Undergraduate Admission
First Time Freshman Admissions
A "first-time freshman" is an applicant to UT Dallas, who has not enrolled in another institution of higher education preceding their high school graduation. Applicants are still considered "first-time freshmen" if they earn college credit before high school graduation. If an applicant has earned college credit after high school graduation, he or she is not considered a "first-time freshman" and should consult admission requirements for a transfer student (see "Transfer Admission Criteria" at catalog.utdallas.edu/2013/undergraduate/admission/transfer-student-admissions#criteria).
The University's policy is to admit applicants who are most able to benefit from and contribute to the University's academic and research mission. The high academic expectations and complex educational curricula at UT Dallas require that entering freshmen students have successfully completed a full college-track high school curriculum and have demonstrated strong general verbal and quantitative aptitudes as measured on national standardized tests.
Automatic Admission
In accord with Chapter 51 of the Texas Education Code, students are automatically admitted to the University as first-time freshmen if they graduate in the top 10% of their class from an accredited Texas high school. Applicants must have graduated from high school during one of the two school years preceding the academic year for which they seek admission as first-time freshmen and have not attempted any higher education credits since graduation from high school. Applicants admitted because they are in the top 10% of their high school class may be required to complete additional preparatory work before enrolling in the University. They may also be required to remove any deficiencies in their high school coursework before graduating from the University.
Admission Criteria
Most freshman applicants admitted to the University have qualifications that meet the following criteria:
- Graduate of an accredited high school
- Completion of the full Texas recommended college-track high school curriculum
- An SAT score of 1200 (combined math and critical reading) or higher
or A composite ACT score of 26 or greater
or A class rank in the top 15% of the high school class
Students may be required to complete additional preparatory work before enrolling in the University to remove any deficiencies in their high school coursework before graduating from the University.
Entering freshmen should have successfully completed a full, college-track high school curriculum, including language arts (4 units), mathematics (4 units), science (4 units of laboratory science), social sciences (4 units), foreign language (2 units in a single foreign language), and fine arts (1 unit in music, art, or drama).
Students from private schools and those outside the state of Texas will be considered for admission based on the same academic benchmarks listed above and a comparable high school curriculum.
Children of Public Servants Killed or Fatally Injured in the Line of Duty
Children of public servants designated by statute are assured freshman admission if they meet University requirements for high school or prior college-level grade point average and standardized test scores. This policy is in accordance with Section 51.803 of the Texas Education Code.
Reviewed Admission
All applications that do not meet the Admission Criteria will be reviewed. Applicants must have graduated from an accredited high school or satisfied the equivalent requirements, and should have completed the high school unit requirements listed below (see item 9). Admission decisions are based on the applicant's composite achievement profile, including:
- High school class rank
- Strength of academic preparation including the number and complexity of courses taken (Honors, AP, IB, etc.)
- SAT-I or ACT scores
- Record of achievements, honors, and awards
- Special accomplishments, work, and community service, both in and out of school
- Essays
- Special circumstances that put academic achievements in context
- Recommendations (suggested but not required)
- Successful completion of a high school curriculum that includes:
- Four units of Language Arts, including at least one unit of writing skills
- Two units of a single foreign language (three units recommended)
- Three and one-half units of Mathematics beginning with Algebra I or higher and including a course dealing with trigonometry, such as pre-calculus (four units recommended)
- Three units of laboratory science, not including Physical Science
- Three units of Social Sciences, not including work-study (four units recommended)
- One-half unit of Fine Arts (one unit recommended)
- One and one-half units of General Education Electives (two and one-half units recommended)
- The University also recommends one unit of Computer Science, one-half unit of Health, and one and one-half units of Physical Education
- For Texas residents, consideration may be given to socioeconomic and geographic information.
In addition to current University requirements for admission, applicants must also have either:
- Successfully completed the curriculum requirements for the recommended or advanced high school program or its equivalent, or
- satisfied ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT assessment applicable to the applicant or earned on the SAT assessment a score of at least 1500 out of 2400 or the equivalent
The above requirement may be satisfied if the applicant's official high school transcript or diploma states that the applicant completed the portion of the recommended or advanced curriculum or its equivalent that was available to the applicant, but was unable to complete the remainder of the curriculum solely because courses necessary to complete the remainder were unavailable to the applicant at the appropriate times in the applicant's high school career as a result of course scheduling, lack of enrollment capacity, or another cause not within the applicant's control.