At UW–Madison, our holistic application process is designed to help us find remarkable students—students who will add to the legacy of UW–Madison. We don’t use formulas or charts. We read each application thoroughly, one by one.
First, we focus on academic excellence and preparation. Beyond academics, we look for qualities such as leadership, contributions to your community, and achievement in the arts, athletics, and other areas. We’re also seeking diversity in personal background and experience and your potential for positive contribution to the Wisconsin community.
We truly believe in this model, and because of that, we are not able to tell a student whether they will be admitted until their admission decision is made. Instead, we can give you some insight into what makes students competitive for admission.
What Are We Looking For in an Applicant?
Grades and Coursework
First-Year Students: When we consider your grades, we are looking both at the grades you earn and the level of difficulty of the courses you take (rigor) throughout your high school career. We look for you to be earning top grades—mostly As—in challenging courses, including honors, IB, and/or AP, when available. While we don’t specifically base a decision on your GPA or your class rank, we do consider your academic performance in the context of the available offerings at your school.
While we do not have minimum requirements, competitive students will often have earned credit beyond four years of math, including at least one year each of algebra, geometry, and advanced math, or an integrated sequence of courses. We would highly recommend taking math your senior year and advancing through pre-calculus or calculus, if available. Courses that will not fulfill this requirement include statistics, business math, and computer science classes. We also look for four years of English, three to four years of science, social science, and world language, and two years of fine arts/additional academics.
Transfer: When reviewing applications, we pay particular attention to the college-level coursework you have completed, and specifically:
- Rigor of coursework: Appropriate for continued study at UW–Madison and increasing in difficulty.
- Course breadth: Showing a combination of English, math, science, literature, social science, and world language.
- Grade trends and patterns: Steady or improving trends and patterns that show consistency across all academic areas.
- High school performance: Your academic performance in high school will be more or less important to us depending on how many college credits you have earned. Generally speaking, students who are in their first two years of college-level coursework will have their high school records more carefully analyzed. The more college-level work you have completed, the less we will rely on high school performance criteria, such as rigor of coursework, academic GPA, grade trends, and class rank.
- Required courses: Applicants must have completed one year each of high school algebra, plane geometry, and college-preparatory math, and two high school years or two college semesters of a single world language.
ACT/SAT Test Scores
In light of the limited availability of ACT and SAT testing because of COVID-19, the University of Wisconsin–Madison received authorization from the University of Wisconsin System Board of Regents to waive the requirement for applicants to submit an ACT or SAT test score as a part of their application to the university through the spring 2025 term. During this time, including scores from either the ACT or the SAT with your application is optional, and you will not be disadvantaged in our evaluation process if you choose to not include these scores for consideration in your application. You can indicate your choice regarding including test scores at the time of application.
More information can be found by viewing the news release and our ACT/SAT Score FAQs.
Extracurriculars
We also review your extracurriculars and the positive impact they have had on you as a student. If they matter to you, they matter to us. On your application, you can list your extracurriculars, including activities and involvement, leadership, service, employment, talents, and interests.
Writing
As part of our holistic review, we ask for two essays to understand more about you. What you choose to share gives us an idea of who you are, why you want to be a #FutureBadger, and what you want to accomplish as part of our community. Tell us about you and your unique story.
Academic Course Expectations
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First-Year Students
Your high school record should demonstrate both rigor and breadth in the types of coursework you pursue. A competitive academic record should show some of the most challenging advanced-level work offered at or through your school in as many areas as possible, while maintaining a strong GPA. The following chart shows the number of years that most admitted students studied in each subject area.
| Subject Area | Years |
|---|---|
| English | 4 |
| Math * | 4 |
| Social Studies | 3-4 |
| Science | 3-4 |
| Single World Language ** | 3-4 |
| Additional Academic/Fine Arts | 2 |
| Total Units | 19-22 |
*Math requirement includes at least one year each of algebra, geometry, and advanced math, or an integrated sequence of courses. If you take any of these courses in middle school, that will count toward the requirement. Courses that will not fulfill this requirement include: statistics, business math, and computer classes.
**Students who are not native English speakers can satisfy the world language requirement if they were educated in their native language through grade eight.
Students who have studied a world language using only Rosetta Stone have not fulfilled the world language requirement.
American Sign Language (ASL) may be accepted to meet the world language requirement for admission if it is taken through the student’s school and is reflected on an official transcript.
Transfer Students
Regardless of the number of college credits earned, your high school transcript (supplemented in some cases by your college transcript) must show that you completed the following required course work:
- Algebra: One year in high school
- Plane Geometry: One year in high school (cannot be modified, basic, or informal)
- College-Preparatory Math: One year in high school, or 1 college course at the level of Algebra 2 or beyond
- Single World Language: Two years of the same language in high school or two semesters of the same language in college*
*Students who have studied a world language using only Rosetta Stone have not fulfilled the world language requirement.
American Sign Language (ASL) may be accepted to meet the world language requirement for admission if it is taken through the student’s school and is reflected on an official transcript.
Admissions FAQs
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What Does Direct Entry Mean?
While most majors at UW–Madison you apply to as a current student, direct entry majors officially accept students into the program at the time of the application. These are majors in the Wisconsin School of Business, the College of Engineering, and music and dance majors.
How Do I Apply for a Direct Entry Program?
If you are interested in being considered for a direct entry program, you must indicate that program as your first choice major on your application. Your application will be reviewed for direct entry along with admission to the university as a whole. It is possible to be admitted to the University of Wisconsin–Madison but not be directly admitted to a direct entry program.
Music and dance majors are required to complete an audition with the program for direct entry.
