How Hard is It to Get Into UGA

The University of Georgia (UGA or Georgia) is the flagship school not only of the University System of Georgia but also The Peach State. Because of this, many college-bound high schoolers fear that it’s hard to get into it.

At the University of Georgia, the acceptance rate is 48%. However, the acceptance rate is slightly lower for out-of-state applicants: 40%. According to the institution’s Common Data Set 2020 to 2021, only 17% of all freshmen students at UGA (excluding international ones) are non-Georgia residents.

Here’s a spooky fact: See that arch in the school’s logo? This gate, which was originally a gate to UGA, actually exists — and legend has it that freshmen students who walk under it will never graduate!

But before you decide whether or not you will avoid walking under it at all costs during your first year at the University of Georgia, you will have to gain admission into the school first.

And before you include it on your college list, continue reading. Below, we will discuss all sorts of important matters about UGA, starting with these quick stats:

• Location: Athens, Georgia
• Founding date: 1785
• Motto: To teach, to serve and to inquire into the nature of things
• Campus size: 762 acres
• Campus type: Suburban
• School type: Conservative public land-grant research university
• Reputation: Party school
• Selectivity level: Selective
• Number of majors: 129
• Popular majors: Accounting, Biology, Business, Communication, Computer Science, Education, Finance, Psychology
• Student body: 39,147 (as per Common Data Set 2020 to 2021)
• Students per class: 10 to 19 in most classes
• Student-to-faculty ratio: 17:1
• Retention rate: 94%
• Graduation rate: 85%
• Athletic affiliation: NCAA Division I
• Color: Red and black
• Mascot: Uga
• Number of varsity teams: 19
• Sports: Baseball, basketball, cross country, football, equestrian, golf, gymnastics, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball

University of Georgia Rankings

The University of Georgia is #16 in Top Public Schools and #48 in National Universities by US News. It is #1 in Best Big Colleges in Georgia and #11 in Top Public Schools in America by Niche. UGA is #2 in Best Public Colleges in Georgia and #4 in Best Value Colleges in Georgia by College Simply.

Being a flagship school, the University of Georgia is a highly ranked institution.

One of the things that attract a lot of students to UGA is that it’s a party school with superb Greek life and athletics. True enough, it is #6 in both Top Party Schools in America and Best Greek Life Colleges in America by Niche. The popular college ranker also puts it at #1 in Best College Athletics in Georgia.

Want to be certain that the University of Georgia is better than the rest ranking-wise? Here are some other UGA rankings by different college ranking sites that tend to get really busy during the college application season:

• #3 in Best Value Colleges in Georgia (Niche)
• #13 in Best College Campuses in America (Niche)
• #14 in the South (Forbes)
• #22 in Best Colleges for Veterans (US News)
• #27 in Research Universities (Forbes)
• #33 in Best Public Colleges in the US (College Simply)
• #57 in Most Innovative Schools (US News)
• #69 in Top Colleges (Forbes)

Does UGA Offer Early Decision?

Instead of Early Decision, the University of Georgia offers Early Action. This early admission plan is just like Early Decision in that it allows students to apply and also hear back from UGA earlier. Early Action is non-binding, unlike Early Decision. October 15 is the Early Action deadline.

Some graduating high school students apply to colleges and universities ahead of everybody else as they are their top-choice schools. Others do so in order to increase their chances of getting an acceptance letter.

At the University of Georgia, it’s pointless to apply Early Action to show your interest and thus win the hearts of the admissions officers. That’s because the school does not consider demonstrated interest as an admissions factor. Needless to say, Early Action applicants get accepted into the school only because of their competitive applications.

Make sure that you don’t forget these important dates for your application to be considered:

ADMISSION PLAN	DEADLINE	DECISION NOTIFICATION
Early Action	15-Oct	1-Dec
Regular Decision	1-Jan	Mid-March

According to the admissions office of the University of Georgia, Early Action and Regular Decision applications undergo the very same review process. To have an idea of whether you should apply Early Action or Regular Decision, see if your application is complete and ready to be checked by the admissions officers.

What GPA Do You Need to Get Into UGA?

The University of Georgia does not have any published minimum GPA requirement for aspirants. However, it admits that an applicant’s high school GPA plays the most important role in the admissions process. UGA recalculates high school GPAs based on courses taken in the five core academic areas.

Since the school considers the GPA as the principal admissions factor, it goes without saying that you should have a stellar high school GPA if you want to be one of the 48% of applicants accepted per academic year.

Here’s a table showing the percentage of applicants accepted into UGA and the range of their GPAs:

GPA RANGE	PERCENT
4	62.54%
3.75 to 3.99	29.02%
3.50 to 3.74	6.62%
3.25 to 3.49	0.99%
3.00 to 3.24	0.28%
2.50 to 2.99	0.39%
2.0 to 2.49	0%
1.0 to 1.99	0.16%
Below 1.0	0%

But don’t just focus on your GPA. You should also focus on many other parts of your application. That’s because the University of Georgia has a holistic admissions policy. This means that its admissions officers make a decision after checking out many different parts of your application.

Read on to know which admissions factors could help you get into UGA — we will talk about them next!

Admissions Factors at UGA

Despite being a flagship school, the University of Georgia considers only two very important admissions factors. They are academic rigor and GPA. Test scores are important, too. Some factors are considered but not that important. There are also admissions factors that UGA does not care about at all.

To have a much better idea of your chances of getting accepted into the University of Georgia, it’s a must that you get acquainted with the different academic and non-academic factors admissions officers take into account.

Each one of them has different relative importance in the public school’s holistic admissions process.

What’s so great about UGA is that there are numerous factors that it doesn’t consider many colleges and universities, most especially selective ones, deem important. This means that applying to it should be not as stressful and nerve-racking as applying to other schools on your college list.

The following are the different academic admissions factors considered and their relative importance:

• Academic rigor – very important
• High school GPA – very important
• Standardized test score – important
• Admissions essay – considered
• Recommendation letters – considered

UGA’s admissions officers do not check class rank when evaluating applicants. According to the Common Data Set 2020 to 2021 of the school, 98% of accepted applicants are in the top half of their high school class.

Meanwhile, here are the various non-academic admissions factors considered and each one’s relative importance:

• Extracurricular activities – considered
• Talent or ability – considered
• Personal qualities – considered
• First-generation – considered
• Volunteer work – considered
• Work experience – considered

Interview, alumni member relations, geographical residence, state residency, religious affiliation, demonstrated interest, race or ethnicity — all of these are non-academic factors that UGA does not consider at all.

Requirements When Applying to UGA

To apply to the University of Georgia, one must complete the Common App or Coalition App. The school also accepts applications via its own portal. School report, transcripts, test scores, and counselor recommendation are all required. Other recommendations are optional. Application to UGA costs $70.

Above, we talked about important admissions-related matters such as application deadlines and the different academic and non-academic factors considered in the admissions process.

Knowing them is pointless if you fail to submit everything that needs to be submitted.

The good news is that the University of Georgia doesn’t require applicants to get their hands on all sorts of documents. Many of the things to submit will have to be carried out by your high school counselor, too.

Unlike when applying to most other colleges and universities, there is no need to submit multiple essays and recommendations.

Here are the simple steps on applying to UGA:

• Fill out the Common App or Coalition App or create a UGA Application account
• Pay the application fee or submit a fee waiver (if you qualify for it)
• Submit SAT or ACT scores
• Submit transcript, school report and counselor recommendation

By the way, based on the school’s Common Data Set 2020 to 2021, the SAT scores of admitted applicants range from 1220 to 1390. On the other hand, the ACT scores of admitted applicants range from 27 to 32.

Took the SAT or ACT more than once? Submit your scores from various test dates as UGA superscores test scores.

How Much Does It Cost to Attend UGA?

Based on the academic year 2021 to 2022 rate, the cost of going to the University of Georgia for a year is $27,946 for in-state students and $47,360 for out-of-state students. The tuition of Georgia residents amounts to $9,790. For non-Georgia residents, the tuition goes up to nearly three times.

Many things need consideration before deciding whether or not an institution should be shortlisted. Especially in today’s economic environment, the cost of attendance is one of the most important of those.

Being a public institution, it isn’t surprising why the tuition at the University of Georgia is much lower than what’s regarded at the national average for colleges and universities in the US. Sadly, the same cannot be said for out-of-state students. That’s because their tuition is almost three times higher.

Out-of-state tuition, anyway, can be more than two or three times higher than in-state tuition.

The table below shows the estimated breakdown of the cost of attending UGA for a year for both in-state and out-of-state students, as of the academic year 2021 to 2022:

EXPENSES	IN-STATE COSTS	OUT-OF-STATE COSTS
Tuition	$9,790	$28,830
Fees	$2,278	$2,278
Books and supplies	$1,032	$1,032
Room and board	$10,452	$10,452
Transportation	$1,224	$1,598
Miscellaneous	$3,170	$3,170
TOTAL	$27,946	$47,360

According to the Undergraduate Admissions page of the website of UGA, the University of Georgia remains considered one of the “best buys” in higher education.

This is especially true since the school’s graduates have some of the lowest debts after earning their degrees. Also, there’s the Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) Scholarship. Available for Georgia residents only, it allows freshmen students to commence their college paying limited tuition and fees.

How Much Do UGA Graduates Make?

The average first-year earnings of the University of Georgia alumni members amount to $42,800. The amount of earnings they make 10 years from their initial admission into UGA equals $56,400 per year, which is more than 60% higher than what is considered the national median for annual salaries.

Increasing one’s chances of getting employed is one of the reasons why many attend college after high school.

True enough, 10 years from the time you enrolled at the University of Georgia as a freshman student, you would generate more money a year than most professionals across all occupations. Of course, your annual earnings will depend on different factors. Some of them include your major, work experience and workplace.

Wondering how much you could make every year after graduating from UGA? Here’s a table of the average initial annual earnings of the University of Georgia graduates based on majors:

MAJOR	YEARLY EARNINGS
Computer Science	$67,200
Management Information Systems	$65,000
Agricultural Engineering	$59,600
Accounting	$57,800
International Business	$56,300
Finance	$55,200
Business	$51,200
Statistics	$49,400
Economics	$48,600
Marketing	$45,100
Mathematics	$44,800
Public Relations	$39,400
Advertising	$39,400
Teacher Education	$38,700
Communication	$35,100
Media Studies	$35,100
Nutrition	$34,300
Journalism	$33,000
Political Science	$31,900
Psychology	$26,700
Chemistry	$26,200
History	$23,900

Famous People That Went to UGA

Many well-known individuals once attended the University of Georgia. Some of them are former US Senators and Representatives. Others are founders or CEOs of businesses and companies. There are also UGA alumni members who became authors, writers, professional athletes, musicians and actors.

It’s no secret that most college-bound teens check out things such as degrees, majors, cost of attendance, acceptance rate, graduation rate and others before placing an institution on their college list.

Not too many take a look at the most notable alumni members.

Realizing that some of the people whose names you have already heard or read about used to go to the school you are planning to attend can make going to college even more exciting. And this is why below is a list of the most popular alumni members of the University of Georgia:

• Saxby Chambliss – Former US Senator from Georgia
• Johnny Isakson – Former US Senator from Georgia
• Paul Broun Jr. – Former US Representative for Georgia’s 10th congressional district
• John Barrow – Former US Representative for Georgia’s 12th congressional district
• Ander Crenshaw – Former US Representative for Florida’s 4th congressional district
• Robert Benham – Served on the Supreme Court of Georgia for over 30 years
• Sonny Perdue – Served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture
• Thomas J. Callaway IV – Founder and CEO of Onward Reserve
• Thomas G. Cousins – Founder and former chairman of Cousins Properties of Atlanta
• M. Douglas Ivester – Former chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company
• Charles S. Sanford Jr. – Former chairman and CEO of Bankers Trust
• James Blanchard – Former chairman and CEO of Synovus Financial Corp.
• Deborah Blum – Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Poisoner’s Handbook and The Poison Squad
• Jackie Crosby – Co-Pulitzer Prize winner for Specialized Reporting on athletics at UGA
• Randall Savage – Co-Pulitzer Prize winner for Specialized Reporting on athletics at UGA
• Mike Edwards – Former senior writer for National Geographic
• Teresa Edwards – Former professional basketball player and four-time Olympic gold medalist
• Maritza McClendon – First black American swimmer to set an American and world swimming record
• Russell Henley – Professional golfer who plays in the PGA Tour
• John Kasay – Professional football player who played in the NFL for 21 seasons
• Terrell Davis – Professional football player who played in the NFL for seven seasons
• Bill Anderson – Country music singer and songwriter nicknamed “Whispering Bill”
• Dave Haywood – Member of the band Lady Antebellum
• Charles Kelley – Member of the band Lady Antebellum
• Michael Stipe – Lead singer of the band R.E.M.
• James Michael Tyler – Actor popular for playing Gunther in the TV sitcom Friends
• Wayne Knight – Actor who appeared on Seinfeld, 3rd Rock From the Sun, etc.

Just Before You Apply to UGA

The University of Georgia is known for its exceptional athletics and parties. More importantly, it’s known for being the flagship school of both the University System of Georgia and the state of Georgia. Needless to say, the UGA degree you will work hard for will be admired and respected by potential employers.

But with only less than half of all applicants accepted, however, your application should be a complete standout.

Above, we discussed many things about the University of Georgia, including especially admissions-related ones. Feel free to use the information you came across earlier to your advantage to increase your chances of getting accepted.