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Undergraduate Admissions Uncensored

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Releases Admissions Decisions

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University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is projected to enroll slightly above its enrollment target of 8,000 first-year students for the fall 2023 semester.

According to Andy Borst, Director of Undergraduate Admissions at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), final admission decisions will be released on Friday, March 3 at 4:00 p.m., at which time students will be able to view their decisions through myIllini. He also provided estimates related to University of Illinois’ admissions statistics for the 2022-2023 cycle and noted that while Regular Decision applicants were admitted to all programs, students who applied Early Action received an advantage in review, with about a 25% higher admit rate.

Of the approximately 4,450 students who were deferred in early action, about 1,400 will be offered admission during regular decision, 1,300 will be denied, and 1,750 will be moved to the waitlist. Despite being more selective, the university will offer admission to a record number of Illinois residents – over 15,000 for the first time ever. At the same time, “the university was more competitive for non-resident and international applicants, especially for non-Illinois students who applied in our regular decision pool.” added Borst.

Computer science continues to be University of Illinois’ most competitive program. Meanwhile, the Grainger College of Engineering, Gies College of Business, School of Information Sciences, and UIUC’s CS + X programs are all now admitting at similar levels of competitiveness – in the 20% – 25% admit rate range. Applicants also showed strong interest in the university’s new programs in data science, neuroscience, and neural engineering.

Of note: scholarship offers will not be included in the notice of admission on March 3. Financial aid notification for students who applied during regular decision and those who were previously deferred but are now being admitted will be available beginning on March 17. Scholarship notifications will be available by April 1.

The 3,200 applicants waitlisted, which is a smaller pool than in past years, will only be considered for admission if they accept their spot on the waitlist by April 1, and Borst adds that the university does not plan admit students from the waitlist until after May 1 while also planning to wrap up waitlist admissions by June 1. Waitlisted students should not send letters or emails of continued interest, since such information will not be added to their application file or improve their chances of later being admitted.

Finally, Borst noted that many students with strong academic profiles, wonderful essays and statements, and inspiring activities were denied due to space limitations in certain majors. Given the competitiveness of the university’s applicant pool this admissions cycle, UIUC only considered students for programs to which they applied unless they sufficiently demonstrated a willingness to explore alternative majors. UIUC’s admissions committee carefully and thoroughly evaluated each student’s application file using a number of factors, including grades, course rigor, test scores (if available), essays/statements, and extracurricular activities.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign is a public university known for its top-ranked programs, with particularly well-regarded programs in engineering, computer science, business, agriculture, and many other fields. As a a top research institution that allows undergraduate students to have the opportunity to participate in cutting-edge research projects alongside faculty and graduate students, UIUC is in growing demand from out of state applicants. Overall, UIUC has a large and diverse student body, with over 33,000 undergraduate students from all 50 states and over 100 countries. The campus offers a wide range of student organizations, clubs, and events, which provides ample opportunities for students to get involved and meet new people.

Located in the twin cities of Urbana and Champaign in central Illinois, UIUC offers a blend of small-town charm and big-city amenities. The campus is relatively accessible by car, train, or plane, making it a convenient location for students from all over the country and the world.

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s Impressive Acceptance Rate Transparency

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Let’s face it, these days so much of the world of undergraduate admissions is smoke a mirrors. Which makes it particularly noteworthy when a big institution like University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign goes out of its way to be transparent about the fact that it’s a university made up of many different acceptance rates, not just one top-line number. As this site has pointed out for years, many colleges like to cherry pick data to impress or intimidate, which leaves those in the know to have to explain there’s often more to the story. If only more colleges behaved as transparently as University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC)!

Acknowledging that it’s first year on the Common App shook things up quite a bit, UIUC has now officially shared that received over 63,000 applications, during the 2021-2022 admissions cycle, which is a robust thirty-three percent increase over the 2020-2021 admissions cycle, which was UIUC’s last pre-Common App. As a result, UIUC became much more selective statistically: it only admitted admitting forty-five percent of applicants during the 2021-2022 admissions cycle compared to roughy sixty percent of applicants during the 2020-2021 admissions cycle. In fact, Director of Undergraduate Admissions, Andy Borst, shared, “We came in over our original target, and more international students accepted their offer of admission and enrolled than what we anticipated.”

UIUC now publishes its admit rate by college and for its Computer Science-related programs. Check out these numbers for 2021-2022:

College Admit Rates (First-Choice Major Only)

College of Agricultural, Consumer & Environmental Sciences: 42.8%

College of Applied Health Sciences: 45.5%

College of Education: 51.7%

College of Fine & Applied Arts: 49.5%

College of Liberal Arts & Sciences: 49.8%

College of Media: 38.4%

Division of General Studies: 48.9%

Gies College of Business: 27.0%

Grainger College of Engineering: 23.0%

School of Information Sciences: 68.1%

School of Social Work: 46.9%

Computer Science Programs

Computer Science: 6.7%

Computer Science + X Programs: 25.4%

In terms of acceptance rate by residency, another trove of data colleges routinely hide from the general public, UIUC is not shy about laying it all out there:

Residency Applicants Admits Acceptance Rate
Illinois Resident 25,944 14,589 56.20%
Non-Resident 21,216 7,749 36.50%
International 16,097 6,016 37.40%

While UIUC remains test optional, the university also revealed the percentage of applicants who submitted ACT or SAT scores by college. Over seventy percent of accepted Engineering applicants submitted test scores while fewer than thirty percent of accepted Education and Social Work applicants submitted scores. Wow! Even with these vast disparities, the middle fifty percent of accepted Engineering students earned between 1440 and 1530 while the middle fifty percent of Education students earned between 1220 and 1365 and the middle fifty percent of Social Work students earned between 1260 and 1420. Very interesting indeed!

Borst added, “We encourage students to apply for programs in which they plan to enroll, if admitted. We will only consider students for their first-choice major and their second-choice major, if selected. The Division of General Studies is intended for students who are open to exploring more than one major, with preference given to students who are open to exploring programs with capacity on campus. Students who are only interested in intercollegiate transfer once on campus into The Grainger College of Engineering or Gies College of Business should be encouraged to enroll at another university.”

Also of note, due to University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s increasing competitiveness, students are now only able to enter the university’s computer science program as new first-year or transfer students. Students will not be able to apply to change majors into computer science once on campus, although they will still be able to pursue a computer science minor or apply to change majors into the computer science & X programs. To learn more about the differences between UIUC’s computer science major and majors similar to it, check out UIUC’s blog on the subject.

While impressed by all this valuable information, I’d also love to know the breakdown of UIUC’s EA and Regular acceptance rates too. Yet, progress is progress, and more colleges that accept by school or program or that have differentiated acceptance rates by residency should follow University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s lead in publishing data like this! Thank you Director Borst and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign for all of your transparency!

Are you interested in University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign? Watch my team’s visit to campus during which we spoke to real UIUC students about their thoughts on the university:

UIUC is Impressive and Endearing

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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a college that doesn’t get nearly the attention that it should from out-of-state students, but with amazing programs across disciplines and a happy campus culture in the middle of rural Illinois, we have a feeling that is about to change. At least we hope so, as living and learning at UIUC exemplifies what many would deem to be the classic American college experience portrayed in popular culture. In fact, being on campus a this Midwestern public university has a retro feel about it that makes it pretty darn charming.