Eastern Illinois University Requirements for Admission

What are Eastern Illinois University's admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

  • GPA requirements
  • Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
  • Application requirements

In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into Eastern Illinois University and build a strong application.

School location: Charleston, IL


Admissions Rate: 67.9%

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at Eastern Illinois University is 67.9%. For every 100 applicants, 68 are admitted.

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This means the school is moderately selective. The school expects you to meet their requirements for GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but they're more flexible than other schools. If you exceed their requirements, you have an excellent chance of getting in. But if you don't, you might be one of the unlucky minority that gets a rejection letter.


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Eastern Illinois University GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school's average GPA for its current students.

Average GPA: 3.47

The average GPA at Eastern Illinois University is 3.47.

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(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.47, Eastern Illinois University requires you to be around average in your high school class. You'll need a mix of A's and B's, and very few C's. If you have a lower GPA, you can compensate with harder courses like AP or IB classes. This will help boost your weighted GPA and show your ability to take college classes.

If you're currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.47, you'll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.


SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Only a few schools require the SAT or ACT, but many consider your scores if you choose to submit them.

Eastern Illinois University hasn't explicitly named a policy on SAT/ACT requirements, but because it's published average SAT or ACT scores (we'll cover this next), it's likely test flexible. Typically, these schools say, "if you feel your SAT or ACT score represents you well as a student, submit them. Otherwise, don't."

Despite this policy, the truth is that most students still take the SAT or ACT, and most applicants to Eastern Illinois University will submit their scores. If you don't submit scores, you'll have one fewer dimension to show that you're worthy of being admitted, compared to other students. We therefore recommend that you consider taking the SAT or ACT, and doing well.

Eastern Illinois University SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school's average score.

Average SAT: 1020

The average SAT score composite at Eastern Illinois University is a 1020 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes Eastern Illinois University Lightly Competitive for SAT test scores.

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Eastern Illinois University SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 920, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1140. In other words, a 920 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1140 will move you up to above average.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math500430540
Reading + Writing510460570
Composite10209201140

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

Eastern Illinois University has the Score Choice policy of "Highest Sitting."

This means that you can choose which SAT tests you want to send to the school. Of all the scores they receive, your application readers will consider the SAT score from your single highest test date (the sum of math, reading, and writing).

This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Eastern Illinois University only considers your highest score on a single test date, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit your strongest score. Your application readers will only see that one score.

Therefore, if your SAT score is currently below a 1020, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You don't have much to lose, and you can potentially raise your score and significantly boost your chances of getting in.


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Eastern Illinois University ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, Eastern Illinois University likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 20

The average ACT score at Eastern Illinois University is 20. This score makes Eastern Illinois University Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.

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The 25th percentile ACT score is 17, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 23.

Even though Eastern Illinois University likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 17 or below, you'll have a harder time getting in, unless you have something else impressive in your application.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you're taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school's ACT requirement of 20 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you're happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

We weren't able to find the school's exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to Eastern Illinois University, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 20.


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SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Currently, only the ACT has an optional essay section that all students can take. The SAT used to also have an optional Essay section, but since June 2021, this has been discontinued unless you are taking the test as part of school-day testing in a few states. Because of this, no school requires the SAT Essay or ACT Writing section, but some schools do recommend certain students submit their results if they have them.

Eastern Illinois University considers the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section optional and may not include it as part of their admissions consideration. You don't need to worry too much about Writing for this school, but other schools you're applying to may require or recommend it.



Final Admissions Verdict

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Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring a 1140 SAT or a 23 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 67.9% of all applicants, being far above average raises the admission rate for you to nearly 100%.

If you can achieve a high SAT/ACT score, the rest of your application essentially doesn't matter. You still need to meet the rest of the application requirements, and your GPA shouldn't be too far off from the school average of 3.47. But you won't need dazzling extracurriculars and breathtaking letters of recommendation to get in. You can get in based on the merits of your score alone.

But if your score is a 920 SAT or a 17 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.


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We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.


Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at Eastern Illinois University?
Chances of admission with these scores:

Here's our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.

Pick your test: SAT ACT

ACT Score
Your GPA

Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:
  • 80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
  • 50-80%: More likely than not getting in
  • 20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
  • 5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
  • 0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in
We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.

How would your chances improve with a better score?

Take your current SAT score and add 160 points (or take your ACT score and add 4 points) to the calculator above. See how much your chances improve?

At PrepScholar, we've created the leading online SAT/ACT prep program. We guarantee an improvement of 160 SAT points or 4 ACT points on your score, or your money back.

Here's a summary of why we're so much more effective than other prep programs:

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Application Requirements

Every school requires an application with the bare essentials - high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We'll cover the exact requirements of Eastern Illinois University here.

Application Requirements Overview

  • Common Application Not accepted
  • Electronic Application Available
  • Essay or Personal Statement Required for some freshmen
  • Letters of Recommendation 1
  • Interview Not required
  • Application Fee No fee required for domestic applicants
  • Fee Waiver Available? Available
  • Other Notes Audition for music program recommended for some freshmen

Testing Requirements

  • SAT or ACT Not used if submitted
  • Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

  • Subject Required Years
  • English 4
  • Math 3
  • Science 3
  • Foreign Language 2
  • Social Studies 3
  • History
  • Electives 2

Deadlines and Early Admissions

  •  
    • Offered? Deadline Notification
  • Regular Admission
    • Yes Rolling Rolling
  • Early Action
    • No
  • Early Decision
    • No

Admissions Office Information


Other Schools For You

If you're interested in Eastern Illinois University, you'll probably be interested in these schools as well. We've divided them into 3 categories depending on how hard they are to get into, relative to Eastern Illinois University.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average ACT scores than Eastern Illinois University. If you improve your ACT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
University of Arizona Tucson, AZ 1245 25
California State University Long Beach Long Beach, CA 1145 23
Florida Gulf Coast University Fort Myers, FL 1110 23
University of North Texas Denton, TX 1110 23
Washington State University Pullman, WA 1130 23
University of Texas at Arlington Arlington, TX 1160 23
Texas State University San Marcos, TX 1080 23

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

If you're competitive for Eastern Illinois University, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Georgia Southern University Statesboro, GA 1067 21
University of North Carolina at Greensboro Greensboro, NC 1083 21
State University of New York Plattsburgh Plattsburgh, NY 1155 21
Montclair State University Montclair, NJ 1070 21
University of Texas at El Paso El Paso, TX 1008 20
University of California, Merced Merced, CA 1080 20
California State University Northridge Northridge, CA 1020 19

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

If you're currently competitive for Eastern Illinois University, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If Eastern Illinois University is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Kean University Union, NJ 1030 18
California State University Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 985 18
Alabama State University Montgomery, AL 954 18
Southern Vermont College Bennington, VT 970 18
University of Maine at Fort Kent Fort Kent, ME 975 18
California State University San Bernardino San Bernardino, CA 900 17
Texas Southern University Houston, TX 912 17

Data on this page is sourced from Peterson's Databases © 2024 (Peterson's LLC. All rights reserved.) as well as additional publicly available sources.


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Want to build the best possible college application?

We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools.

Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.


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