Editor's note: This story has been updated to include a comment from a UT spokesperson. 

The University announced Wednesday it will continue to automatically admit the top 6% of eligible high school students in Texas for summer and fall 2022, the same rate as summer and fall 2021 and spring 2022 admissions. 

The University is required to automatically admit 75% of its first-year, in-state applicants under Texas law. The remaining 25% of students are admitted in a holistic review process, according to the website. Texas law also requires the University to set an automatic admissions rate every year. 

University spokesperson J.B. Bird said applications have increased from 2019 to 2020 by almost 7%.

“The University has determined that automatically admitting students in the top 6% of their graduating class … will fill 75% of available spaces, a requirement set forth by S.B. 175,” Bird said.

UT has used the 6% automatic admission rate since 2017, after the University lowered the automatic admission rate from 7% to 6% in response to a growing number of applicants, according to the UT News website.