Freshman Application Checklist and Timeline

We look at several pieces of information to make an admission decision. Be sure to use this application checklist to ensure your application is complete. Important deadline alert: The priority deadline for fall 2010 freshman applications is December 15, 2009.

• Completed 2010-11 Application for Admission.
  
  
• Official high school transcript(s)
  
  
• ACT or SAT scores, including writing test results (sent directly from the testing agency).
  Specify the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (ACT code 2156 and SAT code 6874), and your scores will be sent to us automatically.
  
  
• $55 application fee. (If you are applying for spring 2010, the fee is $45. Application fee waivers are available for eligible students. Learn more.)

Also,

If you take courses at a college while in high school, even if no credit is earned, submit official transcripts (with an official signature or seal, or printed on security paper) from all colleges or universities attended. Each transcript must have been issued within the last year. We cannot accept faxed or photocopied transcripts.

If you did not graduate from high school but earned a GED (or other high school equivalency), submit official test scores.

If you attended or graduated from a secondary school in another country, submit official transcripts along with official English translations and any test results required to enter a university in that country.

If English is not your native language and if your ACT English and/or reading scores are 17 or lower (or SAT critical reading/verbal score is 420 or lower), you may be asked to submit scores from the Michigan English Language Assessment Battery (MELAB) or Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL). Contact the Office of Admissions for details.

If any additional information is required, we will request it as needed.

After You Apply

Within two weeks of submitting an application, students will receive an acknowledgement that their application was received.

Within four weeks, students will be notified if any items are missing (transcripts, application fee, etc.). Missing items will also be listed in the online Application Tracker.

When the application is complete, students will receive an email indicating that the application is complete and when they will receive a decision. Students with complete applications will also receive a letter from University President Robert Bruininks inviting them to consider the University of Minnesota's other campuses (Crookston, Duluth, Morris, and Rochester).

Decision Timeline

The priority deadline to submit a complete application is December 15, 2009. We will mail decisions on a rolling basis. Some students may receive decisions as early as December, and all students who complete their applications by December 15 will receive an admission decision by the end of February. We take great care in making an individual, overall assessment of each application and with approximately 30,000 students applying for freshman admission, the review of applications takes time to complete. Some admission decisions will be made as early as December, but most will be made at the end of February, after all applications submitted by the December 15 priority deadline are reviewed.

Applications that are postmarked or become complete after December 15 are considered on a space-available basis beginning in March, after all applications submitted by the priority deadline have been considered.

Admission decisions

By the end of February, students who submit a complete application by the December 15 priority deadline will receive one of the following decisions.

• Admit-The student has been admitted to the University of Minnesota.
• Waitlist-The student's application has been placed on a waitlist. Although we have determined that the applicant is academically prepared to succeed at the University of Minnesota, we must make certain that we do not exceed the number of spaces available in each of the freshman-admitting colleges. Waitlisted applicants will receive an update on the status of their applications by April 15. If we determine that spaces remain available, the overall strongest applicants will be admitted from the waitlist.
• Deny-We are not able to offer freshman admission. Students who are denied admission are encouraged to apply for transfer admission for a future semester. Transfer admission is also competitive so it is important that students achieve a strong academic record at another college or university.