Update to university admission standards will expand access for qualified students

The University of Nebraska Board of Regents today approved an update to NU’s admission standards that will expand access to the campuses for qualified students.

Under previous admission standards, in addition to meeting certain core course requirements, students seeking admission to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha or University of Nebraska at Kearney were required to:

• Be ranked in the top half of their high school class; or
• Score a 20 or higher on the ACT, or the SAT equivalent.

Now, the university has added a third standard under which a student may qualify for admission: A cumulative high school GPA of 3.0 or higher by the student’s sixth semester of high school.

The change aligns the university with national trends, recognizing that many high schools no longer calculate students’ class ranks, President Ted Carter said. Most importantly, it ensures that the University of Nebraska remains accessible for all students who have potential to succeed.

“This is about access,” Carter said. “Our highest priority is to ensure that a world-class University of Nebraska education remains accessible for every student who is qualified and wants to attend. I commend our teams in admissions and academic affairs for their forward thinking and collaboration in serving students and families in Nebraska and beyond.”

As was the case previously, recognizing that every student’s experience is unique, university policies allow students to qualify for admission on the basis of special merit even if they do not meet the ACT, class rank or GPA standards. For example, students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, first-generation students, non-traditional students, students with special talents such as outstanding musical abilities, students with unique career achievements and others may be admitted to the university.

Also today, the Board of Regents removed the requirement that students with at least 24 hours of transferrable credit need to have completed core coursework in order to qualify for admission. The update recognizes that these transfer students demonstrate strong capacity to succeed at the university.

Complete, detailed undergraduate admission information is available on the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Nebraska at Omaha and University of Nebraska at Kearney websites