Application Guide

Classification: New Freshman vs Transfer

Before we begin, please understand the admission classifications that the University of Arkansas uses and the eligibility criteria associated with each:

• If you have earned no transferable college credit, you will be classified as a New Freshman. New Freshmen are evaluated on a number of admission factors, including GPA, test scores, and more.*
• If you have fewer than 24 hours of transferable credit, you will be classified as a Transfer Freshman and must have a 3.0 high school GPA and a 2.0 college GPA to be eligible for automatic admission.*
• If you have more than 24 hours of transferable credit, you will just need a 2.0 college GPA or higher to be eligible for classification as a New Transfer and automatic admission to the university.
• Students who do not meet the admission requirements outlined for transfer students may still apply and can complete the appeal process with the Admissions and Appellate Board upon receiving an initial decision.
• International students must meet requirements as listed in our Catalog of Study. International students are not eligible for admission decision appeals.

* Students may be admitted without a test score at the time of applying if a 3.20 GPA or higher was earned in high school. However, a test score will be required to register for classes.

An official review of your transfer credit will not be completed until you’ve been admitted. If you’d like to get an unofficial idea of what your transfer credit situation may look like before then, there is a tool you can use to self-evaluate your transcripts. The Course Equivalency Guide records equivalents for courses from external higher education institutions which have previously been presented for transfer. 

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Transfer Credit: Self Evaluation

Consider doing a self-evaluation of your transfer credits so you can:

1. Get an idea of what your degree progress will look like prior to admission.
2. Understand what criteria you will be evaluated on as part of the admissions process.

 

To do this, you'll want to use a copy of your college transcripts and compare them using the Course Equivalency Guide. If the university has an equivalent class for something you have previously taken, you will either receive specific course or elective credit.

 

  Notes

 

Credit is typically awarded for a (general education) course where a C or better was earned. For a course to be accepted as transferable and applied towards your degree, it must be considered a "direct equivalent" of a U of A course that falls under your degree program. While some courses may technically transfer, they may not ultimately count towards your degree. For example, a course like American History of the 1500s may transfer to the university but not as a “direct equivalent” for the U of A course History of the American People to 1877.

 

While using the Course Equivalency Guide  you may notice that one or more of your previous institutions are missing. There are several reasons for this. The most common reason is that the school you attended is not regionally accredited, and you should not expect to receive transfer credit from that institution. It may also be that you are the first student to ask for credits to be transferred to the U of A from that institution, so we have no history of transfer equivalency. If you have questions about this policy or would like assistance in determining if your school is regionally accredited, please contact your Admissions Counselor or the Online Student Liaison Office.

 

Please note that courses taken through a learning company, rather than directly from a regionally accredited college or university, are not considered transferable to the U of A and cannot be counted towards the credits needed to be classified as a new transfer.

 

If you cannot locate a school in the Course Equivalency Guide, it is likely not regionally accredited and you should not expect to receive transfer credit from that institution, nor will those courses contribute to the 24 hours needed to be classified as a new transfer. If you have questions about this policy, please contact your Admissions Counselor or the Online Student Liaison Office.

 

If you have questions about this policy, please contact your Admissions Counselor or the Online Student Liaison Office.

Login / Account

   Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

Application Center

• Create your login  (username and password)
  
  
• You will receive an email:

Subject:  Application Created -University of Arkansas Admissions Application Spring/Summer/Fall

From:  University of Arkansas Admissions (uofa@uark.edu)

 

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Academic History

  Estimated Time of Completion: 5 minutes

List each academic institution you have previously attended, even those where no degree or from which transfer credit will not be awarded, such as non-regionally accredited schools. Please be as accurate as possible when listing an institution’s name and the dates you attended, as inaccuracies may delay your application process.

• Institution Name 
• Location 
• Dates Attended 
• Level of Study 

 

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Test Scores

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

• New Freshmen or students who are transferring in less than 24 collegiate credit hours will need to submit a composite test score. 
• Students who transfer in 24 or more collegiate credit hours will not need to submit a test score. 
• ACT, SAT, and ACCUPLACER scores must be less than five years old at the time of applying to be accepted for admission and enrollment purposes. 
• The ACCUPLACER is an alternative test option and can be taken remotely. Please review the Test Score Policy for more information about your test choices

 

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Emergency Contacts

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

• Must list one person and contact information

 

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Selective Service

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

Declare if you are eligible for selective service.

 

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Payment

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

Choose between Check/Money Order or Credit Card.

Once you submit the application a link will be provided to pay by credit card. If you chose Check/Money Order then directions will be provided. The application fee is non-refundable.

 

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Signature

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

A space to provide your digital signature will appear; you do not print the application.

 

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Important Reminder

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

This tab provides information on document submission and supporting materials.

 

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Review

  Estimated Time of Completion: 1 minute

Any items left incomplete in the application will appear here. Only completed applications can be submitted.

After you submit the application form you will receive an email:

Subject: Application Submitted - University of Arkansas Admissions Application (Semester and Year)

From: University of Arkansas Admissions  (uofa@uark.edu)

Application Center

After you submit your application form, you will then have access to the Materials section of the Application Center.

Once your application has been submitted, an application checklist will begin to generate based on your responses on the application. This checklist will detail the materials you need to submit before your application can be reviewed for admission. As you begin submitting materials, your checklist may change based on a review of your materials. It’s important to login regularly to check for updates.

 

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Application Checklist

The application checklist must be completed for your application to be evaluated for admission. It may contain items such as academic transcripts, test scores, the application fee, or other materials depending on your personal circumstances. The checklist will track your progress submitting the required materials and can be viewed at any time by logging back into the New Student Center where you started your application.

 

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Collegiate Transcripts

You will need to request official transcripts from each collegiate institution you have previously attended, even those where no degree was earned or from which transfer credit will not be awarded (such as non-regionally accredited schools). If the school you attended has closed or was destroyed, you should instead be able to acquire your transcript from the Department of Education in the state where the school was located. A transcript is only considered official when sent directly from your institution to the U of A. Learn more about how to submit your official transcript.

 

  Important

The Registrar's Office will not evaluate credit from an institution that is listed as transfer credit on a transcript, so please ensure that individual, official copies are sent from each institution attended.

 

Once your transcripts have arrived at the university, it can take up to three weeks for your checklist to reflect that these items have been processed by admissions. It is important to request your transcripts early in the application process. Please allow the three-week threshold to pass before expressing concern regarding processing times.

 

  Note

If the name on your transcript is not an exact match to the names listed on your application, the admissions team will not be able to attach your transcript to your application. If you need to update your previously used names on your application after submission, please contact the Office of Admissions or the Online Student Liaison Office.

 

Online Admissions Counselor: Brett Reinert -  breinert@uark.edu

Online Student Liaison Office: 479-575-6493 or online@uark.edu

 

Collegiate transcripts pertaining to your undergraduate coursework should be sent to the university in one of the following ways:

1. Electronic Submission

If provided by your transfer college, transcripts can also be delivered as an electronic PDF (this is the preferred method for submitting a transcript) through services such as:

Electronic PDF transcripts should be sent directly from the service provider to: registra@uark.edu.
Transcripts submitted from the student’s email account, or any other email account, will not be accepted.

2. Hard Copy Submission

Students may also submit hard copies of college transcripts by mail or in person.  All hard copies must be in a sealed envelope from the transfer institution. 

Undergraduate Domestic Students

 

Important

All mailed documents must come directly from the school in question and may take 7-10 days to arrive.

 

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High School / GED Transcripts

High school or GED transcripts can be obtained by contacting the school or state you graduated from and asking them to issue the Office of Admissions an official copy of your transcript to UofA@uark.edu or by mail. If the school you attended has closed or was destroyed, you should instead be able to acquire your transcript from the Department of Education in the state where the school was located. High school or GED transcripts are only required for New Freshmen or Transfer Freshmen (fewer than 24 transferable college hours).

 

Note

If the name on your transcript is not an exact match to the names listed on your application, the admissions team will not be able to attach your transcript to your application. If you need to update your previously used names on your application after submission, please contact the Office of Admissions or the Online Student Liaison Office.

 

Online Admissions Counselor: Brett Reinert -  breinert@uark.edu

Online Student Liaison Office: 479-575-6493 or online@uark.edu

 

New Freshmen and Transfer Freshmen will be asked to supply standardized test scores as part of the admission process. Test scores expire after five years, so if you do not have a valid ACT, SAT, or Accuplacer test score from within five years, you would need updated scores. 

Our Testing Center offers a remote proctoring option for the Accuplacer. If you’re interested, please visit their website and use the steps below to ensure that you are signing up for the appropriate test. Once you have completed the test, please upload your score report in the New Student Center.

• Step 1: Accuplacer
• Step 2: Online Proctored Accuplacer
• Step 3: Accuplacer [OP] – Combined – Reading/Writing/Math (QAS)

 If you have any questions about the test, please contact Testing Services at 479-575-3948 or testing@uark.edu.

 

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Fee Waiver Documentation

To qualify for a fee waiver, you must be able to provide documentation showing that you receive federal or state aid like SNAP Benefits, Medicaid or Pell Grants. Documentation of aid must include:

• Your name
• Date showing that aid is for this calendar/school year
• Aid type or amount

When you login to your application, there will be a section for you to upload materials. Attach the documentation there, then select "fee waiver evidence” from the drop-down menu as a title for the attachment. If your application checklist doesn’t reflect the documentation as satisfied within a week of you uploading the material, please contact the Online Student Liaison Office for more insight into whether your submission meets the criteria outlined above. 

If you see the fee waiver documentation item on your checklist, but are ineligible for aid, please let an Admissions Counselor or Online Student Liaison know. They will get the waiver removed from your checklist and enable the option to pay

 

  Note

If there are any additional items on your checklist that are not noted above, please contact your Admissions Counselor or the Online Student Liaison Office for additional instructions.

Once an admission decision is posted to your account, you will receive an email:

Subject:  A decision has been posted regarding your application for admission

From:  University of Arkansas Admissions  (uofa@uark.edu)

If admitted, please proceed to the New Online Student Checklist. It will appear within the application portal and will walk you through your next steps. Your first priority should be Step 1, activating your university account. Once that’s complete, you will be able to complete required onboarding tasks and schedule a meeting with an Academic Advisor. Your academic advisor will guide you through transfer credit, degree auditing, and course registration for your upcoming term.