First-Year Admission

First-Year Applicants

First-year students are those who are currently attending secondary school or who have not enrolled at college or university after graduating from secondary school. If you have completed any college coursework, please apply as a transfer student.

First-Year Student Application Checklist

  1. There are two ways to apply
  2. Pay the $80 application fee
  3. Complete one item from the list below to show proof of English proficiency (this is not required if applying for conditional admission through ELTI).
    • TOEFL IBT: 70 or higher (minimum of 14 in each sub score).
      • TOEFL DISCOUNT CODE: UNCCharlotte40 at checkout when registering/paying for test
    • IELTS: 6.0 or higher (minimum of 5.0 in each sub score)
    • Duolingo English Test (EDT): 105 or higher
    • PTE Academic: 48 or higher (minimum of 35 in each sub score)
    • SAT: 500 on the Evidence-Based Reading and Writing
    • ACT: 19 on the Reading section
    • English Language and Training Institute (ELTI) at UNC Charlotte: Completion of Level 5
    • U.S. High School Diploma: Transcripts showing successful completion of two years
  4. Official course-by-course credential evaluation
    • Foreign High School: The University does not evaluate foreign high school transcripts. Instead, an official course-by-course credential evaluation must be provided from a NACES-accredited agency (naces.org/members). Please send your official foreign transcripts to any appropriate agency. Once the review is completed, they will submit the credential evaluation report on your behalf directly to our office. We recommend using International Education Evaluations, Educational Perspectives, Educational Credential Evaluators or SpanTran for the evaluation.
    • U.S. High School: Submit an official high school transcript. You do not need a credential evaluation for U.S. schools.
    • Please note: Students who did not complete all four years of high school in the U.S. and the grades weren’t transferred to their US transcript, must submit a credential evaluation for the years completed outside of the U.S. An evaluation must be completed by any NACES-accredited agency.
  5. One essay is required.

Download our First-Year Application Checklist