First Year Applicant FAQ [ Expand All ]

To complete an application, you should submit the Common Application along with the UIC Supplement prior to the January 15th application deadline. Submit your official high school transcripts along with the Common Application School Report, official ACT/SAT test scores, and the $50 application fee or waiver. Please see the First Year Admission Requirements page for more detailed information.

First Year applications are considered for the following colleges:

• College of Applied Health Sciences
• College of Architecture and Arts
• College of Business Administration
• College of Education
• College of Engineering
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

Please keep in mind that students will only be able to submit ONE Common Application per year. For a list of degree programs within these colleges, please refer to the Degree Programs and Minors List.

The Common Application and UIC Supplement are available beginning August 1st. You may apply at any time after the application becomes available until the January 15th application deadline.

The UIC Supplement will be available in early August.

Yes, the UIC Supplement is required for all applicants, even if you do not choose to apply for the Honors College or GPPA program.

There are no firm minimum GPA or testing requirements for admission to UIC. Every application is reviewed holistically.

It is important to know at the time of application what type of U.S. citizenship or residency you hold in order for UIC to request proper documentation and assign tuition rates. Below is a brief description of each citizenship category available on the Common Application:

• U.S. Citizen or U.S. National - Born or naturalized.
• Dual-Citizen - Concurrently holds citizenship in more than one country.
• U.S. Permanent Resident or Refugee - Green card holder. You should submit an Alien Registration Number and a copy of the front and back of your PR card along with your supporting documents.
• Other
  • International applicants, those in the process of becoming a permanent Resident, and undocumented students living in the U.S. 
    
  • International - If you are on a valid visa, you should submit a copy with your application. If you require an I-20 or DS-2019 to study, you will need to submit evidence of financial support.
  • Adjustment in Status - This category is for applicants who are in the process of becoming a permanent resident. You should submit any documentation that can provide details of your status such as receipts or petitions from USCIS.
  • Non-citizen (Other) - This should only be used if none of the other categories      apply to you. Once again, valid visa holders or those seeking a visa should not use       this category.

Yes, it is possible for permanent resident, international, adjustment-in-status, and non-citizen applicants to receive in-state tuition if they or a parent have resided in Illinois for at least 12 months prior to the term for which they are applying. Further documentation is usually required. Non-citizens should visit the Forms & Documents page to download the “Residency Affidavit,” while all other citizenship categories should read the University of Illinois’ state residency eligibility requirements to determine if you qualify.

A First Year applicant is either a current high school student or any other student who has never attended any college, university, or post-secondary institution. A transfer applicant is one who has attended any college or university since high school graduation.

First Year applications are considered only for the Fall term. First Year applications are not accepted for the Spring term. 

There are many degree programs open to First Year applicants. If you are considering multiple majors, you may also apply to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as "Undeclared" and declare a major at a later point. Please see the Degree Programs and Minors List for a full list of the programs available to UIC students.

You can apply for the Honors College and/or GPPA programs on the UIC Supplement when you submit your First Year application. You can find more information regarding both programs at the GPPA/Honors College page and by visiting the Honors College or GPPA official websites.

Most First Year applicants will only need to meet the First Year Admission Requirements. The exceptions are as follows:

• Students who are also applying to the Honors College or GPPA program will have to submit essays and letters of recommendation based on the requirements of those programs.
  
• Any applicants who studied overseas during high school may be required to submit the TOEFL/IELTS exam. These situations will be considered on a case-by-case basis. When a TOEFL/IELTS exam is required, applicants will be subject to the same English Competency requirements as outlined in the Undergraduate International Admission Requirements.
  
• Homeschooled students are required to submit a reading list, course descriptions, and laboratory requirements in addition to a transcript with letter grades. Homeschooled students are encouraged to submit as much information as possible regarding their educational background to aid the review.

Yes, UIC invites all homeschooled students to apply. Homeschooled students must satisfy all of the general First Year Admission Requirements. A homeschool transcript is acceptable if it includes: (1) a list of all subjects/ courses attempted by year; (2) grades and/or examination results received (both passing and failing); (3) maximum and minimum grades obtainable; and (4) number of units earned.

No, UIC does not consider legacies during the review process. Any familial connections between an applicant and current students, graduates, or faculty of the university will not affect the outcome of an application.

The First Year application deadline for the Fall 2013 term is January 15th, 2013.

Yes, an application acknowledgment email will be sent upon receipt of application. Contact the Office of Admissions if you thought you applied but did not receive the application acknowledgment letter.

Many professional programs, such as Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy, do not admit First Year students. Instead, you are encouraged to apply to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences as an “Undeclared” major along with your desired educational goal. This will enable your academic advisor to guide you to the necessary prerequisite courses for your specific professional program. Each professional program has a different set of requirements and a different time frame in which students apply for the program. For example, the Pre-Nursing program requires two years of course study while students with the Criminal Justice educational goal will have only one prerequisite course.

Educational goals, such as Pre-Nursing, Pre-Medicine, or Pre-Pharmacy, are used for advising purposes and are meant to compliment a major. Many professional programs, such as Nursing, Medicine, and Pharmacy, do not admit First Year students. In addition to the major, you may select one educational goal, enabling academic advisors to guide the student towards the necessary prerequisite courses for you specific professional program.

No, the Common Application will allow students to submit only one application per calendar year. If you are unsure regarding which college or program in which your are most interested, you should apply to the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences with an “Undeclared” major. You may then declare a major within LAS at a later time or complete an intercollege transfer if you are interested in a program outside of LAS. 

You must submit the Common Application along with the UIC Supplement, official high school transcripts, official ACT or SAT test scores, and a $50 application fee or application fee waiver. For more details, please visit the First Year Admission Requirements.

The First Year application fee is $50 for all domestic and international students.

Application fee payment will only be accepted online with a credit card or echeck. The payment form can be reached by clicking the “Payments” link on your Common Application My Colleges checklist. Click the credit card/echeck option and you will be redirected to Sallie Mae for secure payment. 

Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements for either the NACAC fee waiver or the CollegeBoard fee waiver. The waiver should then be completed by your high school counselor and submitted electronically through the Common Application School Forms. Please note that international applicants are not eligible for a fee waiver.

The waiver request can be made by clicking the “Payments” link on your Common Application My Colleges checklist. The NACAC waiver can be submitted electronically by your counselor if you opted for electronic submission of the School Forms. If you opted out of the electronic submission, then the NACAC form must be printed, completed by your counselor, and mailed to UIC. The CollegeBoard fee waiver option is entirely offline and requires that your counselor complete and mail the paper form the UIC. 

Yes, either the ACT or SAT/SAT-I is required for all First Year applicants. This includes international, home-schooled, GED, and graduated applicants. The writing portion is not required for either exam and will not be considered during review.

Test scores are accepted electronically directly from the testing service as well as from the high school as long as they are presented on an official transcript. UIC encourages students to save time and money by submitting test scores electronically at the time of the exam. The ACT code for UIC is 1155. The SAT code for UIC is 1851.

Please allow approximately two weeks for your ACT or SAT scores to be received and processed by UIC. Until then, make sure that the name on your ACT/SAT account matches exactly the name on your application and that information such as your birth date or social security number (if included) is correct with the testing agency. Any discrepancy between the information received on the test scores and what UIC has on your application will cause a delay and may prevent your scores from being processed correctly.

After applying or creating a recruit record, you will be invited to establish a login for the Prospective Student Portal, where you will be able to check the status of your application and view your application checklist online. A received date next to the request means that the document has been received. If there is no date, then the document is either still being processed, was never received, or was deemed unofficial. Please keep in mind that document processing may take up to three weeks, particularly closer to the deadline.

In order for UIC to accept your transcript as official, it needs to come directly from your high school. Your transcript may be mailed in a sealed envelope directly from your school or submitted through a secure transcript service such as Docufide or E-Script. UIC will accept hand-delivered transcripts at the Office of Admissions only if they are in an unopened envelope that was clearly sealed by the high school.

UIC requires letter grades from each year you have been in high school, even if you have studied overseas. If your current school includes actual letter grades from previous institutions on their transcript, then you do not need to submit anything from your previous school. If your current high school's transcript has "P" grades or merely assigns credit from previous institutions, then we will request an official transcript from all of your previous schools. UIC will request three full years of letter grades from current high school students if they do not appear on your current transcript.

We will make a request in your application checklist, which can be viewed when you check the status of your application. If another transcript or any other documentation is required, your application will remain incomplete until the document is received and you will receive Missing Credential emails notifying you of the required documents. Your application checklist will usually include a note regarding the institution or academic years that are being requested. If you ever have a question regarding a checklist request, feel free to contact the Office of Admissions at (312) 996-4350.

Are letters of recommendation considered?

Yes, UIC considers letters of recommendation a valuable insight into a student's character and ability in the classroom. Letters of recommendation, however, do not make up for weaknesses in other key areas such as the GPA or test scores.

The TOEFL/IELTS exam may be required of any applicant who studied overseas during high school, which could also be defined as any of the four school years prior to the term for which you are applying. The exam may be required regardless of citizenship status or current residency. The only exemptions to TOEFL/IELTS requirements are as follows:

• Native English speakers from countries where English is the only official language.
• Non-native English speakers who have completed two consecutive years of full-time high school or university study in the U.S. or other country where the only official language of the country is English.
• Non-native English speakers who have a minimum of one year full-time employment in the US or other country where the official language of the country is English. Applicants must submit a letter from their employer verifying at least 12 consecutive months of employment and describing their English language ability.
  

NOTE: Applicants from countries where the official language of the country is not English, but who attended a university where English was the language of instruction, are not exempt from submitting TOEFL scores.

UIC uses a holistic approach during the application review process. The application evaluation includes a review of multiple factors, including, but not limited to, high school coursework and cumulative grade point average, grade trends, grades in required high school courses, course levels such as Honors, AP, IB, etc., class rank, ACT or SAT scores, and personal statement. Additional factors that may be considered are college readiness, writing proficiency, quantitative reasoning, critical thinking, and preparedness for the major. Admission is competitive, and selection depends on space availability and the overall applicant pool.

Most First Year applications go through multiple rounds of review. A majority of decisions on First Year applications will be made between the January 15th application deadline and the end of March.  

No, UIC will only consider your highest ACT/SAT composite and subscores.

You will receive an email invite to join the Prospect Student Portal, where you will be able to check the status of your application. The status of your application will be on the line marked “Application Decision.” Please keep in mind that a majority of the decisions are released between January 15th and the end of March. 

No, UIC does not interview First Year applicants. However, some performance-based programs within the College of Architecture and the Arts require auditions and GPPA/Honors applicants are often asked to interview for those more selective programs.

Due to the holistic nature of our review process, a majority of the First Year application decisions will be released between the January 15th deadline and the end of March. A small percentage of applications will receive decisions during the initial review while most First Year applications undergo multiple reviews. UIC does not offer early decisions or a priority decision date.

This indicates that an application is awaiting another round of reviews. It is neither a good nor bad designation regarding the application because a majority of the First Year applications undergo multiple reviews. Final decisions on these applications could be made as late as the end of March.

Decisions appear online as soon as they are made available in our system and are viewable when you check the status of your application. A decision letter is also mailed out the day following the decision. Admission decisions will not be given over the phone or by email.

If you did not receive the decision letter through the mail, you may contact the Office of Admissions at 312-996-4350 to request another copy be mailed. Keep in mind that you can still view your decision by checking your application status online. If you have been admitted, much of the same information in your admission packet can also be found online at the newly-admitted student's page.

Your admissions packet provides step-by-step directions for completing your next steps towards enrollment. That same information can be found online at the newly-admitted student's page. More information for admitted students can also be found on the Admitted First Year FAQ.

Please see the Denied First Year applicant FAQ.

Denied First Year applicants have three options:

• You may appeal an unfavorable decision if you have compelling new information that was not considered during the initial review by submitting a letter of appeal, a copy of the decision letter, and an updated transcript and/or test scores. The postmark deadline for appeals is April 15th or two weeks after the date of the decision. For full guidelines please see the Undergraduate Appeal Process.
  
  
• Transfer into UIC at a later term. If you are considering other universities or community colleges, it is possible to apply as a transfer student to UIC. The transfer admissions process requires a minimum of 24 transferable credit hours completed at the time of application and a minimum of 36 transferable credit hours completed by the time the applicant would transfer into UIC. For full transfer requirements please see the Transfer Admissions Requirements.
  
  
• Re-apply as a First Year student for the following fall term. As long as you do not attend another college or university, you may submit another First Year application for the following fall term. First year applicants are not considered for the spring term. If you attend another college or university, you would be considered a transfer applicant and would not be eligible to re-apply as a First Year student.