THE EARLY ACTION APPLICATION DEADLINE IS DECEMBER 1!
Students should submit their application for admission by 11:59 p.m. EST on December 1 to be considered for:
Early Action admission
Lewis Honors College
Competitive scholarships
Priority deadline for belonging scholarships
Students must apply by December 1, 2023, and submit all supplemental materials (application fee or waiver, official high school transcript, ACT/SAT scores if applicable) by December 1, 2023, to be considered an early action applicant.
FALL 2023 BY THE NUMBERS
We are proud to share some preliminary figures for our Fall 2023 enrollment, retention and graduation with you. Full details are available here, but we would like to highlight:
This year, our first-to-second fall retention will be a record 88.2 percent.
We have hit a historic six-year graduation rate of 70 percent, which is more than 10 percentage points higher than a decade ago and places us amongst the Top 100 public institutions – and top 20 percent – in the country.
Since 2006, four-year graduation rates have increased by 27 percentage points; 5-year rates have increased by 17 percentage points and 6-year rates have increased by more than 12 percentage points.
In 2022-23, we hit a record number of degrees and certificates conferred – almost 9,500. These figures include 1,870 degrees and certificates conferred to first-generation students and 1,416 conferred to underrepresented minority students, the latter of which represents a 251 percent increase since 2011.
NEW MAJOR: CRIMINAL JUSTICE
At UK, we believe in the transformative power of education. Our new Criminal Justice program is built upon a dynamic curriculum that goes beyond a surface-level understanding to delve deep into the underlying cultural, economic and political connections with social harm, crime and systems of social control. By exploring these complex issues, we will prepare students to think critically, analyze situations and develop innovative solutions to the challenges facing our society today.
Our faculty is passionate about sharing their knowledge and experiences with our students. They bring real-world expertise to the classroom, ensuring that students receive a comprehensive education.
We would like to share our 2024-25 essay prompts; students can choose their favorite from the list below. It may be helpful to instruct them to write a draft before starting their application, so they are prepared to drop it in once they have started the process.
Describe a topic, idea or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?
Discuss an accomplishment, event or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?
Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?
Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you’ve already written, one that responds to a different prompt or one of your own design.
Some students have a background, identity, interest or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.
The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?
Please be in touch if there is anything we can do to support you and your students! You can find contact information for your area’s admissions counselor here.