009-10 academic year marked the second year of the early decision honors program. To be considered, students must secure a minimum SAT score of 1400 and have a high school GPA of at least 90. Admitted applicants receive a full tuition scholarship. The program has become even more popular since its deadline was moved from September to November to sync with the deadlines of other universities who also offer an early decision option. The broader honors program, which includes exceptional students who did not apply for early decision, is also growing. More than 120 new honors students enrolled for the 2009-10 academic year, the largest in the program’s 10-year history. “By providing individual mentoring, research experience and leadership training, the honors programs at Stern College for Women and Yeshiva College excellently prepare students for both the next phase of their academic and professional lives and for the roles they eventually will assume as lawyers, teachers and CEOs, and as heads of research laboratories,” said Dr. Cynthia Wachtell, founding director of the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern. For more information on the honors programs at Yeshiva College and at Stern College for Women, visit www.yu.edu/admissions/honors.