University of Miami Requirements for Admission

What are University of Miami'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 University of Miami and build a strong application.

School location: Coral Gables, FL


Admissions Rate: 18.5%

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 University of Miami is 18.5%. For every 100 applicants, only 19 are admitted.

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This means the school is extremely selective. Meeting their GPA requirements and SAT/ACT requirements is very important to getting past their first round of filters and proving your academic preparation. If you don't meet their expectations, your chance of getting in is nearly zero.

After crossing this hurdle, you'll need to impress University of Miami application readers through their other application requirements, including extracurriculars, essays, and letters of recommendation. We'll cover more below.


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University of Miami 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: 3.8

The average GPA at University of Miami is 3.8.

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

With a GPA of 3.8, University of Miami 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 3.8, 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.

University of Miami 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 University of Miami 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.

University of Miami 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: 1387

The average SAT score composite at University of Miami is a 1387 on the 1600 SAT scale.

This score makes University of Miami Moderately Competitive for SAT test scores.

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University of Miami SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile SAT score is 1340, and the 75th percentile SAT score is 1450. In other words, a 1340 on the SAT places you below average, while a 1450 will move you up to above average.

Here's the breakdown of SAT scores by section:

SectionAverage25th Percentile75th Percentile
Math700670750
Reading + Writing687660720
Composite138713401450

SAT Score Choice Policy

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

University of Miami has the Score Choice policy of "Highest Section."

This is also known as "superscoring." 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 your highest section scores across all SAT test dates you submit.

Click below to learn more about how superscoring critically affects your test strategy.

How does superscoring change your test strategy? (Click to Learn)

For example, say you submit the following 3 test scores:

Section R+W Math Composite
Test 1 700 300 1000
Test 2 300 700 1000
Test 3 300 300 600
Superscore 700 700 1400

Even though the highest total you scored on any one test date was 1000, University of Miami will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 1000 to 1400 in this example.

This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and University of Miami forms your Superscore, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.

Therefore, if your SAT superscore is currently below a 1450, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.

Even better, because of the Superscore, you can focus all your energy on a single section at a time. If your Reading score is lower than your other sections, prep only for the Reading section, then take the SAT. Then focus on Math for the next test, and so on. This will give you the highest Superscore possible.


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University of Miami ACT Requirements

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

Average ACT: 31

The average ACT score at University of Miami is 31. This score makes University of Miami Strongly Competitive for ACT scores.

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The 25th percentile ACT score is 30, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 33.

Even though University of Miami likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 30 or below, you'll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 31 and above that a 30 will look academically weak.

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 33 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 University of Miami, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 33.


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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.

University of Miami 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 extremely selective, getting a high SAT/ACT score and GPA is vital to having a chance at getting in. If you don't pass their SAT/ACT and GPA requirements, they'll likely reject you without much consideration.

To have the best shot of getting in, you should aim for the 75th percentile, with a 1450 SAT or a 33 ACT. You should also have a 3.8 GPA or higher. If your GPA is lower than this, you need to compensate with a higher SAT/ACT score.

For a school as selective as University of Miami, you'll also need to impress them with the rest of your application. We'll cover those details next.

But if you apply with a score below a 1450 SAT or a 33 ACT, you unfortunately start out with the odds against you and have a tiny chance of getting in. There are just too many students with high SAT/ACT scores and strong applications, and you need to compete against them.


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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 University of Miami?
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

SAT 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?

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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 University of Miami here.

Application Requirements Overview

  • Common Application Accepted
  • Electronic Application Available
  • Essay or Personal Statement Required for all freshmen
  • Letters of Recommendation 1
  • Interview Not required
  • Application Fee $70
  • Fee Waiver Available? Available
  • Other Notes College transcript(s) and statement of good standing from prior institution(s) recommended for some freshmen

Testing Requirements

  • SAT or ACT Considered if submitted
  • Scores Due in Office None

Coursework Requirements

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

Deadlines and Early Admissions

  •  
    • Offered? Deadline Notification
  • Regular Admission
    • Yes January 1 April 1
  • Early Action
    • Yes November 1 January 31
  • Early Decision
    • Yes November 1 December 15

Admissions Office Information

Our Expert's Notes

We did more detailed research into this school's admissions process and found the following information:

The process to be admitted to the honors program is currently being revised. If you are interested you should contact the University of Miami's admission department directly. If you want to go for a merit scholarship, the deadline is January 1. For some, applicants are considered automatically, others have separate applications which you can access here.

Source


Other Schools For You

If you're interested in University of Miami, 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 University of Miami.


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Reach Schools: Harder to Get Into

These schools are have higher average SAT scores than University of Miami. If you improve your SAT score, you'll be competitive for these schools.

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
Georgetown University Washington, DC 1480 33
University of Michigan Ann Arbor, MI 1470 33
Villanova University Villanova, PA 1440 33
Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 1436 32
Binghamton University Binghamton, NY 1430 31
Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA 1430 32
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY 1428 32

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Same Level: Equally Hard to Get Into

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

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA 1405 31
Fordham University Bronx, NY 1401 31
Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY 1396 31
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 1382 30
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey New Brunswick, NJ 1380 31
American University Washington, DC 1368 30
Pepperdine University Malibu, CA 1367 30

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Safety Schools: Easier to Get Into

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

School Name Location SAT Avg ACT Avg
United States Military Academy West Point, NY 1331 30
University of Connecticut Storrs, CT 1315 29
Seton Hall University South Orange, NJ 1310 30
Penn State University Park University Park, PA 1310 29
Syracuse University Syracuse, NY 1310 29
University of Texas at Dallas Richardson, TX 1291 28
Temple University Philadelphia, PA 1241 28

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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