High School Counselor Cycle Updates
This guide provides all of the information you need to know as you work with fall 2025 first-year applicants. Thank you for all you do for your students!
This guide provides all of the information you need to know as you work with fall 2025 first-year applicants. Thank you for all you do for your students!
We offer two application periods, with early action and regular decision dates. If students have questions as they apply, encourage them to watch our how-to videos or check out our Help With Applying page.
Illinois is committed to access, equity, and inclusion for students from all backgrounds. Following the Supreme Court's decision to end affirmative action, continued efforts in both programming and resources will be made to recruit underrepresented students and yield a diverse student body that reflects the values of our community.
Because we admit by program, some programs are significantly more competitive. We publish our admit rates by college, as well as for our Computer Science-related programs.
We encourage students to apply for programs in which they plan to enroll if admitted. We will only consider students for programs to which they apply. The Division of Exploratory Studies is intended for students who are open to exploring more than one major, with preference given to students who are open to exploring programs with capacity on campus. Students who are only interested in intercollegiate transfer once on campus into The Grainger College of Engineering or Gies College of Business should be encouraged to enroll at another university.
Due to competitiveness, students are only able to enter our Computer Science, Computer Science + Bioengineering, and Computer Science + Physics programs in The Grainger College of Engineering as new first-year or transfer students. They are not able to apply to change majors into these programs once on campus, although they can still pursue a Computer Science minor or apply to change majors into other Computer Science + X programs.
Following are the majors not available as a second choice for first-year students:
We invite you and your students to visit campus on Saturday, September 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. for IlliniFest, a campus-wide event packed with unique programming. Students will have the opportunity to get info from their top academic communities, explore residence halls, learn about campus resources, and more. Encourage your students to sign up today!