Essay
Students are asked to write two essays:
•Essay 1: In an essay of 300 words or less, please discuss your academic interests and/or professional goals.
•Essay 2: In an essay of 300 words or less, choose one extracurricular activity, work experience, or community service project from the list you provided on the application and explain why you initially chose it, why you continued with it, and how you benefited from it.
Important factors considered by the review committee when evaluating the essays are:
•How the applicant ties his or her academic interest to the desired major or, if applying to the Division of General Studies, how the applicant explains his or her varied interests and need for exploration.
•How the applicant showcases his or her passion through chosen activities, work experience, research, or course selection in high school.
•How the essay reveals maturity and growth through past experiences, evidence of character development, cultural insight, community awareness, and/or leadership. Strength of writing is carefully considered throughout all the application essays.
English Proficiency Requirements
In order to meet our minimum English proficiency requirement, you must:
(1) Have completed two academic years of full-time study immediately prior to the proposed date of enrollment in a high school where English is the primary language of instruction (as determined by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions). OR (2) Have scored at least 25 on the ACT English portion or a 550 on the SAT I Critical Reading portion.
If you meet neither condition above, you must:
(1) Have scored a minimum of 79 on the internet-based (ibt) Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL), 213 computer-based (cbt), or 550 paper-based (pbt). The Colleges of Business, Engineering and Media require minimum scores of 100 ibt, 250 cbt or 600 pbt. OR (2) Have scored a minimum of 6.5 total score on the International English Testing System (IELTS) with a minimum score of 6 on all four modules.
Please note that these are only the minimum requirements needed to meet English proficiency. In many cases, the standards
needed to gain admission will be much higher, so it would be to your advantage to submit all test scores demonstrating
a high level of English competency.