UT Austin is one of the top 20 public universities according to U.S. News & World Report. But as the number of students wanting to attend UT increases, so are the requirements as beginning in the summer and fall of 2019, the university will only accept the top 6 percent of Texas high school graduates, rather than the current top 7 percent.

“In order to meet this requirement, students should focus on making good grades and keeping a high GPA,” college counselor Brittany Portnoy said. “Even if you are not in the top 6 percent that does not mean you will not be accepted into UT. The holistic review does not look at just grades and test scores. This is where extracurricular activities, volunteer work, college essays, and area of study are important.”

The change in the automatic admission threshold from 7 to 6 percent will allow the university to maintain the legally mandated proportions of the incoming in-state freshmen class at 75 percent automatically admitted students and 25 percent admitted through the holistic review process.

“The change is due to the continued growth in the number of Texas high school graduates and a steep increase in applications to UT Austin,” UT said in a news release. “Applications to the university rose from 38,000 in 2013 to more than 51,000 in 2017. The number of high school graduates in Texas rose by 14,000 during that same period and is projected to increase by almost 50,000 through 2025.”

The class of 2018 will be the last class to have the opportunity to be accepted into UT as top 7 percent rather than 6 percent.

“I think that it’s reasonable to make this change due to increase in applications to UT, but I feel like it prevents some of the most involved and enthusiastic students from getting in,” senior Maryna Shyshkina said. “Class rank is based only on grades, so other qualities like leadership, social skills, and engagement in different activities are not being considered.”

UT Austin is home to more than 51,000 students with more than 15 undergraduate programs and more than 40 graduate programs ranked in the top 10 nationally.

“I think it will definitely be a lot harder for us,” junior Kevin Wei said. “A lot harder for the incoming seniors, including my grade, but I think it’s still possible to get in through their whole holistic view. I’m definitely going to have to work a lot harder in school and also raise my SAT scores up and work on extracurriculars.”