Beginning in Fall 2023, prospective students will be able to apply to UT through the Common App portal, and the application will no longer require standardized test scores for undergraduate admissions. 

Miguel V. Wasielewski, assistant vice provost and director of admissions, said the University will still accept applications through ApplyTexas in addition to the Common App, but will stop accepting the Coalition Application.

“(The Common App is) a nationally-utilized application process that will make applying to UT Austin easier and more accessible to a greater population of prospective undergraduate students,” Wasielewski said. 

Radio-television-film freshman Ella Glasscock said she applied for three other universities besides UT: Texas State University, the University of Colorado Boulder and Northeastern University. She said she applied to UT and Texas State through ApplyTexas and applied to CU Boulder and Northeastern through the Common App. 

“Common App was way easier than ApplyTexas,” Glasscock said. “The format is a lot more updated and easy to read. ApplyTexas was so outdated and confusing.”

The College Board announced earlier this spring that the SAT will be administered digitally in some countries in 2023 and in the U.S. in 2024. Many universities debated whether or not to require standardized testing scores again due to the success of test-optional policies during COVID-19. 

In addition to the application program change, UT announced Wednesday that the University will not require standardized test scores for Fall 2023 undergraduate applicants.

Wasielewski said UT suspended testing requirements for students applying for Fall 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the University will continue to assess testing requirements for future application cycles.

“I think there’s a lot of other things besides the SAT that are good ways to determine if someone’s ready to join a difficult program,” Glasscock said. “But at the same time, I think having the SAT or having something to standardize certain skills is necessary. I think that was beneficial.”

The University is currently required to admit all first year, in-state applicants who graduate high school in the top six percent of their academic classes. Typically, these students fill 75% of available spots.

Wasielewski said the admissions process includes holistic review of all applicants, including the ones who are automatically admitted. He said the University encourages students to submit SAT/ACT scores even while applications are test-optional during this next cycle.

“Standardized test scores help us find the best fit for each student across our various programs and provide appropriate support for their success,” said Wasielewski. “For students who do not submit standardized scores, the University will rely on all the materials submitted in the application that help indicate their ability to be successful.”