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Admission Standards

Undergraduate Admission

You're more than your grades

We look for students who demonstrate a passion for diverse learning. We consider your grades and test scores, but we’re also interested in the less quantifiable parts of your application. Have you taken on new challenges outside the classroom? Have you contributed to your school and your community? If so, we're excited to read your application.

Admission Standards

  • Academic achievement

    We like to see you’ve challenged yourself and achieved success in subjects like English, math, social studies, science and foreign languages. The best applicants can show they’ve surpassed the bare minimum and taken advantage of their academic opportunities. That’s what you’ll be expected to do here at DU, and we want to see that you have the drive and ability to succeed at the highest levels.
    We don’t have specific subject requirements, but we recommend using the following guidelines:

    • 4 years of English
    • 3-4 years of mathematics (Calculus is recommended for students interested in Engineering, Computer Science, or Business)
    • 3-4 years of science with at least 2 in a lab setting
    • 3-4 years of social studies
    • 3-4 years of foreign language education
  • Grade Point Average

    We don't have a minimum GPA, but here are some stats to give you an idea of what we’re looking for:

    • Average GPA for students accepted for Fall 2018: 3.70
    • Middle 50%: From 3.47 to 4.0.
    • We’ll accept a weighted GPA if your school offers that option.
  • Standardized test scores

    Although academic performance in high school is the most important factor in our admission process, we also factor in your SAT or ACT scores. Here’s what we’ll need to see:

    • Either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT
    • We’re happy to accept scores on the writing portions of either test, but they won’t be used in admission decisions.
    • We don’t require SAT subject tests.
    • If you’ve taken either test more than once, we’ll combine the best scores from the individual sections of each test to create an ideal “superscore.”

    Some statistics for reference:

    • Average combined SAT score for students accepted for Fall 2018: 1265. Middle 50%: 1170-1370.
    • Average ACT score for students accepted for Fall 2018: 28. Middle 50%: 26-31.
  • Whole person assessment

    We also want to know who you are outside the classroom. Our students are diversely talented and find ways to contribute outside of academia, whether it’s through sports, the arts, community service or student government. We want to know you’ll do more than just attend your classes. We want you getting involved across campus and in the community.

    We place great value on your essays and letters of recommendation, as well as your record of extracurricular activities. This helps us learn how you can make a difference during your time at DU.

    Please note: Even with our generous financial aid program, we aren’t always able to provide sufficient funding for students in the bottom quarter of our applicant pool. We are “need-aware” and consider the ability of a family to afford DU when finalizing admission decisions for students with less competitive academic records.    

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Undergraduate Admission

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