First-Year Students
You are a first-year student if you are a current high school student, or you are a high school graduate who has not enrolled in college coursework after graduation.
Reach Your Full Potential
We believe all students who are interested and prepared should have access to a high-quality, affordable college option like UNC. We are committed to putting students first and that starts with a supported, confident, and right-sized application process.
Applying our students-first commitment in Admissions also means proactively removing barriers and personalizing support beyond the application process. One way we do that is through our First-Year Admissions Guarantee which outlines requirements for automatic admission to all non-competitive undergraduate programs. Another way is by making sure every student knows to get in touch with their admissions counselor; the person assigned to support all students and school counselors from your school or region. Your counselor is your primary point of contact, here to support you every step of the way, and the one working to get you to a decision as quickly as possible.
First-Year Admissions Guarantee
We took the guesswork out of knowing whether UNC is a college option for you. All students who submit a complete transcript that meets the established criteria will qualify for automatic admission into the University of Northern Colorado.
How to Apply for Admission
Step 1 is to complete and submit either the Bear Application or the Common Application.
Application requirements are the same and there is no preference to which application you choose so it’s up to you how you would prefer to submit your app. If you’re not sure, we recommend the Bear App as you can complete all of the required fields in about 15 minutes, or less. Plan for additional time if you’d like to submit additional optional documents and/or tell us more about you, your goals, and interests.
Submit the Bear Application Submit the Common Application Access My Admissions Portal
We’re eager to move through the application process quickly so you can get a decision and get on to celebrating, planning your admitted student visit, and setting yourself up for success academically, socially, and financially. If at any time you have questions or need support, contact your admissions counselor or the Office of Admissions.
Required Application Materials
- Complete Online Application (Bear App or Common Application)
- $50 application fee (non-refundable and payable by credit or debit card) OR valid fee waiver.
- Valid fee waiver codes can be entered into the application and are available publicly during Free Application Days or can be requested through your counselor.
- Need-based application fee waivers can be requested within the Bear and Common Applications.
- High School Transcripts
- Unofficial (or Official) High School Transcripts are accepted for first-year applicants and can be uploaded directly from your Admissions Portal.
- All enrolling first-year students are required to submit an Official Final High School Transcript as a federal financial aid regulation.
Additional documents may be requested and will appear on your personalized application checklist as required or optional.
Optional Application Materials:
- Academic Reflection
- Personal Statement/Essay
- Letter(s) of Recommendation
- Standardized Test Scores
When evaluating first-year students for admission, we always start with our First-Year Admissions Guarantee.
If you meet those requirements, you can expect to be admitted. Students who do not meet our First-Year Guarantee requirements are still encouraged to apply to UNC as our admissions process recognizes each student’s unique circumstances. Holistic factors such as course rigor, trends in grades, high school curriculum, letters of recommendation, and written responses to the academic reflections and personal statement/essay are all considered in the process. For students attending high school out-of-state, the academic GPA and academic rigor may be examined in greater depth for admission purposes.
Programs with Additional Admission Requirements:
Admission into UNC does not mean admission into all majors. Students applying to America Sign Language, English Interpretation (B.A.), Dietetics (B.S.), Theatre Arts – Education (B.A.), or any Bachelors of Fine Arts (B.F.A), Bachelors of Music (B.M.), or Bachelors of Music Education (B.M.E.) degree programs will be required to meet additional admissions requirements to be fully admitted to their chosen program.
UNC releases undergraduate admissions decisions on rolling admission which means we review applications and release decisions year-round. Once your application is complete, we work to get you a decision as quickly as possible. Applicants will be notified of their decision by email, receive a postal mail notification (U.S. addresses only), and have a status update to view in your Admissions Portal.
Regardless of your start term, we recommend applying as close to the application open date as possible.
| Start Term | Application Opens | Priority Deadline | Last-Chance Deadline |
| Spring (Begins in January) | February 1 | November 1 | December 1 |
| Summer (Begins in May) | August 1 | February 1 | April 15 |
| Fall (Begins in August) | August 1 | February 1 | August 1 |
| *Fall Early Action – First-Year Only | August 1 | December 1 | December 15 |
Each year we make a commitment that all students who apply by our December 1 Early Action deadline and complete their application by December 15 are guaranteed to have a decision before the new year.
Students should plan to submit and complete their application by the last-chance deadline to be reviewed for admission in time for the start of term. Students will not be admitted after the add deadline for the term/session they applied which can be found on the Office of the Registrar website. For summer term, students will not be admitted after the latest session’s add deadline.
If you complete a high school equivalency exam such as the GED, you’ll need to submit the following in addition to your application and $50 fee or fee waiver.
- Official high school transcripts to the point of stop-out
- Transcripts must be sent to the Office of Admissions directly from your high school to be considered official.
- Official GED/HS Equivalency test scores.
- Scores must be sent directly from the test agency to the Office of Admissions to be considered official.
Optional but encouraged
- A personal statement describing your interest in UNC, your academic experiences and goals, and how you’ve prepared yourself to be academically successful at UNC.
Qualifying GED Scores: Students who take the GED Fifth Test Series (2014 to present) must have earned 150 or higher in each subject area to be eligible for admission. The Fourth Test Series (2001–2013) minimum for admission eligibility is 550 total, and the Third Test Series (1988–2001) minimum is 55 total.
As a military student, you may be applying as a first-year or a transfer student. Excluding military credits, you will apply as a first-year student unless you have taken any college credit after high school graduation (GED or equivalent) in which case you will apply as a transfer student.
Military credits can be considered for transferability and they do not make you a transfer student in and of themselves. Your DD214 and/or Joint Service Transcript (JST) will give you elective credits, but you should still apply as a first-year student if this is the only credit you have. Attending any other Institutionally Accredited institution post-HS graduation makes you a transfer student.
UNC defines a homeschool student as anyone who completed all or part of their high school experience academically in a home-based environment. Homeschool students are reviewed according to the same academic standards as non-homeschooled students, and have the same opportunity to meet the First-Year Admissions Guarantee. Competitive candidates for admission would be those with a focus on completing college preparatory coursework.
Homeschool students are required to submit the application for admission in addition to a complete transcript showing all coursework completed and in progress as part of their application. If a student doesn’t have a transcript, one should be requested from the Homeschool network or otherwise created. To be considered, Homeschool transcripts must include the student’s name, date of birth, all coursework they have taken in grades 9-12 (including full course names), and a graded evaluation or assessment in accordance with the homeschool program (A, B, Pass, etc).
- UNC will use the graded course outcomes and as needed calculate (or recalculate) a cumulative GPA based upon all academic transcripts received.
- Homeschool students are eligible for admission-based scholarships based upon scholarship criteria for first-year students respectively.
Official final high school transcripts are required with a graduation date after the student has completed all of their coursework.
High school counselors, CBO contacts, independent counselors and college contacts can stay connected and support their students every step of the way through Slate.org—a free, secure platform that allows you to view application statuses, upload transcripts, and communicate directly with UNC’s admissions team. Join thousands of counselors using Slate.org to simplify college application management and strengthen collaboration between schools and universities.
Apply with Confidence
89% Admissions Rate
Potential and resilience deserve a chance to shine. That's why we proudly admit between 88% - 91% of first-year applicants each year.
First-Year Admissions Guarantee
Qualify for the First-Year Admissions Guarantee and you also qualify for automatic merit scholarships. That's a winning start to securing an affordable college experience.
Middle 50%
We have a middle 50% GPA range of 3.13–3.95, and 77.5% of first-year students return for their second year. Come join a strong community of students and scholars.
Bringing Credits to UNC
The Office of the Registrar is responsible for determining which credits are transferable and evaluates that coursework based on previously established equivalencies. Courses that do not have established equivalencies will be sent to academic departments responsible for reviewing new courses.
Your credits will automatically be evaluated upon submission of your application for admission and a college transcript. Please allow up to 2 weeks for your TER to be available upon transcript submission. For a complete description of how UNC accepts transfer credits, visit our Registrar’s page.
The most common credit by examination pathways for first-year students are via submission of official Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) scores. When you take the AP or IB examination(s), request that your scores be sent to the University of Northern Colorado’s Office of Admissions. UNC will then evaluate your test scores for credit and notify you of the results.
The Transfer Equivalency Report (TER) is the result of a course-by-course evaluation of transfer courses. This report shows the courses a student took at another school and how they transferred into UNC. Students in the applicant process may access their report through their admissions portal. Once admitted, students will be able to view the report through URSA.
With Transferology and International TransferView you can find out if your coursework will transfer to UNC. Get your transfer credit questions answered quickly so you can save money and stay on pace to graduate on time.
Transferology is a free online tool that helps students see how their college classes will transfer to other schools. You can use it to find out which courses will count toward a degree at UNC or other colleges. Just enter your information in the tool to find out what the transfer equivalencies are at UNC.
International TransferView will assist you in finding courses that have been review and approved from International partners and universities.
Credit for Military Coursework
A maximum of 30 semester hours of credit may be accepted for college-level courses taken under the auspices of the U.S. military services. Credit may also be awarded to veterans of military service who have successfully completed coursework at U.S. military service schools. A Joint Services Transcript (JST), DD214, or official military service school transcript must be submitted.
All documents are evaluated by the Office of the Registrar according to recommendations from the American Council on Education in accordance with UNC guidelines. This credit is counted as non-residency transfer work.
See which courses you should take at a Colorado Community College and to efficiently transfer to UNC and stay on track to complete your bachelor’s degree. Transfer Guides for each major will be added as they are made available and updated annually.
Contact Us
Admissions
The Office of Admissions is available to answer any questions you have about admission, financial aid, scholarships, housing, support services and more. On this page, you can get our contact information, meet our team and find your counselor.