University of Minnesota Admission
University of Minnesota Undergraduate Program
University of Minnesota Application

The Facts

The University of Minnesota is a huge state school located in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is home to over 25,000 undergraduate students and approximately 16,220 graduate students.  The school is made up of several smaller undergraduate colleges including the schools of liberal arts, biological sciences, management, human ecology, natural resources, technology, agricultural, food, environmental sciences, architecture, education, medicine, dentistry, and nursing. Several of the colleges don’t actually admit freshmen; rather, students must apply for admission at the end of their first year.  Some of the most popular majors include psychology, biology, English, journalism, and political science.

Admission to U of Minnesota is fairly competitive for such a large public university.  Last year over 15,000 students applied for admission and approximately 11,000 students were accepted; of those, about 5,188 matriculated.  The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1090 to 1330 and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 22 to 28.  Over 65% of those admitted were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class.

University of Minnesota has a quite manageable student to faculty ratio of 15:1, and students say that in general, their teachers do make themselves quite accessible, particularly during their plentiful office hours.  However, like most large state schools, introductory classes are usually held in large lecture format, often with several hundred students in one lecture hall.  An interesting note; the university offers a fantastic array of study abroad opportunities in over 60 countries, and many students choose to take advantage of the chance to travel.

The Social Scene

The city of Minneapolis offers students a great range of options in the way of entertainment.  The city offers world-class performing and fine arts, as well as great and usually inexpensive clubs, bars, and restaurants that students love to frequent.  The shopping scene in Minneapolis is also quite impressive, with the massive Mall of America only an hour away.  It is safe to say that students are rarely bored.  It can be annoying when the winter temperatures drop below zero (not including the wind chill...) but many students have cars and don’t have to be out in the cold too often.

There is definitely a Greek scene on campus, and there is quite a party scene, but actually, only 5 or 6% of students are members of a fraternity or a sorority.  There are, of course, the inevitable rowdy dorm and frat parties, but they aren’t too much of a distraction for students who want to focus more on academics.

The dating scene is reportedly quite vibrant; the guys and girls are quite preppy but in a very cute way.

What’s Good

“Even though the school is quite large, there is a great solid sense of community here.”

“The teachers here are great; a lot of them are current working professionals in their fields.  You get a lot of legitimate hands on experience.”

“The dorms are surprisingly nice.  There is a real sense of home there, and the R.A.’s work to make you feel really comfortable.”

What’s Bad

“The winters here are enough to make anyone go insane.  You don’t want to leave your room when it’s 50 below.”

“The classes are way too big.  It’s pretty dehumanizing.”

“The campus is way too sprawling.  It takes forever to get from class to class here.”

Let the Penn Group help you apply to college.

• View our services
• Send a request now
• Read articles about applying to college