Admissions Standards

In 1996, the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education established a minimum grade point average (GPA) of 3.0 as the standard for admission into UMass Lowell. Because of the consistently high quality of UMass Lowell applicants, it has been the policy of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions to also review students’ combined (math and verbal) SAT* score, establishing a score of 960 as the absolute minimum.

While UMass Lowell has maintained these standards as a minimum, it is important to note that the entering freshmen in fall 2005 had an average GPA 3.14 and an average combined SAT score of 1094.

UMass Lowell’s more competitive majors, including nursing, exercise physiology, community health education, engineering and sound recording technology, maintain higher admission standards that can vary annually.

Admissions counselors and policy makers are sensitive to the factors that may result in accomplished students having a lower-than-expected GPA or SAT score. The applications of students who don’t meet the standards outlined above, but for whom UMass Lowell otherwise seems like a good match, are reviewed individually. 

*Along with all other public universities and colleges in the Massachusetts system, UMass Lowell is not using the Writing Score on the SAT as a criterion for admission.