ADMISSION
General Information Undergraduate Admission Requirements Freshman and Transfer Admission International Student Admission Readmission Early Admission Junior Scholars Program Flexible Admission Program Academic Fresh Start Program Texas Academic Skills Program Undergraduate Admission Office Web Site : http://www.utep.edu/admit		Freshman and Transfer Admission The following sections on freshman and transfer admission apply to citizens and permanent residents of the United States. International students should refer to the section on INTERNATIONAL STUDENT ADMISSION for their admission requirements. Freshmen Admission First-time freshmen applicants may qualify for automatic admission, may be subject to review, or, in certain cases, may qualify for provisional admission. Documents Required: Application; official SAT, ACT, GED, TOEFL, or PAA scores, as appropriate; final, official high school transcript indicating adequate high school preparation, rank, and graduation date. The University welcomes applications from individuals who are graduates of accredited high schools or their equivalents and who have the academic preparation necessary to pursue a baccalaureate degree. Admission of students who have never attended another college or university is based on high school academic preparation, final high school rank, and Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT), American College Test (ACT), Test of General Educational Development (GED), Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), or Prueba de Aptitud Academica (PAA) scores. For early notification of acceptance, an applicant should have verification of test scores, expected date of graduation, and a transcript sent directly from the high school to the Admissions Office. After graduation, a final, official transcript must be submitted. Categories of Freshman Admission Category I: Freshmen who rank in the top half of their class or who score a minimum of 920 on the SAT or a 20 composite on the ACT are automatically admitted to UTEP upon application and submission of the appropriate admission documents. This policy includes admission of graduates of an accredited Texas high school who graduated in the top 25% of their high school class, as described in Chapter 51 of the Texas Education Code. Category II: Freshman applicants who are residents of Texas and who do not qualify under Category I are eligible for participation in the START Program described below. Category III: Freshmen applicants who do not meet the requirements in Category I or II are subject to individual review, as outlined in the section below on REVIEWED ADMISSIONS. Freshmen START Program Residents of Texas who do not meet the requirements for Category I admission are eligible for provisional admission through the University's START Program. START students must attend Orientation, must be advised by the Academic Advising Center, must select their classes from a list of prescribed university courses, and must take a free, non-credit study skills course. During the first semester at UTEP, a START student must complete at least 9 semester hours with a minimum grade of C in each course selected from at least two of the following areas: English, Mathematics, Natural Science, Foreign Language, or Liberal Arts (Anthropology, Art, Communication, History, Music, Psychology, Sociology, or Theatre Arts). A minimum cumulative grade point average of 2.0 must also be maintained. Once these requirements have been met, the student becomes fully admitted to the University and may change majors. If the student does not clear provisional admission during the first semester but has at least a 1.5 overall GPA, an additional START semester will be allowed to clear the conditions of admission. Students who do not satisfy the conditions of their provisional admission have two options if they wish to re-enroll at UTEP: apply for readmission and reinstatement by the Dean of Liberal Arts after at least 2 calendar years have elapsed since the end of the last period of attendance, or apply for readmission after attending another college or university where a minimum of 12 semester hours of college-level work with grades of "C" or better in each course were earned while a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA was maintained. Under extenuating circumstances, an ineligible START student may petition for reinstatement through the Academic Advising Center. Freshman Testing Requirements Graduates of U.S. High Schools: All first-time freshmen who graduated from high school within the past five years are required to take the SAT or ACT for admission. Graduates of High Schools Outside the U.S.: Graduates of high schools outside the United States must demonstrate an adequate proficiency in English that will enable them to pursue university-level work successfully. The SAT or ACT must be taken by applicants whose high school education was in English. An SAT total of 920 or higher, with a minimum of 400 on the Verbal, is required. Students taking the ACT must score 20 or higher on the Composite, with a minimum of 21 on the English section. The TOEFL must be taken by applicants whose high school education was not in English; a minimum score of 500 is required. The PAA should be taken by applicants whose high school education was in Spanish and who are not proficient enough in English to take the TOEFL; a minimum score of 1,000 is required. Applicants admitted on the basis of PAA scores enroll as Inter-American Science and Humanities Program majors and are limited to regular university courses taught in Spanish and to ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) courses. Once ESOL 5110 has been completed with a grade of "C" or better, the student may change majors. High School Graduation More than Five Years Ago: Freshmen who graduated from U.S. high schools over five years ago are not required to take an admissions test. TOEFL scores of 500 or higher or PAA scores of 1,000 or higher may be required of applicants whose high school education was in a language other than English. High School Equivalency Examination (GED): Applicants who received a high school equivalency certificate are eligible for admission if they have an average standard score of 45 or higher on the GED. A minimum SAT score of 920 or a minimum ACT score of 20 is required of applicants whose high school class would have graduated within the past 5 years and who pass the English version of the GED. All applicants passing the Spanish version of the GED must submit scores of 1,000 or higher on the PAA. Applicants who meet the Spanish GED and PAA requirements are admitted into the bilingual Inter-American Science and Humanities Program. Transfer Admission Documents Required: Application; complete, official transcript from EACH college or university attended. The University welcomes applications from qualified individuals who have begun their college work at other accredited institutions of higher education. Categories of Transfer Admission Category I: Applicants who have completed a minimum of 12 semester hours of college-level work with grades of "C" or better with a minimum overall 2.0 ("C") grade point average are automatically admitted to UTEP. Category II: Applicants who do not meet the transfer hour and grade point average requirement but who meet the Freshman Category I requirements for admission are automatically admitted to UTEP as long as they are eligible to immediately re-enroll at their previous institutions. Category III: Transfer applicants who do not meet the requirements in Category I or II are subject to individual review, as outlined in the section below on REVIEWED ADMISSIONS. Transfer applicants must indicate all institutions attended on the admission application and must submit a complete, official transcript from EACH school attended, regardless of the amount of work completed or the intent to have the credit transferred. Credit earned at institutions not declared on the admissions application cannot be used toward a degree at UTEP. Failure to provide complete information will be considered grounds for denial of admission, denial of transfer credit, cancellation of registration, or appropriate disciplinary action. The University honors suspension periods imposed by other colleges and universities. An applicant who is ineligible to return to any school previously attended because of suspension or dismissal or whose official records will not be released is not eligible for admission to UTEP until eligible for readmission to the previous institutions or until the official documents have been released. Information regarding the transferability of credit can be found in the ACADEMIC REGULATIONS section of this catalog under "Transfer Credit". Students who have questions concerning UTEP's evaluation of transfer credit should refer to the "Resolution of Transfer Disputes" in that same section. Reviewed Admissions Documents Required: Application; academic documents available; test scores, if applicable; letter of petition, if requested. Freshmen and transfer applicants who do not meet the requirements for automatic admission, for admission into the START Program or whose individual circumstances are highly unusual with respect to their academic credentials will be reviewed on an individual basis. This review gives primary consideration to the applicant's high school and college record, with regard to the types of courses taken and the grades earned in specific courses. Performance on standardized tests is also considered. Applicants may submit additional material for consideration in evaluating their potential for success at UTEP. Such material can document, for example, the applicant's work experiences and achievements, extracurricular and community activities, strengths and talents that might not be apparent from the academic record, and experiences in surmounting obstacles to their further pursuit of higher education. Letters of recommendation from high school teachers, counselors, supervisors, and activity leaders are also appropriate. The decision resulting from the individual review of each application will be one of the following: to approve admission without condition, or to approve conditional admission, which requires students to take preliminary or concurrent course work to strengthen their academic foundation in preparation for the regular UTEP curriculum, or to deny admission.

The University of Texas at El Paso Developed by the UTEP Web Development Team Revised: January 19, 2001