Applying for Admission

Each year, entering students bring a broad range of academic, career, and personal interests to our campus. We encourage applicants from a variety of geographic, social, cultural, economic, and ethnic backgrounds.

Admission to RIT is competitive, but our admission process is a personal one. We are interested in learning about your interests, abilities, and goals in order to provide the best information and guidance we can as you select the college that is right for you.

Admission factors

Factors considered in our admission decisions include, but are not limited to, past high school/college performance (particularly in required academic subjects), admission test scores, competitiveness of high school or previous college, and academic program selected. Recommendations from those familiar with your academic performance and interviews with an admissions counselor are often influential.

Students applying for freshman admission in the fall (September) may apply through the Early Decision or Regular Decision Plans. The Early Decision Plan is designed for students who consider RIT their first-choice college and wish to make an early commitment regarding admission. Regular Decision applicants who have provided all required application materials by February 1 will receive admission notification by March 15.

Applications received after February 1 will be reviewed on a space-available basis, with notification letters mailed four to six weeks after the application is received. Students interested in being considered for merit-based (academic and extracurricular) scholarships or the RIT Honors program must apply by February 1.

Dec. 1 Early Decision deadline

Jan. 15 Early Decision applicants receive admission notification

Feb.1 Regular Decision deadline for March 15 notification

All applications for transfer admission are reviewed as they are received, and notification letters are mailed four to six weeks after the application is received.

Program choice

Most students applying to RIT choose a specific academic program as part of the admission process. Given the variety of academic programs, admissions requirements may differ from one program to another. For example, a computer science applicant would present particular strength in mathematics, while a student applying for a fine arts major would need to show artistic talent through a required portfolio.

The chart provided on the following pages may be helpful to you in selecting an academic program appropriate to your interests and academic background. If you are applying for freshman admission, check to see which programs best fit your high school course work and SAT or ACT scores. Please remember that standardized tests are only one of many factors reviewed in our selection process. Many accepted students will score higher or lower than the score ranges listed for each program.

We encourage applicants to indicate a second and third program choice when applying for admission. If RIT is unable to offer you admission to your first-choice program, you may be qualified for admission to one of your alternative choices.

Undeclared options

Students may also enroll in one of the many “undeclared options” offered across the university. If you have interests that span two or more colleges within RIT, the University Studies option provides students a year to explore and focus their academic and career interests.

If your primary interests fall within a specific college, but you are unsure of your specific major, most of our colleges offer Undeclared Options. These college-based options help you discover more about your specific interests within the majors offered by the college. The following undeclared options are available:

Undeclared Art and Design
Undeclared Business
Computing Exploration (Undeclared Computing)
Undeclared Crafts
Engineering Exploration (Undeclared Engineering)
Undeclared Engineering Technology
Informatics Exploration (Undeclared Informatics)
Liberal Arts Exploration (Undeclared Liberal Arts)
General Science Exploration (Undeclared Science)

Advanced Placement (AP)

Advanced Placement credit is awarded if a student has taken a course at his or her high school, and attained a satisfactory grade on the advanced placement exam. In order to receive credit for the courses, official test scores must be submitted to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions from the College Board Testing Center (www.collegeboard.com). An exam score of 3 or higher is necessary to be considered for credit. In many cases, however, a minimum score of 4 is required to obtain credit for specific college courses (e.g., University Physics). Each department will determine the specific amount of credit to be awarded.

International Baccalaureate (IB)

RIT recognizes IB level work. Credit may be awarded for higher level examinations completed with a grade of 5 or better. Credit is awarded on a course-by-course basis and in the context of the student’s intended program at RIT. Each department will determine the specific amount of credit to be awarded. Students are requested to forward IB transcripts to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.

Transfer credit

Transfer credit will be considered for relevant course work where a grade of C or better was earned at a regionally accredited college or university. Official transcripts must be submitted and will be reviewed on a course-by-course basis. RIT also reviews work performed in courses and training programs evaluated by the American Council on Education (e.g., CLEP, DANTES, etc.). Minimum acceptable scores vary by course and program.

Higher Education Opportunity Program

RIT and New York state co-sponsor the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). This program is open only to New York state residents with academic deficiencies related to financial or educational disadvantages. HEOP students are provided with a variety of support services, including financial assistance, counseling, tutoring, and a pre-freshman summer program to assist in the transition to college. For more information, please contact our HEOP Office at 585-475-2221, or go to www.rit.edu/studentaffairs/heop.

NTID and NTID-supported applicants

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students may apply for admission to programs offered at RIT’s National Technical Institute for the Deaf or to any other college at RIT. Deaf and hard-of-hearing applicants may qualify for educational access and support services (which typically include sign language interpreting, FM systems, real-time captioning, and notetaking services) as well as NTID’s federally supported tuition rate. Qualified students pay the reduced NTID tuition rate when enrolled in NTID degree programs or BS/BFA programs in other colleges of RIT (see page 51).