The University of Texas at Austin has long been considered one of the most eminent universities of the South, with top-ranked business and engineering programs that have strong links to Texas’s world-renowned energy industry. With a beautiful red-roofed campus set smack dab in the middle of a city that teems with excitement, UT Austin has something to offer any top student seeking warm weather and opportunity.
Austin inhabitants pride themselves on the weirdness of their city. This extends to the University, at least to some degree: funky live music venues and student groups abound on campus. But there is also a side to UT that caters to young business students and engineers set on ambitious career tracks. And this is hardly even the tip of the iceberg, as UT Austin has no fewer than twelve undergraduate colleges specializing in every discipline from architecture, to geosciences, to education and social work.
And of course, many students are attracted by UT Austin’s fierce pride in its sports programs. Longhorns games draw droves of students buzzing with a spirited energy that captures the overarching excitement of social life at the university.
But what does it take to get into such a uniquely situated and variable university? A lot of hard work, that’s for sure. Standards are extremely high at UT Austin, and have only grown higher in recent years. Just under 32% of students who applied to the university in 2020 were admitted, and those who did win offers boasted average test scores in the top 20th percentile of all test takers. The statistics show that the University of Texas at Austin also takes its commitment to in-state students seriously, with close to 92% of matriculating students coming from Texas.
For those curious to learn more, read the latest details about UT Austin’s acceptance rates.
| Applications | Admitted | Enrolled | Acceptance Rate |
| 57,241 | 18,290 | 8,459 | 32% |
| Admitted – SAT Middle 50% | 1230 – 1480 |
| Admitted – ACT Middle 50% | 26 – 34 |
| Female | 59.6% |
| Male | 40.4% |
| Texas Residents | 91.9% |
| Non-Texas U.S | 6.4% |
| International | 1.6% |
The numbers are daunting to say the least. But they don’t always give the full picture. And they’re representative of macro trends in worldwide education that are outside any single person’s control. That’s why it’s more effective to first understand these numbers in context, then use your time to focus on preparing your own personal application as best you can.
The spike in application numbers was a trend across most elite American colleges and universities. The simplest explanation for this phenomenon is the decision for many top schools–including UT Austin–to remove the standardized testing requirement for applicants due to COVID. It’s logical that this change led to more students feeling they would be qualified for admittance to the university.
Beyond that, more students than usual who were admitted in the previous cycle deferred their enrollment, leaving fewer seats in the Class of 2025. Some students who’d applied the previous year even decided not to matriculate to any university, given the pandemic. Instead, they chose to take a gap year and reapply to their dream schools. Finally, students are continuing to apply to more and more schools, as evidenced by the 11% increase in applications submitted through the Common App despite an increase of only 2% in the total number of applicants (a trend reflected also in the UC application system).
All of these factors, among others, contributed to the massive growth in the number of applications to top universities like UT Austin.
In order to apply to UT Austin, you will need to use either the ApplyTexas or the Coalition Application platform. This is where you will provide all your academic information, including credits and transcripts. You will also need to write a long personal essay and several shorter essays, which means that the application requires a substantial investment of time and energy in order to get it right.
It’s worth noting that UT Austin has a priority application deadline of November 1, which functions much the same as an Early Action program at another university. If you submit your application by this deadline, you will receive your admission decision by February 1 of the following year. If you submit by the regular deadline, December 1, then you will receive your decision by March 1.
Here is the full list of what you will need in order to apply to the University of Texas at Austin:
For the full detail on what UT Austin requires, and links to individual program requirements, see the university’s official page delineating their application checklist.
There are a variety of ways a top high school student can approach applying to UT Austin so as to maximize their chances of admission. The specific decisions of what to highlight and how to make it unforgettable boil down to individual life stories and circumstances that have shaped you into who you are today. That crucial piece of the application—the storytelling—can only come from intensive reflection and earnest hard work.
However, there are certainly decisions you can make to position yourself to submit a profile that bolsters your personal story and provides you top ratings on several of UT Austin’s criteria:
If you’re able to demonstrate your connection to UT Austin’s distinctive offerings, achieve an outstanding GPA in the hardest classes, engage meaningfully with personal interests and community problems, and take charge of your own goals by acting on your principles, you’ll set yourself up to submit an application that will impress the UT Austin Admissions Committee. None of this is easy, but if you’re deeply motivated to be at UT Austin, use every tactic we’ve listed above in order to show it.
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