USU admissions standards getting tougher
Utah State University has been tightening its admissions process over the past few years, according to Lynn Poulsen, associate vice president of Student Services over Enrollment Services.
During the past three years, USU has gone from admitting those with an 88 or higher on the admissions index to those with at least a 91.
Poulsen said USU uses a matrix of high school grade-point averages and composite ACT scores for its admissions index, which was created by the Utah State Board of Regents.
“It’s the same matrix for all Utah institutions,” Poulsen said.
A 91 index score corresponds to a student having received an ACT score of 13 and a 3.5 GPA, or an ACT score of 30 and a 1.8 GPA.
The index shows the student’s testing and classroom abilities or inabilities, Poulsen said.
Although all Utah institutions share the same matrix, the admissions index can be different for each school. Through a mandate by the Board of Regents, Weber State University and Southern Utah University have a lower index. Two-year colleges don’t use the matrix, as they are open to all applicants.
There have been ongoing talks of making admissions stricter over the past years.
It comes down to the “if you build it, they will come” theory, Poulsen said. If admissions are harder, the school tends to appeal to a better student and the class profile increases.
Right now, the university accepts 92 to 93 percent of applicants.
Besides passing the admissions index, an entering freshman must have completed a core curriculum in high school. This curriculum includes four years in English, three years in math, three years in biological and physical sciences, an American history course and four courses in foreign languages, social sciences or laboratory sciences.