Illinois Engineering graduates are leaders in engineering because we educate toward the goal of leadership. Our engineers build new energy solutions, materials, and medical devices. They design new aircraft, water systems, power plants, manufacturing techniques, and methods for distributing biofuels. They write the software on your phone and protect your personal data as it travels across global networks. They tackle our biggest challenges and change our world. You can too.
Your application will be reviewed holistically, meaning a wide variety of factors are considered:
- Courses taken in high school and high school GPA
- Standardized test scores (ACT or SAT)
- High school percentile rank (HSRP), when available
- Application essays
- Extracurricular activities, work, and volunteer experience
- Awards and other accomplishments
Students often ask about test scores. There is no stated cut-off for standardized test scores (ACT/SAT). A good score is definitely important, especially in math, but consistently performing well in challenging courses in high school (all the way up to your senior year, final semester) is also evaluated.
The essay portion of the application gives you the opportunity to tell us about your strengths, set yourself apart, address the challenges you have faced and overcome, and lets us know about your leadership abilities. We look for a genuine passion in the pursuit of an engineering career.
Using Advanced Placement courses, you may be able to enter Illinois with some coursework already under your belt. The College of Engineering awards credit for AP, IB, and A level exams for a number of courses, providing the student earns an appropriate score. The Admissions Office maintains a list of AP/IB Courses and their equivalent credits at Illinois.
How to Apply
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions provides all the information you need to know about applying to Engineering at Illinois. You'll find topics like academic requirements and selectivity, the value of extracurricular activities, and making your college application stand out. Be sure to check out the Yearly Action Plans for recommendations that can help you stay on track.
