By Emily Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief
Beginning with the upcoming Yeshiva University recruitment cycle in August, prospective students will only be eligible to apply for honors scholarships through the early decision (ED) cycle, Marc Zharnest, Director of Undergraduate Admission at YU, confirmed for the YU Observer. With these changes, students who decide to transfer to YU during yeshiva or seminary will also no longer be eligible to apply to the honors program from Israel.
“By tying the honors scholarship more closely to the early decision process, we aim to identify and support students who demonstrate a strong commitment to Yeshiva University values and are excited to contribute meaningfully to our campus community,” Zharnest told the YU Observer. “The changes to the honors scholarship qualifications were driven by a strategic effort to further align our merit-based awards with the university’s broader goals of academic excellence, values-based education and leadership development.”
According to the Yeshiva University Honors Program Application website, this change applies to all three honors programs: the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern College for Women, the Jay and Jeanie Schottenstein Honors Program at Yeshiva College and the Business Honors and Entrepreneurial Leadership Program at Sy Syms School of Business. By applying to one of the honors programs, YU students are eligible to receive up to $25,000 in scholarships per year for up to four years on YU’s New York campuses.
Zharnest told the YU Observer that the change will be a “long-term adjustment” to the structure of the honors scholarship, though admissions will “continue to monitor” the impact of this change and respond to the needs of students as well as the “evolving higher education landscape.”
Zharnest added that this change applies to applications for the four cohorts of the Honors Leadership Society and their scholarships as well. If admitted to the Honors Leadership Society, those students receive the scholarship that matches the honors scholarship amount they were awarded during admissions, but the scholarships from the Leadership Society replace the up to $25,000 honors scholarship.
In order to apply to the Honors Leadership Society, students must submit an additional application. They may indicate on their application to the honors program that they are interested in applying to the Honors Leadership Society, or a staff member from one of the four cohorts may reach out to students after they are accepted into one of the three honors programs.
“Our goal is to ensure that our scholarship offerings remain competitive, mission-aligned, and sustainable. If future adjustments are warranted, they will be made thoughtfully and with the best interests of our students and the university community in mind,” Zharnest said. “Ultimately, these changes are designed to attract high-caliber students who are eager to immerse themselves in both the intellectual and communal life of the university.”
Previously, students interested in applying to the YU honors programs were able to apply during multiple rounds of the application cycle, including regular decision, and even if they transferred to YU during their year in Israel (students were not previously able to apply to the honors program if transferring from another college).
Additionally, students were also eligible to transfer into the honors program after already beginning their studies at YU, given that they had a 3.85 GPA and submitted a complete application, though those who did were not eligible to retroactively receive scholarship money. Zharnest clarified for the YU Observer that this process will remain in effect, and YU will continue to accept honors applications from current students who wish to transfer into the program after beginning their studies on the New York campus (but will not retroactively award them scholarship money).
“I believe honors is an incredible program that I have learned a lot in and has enriched my time at YU,” Leora Schramm (SCW ‘26), a current honors student who applied to the program regular decision, told the YU Observer. “Many students are not able to apply ED due to financial reasons (where they can’t commit to a school without knowing their financial aid package) or other personal reasons.”
“I personally would not have applied to honors if I was required to apply ED as well,” she said.
Naomi Rose (SCW ‘25) transferred into the honors program after already completing her freshman year at YU, and therefore, said that although she was accepted into the program, was ineligible for the scholarship money. She told the YU Observer she is “not surprised” that YU made this change.
“I am honestly pretty anti the fact that they are getting rid of applying to honors if it’s not ED,” she said. “I think that they should continue to allow people to transfer into honors.”
“Personally, I believe that honors is beneficial even without the scholarship money,” Rose said, highlighting that honors students used to attend unique cultural experiences in New York, an aspect of the program that was removed at the beginning of this academic year. She said that these experiences as well as the requirement to write an honors thesis during an honors student’s last year at YU have been meaningful and beneficial for her.
Zharnest told the YU Observer that these changes were made with the recognition that students transfer to YU after beginning their studies elsewhere, including after spending a year or more in Israel.
“While we always welcome strong transfer applicants, these changes reflect a broader institutional priority to build a committed, mission-aligned student body from the outset of the college journey,” he said. “Our goal is not to exclude strong candidates but to encourage earlier engagement with YU as the premier destination for students seeking a world-class education grounded in Torah values.”
He added, “We believe that students who choose YU from the start will benefit most fully from the holistic academic, religious and leadership opportunities we offer.”
Breindy Berger (SCW ‘26) applied to the honors program during the regular decision cycle, but did not take the spot YU offered her. “When I reconsidered my decision in shana baaretz (year in Israel), as I expect many people do, the process was made easier by the fact that YU kindly held my scholarship for me,” she told the YU Observer.
Now, Berger is a part of the honors program. “My ability to apply to the honors program at the regular decision deadline empowered me to make the decision to come to YU in my own time, and genuinely consider options that I may not have seriously considered if honors only accepted early decision applicants.”
Eden Lippe (SCW ‘25) told the YU Observer that she thinks this change is “unfortunate.” Lippe was meant to attend the Fashion Institute of Technology, but transferred into YU during her year in Israel, and back then, did not know about the honors program. She then applied and was accepted into the honors program after her first year of studies on YU’s New York campus.
“It takes the opportunity away from people to be engaged with Stern in a more academic, serious way,” she said of this change. “It’s a little unfortunate.”
YU’s recent growth in enrollment has played a factor in the decision to make this change, Zharnest said, so that YU can continue managing its resources “responsibly.”
“As YU continues to attract a larger and increasingly competitive applicant pool, we’ve taken the opportunity to reassess our scholarship strategy to ensure it remains sustainable, mission-driven and aligned with our long-term goals,” he said. “By refining the honors scholarship process, we’re able to both maintain the strength of our incoming classes and invest more intentionally in students who demonstrate early commitment to YU and strong potential for leadership and academic excellence.”
Editor’s Note: The author of this article is a member of the S. Daniel Abraham Honors Program at Stern College for Women. This article was updated on April 22 to include additional statements from Zharnest and Lippe’s quotes.
Photo Caption: YU’s Wilf campus
Photo Credit: Yeshiva University