Entering Freshmen

The curriculum and the expectations of student performance at The University of Texas at Dallas assume that entering freshman students have successfully completed a full college-track high-school curriculum and have demonstrated strong general verbal/quantitative aptitudes as measured on national standardized test.

Automatic Admissions:

In accordance 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 and be considered first time freshman. 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.

Reviewed Admissions:

Applications from all students not graduating from Texas high schools in the top 10% of their class, as specified above, will be reviewed. Applicants must have graduated from an accredited high school or satisfied equal 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 of courses taken and their difficulty (honors, AP, IB, etc);

SAT-I or ACT scores;

record of achievements/honors/awards;

special accomplishments/work/service both in and out of school;

essays (view topics);

special circumstances that put academic achievements in context;

recommendations (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 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.

The review process gives primary consideration to the applicant's scores on standardized tests and high school record although no specific class rank, test score, or other qualification by itself assures admission except as described above under Automatic Admissions. The decision for each applicant will be to approve admission or to deny admission.

The achievement levels of students admitted to UT-Dallas are illustrated by the following statistical profile of the entering freshman class of Fall 2004.

74% of students were in the top 25% of their high school graduating class;

39% were in the top 10% of their class;

50% of students scored between 1140 and 1340 on the SAT-I;

Transfer Freshmen

Applicants to U. T. Dallas who have previously taken courses at one or more other accredited institutions of higher education and who are classified as freshmen or sophomores will be reviewed using the same criteria described above for first-time freshmen. In addition, freshman applicants must have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.00, on a 4.00 scale, for all post-secondary academic course work.