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 after their high school graduation, excluding summer. For the purposes of admission and scholarship consideration, applicants will be evaluated as "first-time freshmen" if the students' first matriculation at a college or university during a long semester after graduating from high school will occur at UT Dallas. Applicants are still considered as "first-time freshmen" if they earn college credit before high school graduation. If an applicant has earned college credit during a long semester 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" catalog.utdallas.edu/2015/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 first-time freshmen 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.
Admission Criteria
Automatic Admission
In accordance with Section 51.803 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, and, in accordance with Section 28.025 of the Texas Education Code, successfully complete the Recommended or Distinguished Program or earn a Distinguished Level of Achievement, as applicable. 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 or complete developmental coursework to remove any deficiencies in their readiness to successfully complete college-level work prior to University graduation.
Assured Admission Criteria
Most freshman applicants who are admitted to the University have met the following admission criteria:
- Graduate in good standing from an accredited high school
- Complete the Recommended or Distinguished Program or earn a Distinguished Level of Achievement, as applicable, with the following curriculum:
- English language arts (4 credits)
- Mathematics (4 credits, including credit in Algebra II)
- Science (4 credits)
- Social Sciences (3 credits)
- Foreign Language (2 credits in a single language other than English)
- Fine Arts (1 credit in music, art, or drama); and,
- Completion of at least one endorsement
- Have academic records meeting one of the following:
- A SAT score of 1200 (combined math and critical reading) or higher
or - A composite ACT score of 26 or greater
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 the minimum 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 Assured 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 credit 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, and limited to up to three submitted through the application process)
- Successful completion of a high school curriculum that includes:
- Four credits of English Language Arts, including at least one credit of writing skills
- Two credits of a single language other than English (three credits recommended)
- Four credits of Mathematics, including Algebra II and including a course dealing with trigonometry, such as pre-calculus
- Four credits of Science
- Three credits of Social Sciences, not including work-study (four credits recommended)
- One credit of Fine Arts
In addition to current University requirements for admission, applicants must also have either:
- successfully completed the curriculum requirements for the Recommended or Distinguished Program or earn a Distinguished Level of Achievement or its equivalent, or
- satisfied ACT's College Readiness Benchmark assessment or College Board's SAT Benchmark assessment.
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.