The flagship school of Georgia’s university system, the University of Georgia is one of the oldest public universities in the United States.
UGA is located 70 miles northeast of downtown Atlanta in Athens, Georgia.
The city has a vibrant college-town culture, and it holds the state art museum, the Georgia Museum of Art, at the University of Georgia.
An amazing 40,000+ students attend UGA, with 30,000+ in undergraduate programs and 8,300 in graduate programs. As of 2021, the school claimed more than 340,000 living alumni.
Offering 24 bachelor’s degrees in over 142 fields and 32 master’s degrees in 135 areas of study, the University of Georgia is ranked number 16 in the nation according to U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 Top Public Schools listing.
The school’s 2021 research and development expenditures totaled $494 million, facilitating the more than 900 new products developed from university research.
UGA’s faculty includes members of prestigious national research and academic organizations such as the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the National Academy of Engineering.
Sonny Perdue, former Secretary of the Department of Agriculture and former governor of Georgia, actor Wayne Knight, and U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey are just a few of the many notable alumni of the University of Georgia.
Choosing and being accepted into the school that best matches one’s interests and goals can be a daunting challenge for many students. Many such students choose to minimize the stress involved in the process by seeking early action for their college applications.
For students who want to be sure of their admission into one of the country’s highest-ranked public universities, seeking early action for admission at UGA is an excellent choice.
UGA Early Action Acceptance Rate
Calculated from the most recent available numbers, the early action acceptance rate at the University of Georgia is 41.4%.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, UGA received 21,539 early action applications and admitted 8,917 students through the process.
These numbers represent an approximate 3% increase in early action applications compared to the previous year.
As can be expected for students applying to one of the leading public universities, early action applicants have impressive academic records.
For the 2022-2023 academic year, the middle 50% average score range for early action applicants admitted to the university was 1350-1500 for the SAT and 31-34 for the ACT.
Along with the scores from standardized tests, UGA strongly considers students’ GPA when making admission decisions.
The middle 50% average admitted GPA range for the same pool of applicants was 4.12-4.35.
Students considering applying to the University of Georgia should note that UGA calculates a student’s GPA differently than their high school might.
UGA takes the grades assigned in a student’s core high school classes and places them on a four-point scale, with A = 4 points, B = 3 points, and so on.
UGA then multiplies the grades by the number of courses and adds a point for every AP or IB course taken. The average is then taken by dividing the total points by the number of courses taken.
The admissions department at UGA does this in order to be able to more accurately compare students as some schools assign grades based on 10-point grading scales while others give narrative or E/S/U grades.
Finally, UGA also strongly considers the rigor of courses taken by a student when compared to what their high school offered.
Taken from the same data set as above, the middle 50% range of AP/IB/DE courses taken by students applying early action was 8-13.
Students with strong academic records who have taken rigorous courses in high school may be well served by applying early action to the University of Georgia.
UGA Early Action Decision Date
Decisions for early action acceptance for admission to UGA for the 2022-2023 academic year are given in November. In any given year, the UGA targets late November/early December as the decision date.
The university will give a decision of “admit,” “defer,” “deny,” or “incomplete defer.” Applicants who are admitted will be able to see the decision in UGA’s online portal and will also receive an admission packet by mail.
A decision of deferral means that the admissions department will move the applicant into the pool with the regular admission applicants in order to review the student’s application more holistically.
UGA strongly recommends that deferred applicants continue to submit materials such as recommendations from teachers, latest grades, and any new jobs or extracurricular activities undertaken.
Students who receive an incomplete deferral do so due to having not submitted all of the required documents and information for their early action application.
UGA gives a grace period for submitting materials after the early action deadline. Students who do not complete the application process in time are moved into the regular decision process.
If an applicant receives a denial from the admissions department, UGA will consider objections if it seems that a serious error has been made.
However, barring this kind of mistake, the denial means that UGA will not admit the student as a freshman.
Although being denied admission is certainly disappointing, the school’s admissions’ blog reminds applicants that it is much better to receive the denial earlier rather than later.
In this case, these students have the remainder of their senior years to apply to other schools and bolster their academic records.
Whether accepted, denied, or deferred, students who apply for early action on their application for admission to UGA will have the benefit of being able to plan for their future academic endeavors more accurately.
UGA Early Action Deadline
The deadline for submitting an early action application to the University of Georgia is October 15th.
The school’s window for application opens on August 1st, and all supporting materials must be submitted no later than the 22nd of October.
Other significant dates for early action applicants to keep in mind are November 1st for Foundation Fellowship applications and May 1st for commitment deposits.
Students and counselors can submit applications, monitor an application’s status, and supply additional documentation through the University of Georgia’s online admissions portal.
The Foundation Fellowship is an excellent opportunity for students applying for early action on their UGA admission.
The fellowship opportunity is not extended to current undergraduates at UGA, nor is it extended to transfer students.
In addition to having outstanding academic achievements and being talented leaders in their communities, students who wish to apply for the Foundation Fellowship must apply for early action and submit the application by the October 15th deadline.
The Foundation Fellowship’s worth is between $12,650 and $22,900 annually, depending on a student’s residency status.
Along with the valuable annual stipend, recipients of the Foundation Fellowship are given grants for individual and group travel-study trips, attending academic and research conferences, and for a study-abroad program at Oxford University following their freshman year.
Once applications have been considered, the University of Georgia will invite 50 finalists for a mandatory interview over a weekend in February.
Finalists who will be awarded the fellowship will learn of this very soon after the interview weekend.
If a student is invited to and attends the interview weekend, they will be awarded the Bernard Ramsey Travel Grant, worth $3,000, if they choose to attend the University of Georgia.
As students considering applying for early action most likely already know, being academic leaders and ahead of the game can afford them many opportunities that would otherwise not be available to them.
How to Apply to UGA for Early Action
The early action application process for admission to the University of Georgia is straightforward and begins when a student creates their online account and fills out the First-Year admissions application.
Students can submit a Common App or an Institutional Application after August 1st.
The university charges a $70 application fee for citizens of the United States and a fee of $85 for international students. For students who qualify, the application fee may be waived.
Students are also required to submit their high school transcripts, SAT and/or ACT scores, and a secondary school report or counselor recommendation.
An optional teacher letter of recommendation may be submitted, and the school’s admissions blog encourages this.
Once these steps have been completed by the deadline on October 15th, applicants will be subject to the school’s review process.
UGA’s admissions review is the same for regular decision and early action applicants.
The admissions department focuses primarily on an applicant’s academic achievements.
For early action applicants, the admissions department will look at grades received through the junior year, standardized test scores, and the rigor of courses taken compared to courses offered at the high school.
Other factors like personal maturity and integrity, co-curricular activities, intellectual pursuits, involvement in the community, and public service will be considered.
The school also reminds applicants to maintain high academic rigor as it will monitor grades received by a student during their senior year.
Students who apply for early action are not bound to attend the University of Georgia and are free to apply to other institutions concurrently. Early action applicants usually do not have to wait beyond December 1st to receive the decision on their application.
For students wishing to attend one of the country’s oldest and highest-ranked public universities, early action applications to UGA afford them excellent opportunities for further academic achievement.
