Over three dozen professors and 240 students are fulfilling the longtime dream of starting an honors program at UC Davis. Their pioneering vision is unconventional. Students qualified for the Davis Honors Challenge program not because of high SAT scores or grades but by their ability to persuade the honors committee that they wanted something more than the typical college experience, says Ken Verosub, professor of geology and director of the program. Nearly 4,000 invitations went out to all new first-year students; sophomores were also widely solicited. Applicants were asked to write two short essays, one about their expectations for an honors program and the other about how they could contribute to a collaborative environment. Those chosen now participate mostly in special discussion sections connected with larger classes. Their opportunities will expand this winter when honors seminars are launched. "This program is attempting to respond to criticisms that we are not preparing our students properly for the modern workplace," says Versosub. "We also aren't training people to be flexible and able to work in teams in a non-competitive environment."