SF Honors News: April 1, 2025
This one's no joke!
Our second week back from Spring Break, and we’re starting to really pick up steam. While we’re all gearing up for the last part of the semester, it also means getting ready for graduation, registration, and the summer! In this installment of Honors News, I’m excited to recognize those of you who came out on Saturday to support the Honors Program at Family Preview Day as well as keep us working toward building strong schedules for the summer and fall.
In this edition:
Thank you, Family Preview Day Volunteers!
Register for Honors Classes Today
How do I Know What to Take?
Spotlight on Honors Classes: Honors College Chemistry 1
Don’t Wait, Submit Your Honors Points Today
Thank you, Family Preview Day Volunteers!
This past Saturday, more than 500 families visited SF to explore how they can make the most out of their time with us in the coming semesters. Thanks to the hard work of several Honors Program members, many of these visiting students got to learn about what our community has to offer. A huge thanks goes out to Gianna Rivera, Andres Binasco, Gabriela Pardi, Ariana Vializ, Veda Rajesh, Lila Sher, and Nathan Dos Santos Reis who dedicated time to tabling on behalf of the program and talking with countless students and their families! In addition, Lea Benibri, Sophia Calderon, Pat Muñoz, Lila Sher, Dan Topaj, Makaila Herring, and Nathan Dos Santos Reis participated in two panels highlighting student experiences in the Honors Program and their impacts outside of the classroom—often answering difficult question from families about how to get involved, how to stay successful, and what to expect at SF. Thank you, everyone, who worked so hard to help our prospective students feel welcome!
Register for Honors Classes Today
Once you have selected your courses for the coming term, including your honors courses, you can request Honors courses be added to your schedule using the Honors Registration Request. In fact, you don’t need to wait until your registration date to do this—you can request Honors classes right now. Note that you don’t need to include your whole schedule, just your Honors classes.
How Can I Register?
As an SF Honors Student, you have access both Honors and non-Honors courses. The process for registration is a little different, however, depending on which classes you plan to take:
Non-Honors Classes: Log into eSantaFe , then navigate to “Classes” and “Register for Classes.” Select the sections you want and register for them. It’s that easy!
Honors Classes: Registering for Honors classes requires that you submit an Honors Registration Request. Select all of the classes you would like for the coming semester and we’ll get you registered the next time we process requests.
Clear Your Registration Holds
While you’re logging into eSantaFe and planning ahead, take a moment to check in “My Status” and clear any registration holds. Whether it’s a financial obligation, the Registration Agreement, or just a late library book, there are a number of holds that can prevent you from registering for classes when your time comes. Take care of these ahead of time to make sure you can get registered right away when Advanced Registration starts.
Plan the Perfect Schedule
Scheduling requirements are different for each student, but there are some general guidelines, however, that are helpful as you build your schedule for the summer and fall. Follow these brief steps to start building a strong plan.
Maintain your honors status: To remain in the Honors Program, you will need to register for at least 3 credits of Honors coursework for the upcoming semester, or earn 30 Honors points. Click here for a listing of honors courses to be offered this coming semester.
Maintain progress toward your degree and/or transfer: You can review your progress toward earning your degree, as well as any courses required or suggested for transfer by reviewing your Degree Audit in eSantaFe. If you have any questions about degree or transfer requirements, take a minute to connect with the Academic Advisement Center.
Balance your time: Santa Fe expects that you will invest 2 - 3 hours per week for each credit hour that you register. This means that, for example, a full-time, 12 credit, schedule equates to a roughly 24- to 36-hour per week commitment.
How do I Know What to Take?
We’re all more successful when we know why we’re doing what we’re doing, and this semester is a perfect time to build or refine your academic plan. Whether you are working on your first plan of study, created yours with me last semester, or got your start with Professor Hom, now is a great time to connect with an advisor to build a plan. Just remember that you want to take at least one Honors class per semester.
Meet with your Advisor in the SF Academic Advisement Center
Your advisor in the AAC is the expert in preparing for graduation from SF and transfer to a university and they are dedicated to supporting your education and career goals. Make an appointment to put together your academic plan now, before it’s time to register. You can learn more about the AAC through the SF Advisement website, or set up an appointment to meet with your advisor.
Meet with a UF advisor in the UF@SF Center
If you are planning to transfer to UF in the future, now is also an excellent time to plan on meeting with an advisor from your intended plan of study. Contact the UF@SF Center for information on when UF advisors will be visiting to meet with prospective transfer students.
Honors Schedule: Summer and Fall 2025
Remember that, when planning your schedule you’ll want to make room for at least one Honors class each semester. To help you put together that plan, we’ve got the schedule of classes for Fall 2025. Just remember that you’ll need to fill out an Honors Registration Request for any Honors class you plan to take.
You can see the full schedule right here on the Honors Hub.
Spotlight on Honors Classes
What does it mean for a class to be Honors? What are you signing up for when you select the Honors version of a class? From now until the beginning of Fall, we’re going to highlight some of the classes you can sign up for, to give you an idea of what to expect. This week, we’re kicking things off with Honors Social Psychology.
Honors College Chemistry 1
Course Numbers: CHM2045, Section 0H1 and CHM2045L, Section 0H1
Department: Natural Sciences
Schedule: Lecture: Monday and Wednesday, 11:30am - 12:45pm
Lab: Wednesday 1:00pm-3:45pm
My name is David Pfahler, and I teach the first semester of college chemistry. I love teaching chemistry because I am passionate about understanding how the universe around us works. Once we understand how it works, we can apply that knowledge to solving the resource challenges our society faces, and therefore we can make the world a better place. In the honors section of this course, we will cover the same content as a regular chemistry course, with a little more space to dig deeper into discussion. The real difference will be in the lab portion. You and a lab partner will work together on a semester long design project. We will use information from our lab experiments and apply it to a rocket launch project. This project will give a much deeper understanding of the process by which science is used to solve real world problems. At the end of the semester, your team will build your design and compete it against other teams so you can directly observe how well you solved the challenge. This project is a way to immediately apply what you are learning in a fun, low-key setting while also building hands-on skills that transfer directly to the real world. Let’s go make the world a better place together!
David Pfahler, PhD
Associate Professor, Chemistry
Natural Sciences
Don’t Wait, Submit Your Honors Points Today
This semester, you’ve been working hard in your Honors classes, your clubs, internships, volunteer positions, and in other opportunities to get the most out of your time today. Make sure you get the recognition you deserve—and your Honors Points—by recording these involvements in the Honors Program Canvas. Just log into Canvas, select the Honors Program, and click the “Honors Points” button to get started.
Have questions? Reach out to the Honors Program or come by and meet with a Navigator to get started on recording this semester’s points!