Requirements for New High School Students

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Application Deadlines

Fall Deadline:

Applications are considered until the final deadline of August 1st

 

Spring Deadline:

January 15th

High School Preparation Requirements*

All students are required to submit official high school transcripts showing completion or progress toward completion of a minimum of the following courses:

1.  ENGLISH - Four years, including writing, literature, and speech. Within the writing component, students may elect work in composition, creative writing, journalism, or research writing. Literature may include both American and world literatures; speech may include both public speaking and debate.
2. MATHEMATICS - Three years consisting of two years of algebra, one of which must be intermediate or advanced algebra, and one year of geometry. NOTE: Beginning with students who apply for Fall 2015 admission, four years of math will be required for all applicants.
3. SCIENCE - Three years, including at least one course each in the biological and physical sciences, and all three units to incorporate significant laboratory experience. The biological and physical science requirements would most commonly be met by courses in biology, chemistry, and physics. Other courses could include advanced biology, human anatomy and physiology, botany, zoology, geology, and advanced chemistry and physics.
4. SOCIAL STUDIES - Three years, including one year each of geography and American history. Geography need not always be taught as a full year course, and may in fact be incorporated in a significant way into other studies; transcripts should indicate specifically which courses meet the geography requirement.
5. WORLD LANGUAGE - Two years of a single second language.
6. ARTS - One year in the visual or performing arts including instruction in the history and critical interpretation of the art form. Courses in the arts should offer students the opportunity to experience the arts directly as creators/performers and as critical, informed observers.

Additional study in mathematics and science is highly recommended.

* Students who graduated from high school before 1987 are not expected to meet these requirements.

Students should consult their college/program policies for more specific requirements.

In exceptional cases, UMD admits students deficient in these requirements with the expectation that any deficiencies will be made up before 60 credits, including transfer credits, are earned.  Any student admitted as an exception to this policy will be unable to graduate until the requirement is fulfilled. Courses that can be used to fulfill deficiencies are listed here.

Students who have completed any college coursework including PSEO and College in the Schools outside of the University of Minnesota system are required to submit official college transcripts.

College Preparatory Examinations

All new entering students are required to submit scores from either the ACT or SAT exams.

Admission Criteria

Admission decisions are based upon overall assessment of each student’s academic preparation and performance. Primary factors include completion of high school preparation requirements, high school grade point average, and ACT/SAT scores