Navigating BYU Admissions: A Comprehensive Guide for Prospective Freshmen

Brigham Young University (BYU), supported by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aims to assist individuals in their pursuit of perfection and eternal life. BYU seeks qualified students of diverse talents and backgrounds to learn and grow together. For prospective freshmen, understanding the admissions requirements is the first step toward joining the BYU community. This article provides a detailed overview of BYU's freshman admission criteria, encompassing academic standards, standardized tests, religious considerations, and other factors that influence the admissions process.

Understanding BYU's Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate provides insight into the selectivity of a university. BYU has an acceptance rate of approximately 68%. While this indicates that BYU is moderately selective, it's important to consider the various factors that contribute to a successful application. BYU accepted 56% of applicants. In 2013, 12,921 students applied to BYU and 7,259 were accepted.

Academic Requirements: GPA and Coursework

GPA is a very important academic factor. For students aiming to attend BYU, academic excellence is paramount. A high GPA is a critical component of a strong application. The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. Requires you to be at the top of your class. You'll need nearly straight A's in all your classes to compete with other applicants. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.9, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate.

The Importance of Challenging Coursework

Beyond GPA, the rigor of your coursework plays a significant role in the admissions decision. Admissions committees look at the complete story to get a picture of who you are and what you’re capable of. Take the classes that will challenge you at the appropriate level. If you’re going to drown in AP classes, don’t take them. If you’re going to breeze through regular classes, don’t take them either. Challenge yourself. Your application becomes a sort of story. If you get a 34 on the ACT and took no AP classes at all, that will seem strange.

Standardized Tests: SAT and ACT

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. BYU hasn't explicitly named a policy on SAT/ACT requirements, but because it's published average SAT or ACT scores (we'll cover this next), it's likely test flexible. Typically, these schools say, "if you feel your SAT or ACT score represents you well as a student, submit them. Despite this policy, the truth is that most students still take the SAT or ACT, and most applicants to BYU will submit their scores. If you don't submit scores, you'll have one fewer dimension to show that you're worthy of being admitted, compared to other students. Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement.

SAT Scores

Half the applicants admitted to BYU who submitted test scores have an SAT score between 1270 and 1460. The 25th percentile SAT score is 1290, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1440.

ACT Scores

The average ACT score at BYU is 30. The 25th percentile ACT score is 28, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 32. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 30 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can.

Test-Optional Policies and Strategies

BYU considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration.

Religious Requirements and LDS Standards

BYU has religious, and specifically LDS, requirements for admission. Non-LDS applicants will only be required to meet with one of the following: an LDS bishop, branch president, or mission president (to locate these ecclesiastical leaders, enter your address into the meetinghouse locator tool."Indeed, "liv[ing] the standards of the LDS Church" is first on their College Prep checklist, and attending and graduating from LDS Seminary is second. The religious requirements are also reflected in their new freshmen profile. 82.7% of female accepted students received a Young Women recognition (an LDS religious award), and 84.8% of male accepted students got an Eagle Scout Award (another common award in LDS Churches). Furthermore, 97% served in the quorum (LDS) or class presidency, and 95.6% are four-year seminary graduates.

Seminary Graduation

Graduating from LDS Seminary is second on their College Prep checklist. If you didn’t graduate from four years of Seminary when you easily could have? See ya.

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Recommendations and Extracurricular Activities

Recommendation are considered very important for admissions officials at Brigham Young University.

Extracurricular Involvement

If you hate band, don’t take band. If you’re not into sports, don’t sign up. If you don’t want to be a scout, don’t be a scout. If you don’t want to go to seminary . . . don’t apply to BYU. 🙂 You’re going to be happier exploring the areas of life you’re interested in than you will if you’re constantly checking to see if what you’re doing is okay by BYU. But even though I want my kids getting into BYU, I want them to be happier more.

Diversity and Inclusion

If they have 500 white LDS people from Texas apply, there’s honestly only so many of them they’d like to take. Why? Because they want a mix. It’s not about discriminating against white Texans. It’s about having a good array of world views and backgrounds at the Y. BYU already suffers from a huge lack of diversity in some areas.

Application Timeline and Deadlines

The application deadline at Brigham Young University is Dec. 15. BYU Admissions Statsapplication deadlineDec. News College Compass Users.Brigham Young University ApplicationsApplication DeadlineDec. SAT/ACT Scores Must Be Received ByDec. 15.

Additional Resources and Considerations

But back to the discussion at hand: how exactly do you get into BYU? I would love love love for all my children to go to the Y. I’d take the Y over Princeton, Harvard, Yale, or Stanford-no need to even consider it for me. Why? Because I think college is more than just setting you up for a career. I think it’s about setting you up for life. It gives them an opportunity to be in an environment where religion isn’t just accepted-it’s encouraged. It gives them a chance to meet other Mormon kids who share not just their values, but their beliefs.

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