The University of Vermont is a public land grant research institution located in Burlington, Vermont’s largest city. UVM’s suburban campus is located between the Adirondacks and the Green Mountains.
Established in 1791, UVM is considered a Public Ivy League school, meaning that the school offers degree programs that are similar in rigor to those found at the Ivy Leagues.
This means that students at UVM have the opportunity to have a fulfilling, intense college experience but for the much lower price of a public university.
Since its founding, the school has worked toward creating and uphold its long-standing tradition of providing a high-quality education for a fraction of tuition costs at private Ivy Leagues.
UVM is ranked #55 among public universities in the United States, according to an annual report by US News and World Report. Each year, over 10,000 students enroll at the school.
Despite its large enrollment, the school maintains an 18:1 student-faculty ratio. Additionally, over 45% of UVM’s classes have 20 students or fewer.
Students are required to live on campus for the first year of their studies, after which they may choose to do otherwise.
About 42% of the student body lives in college-owned or -affiliated housing, while the other 58% lives off-campus.
The gender distribution at UVM is only 39% male, with the remaining 61% majority of the student body being female.
At UVM, students can participate in one of the school’s 250+ clubs and organizations, including over 40 service clubs that promote social justice, health, and literacy.
Read on to learn more about UVM’s acceptance rates, GPA and test score requirements, and more.
University of Vermont Acceptance Rate
The University of Vermont has an acceptance rate of 71%.
This rate is about 5% higher than the 66% average for all colleges in the nation, according to a report from the National Association for College Admissions Counseling.
Translation: admission to UVM is somewhat competitive, but that the selection process is not nearly as stringent as it is at other colleges.
The acceptance rate for early decision applicants is 80.5%, or roughly 10% higher than the regular decision acceptance rate.
UVM received 25,559 first-year applications for the fall of 2021, a 38% increase compared to the previous year.
The acceptance rate for the class of 2025 was about 8% less than the previous year, the most selective rate in the past 30 years of UVM’s history.
Despite the declining acceptance rates seen over the past few years, this public Ivy League is still far less selective than the private Ivy League schools, where the acceptance rates are generally decreasing year after year.
University of Vermont Out-of-State Acceptance Rate
The University of Vermont’s record-breaking applicant pool for the first-year class of 2025 is not only larger than ever — it is also more geographically diverse than ever. The school saw more applicants from out-of-state and international students than any prior year.
It is difficult to say exactly what the acceptance rate for out-of-state students at UVM is, since the available admissions statistics are not broken down according to geographic origin.
Looking at trends for the school over the past couple decades can provide somewhat of a sense of the likelihood of being accepted as an out-of-state student, however.
The admitted first-year class of 2019 saw a smaller percentage of Vermont residents than ever before, with only about 20% of the student body coming from the state. This is down 4% from the previous year and 13% from 1995.
With 30.1% of the student body in that year hailing from Vermont, UVM had the most imbalanced in-state to out-of-state student ratio of any public flagship university in the country.
Thus, it can be said that if current trends continue, the acceptance rate for out-of-state students is likely to keep rising.
GPA for University of Vermont
The average high school GPA for first-years students admitted to UVM for the fall of 2021 is 3.8. This means that competitive applicants will have earned primarily As in high school classes, and perhaps a few Bs.
There is no strict GPA requirement for consideration for admission to UVM, as the school prefers a holistic admissions review process.
All components of the application, including essays, test scores, and high school GPA, are reviewed by UVM admissions staff,
The applications of students whose academic qualifications are inconclusive will be reviewed further by academic unit representatives on a case-by-case basis.
Admissions decisions are made to select students who have the potential to thrive academically at UVM and contribute to the overall atmosphere of the campus community.
The school states that its admission policies are intended to create a student body that reflects a balance of racial or geographic diversity and UVM’s strong commitment to serving residents of the state of Vermont.
SAT & ACT Requirements for University of Vermont
Applicants for the University of Vermont’s first-year class enrolling in the fall of 2022 through the fall of 2023 are not required to submit their standardized test scores.
The school decided to remove the test score requirement from the application process for these years due to ongoing difficulties in accessing testing and test preparation set forth by the COVID-19 pandemic.
It is not yet known whether or not UVM will reinstate the standardized test requirement in the future.
However, many other schools have made similar changes to their application requirements because of the pandemic, and some of these schools have decided that the change will remain in place permanently.
Whether or not a student chooses to submit test scores as a supplement to their UVM application does not have any influence over the admission decision they will receive, and all applicants will be considered for merit scholarships and selection to the UVM Honors College regardless.
Of students who are accepted to UVM, half have an SAT score between 1160 and 1350 or an ACT score between 26 and 31.
One-quarter of admitted students score higher than this, while another quarter have test scores below these ranges.
The UVM admissions team considers only the applicant’s highest scores.
Other Requirements and Admission Tips
To be considered for admission to the University of Vermont, applicants must be U.S. citizens, permanent residents, refugees, or asylees.
The UVM application can be completed using either the Common Application or the Coalition Application.
UVM’s application fee is $55, but fee waivers are available for those for whom the fee poses a barrier to applying. The application fee will automatically be waived for first-year applicants from the state of Vermont who applies through early action.
The deadline for submitting an application for the fall semester is January 15 of each year, and this group of applicants should receive notification of their admission decision by the end of March.
Minimum entrance requirements include four years of high school English, three years of mathematics, natural or physical science, and social sciences, and two years of study in a foreign language.
Entrance requirements may vary depending on the specific program the student is applying to.
The UVM application also requires submission of the student’s official high school transcript, sent directly to the college by their high school.
In addition, first-year applicants must submit a letter of recommendation from either a current teacher or a college counselor. Transfer applicants should submit a letter of recommendation from a recent professor at their current university.
Essays for University of Vermont
UVM gives students the option to complete one of the personal essays prompts found on the Common Application or the Coalition Application as a supplement to the application.
The brief personal essay can serve as the student’s opportunity to demonstrate their strong writing skills and showcase what makes them unique as a student and as an individual.
Applicants should choose an essay topic that reflects something that is important to them, responding to the selected prompt by drawing from their personal experiences. There are five different prompts from which to choose, available on UVM’s website.
The finished essay should be between 250 and 650 words in length. It should also include sufficient details, show the student’s creative capabilities, and be free of all grammatical errors and typos.
Underscoring UVM’s holistic approach to the admissions process, this short personal essay is intended to give the UVM admissions team a complete understanding of who the student is rather than what is conveyed by the application information.
Personal essays can be submitted directly through the Common Application or Coalition Application. Alternatively, students can also submit the essay after the application deadline by uploading it through UVM’s application status page.
Is University of Vermont Right for You?
The average freshman retention rate for the University of Vermont is 86%, compared to the national average of 76% for all undergraduate colleges and universities.
As first-year retention rate is generally considered a reliable measurement of student satisfaction, this figure suggests that an overwhelming majority of UVM students are quite pleased with their decision to attend the school, happily returning to the school after their first year.
UVM’s graduation rate for the undergraduate class matriculating in 2015 was 77%, the school’s highest recorded. This rate places UVM in the top 5% of public schools in the country.
Furthermore, students who graduate from the University of Vermont are very likely to find academic or professional success after completing their degrees.
In fact, 93% of UVM students who graduated between 2017 and 2019 were employed or enrolled in a graduate program within six months after graduation.
In a study of 563,000 bachelor’s graduates from 337 different schools, the National Association of Colleges and Employers found that only 50.2% of the graduating class of 2020 were employed full-time with a traditional employer.
This shows that earning an undergraduate degree at UVM is certainly worthwhile, as the school’s graduates are significantly more likely to find employment after completing their education than the average American college student.
Ultimately, whether or not UVM is right for you depends on what you are looking to get out of your undergraduate education and what you want to do after graduating. That being said, choosing UVM is sure to prepare you exceedingly well for entering the job market or pursuing graduate education.
