What are BYU'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:
In this guide we'll cover what you need to get into BYU and build a strong application.
School location: Provo, UT
This school is also known as: Brigham Young University
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 BYU is 67.5%. For every 100 applicants, 68 are admitted.
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.
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.
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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.
The average GPA at BYU is 3.86.
(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.
With a GPA of 3.86, BYU requires you to be near the top of your class, and well above average. Your transcript should show mostly A's. Ideally, you will also have taken several AP or IB classes to show that you can handle academics at a college level.
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 3.86, 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.
Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests.
You must take either the SAT or ACT to submit an application to BYU. More importantly, you need to do well to have a strong application.
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.
The average SAT score composite at BYU is a 1315 on the 1600 SAT scale.
This score makes BYU Moderately Competitive for SAT test scores.
The 25th percentile SAT score is 1220, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1410. In other words, a 1220 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1410 will move you up to above average.
Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:
| Section | Average | 25th Percentile | 75th Percentile |
| Math | 655 | 600 | 710 |
| Reading + Writing | 660 | 610 | 710 |
| Composite | 1315 | 1220 | 1410 |
The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.
Just like for the SAT, BYU likely doesn't have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.
The average ACT score at BYU is 29. This score makes BYU Moderately Competitive for ACT scores.
The 25th percentile ACT score is 26, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 31.
Even though BYU likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 26 or below, you'll have a harder time getting in, unless you have something else impressive in your application.
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 29 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.
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 BYU, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 29.
Download our free guide on the top 5 strategies you must be using to improve your score. This guide was written by Harvard graduates and ACT perfect scorers. If you apply the strategies in this guide, you'll study smarter and make huge score improvements.
Both the SAT and ACT have an optional essay section.
BYU recommends that you take the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section. If you do well, they'll consider your application to be stronger.
Schools vary in their SAT subject test requirements. Typically, selective schools tend to require them, while most schools in the country do not.
We did not find information that BYU requires SAT subject tests, and so most likely it does not. At least 6 months before applying, you should still doublecheck just to make sure, so you have enough time to take the test.
Because this school is moderately selective, strong academic performance will almost guarantee you admission. Scoring a 1410 SAT or a 31 ACT or above will nearly guarantee you admission. Because the school admits 67.5% 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 3.86. 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 1220 SAT or a 26 ACT and below, you have a good chance of being one of the unlucky few to be rejected.
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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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 BYU here.
We did more detailed research into this school's admissions process and found the following information:
BYU has religious, and specifically LDS, requirements for admission. From their website: "The first consideration in the review process is the ecclesiastical endorsement. Each applicant must be endorsed by his or her ecclesiastical leaders as one who is worthy to attend BYU and is living in harmony with the Honor Code and the Dress and Grooming Standards (BeSmart.com/honorcode). Non-LDS applicants will only be required to meet with one of the following: an LDS bishop, branch president, or mission president (to locate these ecclesiastical leaders, enter your address into the meetinghouse locator tool."
Indeed, "liv[ing] the standards of the LDS Church" is first on their College Prep checklist, and attending and graduating from LDS Seminary is second.
The religious requirements are also reflected in their new freshmen profile. 82.7% of female accepted students received a Young Women recognition (an LDS religious award), and 84.8% of male accepted students got an Eagle Scout Award (another common award in LDS Churches). Furthermore, 97% served in the quorum (LDS) or class presidency, and 95.6% are four-year seminary graduates.
If you're interested in BYU, 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 BYU.
These schools are have higher average SAT scores than BYU. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | Troy, NY | 1409 | 31 |
| Villanova University | Villanova, PA | 1395 | 33 |
| Binghamton University | Vestal, NY | 1375 | 30 |
| Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | 1365 | 31 |
| University of Florida | Gainesville, FL | 1360 | 30 |
| University of California, Santa Barbara | Santa Barbara, CA | 1355 | 29 |
| University of Texas at Austin | Austin, TX | 1355 | 30 |
If you're competitive for BYU, these schools will offer you a similar chance of admission.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stony Brook University | Stony Brook, NY | 1335 | 29 |
| California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo | San Luis Obispo, CA | 1335 | 29 |
| University of Georgia | Athens, GA | 1325 | 30 |
| University of Connecticut | Storrs, CT | 1315 | 29 |
| University of California, Irvine | Irvine, CA | 1310 | 29 |
| Rochester Institute of Technology | Rochester, NY | 1300 | 30 |
| American University | Washington, DC | 1300 | 29 |
If you're currently competitive for BYU, you should have no problem getting into these schools. If BYU is currently out of your reach, you might already be competitive for these schools.
| School Name | Location | SAT Avg | ACT Avg |
|---|---|---|---|
| Syracuse University | Syracuse, NY | 1275 | 28 |
| United States Military Academy | West Point, NY | 1270 | 28 |
| Penn State University Park | University Park, PA | 1265 | 28 |
| University of Cincinnati | Cincinnati, OH | 1265 | 27 |
| Hofstra University | Hempstead, NY | 1250 | 28 |
| Temple University | Philadelphia, PA | 1238 | 27 |
| Seton Hall University | South Orange, NJ | 1231 | 26 |
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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