Admissions

Admission Criteria for First-Time Entering Freshmen 2010

You are a first-time entering freshman if you:

  • Graduated from an accredited high school; or have received a GED, and your high school class will have graduated by the time you plan to enter OU, or are home-schooled.1
  • Have completed fewer than seven semester hours of college-level work after graduating from high school.

If you want to apply for concurrent high school enrollment (enrollment in a course or courses at OU while still in high school), please see Concurrent High School Enrollment information.

If you have completed seven or more semester hours of college-level work at another accredited college or university after graduating from high school, please see Transfer Admission information.

If you are an international student, your admission requirements are the same as for domestic freshmen and transfer students; however, there are other steps and deadlines involved that you will find in the Information for Prospective Students from Abroad.

Application Deadlines

If you plan to live on campus or seek financial aid, early enrollment and scholarships, you should submit your application as soon as possible at the beginning of your senior year.

Applications must be RECEIVED in the Office of Admissions by the dates below. A $40 non-refundable application fee is required of all applicants.

April 1 -- fall semester or summer session

November 1 -- spring semester

Automatic Admission Criteria1

Resident

An unweighted cumulative
grade point average
of at least a 3.00
(on a 4.00 scale)
and
Rank in the top 25%
of your high school
graduating class		ORAn ACT score  of at least 243
and
An unweighted cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale)2
OR
An ACT score of at least 243
and
Rank in the top 50% of your high school graduating class2		ORAn SAT score of at least 10903
and
An unweighted cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale)2
OR
An SAT score of at least 10903
and
Rank in the top 50% of your high school graduating class2

Non-Resident

Unweighted cumulative
grade point average
of at least a 3.50
(on a 4.00 scale)
and
Rank in the top 25%
of your high school graduating class		ORAn ACT score of at least 263
and
An unweighted cumulative
grade point average
of at least a 3.00
(on a 4.00 scale)2
OR
An ACT score of at least 263
and
Rank in the top 50%
of your high school graduating class2		OR    An SAT score of at least 11703
and
An unweighted cumulative
grade point average
of at least a 3.00
(on a 4.00 scale)2
OR
An SAT score of at least 11703
and
Rank in top 50%
of your high school graduating class2

High School Curricular Core Requirements for First-time Freshman

4 units of English
taken from grammar, composition and literature only

3 units of college prep math (4 recommended)
Taken from algebra I, algebra II, geometry, trigonometry, math analysis, calculus, or Advanced Placement (AP) Statistics

3 units of laboratory science
(does not include general science, with or without a lab) one year of principles of technology may substitute for one of the lab science courses, provided that the student also completes a traditional lab science course		3 units of history and citizenship
to include one unit of American history and two additional units from the subjects of history, economics, geography, government, non-western culture

2 additional units
from any of the subjects previously listed or computer science or foreign language. Two years of the same foreign language will satisfy the University's foreign language general education requirement. Any AP course not already used to satisfy the curricular units mentioned previously may be used to satisfy the two additional units except AP courses in Studio Art or International English

Coursework in music, art, drama or speech is also recommended.

In order to best prepare students for college work, OU strongly recommends four (4) units of college prep math and three (3) units oflaboratory science.

Wait List Criteria4

Applicants who do not meet the requirements for automatic admission, but do meet the requirements listed below, will be placed on a wait list and notified of their status. Applicants on the wait list will be admitted on a space available basis, with preference given to the most academically qualified applicants in the pool.

Please note that applicants qualifying for the wait list based on core curriculum GPA and test scores may be denied early rather than held on the wait list indefinitely if application and admission numbers indicate that there will be no space available for these applicants in the freshman class.

Resident and Non-Resident

Applicants who do not meet the requirements for automatic admission, but do meet the requirements listed below, will be placed on a wait list and notified of their status. Applicants on the wait list will be admitted on a space available basis, with preference given to the most academically qualified applicants in the pool.

Please note that applicants qualifying for the wait list based on core curriculum GPA and test scores may be denied early rather than held on the wait list indefinitely if application and admission numbers indicate that there will be no space available for these applicants in the freshman class.

An ACT score of at least 245
OR
An SAT score of at least 10905		ORAn unweighted cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.00 (on a 4.00 scale)
and
Rank in the top 30% of your high school graduating class		ORA cumulative grade point average of at least a 3.00 on the State Regents' required high school core curriculum6
and
An ACT score of at least 22
OR
An SAT score of at least 1020

1 Home-educated applicants, GED recipients, and graduates from unaccredited high schools must qualify for admission based on criteria described in columns 2 and 3 above. In most cases, a GED recipient's high school class must have graduated by the time he or she plans to enter OU.

2 Grade point average and, in some cases, class rank from unaccredited high schools or home school records, and a passing score on the GED will be used to determine a performance minimum in conjunction with the test score requirement for automatic admission, but will not be used as the sole basis for meeting performance admission requirements to the University of Oklahoma.

3 The optional writing section is not required for ACT. OU will only consider the math and critical reading sections on the SAT and not the writing portion.

4 All wait-listed applicants must meet the high school curricular core requirements listed above.

5 With less than the high school performance minimums required for automatic admission

6 This grade point average is computed on a 4.00 scale with a standard weighting (1.00) given only to college-bound Advanced Placement courses and International Baccalaureate higher level courses. Applicants qualifying for the wait list based on core admission requirements may be denied early rather than held on the wait list indefinitely if application and admission numbers indicate that there will be no space available for these applicants in the freshman class. NOTE: The optional writing section is not required for ACT. OU will only consider the math and critical reading sections on the SAT and not the writing portion.

What if I am on the Wait List?

Our admission requirements serve two purposes. First, we admit only the number of students that OU has the capacity to teach and serve effectively. Second, the standards ensure that the students we admit are prepared to excel in our highly competitive academic environment. Although we believe that students on the wait list have the ability to be successful at OU, we must consider our capacity issues before making a decision on their admission. Therefore, applicants on the wait list will be admitted on a space-available basis, with preference given to the most academically qualified applicants in the pool. After monitoring our enrollment capacity and projections closely, we will notify wait-listed students as soon as possible when admission decisions are made. We understand that the "wait" may be difficult for many students and their parents. Although we may make wait list decisions as early as May, it should not be surprising if wait list decisions are not finalized until early July. The best opportunity for any of our wait-listed applicants to gain admission is to increase their GPA, class rank and test scores to an automatic qualifying level.

All students on the wait list are strongly encouraged to make alternate plans, which may include transferring to the University of Oklahoma for a future semester. Students may transfer to OU after taking 24 non-remedial semester hours at another accredited college or university and achieving the required grade point average listed in Transferring to the University of Oklahoma.

The University of Oklahoma, with the approval of the Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education, may alter admission requirements at any time, when it is in the best interest of the University and our students to do so.

Residency Classification

Depending on information provided in your application, you will be classified either as a resident or a non-resident. Students who claim resident status may be required to submit paperwork that confirms residency. If you are a non-resident member of the armed forces stationed in Oklahoma or a non-resident military dependent of Oklahoma-based personnel, you are eligible to pay in-state fees through a non-resident tuition waiver. If you have questions about residency or your classification, go to Resident Tuition Regulations or call the Office of Admissions at 405-325-2252.