Did you know it's possible to be guaranteed admission to certain public universities based solely on your academic credentials?  

While institutions like the University of California won’t guarantee you admission to a specific campus, the good news is that most will based on some combination of class rank, GPA and test scores.

For example, if you’re an Arizona resident interested in the University of Arizona, a 3.0+ GPA or top 25% class rank will assure you admission. Or if you’re a Texas resident interested in the University of Texas at Austin, a top 6% class rank will grant you automatic admission.

Better yet, assured admission often extends to non-residents as well. A top 10% class rank or 3.5+ GPA will assure admission to Washington State University, for example, or a 24+ ACT or 1160+ SAT will assure admission to the University of Missouri. 

Of course, you’ll still need to complete an application and sweat the details, like making sure you’ve satisfied curriculum requirements and that your GPA is calculated appropriately. To help you understand the specifics, we’ve included links to program criteria for the public institutions listed.

If that’s still too much work, consider checking out College Kickstart. We track assured admission criteria for over 40 programs across the nation and will automatically flag situations where your academic credentials appear to meet assured admission criteria for schools on your list.  It's a great way to take some of the stress out of the process!  

Click on Continue Reading to see our list of selected institutions with assured admission programs.

Colleges with Assured/Automatic/Guaranteed Admissions (Class of 2026)

College Kickstart LLC

Note: With the exception of UT Austin, all Texas residents ranked in the top 10% are automatically admitted to Texas public universities. Many also assure admission for other combinations of rank, GPA and test scores. Some but not all of the Texas publics are highlighted in the list above.