In 1997, the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 588 – also known as the Texas Top Ten Percent Law – guaranteeing automatic admission to all state-funded universities for Texas students in the top ten percent of their public high school class.
This law was later amended to allow universities to cap their admissions to the Top Ten Percent students as 75% of their 
freshmen ‘seats’. This has allowed University of Texas Austin campus to restrict automatic admissions to the top 7 or 8% in recent years:
- Fall 2018 applicants– Top 7%
- Fall 2019 applicants- Top 6%
- Fall 2020 applicants- Top 6%
Click here for more information about UT Austin admissions.
Many colleges, especially in Texas, also have automatic admissions, or assured admissions, for students who meet certain criteria. For example, for students applying to Texas A&M, those in the top 10% get in automatically, but those in the top 25% quarter and who also get minimum scores on SAT/ACT will also be granted automatic admissions.
Students who get accepted into a university automatically don’t always get accepted into their major of choice, especially in the more competitive programs, such as engineering or business. Students who meet automatic standards for admissions must still complete the admissions application and required materials, such as transcripts and test scores.
*Updated August 2016 to include college policy changes with the new SAT scores. Updated June 2018 to reflect changes and remove UT Dallas.
Texas A&M at College Station
Texas Tech University
Students who do not meet the assured admissions requirements may enter the PreEngineering Program and then work to qualify as a Foundational Curriculum Engineering Student.
Students who get accepted automatically into UT Dallas, also get accepted into their major of choice.
University of Houston
University of Houston at Clear Lake (UHCL)
University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA)
University of North Texas
Sam Houston State University
Texas State University
While all information is provided directly from each university’s website, information should be independently verified before relying on it for student’s admissions decisions.
Looking for automatic admissions at colleges outside of Texas, such as University of Mississippi, Oklahoma State University, Tulane University, or University of Arkansas? Then check out this blog for more information.
Interested in colleges with guaranteed scholarships based on SAT/ACT scores, here is more information for colleges including Baylor University, UT Arlington and Texas Tech.
