First-Year Guarantee
At UNC we are deeply committed to a students-first approach.
That’s why we created our First-Year Admissions Guarantee – to remove the guesswork from knowing whether UNC is a college option for you. All students who meet the criteria outlined below will qualify for automatic admission into the University of Northern Colorado.
Questions? Refer to our FAQ list below, contact your admissions counselor, or reach out to the Office of Admissions any time.
First-Year Admission Guarantee
With 44% of our students identifying as first in their families to attend college, we understand how stressful the college search process can be. That’s why we created our First-Year Admissions Guarantee – to remove the guesswork from knowing whether UNC is a college option for you.
All students who meet the criteria outlined below will qualify for automatic admission into the University of Northern Colorado.
Questions? Refer to our FAQ list below or contact us.
First-Year Guarantee Requirements:
- Current Colorado high school student*
- 3.0 Cumulative High School GPA (Weighted)
- 4 years of English
- 4 years of Math (or 3 years of math with at least a B in Algebra 2)
- 3 years of Physical / Lab Sciences
- 3 years of Social Sciences
- Meet all other high school graduation requirements.
- Submit application for admission by March 1 of your graduation year
*Students who are not attending high school in Colorado can expect to receive consideration for admission in accordance with these standards, too. Graduates of a Colorado high school who, since graduating, have not enrolled at another college or university are eligible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about our First-Year Guarantee and how it might apply based upon your experiences and interests.
No. These are our recommended minimum requirements. To best prepare for college, we advise all students to continue seeking academic challenges in your major areas of interest. Please note: Meeting the Colorado First-Year Guarantee requirements does not guarantee admission to any performing arts (music, theatre, musical theatre) programs which require an audition/interview for full admission.
An Example: A student interested in studying health and physical sciences would be best-served to continue taking advanced mathematics and physical/natural sciences courses for all four years of high school, regardless of previous grades.
If you meet the requirements outlined in the first-year guarantee you can feel confident you’re going to be a competitive candidate for admission regardless of your home state or country. If you have specific questions, contact your admissions counselor or simply email us at admissions@unco.edu.
Students who do not meet the criteria can absolutely still be admitted to UNC! You can expect to receive full consideration for admission through a holistic review of factors including your academic course selection and rigor, overall GPA and trends as well as your involvement and leadership experiences, academic reflection, personal statement/essay and letters of recommendation, as provided.
If you still have questions, definitely reach out and connect with your admissions counselor.
Yep! UNC’s Colorado First-Year Admissions Guarantee is straightforward on purpose. If you meet the requirements and submit all of the required documents on time, you can feel confident you will be admitted to the university.
For a number of reasons we do not have a foreign language requirement. We know students may have unique circumstances that warrant an exception, such as already being bilingual/multilingual or students with learning disabilities or processing disorders. In addition, we recognize school environment circumstances are beyond students’ control, such as schools not offering foreign language courses due to nationwide teacher shortages or other reasons.
Absolutely! All first-time, first-year students with a cumulative GPA (weighted) of a 3.0 or higher also qualify for automatic admissions scholarships.