The Wisconsin Guarantee

If you are enrolled in a public, private, or tribal high school in Wisconsin and you are ranked in the top 5% of your class* at the end of your junior year (11th grade) and your class has more than 15 students.

OR

You are a Wisconsin resident and are homeschooled or enrolled in a virtual private school and achieve an ACT examination score that places you in the national 98th percentile ranking or higher.

OR

You are a Wisconsin resident and a National Merit Scholarship finalist.

AND

• You apply as a high school senior.
• You submit your application for the fall term by November 1 and all required materials — including official indication of class rank or ACT score — are received by November 9.
• You meet the course requirements for admission, set by the Board of Regents.

*Ranking must be official from the high school.

Students are required to submit all required documents — including official indication of class rank or ACT score — by the fall first-year Early Action materials deadline of November 9.

Top 5%

Wisconsin Guarantee eligibility, based on class rank, can be indicated as a numeric rank (ex: 3/456) or with indication that a student is in the top 5% of their class. This will be accepted on:

• An official high school transcript

OR

• If applying via the Universities of Wisconsin–Madison Application, we will also accept a copy of the applicant’s official high school transcript with rank included, if submitted within the application. Note: You will not be able to add this once the application is submitted.

OR

• If applying via the Common Application, class rank can be reported by the counselor within the school report.

Homeschool Students

Students who are homeschooled and earn an ACT score in the top 98th percentile (33 or higher for the spring and fall 2027 application cycle) must indicate on their application that they want their test scores considered in their admissions review. The applicant must then submit their application by November 1 and have their official ACT score sent directly from ACT to arrive in our office on or before November 9.

Note: Per the legislation, SAT or a concorded score cannot be accepted. 

National Merit Finalists

Due to the timing of when National Merit Finalists are announced, National Merit Finalists who are Wisconsin residents will not be eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee at the time of admission. Instead, they must apply by the Early Action deadline of November 1 and have all materials received by November 9. They will receive a full, holistic review and an admissions decision on or before January 31. If a student is not admitted, but is named a National Merit Finalist, they must submit an appeal.

For more information about appeal eligibility and the appeal process, please contact our office at onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu with the subject line “Wisconsin Guarantee Appeal.”

While you’ll be guaranteed admission, all applicants, including those eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee, will receive a full, holistic review.

By reviewing all students holistically, we are able to properly evaluate students for admission to direct entry programs and for scholarship consideration in the same way we would all other students applying to UW–Madison.

There will be opportunities for Wisconsin high school students who are not in the top 5% to still apply and be admitted to UW–Madison.

Students who are homeschooled but do not have an ACT score in the top 98th percentile can still apply to be considered for admission to UW–Madison. While test scores are not required for a holistic review, students who are homeschooled will need to provide additional materials for consideration. Learn more.

No. We do not foresee this program impacting non-resident students.

New legislation requires Wisconsin school boards, charter school operators, and governing bodies of private schools and tribal schools that operate high schools to prepare a class ranking of students on the sole basis of their grade point average at the end of 11th grade, if there are at least 15 students in the class, beginning in the 2024–2025 school year.

The class ranking must identify students who rank in the top 5% of their high school class.

Your school must also notify you if you are in the top 5% of your class and include it on your official transcript.

If your school does not rank, you will not be eligible.

Wisconsin high school students below the top 5% of their high school class will receive a holistic review for admission, as in previous years.

Students who submit their application after November 1 and/or who do not submit all required materials — including official indication of class rank or ACT score — by November 9 are not eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee and will receive a holistic review, as in previous years.

Spring applicants are not eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee.

Students who do not attend a public, private, or tribal high school in the state of Wisconsin are not eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee based on ranking within the top 5% of their class.

Applicants who are homeschooled, attend a virtual high school, or are National Merit Scholarship finalists are eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee only if they are residents of the State of Wisconsin.

Transfer students are not eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee.

UW–Madison may revoke an offer of admission if a student admitted under the Wisconsin Guarantee fails to receive a high school diploma; engages in academic misconduct; experiences significantly declining grades after the application is submitted; or if they misrepresent their class rank, ACT examination score, or status as a National Merit Scholarship Finalist.

The Wisconsin Guarantee does not guarantee an applicant admission to any specific major or to any specific school or college. Consideration for direct entry programs (Business, Engineering, Dance, and Music) will remain part of the holistic review.

If you are admitted to UW–Madison through the Wisconsin Guarantee, you must meet the same requirements and/or apply for formal acceptance into your major program.

No. UW–Madison is not participating in the Universities of Wisconsin’s Direct Admit Wisconsin program. 

Students who applied to UW–Madison and are eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee will receive their admissions decision when we release our Early Action decisions on or before January 31.

Students who applied in Early Action and are not admitted but are later named National Merit Finalists — and thereby eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee — must submit an appeal. Upon receiving and reviewing the appeal, the applicant will receive an updated decision.

For more information about appeal eligibility and the appeal process, please contact our office at onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu with the subject line “Wisconsin Guarantee Appeal.”

Applicants  to the University of Wisconsin–Madison who were not admitted through the fall Early Action review process and believe they satisfied the requirements of the Wisconsin Guarantee (Wisconsin Legislature: 2023 Wisconsin Act 95) are granted limited appeal rights.

For more information about appeal eligibility and the appeal process, please contact our office at onwisconsin@admissions.wisc.edu with the subject line “Wisconsin Guarantee Appeal.”

Students applying for admission for the spring term are not eligible for the Wisconsin Guarantee.