Automatic College Admissions 

for the State of Texas

Students who graduate with a grade point average (GPA) in the top of their high school graduating class may be eligible for certain privileges when applying to college. 

• In accordance with Texas Education Code (TEC), §51.803, a student is eligible for automatic admission to a college or university as an undergraduate student if the applicant earned a grade point average in the top 10 percent of the student's high school graduating class, or the top 6 percent for admission to the University of Texas at Austin, in the summer/fall 2024 or spring 2025. The applicant, in either case, must also:

  1. earn the distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High School Program; or

  2. satisfy ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks on the ACT assessment or earn on the SAT assessment a score of at least 1,500 out of 2,400 or the equivalent.

•  In accordance with Title 19 Texas Administrative Code (TAC), §5.5(e), high school rank for students seeking automatic admission to a general academic teaching institution on the basis of class rank is determined and reported as follows:

  1. Class rank shall be based on the end of the 11th grade, middle of the 12th grade, or at high school graduation, whichever is most recent at the application deadline.

  2. The top 10 percent of a high school class shall not contain more than 10 percent of the total class size.

  3. The student's rank shall be reported by the applicant's high school or school district as a specific number out of a specific number total class size.

  4. Class rank shall be determined by the school or school district from which the student graduated or is expected to graduate.

• An applicant who does not satisfy the course requirements is considered to have satisfied those requirements if the student completed the distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High School Program that was available to the student but was unable to complete the remainder of the coursework solely because courses were unavailable to the student at the appropriate times in the student's high school career as a result of circumstances not within the student's control.
  
  To qualify for automatic admission, an applicant must:

  1. submit an application before the deadline established by the college or university to which the student seeks admission;

  2. meet all curriculum requirements for admission established by the college or university to which the student seeks admission; and

  3. provide a high school transcript or diploma that indicates whether the student has satisfied or is on schedule to satisfy the requirements of the distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High School Program or the portion of the distinguished level of achievement under the Foundation High School Program that was available to the student.

•  Colleges and universities are required to admit an applicant for admission as an undergraduate student if the applicant is the child of a public servant who was killed or sustained a fatal injury in the line of duty and meets the minimum requirements, if any, established by the governing board of the college or university for high school or prior college level grade point average and performance on standardized tests.

Reference: 19 TAC §61.1201(a)(1)

For more information, please see TEA Automatic College Admissions