Arizona State University Admission
Arizona State University Undergraduate Program
Arizona State University Application

The Facts

ASU is a large public university housing over 30,792 undergraduates and over 10,274 graduate students. It is located in the beautiful desert town of Tempe, Arizona, and has a clean, well-kept campus with several buildings designed by the acclaimed architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The undergraduate colleges include schools of architecture and environmental design (a prime draw for the university), business, education, engineering and applied sciences, extended education, liberal arts and sciences, nursing, public programs, fine arts, and the Barret Honors College . They offer practically every major a student could dream up; some of the most popular choices are in business, interdisciplinary studies, journalism and mass communication, psychology and communication.

The school has the same problems that most large-scale universities have, including overcrowding in introductory classes, difficulty getting into more popular courses, and the omni-present administrative red tape. Despite these difficulties, students remark that the professors are remarkable and don’t crack down too toughly on students. In fact, most students laud the faculty as the best part of their university experience. Students say the workload is moderate, and students can choose whether or not they give it their all.

Last year, over 20,000 students applied to ASU and 17,480 were admitted; 7,126 matriculated. The Class of 2004 had an average combined SAT score ranging from 970 all the way up to 1220, and an average cumulative ACT score ranging from 19 to 26. Over 53% of admitted students were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average GPA of approximately 3.36.

ASU is currently implementing an overhaul called “Changing Directions," which allows separate state universities to determine their own admissions standards; previously, students needed only to meet a base requirement in various areas to be guaranteed admission. Now, the university is hiking tuition and making their admissions standards more exclusive and selective.

The Social Scene

Tempe, Arizona is a bona fide college town, with numerous bars, clubs, shops and restaurants all catering to the college students. The ASU campus is often described as being very “country club,” and the constant sun and warm temperatures put most students in a happy mood, and many take advantage of the many outdoor athletic activities housed at ASU, including of course, golf.

The Greeks tend to dominate student elections, but don’t really have much clout in the day to day social scene. Rather, students prefer to find their own methods of partying off-campus, taking advantage of the hopping Tempe nightlife scene.

What’s Good

“It’s impossible to be bored at ASU; Tempe is probably the best college town in the entire country.”

“Even though classes tend to be rather large, the professors make it feel much smaller by facilitating discussions.”

“The campus is amazing and has state-of-the-art buildings and facilities on every level.”

What’s Bad

“The administration loves to brag about how many minorities the school has, but I have yet to see anyone who isn’t Causasian.”

“The class sizes can be really overwhelming and tend to make you feel like just another number.”

“People don’t really care about studying here; so if you are one of the few who do, prepare to feel like an outcast.”

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