Who is a First-Year applicant?
A first-year applicant is a student who has not yet graduated high school and has not enrolled as a full-time college student. Only taking dual enrollment courses still qualifies as a first-year student.
Early Action or Regular Decision?
There are two ways to apply for first-year admission: Early Action (EA) and Regular Decision (RD), both of which are non-binding and undergo the same review process.
Early Action
Early Action has an application deadline of October 15. Applying Early Action allows students to know an application decision sooner, typically before December 1 for Georgia residents and mid-December for non-Georgia residents. While many students are admitted in Early Action, the majority have their decisions deferred and will receive a final admission decision on the Regular Decision timeline.
Regular Decision
Regular Decision has a deadline of January 1. Decisions are typically released in mid-March, and students have until May 1 to submit their commitment deposit. Regular Decision is a great option for students who need more time for their application due to a busy fall schedule, are uncomfortable with a deferred application, or want to be sure they can submit fall grades with their application.
One of the most common questions our office receives is “Should I apply for Early Action (EA) or Regular Decision (RD) at UGA?”
The best way to answer that question is to consider how you compare to the admitted class from the year prior, keeping in mind that admission typically gets more competitive each year, and if your application will be ready to submit by October 15 with all required materials received by Admissions by October 29.
Early Action | Regular Decision |
|---|---|
October 15 application deadline | January 1 application deadline |
October 29 materials deadline (test scores, official transcripts, school report, and optional recommendation letters) | January 15 materials deadline (test scores, official transcripts, school report, and optional recommendation letters) |
Applicants are typically the most academically competitive | Applicants can submit fall senior year grades as part of the application |
Potential outcomes in Early Action: admit, defer, waitlist, deny | Potential outcomes in Final Decision: admit, waitlist, deny |
For information on what each decision means as well as other commonly asked questions, visit the First-Year FAQs page.
Additional Factors in Admission Decisions
All applications are reviewed for conduct issues, recommendations, satisfactory completion of all courses, and completion of the required college preparatory courses. Grades from high school and rigor of school curriculum make up about 75% of our prediction of academic success at UGA with standardized exams comprising the remaining quarter.
The University of Georgia reserves the right to withdraw an admission offer at any time if we receive information that, in our judgment, has a significant impact on your character or fitness for study or participation in the UGA community.
UGA’s Faculty Admissions Committee has identified a number of additional factors that may be considered in admission decisions or merit scholarship consideration. These include: excellence in academic achievement, intellectual pursuits, and creative endeavors; impactful engagement within their community and peers; significant commitment to citizenship through public service, school activities, leadership, and/or family; evidence of integrity and personal maturity; and the ability to benefit from and contribute to a community of scholar-citizens. All first-year candidates who are offered admission for Summer or Fall semester must submit a non-refundable commitment deposit no later than May 1 to secure a seat in the first-year class. Commitment deposits will be credited towards students’ accounts at the beginning of the Fall semester.
Strategic Enrollment Management Plan
Our first-year enrollment goal is designed to maintain an 80/20 split, prioritizing talented students from across the state of Georgia, supplemented by a select group of high-achieving non-resident students.
